Sofitel Phokeethra Krabi - Krabi, Thailand 

We arrived at the Sofitel for 4 nights following a lovely 4 nights at the Nakamanda just up the road. Although both hotels are 4 star they are very different properties with the Nakamanda being a more intimate boutique hotel whereas the Sofitel is a big sprawling place. The reception area is quite awesome and our check in was conducted in a friendly and efficient manner. Our pool view room was very nicely appointed and spacious. One reviewer mentioned the rock hard bed. It certainly was and I was surprised because Sofitel beds had recently won ‘the most comfortable hotel bed in world’ award. If you find the bed too hard ask Housekeeping for their super duper underlay and you will find the bed is a lot more comfortable. The public areas including the garden and pool were all very nicely done although being only a year old the garden is still not as lush as other tropical properties. The pool is really large although not very cooling. There were not many guests so we were able to find a quiet corner by the pool; so quiet in fact that the underemployed pool staff never asked us once whether we would like a drink or to look at the food menu. Not that we would have, given the high cost of food and drink at the resort. Other reviewers have mentioned the massage pavilion which again was underused (in fact over the 4 days we didn’t see one customer) primarily due to its exorbitant rate. These poor bored girls should be running around giving 10 minute foot/hand/neck massages to the guests lounging around the pool While I am on the subject of price we were astonished by the mini bar prices; surely no one ever uses anything out of this madly overpriced fridge? The mini mart next door sold beers from around 40 baht and cans of soft drinks for around 20baht. The mini bar prices were 280 baht and 140baht respectively. We were impressed by an innovation at the Holiday Inn Phuket where they provide an empty fridge in each room and the guest stocks it with their own requirements from the local shops. What a sensible thing to do and it is a shame that other hotels don’t follow suit. We ate at the Italian restaurant one night which was very nice and priced similar to a restaurant in Australia. The other nights we ate out at local restaurants which were all quite good although the Krabi Sands was better for breakfast than for dinner. The Simanta next door to the Sofitel golf course was really good and we had very nice lunches and a dinner there. The little coffee shop next door should also be given a go as it is very nicely done and they have a coffee machine(it all looked brand new). The noise problem mentioned in previous reviews was not that bad and we would not have really noticed the large trucks except we were prepared for it by earlier reviews. Perhaps now that the golf course is nearing completion the truck/heavy machinery movements have diminished. The beach across the road is quite acceptable especially at high tide; it seems such a shame that the hotel does not bother to put lounge chairs/umbrellas etc along the sand as there is already an attendant or two down there overseeing the underutilized water sports. And it is such a beautiful outlook. We had thoughts of attending a cooking class while we were there especially after seeing the purpose built school kitchen in the activities centre complex. Unfortunately the activities centre staff didn’t have any information and sent us to reception which had a small amount of information but then directed us back to the activities centre!! Needless to say it was all too much trouble. For reasonably priced internet and informative tour booking service we used Baan Suksai Travel which is opposite the Mother House. All in all the Sofitel did disappoint us but feel it was more a management problem rather than the actual hotel