Cape Panwa Hotel

This was our 8th stay at this amazing hotel. So they must have got something right. For the first time we stayed in a pool villa and it was so worth it. We had early morning and late night swims and it was so spacious. It was fun floating and watching the beach tram pass by. It was great to be living in the heart of the wonderful gardens and waking up with the wildlife. Our previous visit was post covid and it was a little sad then. Now the hotel and the resort are back to full strength and thriving. It is the hotel’s 40th anniversary next year and so we are definitely planning our next visit. All the staff are so attentive and helpful. It is so difficult to pick out anyone .However the wonderful Ukrainian receptionist is worth a special mention. She is bubbly, efficient and helpful, always there with a ready smile and looking very glamorous despite the time of day and the heat.

Had a five night stay after exhausting tour of Vietnam/Cambodia and Thailand. This is a beautiful hotel in serene and tranquil surroundings. Room overlooked the bay and was clean and spacious. Buffet breakfast was excellent and evening meals very good with a wide range of choice. Pool was fantastic and beds a plenty. Private beach is beautiful. Shuttle bus to nearby village is brilliant. Special mention to the Lighthouse Bar and their Happy Hours.....superb..... Good live music during dinner and also at Lighthouse Bar. Staff very helpful and attentive Hope to visit again.

Yet another visit to one of our favourite places on the planet. We normaly visit in July or November so were interested to see how the sea and the weather would be at this time of year. We had blue skys every single day with just a brief shower at 10 pm one evening . Reception is really helpful and I would like to mention Pim, Maggie and Ivy who helped out with several requests during our visit as we kept losing things!! The restaurants we visited in the hotel, Andaman cafe, Bamboo Bar, Uncle nans and Panwa house were all superb but the big surprise for us this year was Uncle Nans. A previous visit a couple of years ago had stopped me wanting to return. It wasn't bad but just not as good as the others . This time we ate there 4 times because the food was really good and what a great menu. The ambience feels authentic too and the music was perfect for an italian restaurant. The addition of some new very good quality wines which can be bought by the glass , secured our repeat visits ! Pansa, the manager seems to be everywhere, he was helpful selecting dishes and wines and a perfect host. Our preference for Uncle Nans meant that we ran out of days to try Top of the reef which had had a major makeover since our last visit , the menu looks amazing though so that will have to wait for our return. However the addition of more outdoor seating on the deck has transformed the outside bar area and I believe it's possible to eat there as well which would be really good. We were always greeted by the lovely Aiice and Supatra . Aiice plays piano and sings at the venue. Perfect service here with just a raised eyebrow necessary to order more drinks from the staff. Panwa house is a perfect Thai themed restaurant on the beach and we enjoyed two meals there both of which were really tasty and beautifully presented. Worth a good look around inside on a hot day to as it's a very old building full of antiques and old books. It's a cool spot out of the sun if it gets a bit warm. The themed evening with fire show and buffet outside the panwa house is highly recomended for a holiday video with a great range of dishes from the buffet. Bamboo Bar on the beach now has a free ice cream machine which operates until its runs out at about 11 am each day , it was really really popular , however I went for the passion fruit smoothies which are really refreshing. I must mention Sandy who is one of the main reasons we go to the beach so much, she is a perfect mix of fun and service quality, she works so hard . Everyone who has been to the beach will know her as she is a real character. Big Bang (Somnuk )s also there each day making sure things run smoothly but we chatted to most of the staff there and they were all lovely. Food here was perfectly good for lunchtime and smaller meals but for a larger menu I would recommend taking the tram back up the Andaman Cafe which is much more complehensive and has more international options. I heard some other visitors on the beach complaining about the fact that because of low tides , the reef / rocks are exposed during very low tides and thus it was not possible to swim. There is a smaller pool beach side for these times but my recomendation would be to check the tide times posted in the rooms and if its best for swimming at 10 am ... go to the beach slightly earlier as going down at 3 pm and expecting a high tide might end in dissapointment!! The beach was really clean this visit despite the slightly windy weather bringing in leaves twigs and other man made detritus on oocasions. The beach team regularly swept the high tide mark so that it was always clean. The lighthouse Bar has remained pretty much the same since we first visited and for us that is part of its charm, there's a happy hour at 9.30 which is perfect for post dinner drinks. The panwa Trio and on saturdays a new band play live music between 10 and 11 pm. It's our favourite way to finish the day with a cocktail. So are there any things that could be improved.? Well since the music has been changed in the bamboo bar and the Andaman cafe , there's not much to improve, but I do still find the shuttle service timings over the hill a bit hit and miss. If you book a table at uncle nans at 7.30 you need to try and get the shuttle over at around 7 otherwise you might well be late. We have already planned a return in november and are excited to go back. Having spoken to many people around the hotel it seems we are not alone as repeat visitors, many coming for several weeks at a time. Hope to be able to do this one day!

