The Sands Khao Lak by Katathani

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Khao Lak, Thailand

5 stars

The Sands Khao Lak is designed around balance - space for families, quiet corners for couples, and the Andaman Sea as a backdrop for both. The resort spreads along a calm beach, with pools, gardens, and light, open spaces linking everything together. Days start with a slow breakfast overlooking the water, drift into pool games or spa sessions, and finish with dinner and live music at The Floating Market. It’s friendly, thoughtful, and relaxed, a resort that makes everyone feel like they’ve found their own patch of paradise.

Amenities

Kids Club
Teen Club
Bar
Fitness Centre/Gym
Internet Access
Laundry Service
Restaurant
Room Service
Swimming Pool

Explore the local area

The resort is located on Nang Thong Beach in Khao Lak, surrounded by tropical gardens and close to local shops and dining. From Phuket International Airport (HKT), it is about 75 km / 47 miles away, roughly 1 hour 15 minutes by car depending on traffic.

Hotel Information

Room Information
Room Upgrade Information

The hotel has 316 rooms and suites, all of which feature air‑conditioning, minibar, flat‑screen TV, WiFi, coffee/tea facilities, in‑room safe, hairdryer, bathrobe, slippers, and daily housekeeping. Sands Room, 1 King or 2 Twin beds, (45 m² / 484 sq ft), sleeping maximum 3 people.

Breakfast at The Floating Market, Buffet - included

Half Board (Lunch or Dinner) Dine Around

Full Board (Lunch and Dinner) Dine Around (food only)

All Inclusive -Dine around Lunch and Dinner with drinks, alcoholic or non-alcoholic, from 11:00 AM to 11:00 PM.

Hotel details

Dining

The resort offers 6 restaurants and bars. Dining options include The Floating Market for international and Thai buffets (breakfast and dinner), Talay Restaurant for beachfront seafood and grill, Manta Ray Bistro for à la carte international dishes, Coconut Bar on the beach, Aqua Bar by the pool, and Sands Beach Club for cocktails and light bites.

Fun and Games

You can enjoy nine swimming pools, including a kids’ pool and an adults-only pool, as well as tennis courts, a fitness centre, and a spa offering Thai and international treatments. Activities include water sports, yoga, and a daily entertainment programme. A kids’ club and teen activities.

Handy Stuff

Concierge service, complimentary WiFi throughout the resort, daily housekeeping, laundry and dry‑cleaning*, babysitting services*, kids’ club, gift shop, business centre, airport transfer arrangements*.

Trip advisor rating

4.5/5

3,912 reviews

Location
Sleep Quality
Rooms
Service
Value
Cleanliness

Excellent

63%

Very Good

27%

Average

Poor

Terrible

“Two weeks family of 8”

Nov 08, 2025Reuben2015

8 of us travelled to this hotel for 12 nights between the end of October and the first week on November. For perspective we had a mixture of ages ranging from 60 to 7 We have travelled to Thailand and its islands before staying in the katathani in Phuket and various Amari hotels, about 8 times now so we feel pretty well versed of the standards expected. The good Big hotel with every facility you could ever want or need Excellent water park for the children Well manicured gardens Excellent beachfront location Great gym facilities Superb selection of pools Good themed evenings Location great The bad Service can be erratic depending where you are eating/drinking. The team in the Talay restaurant were excellent, as were the team in the beach pool bar and the adults pool bar, however some of the team in the waterpark bar were completely untrained! A few times one meal would come out and would be finished before anything else arrived (we had to chase it). Also when ordering at the pool bar the team got the drinks wrong. Food is average for Thailand Breakfast is like a hectic canteen very busy if you time it wrong. The ugly Check in reception is dirty and needs a good clean, when you check in you can see the dirt, never experienced this before in Thailand normally everything is immaculate. Rooms were not clean on arrival, I am a little fussy I admit but mirrors were smeared and areas of the room worn but overall who spends time in a hotel room? This is a great hotel for a young family going to Thailand for the first time, however we have experienced far better standards of cleanliness and service at Amari hotels in Phuket and Koh Samui for possibly less money! It feels like this hotel is trying to be more European in its approach which will appeal to many, however people visit Thailand for the experience more than anything else and I felt this was lacking, maybe due to the size of the hotel. Tip We booked some great trips with the family going to elephant sanctuary, turtle conservation, tsunami museum, James bing island on long tail boat, bamboo rafting and temple with rung ontour khaolak who were sensational and half the price, ask for your tour guide to be BOND he is superb at his job

“3* at best. Beware of cockroaches.”

Nov 02, 2025Louise B

I really wanted to love this hotel but unfortunately this was not the case. This hotel was saved until the last leg of our Thailand adventure after staying in Bangkok, Krabi and Elephant Hills. We booked 5 star for all areas and this is the only hotel that did not come anywhere near 5* I would say 3*. First the positives: The hotel’s location is good. Fabulous sunsets can be seen on the adjoining beach and there are good sized swimming pools with lots of sun loungers. We stayed in a pool access room and it was nice to have this option. We found the first room we stayed in wasn’t particularly clean on check in and also we struggled with my teen not having any privacy so moved to a family room. Staff were good sorting that out and let us see the room then moved our things. The staff are generally super friendly and go out of their way to help. We have found this to be the case across Thailand. Negatives: the cleanliness of the hotel is very disappointing. One thing we noticed about everywhere else we had stayed in Thailand was that the cleanliness was exceptional but certainly not here. The room was unclean on check in and this was also the case when checking into the 2nd room. There is dust everywhere. Things have obviously not been moved just cleaned around as I found a hair clip and a ball of hair under the tissue box. The rooms really do need a good clean. The second room we were moved to had a cockroach problem. We counted 4 on the last night. I’m pretty understanding that we are in a different country in the jungle but we haven’t seen any other cockroaches at any other hotel out here! Whilst it isn’t the hotel’s fault, the cleanliness problem was extended by people leaving dirty plates outside doors after having room service and also dirty nappies!!!! Exacerbating the cockroach problem I expect. We encountered quite a few drunk teenagers who were clearly under age and sat merrily drinking after being served in the hotel bar. There was sick all over the toilet in the lobby. The bars and restaurants are pricey but that’s expected with hotel prices and there are so many other options outside the hotel. The breakfast buffet was absolute carnage - so busy, noisy and dirty. We found it was calmer in the manta ray restaurant and for the first part of our stay it was for adults and children over 12. This changed to accepting all ages but it was still much calmer. This is the first ever negative review I have written on trip advisor but I feel people need to hear it. I am still at the hotel as I write and am looking forward to leaving. We considered checking out and booking somewhere else but we would have been so out of pocket. It’s such a shame as I really hoped it would be the amazing final leg of our trip I expected it to be but it has just made me want to return home. Unfortunately we booked with a small agent in the UK who have been useless at sorting anything out whilst we have been over here. My advice is do not book here if you are expecting a 5* stay there are so many other options

“Not a five star hotel”

Oct 28, 2025Sharon H

Hotel location right beside a good beach. This is rated as a five star however it is most definitely not five star standard. Hotel is very big and was very busy during our stay. Rooms were decent size but cobwebs in room and lamp beside bed was not clean. Breakfast was chaotic and food quality was really poor. We had come from a five star hotel so I had booked this hotel based on it's five star rating however it is not five star. Positive would be it is a few minutes walk to main town and a Seven Eleven store. But very disappointed overall with the breakfast food quality and also the general upkeep of the hotel grounds with uneven surfaces and general maintenance needed.

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