Our third visit to this hotel—and it still doesn’t disappoint. Nothing quite compares. The setting is stunning, with a beautiful beach, and the staff truly go above and beyond every time. Special thanks to Sandy at the beach bar for always taking such great care of us, Dear for arranging an amazing room upgrade on arrival, and Pim for going out of her way to help track down an item we’d left behind at another hotel in Khao Lak. Both the hotel and the surrounding village feel like a home from home for us, which is why so many guests return time and time again—it really says it all. The only small change we noticed since our first visit is the switch to newer, metal-framed sun loungers. While perfectly functional, we did feel this is a slight step down from the original rattan-style beds with large cushions, which suited the beach setting beautifully. The layout also felt a little more compact than before. That said, it didn’t impact our stay—we were still able to find comfortable spots—but it’s something we mention only because we love this place and know how exceptional it can be. Another fantastic stay at Cape Panwa. We’ll definitely be back.

We have just returned home after 2 weeks at cape panwa .The room u315 was excellent walk in shower large comfortable beds nice sea view and nice seating area plus a large balcony . We are in all the restaurants as we were on a full board the food was very good our favourite was top of the reef next to otters bar ( happy hour 5pm to 6 pm ) the lunch at bamboo was good with large portions the beef burger was superb , we never had a problem getting a sun lounger at the beach or both of the pools, all the staff were so well mannered and spoke English and nothing was to much trouble , we did the trip to Coral island with the hotel which was good approx £30 each . The drinks at the hotel are not cheap approx £5 for a small beer but don’t let it spoil your holiday enjoy . At night you can drink at half the hotel price at uncle Johns bar just out side the hotel one minute walk up the hill . This is a lovely hotel and you get a fresh beach towel every day from the beach or the pool

We have stayed here once before and on this return, we were only ever going to select this fabulous Hotel Resort. This is a rather special resort. Whilst Phuket City is crowded, dirty, busy and congested, the Cape Panwa resort, just a few miles away, is an Oasis of Calm with extensive facilities, a private, beautiful Beach and a generally 5 Star experience. On arrival we were given a considerable, free room update, so we have now stayed in both basic and deluxe rooms. Both are superb. The Reception always go above and beyond, but when my Wife had a bad Stomach Upset/Food Poisoning from our previous location (Phi phi), Maggie the receptionist was exceptional, getting the shop opened, advising on Charcoal Medication and generally being an absolute credit to the Resort. We also had dealings with Cassie on reception, whose friendly advice was invaluable I would unhesitatingly recommend this Resort to anybody visiting the area with a Family or a wish to relax. Their are excellent Restaurants and Quiet Bars just a 500yd walk away.

Fantastic hotel and staff . Unsure where to stay after staying in krabi as a twin centre chose this hotel . The staff from start to finish are wonderful . The great value booking with Tui going full board and the variety of food and quality exeptional . Would not normallyplumpt for fb , bb would have been adequate but due to hill location was ideal . Made use of courtesy bus to different hotel quite a few times as we could then use uncle nans restaurantband also walk along the promenade to local street vendors and a choice of bars . only negative was that the smoking area is under the Andaman restaurant , nit the most ideal location . Interesting fact The Panwa restaurant was used in the last seies of whiteLotus . Lovely and quiet rooms beautiful

We’ve been coming to Cape Panwa for a number of years and have always had a few issues but never enough to put us off coming out again. Until this year. This year is the exception that means we will NEVER EVER come back! There are a number of staff that really work so very hard and are always so friendly and helpful BUT I honestly believe that the management and owners really don’t care about their customers. Surely true good management and a successful business is based on customers giving honest feedback and management and owners taking note and where there are clearly themes of bad management or practices they do something about it. That definitely doesn’t happen here at Cape Panwa SO BEWARE but even better just don’t book! Top of the Reef restaurant: 1st visit The first meal in our very first night my husband had the prawns (langoustine) and when he cut into the first prawn it was still opaque so definitely not cooked. 2nd visit We tried the restaurant a second time, this time as a group of seven. - getting drinks took forever - the soup was cold and had to be sent back - 3 of us had the same salad starter but two had a totally different and very spicy dressing - on the main meals the vegetables came out stone cold (almost as if they’d been served straight from the fridge - complaining to the restaurant manager wasn’t worth it as she didn’t seem to be interested and merely offered a couple of people a very small discount off their meals 3rd visit After complaining to senior management and saying how disappointed we were and also that we were hoping to celebrate mine and my sisters birthdays which fall on the same day, William assured us that he would do everything to ensure it was a special evening. Panwa House restaurant: We did have two meals here that were okay though the first Prosecco’s we ordered were flat. On the third visit - the first Prosecco was fine the second ones were completely flat and had to be returned - we ordered satay chicken as a starter to share between three of us. When it came out it wasn’t very warm but my husband and I did eat some then when my sister cut into her piece she realised it was completely raw. - we complained and the manager came out and quite honestly was the rudest man he actually said to my sister “you complain about the Prosecco and now you complain about the chicken”! We got up and walked out. Uncle nans restaurant: Generally this is where we had the better evening food and service, however they did run out of the rose wine we had been drinking and the next time we went it was a different rose which was awful. Bamboo beach lunch restaurant: This was definitely by far the best place that we ate in but we only had lunch here. The staff here are lovely and very accommodating. Cafe Andaman restaurant: We only ate breakfast here but still a few things to be aware of. - poached eggs get cooked round the back in the kitchen, I tried a couple of times and each time they came out stone cold, the second time I specially said’ nice and hot’ so their answers to that was to put a cold poached egg on a boiling hot plate. - fried eggs can also be difficult for them to get right if you want them ‘easy over’ as the chef more often than not would either break it or cook it for too long. - trying to get a pot of tea from the waitresses in the morning was often really difficult then they wouldn’t bring any cups. Rooms: Generally the rooms are okay but can be hit and miss with consistency of cleaning. My husband and I were in C block (despite a request for J block) it was a bit of an upgrade so we were okay with that. My sister however had put a request in through the travel agent and directly to the hotel by email to be in R block she explained that it was where her husband and herself always stayed when they came out together. After losing her husband a few years back this was her first return visit without him and she really wanted to be in the same block and floor level that they always stayed. The friends she travelled with also specifically asked for R block due to the wife not being very mobile. (They stayed in T block last year and she struggled badly with the walk and stairs) On arrival they were all told that they were in T block, I know that hotels can’t guarantee requests like this but with the circumstances involved you would have thought that they’d have tried just a bit harder. It was not what they wanted after a very long journey to then be having to try and appeal for a change of rooms. Which eventually they did manage to accommodate but my sister didn’t get the level she’d requested until after we had brought the issues we’d been having to the managements attention and after a week she was moved. Beach: If there is a function on or a wedding they cram all the beach beds together on the grass area. You are not supposed to have the beds out on the beach though some people do pull them out. You also have to beware of the jellyfish as there are often loads of them washed up on the beach and in the sea which put us off going in especially after we witnessed some people being stung Hotel overall: The hotel is becoming very tired in many areas and is in need of a complete overhaul. It’s definitely NOT a four/five star hotel that they like to believe that they are. As I said at the start of this review we have been coming back to Cape Panwa for numerous years and sadly this year will have been our last. We have had odd complaints in past years but this year exceeded all of those and worryingly we’re not convinced that anything much changes despite bringing everything to the attention of not only hotel management but also the General Managers attention. All they do is try to placate you with words and a few gestures when what you really want is for them to take it seriously and to CHANGE the things that go wrong.

I have tracked this hotel for years and finally booked, having been to Phuket before I needed this trip to be restful and relaxing ( you can go on all the trips if you want from panwa) We tried Tui full board and have to say was very dubious, I was wrong to be so. Cape suite was great and housekeeping perfect. Both pool and beach areas were immaculate and impressive, no need to rush for seats. The food is the star of this hotel, Panwa house was our favourite, but top of the reef and the Andaman cafe were great too. Full board with Tui was fabulous we had a great choice on the set menus, and decided to go all inclusive daily when it suited us on the drinks package. We are extremely experienced traveler's and I could not fault the hotel, we will return. Shout out to Phung top of the reef, all other staff were great there, Tarn at panwa house and all the breakfast staff. The reception staff were so helpful and arranged drivers for when I wanted to arrange my own trips, Cassie and Dear, thank you.

Just returned from Cape Panwa Hotel, the hotel I would assess as 4 star, the staff are very friendly and helpful, everything was very clean and tidy, food was acceptable with plenty of variation, The pool was always in good clear condition, the downside was children running and jumping around the pool, although they are on holiday so are others and a few children spoilt if for others, unfortunately the parents did not control them but often joined in, and the pool attendant did not enforce the No Running Rule. The beach although very nice, unfortunately was full of jellyfish for most of our stay but that was unfortunate as the last few days was ok with only the odd one. we had a good break but we was dissapointed, although we booked full board and knew that drinks was not included, we were suprised that we had to pay for water for any meals, apart from breakfast, and the water was overpriced, We expected drinking water be available free of charge with a meal. Other drinks were also overpriced but when we asked why we was told that the Hotel Chain did not have a choice they had to sell at a high price due to contractual obligations dictated by the drinks companies. We don't go back to the same place twice, but we would like to point out to anyone going what they have to pay for. The Village was the centre for an evening stroll and there are some good restruants, especially the one with the "Entertainer" The street food was always busy with the locals siting on carpets on the promanade eating. Apart from the price of the drinks at the hotel we enjoyed the holiday.