My parents and I were a little nervous about booking a luxury resort during Monsoon Season however it was my 40th and we wanted to do something special...so we went for it. With the understanding it would be more quiet and likely more wet we prepared for the worst and received one of the best vacations, service, experience and memories in 7 Days at Rayavedee. Theres so much to say, so strap in....maximize everything Rayavedee has to offer
LOCATION:
What I love about this resort is that it's sandwiched in between Phranang Beach and Railay Beach (think of the resort as a oblong triangle...two sides are beaches and the third is a Marina beach (for guests and visitors to the area) with the resort inside the triangle. Easily walkable, accessible amenities and access to the beaches. Unlike some of the other resorts along , Rayavadee you have a larger area to sit and enjoy the views whether its from their loungers, Krua Phranang restaurant or The Grotto Restaurant (the large pool and restaurant on the Railay Side were closed...understandable during off season however I liked the Phranang side much more anyway for the views and fewer bungalows - quieter). Based off of conversations from employees about how busy it gets later in the year we agreed that what made this time of year special is that it feels like you have the entire resort to yourself. Several times we enjoyed dinner/lunch with maybe only one other couple at the restuarant. We got more time to get to know the staff and what they loved about their home and what we had to experience before we left. Rita over at the lounge chairs near Phranag Beach was extremely helpful with suggestions of what we could do within walking distance and what the hotel provided at armslength if we wishes to just sit and take it all in.
You are also a 10 minute walk (depending on your room) to Railay Beach and the shops/restaurants...so if you wish to try some local foods, need a pharmacy, $3 massage...its there.
ROOM:
We booked a 1 bedroom Bungalow with Pool, with the intention that I would sleep on the Sofa bed. Very comfy and more like a full bed rather than a twin. The bedding is stored under the mattress and is easy to take down or install (however the staff if you mention it took them will put the bedding away during the day and at turn down make the bed). The King bed is upstairs with ample storage in a vertical closet, bed frame drawers and a chest. Downstairs they provided cookies, tea, coffee and for a few snacks and alcohol. There wasn't much room in the fridge for our dinner leftovers however there is a little room to make it work. You will receive robes, slippers and flip flops during your stay...I Brough 5 pairs of shoes and I wore their flip flops instead.
Unfortunately after day 2 we had a leaking toilet that wouldn't stop leaking, before we knew it management whisked us away and put us in a two bedroom villa for our inconvenience and gifted us a bottle of sparkling rose. We did not expect this, nor did we put up a fuss passed our concern that the leak was causing damage/smell...we thought if anything they would just move us to another room the same size. Within an hour everything was moved to our new space, with every single item checked over to make sure we didnt leave anything behind.
SERVICE
This resort is made 10x better due to the people that work at the resort. For me they make about 50% of the experience. Every single person was helpful, kind, welcoming and attentive (from management to the groundskeepers) in a way I don't think we have ever experienced/expected (including the crew that was renovating the bungalows, if we looked lost they would drop what they were doing to make sure we knew where to go) . Every morning you will receive a basket of fresh fruit of the day to sample....my mother mentioned she loved the Mangosteens at breakfast and before knew it we had a bushel of them in our room...the cleaning department noticed that my father would ask for ice every afternoon so before you knew it, it was in our room without us asking. It felt like every single person we spoke with already knew it was my Birthday trip and wished me a happy birthday day of. They made me feel special and honestly it was the best birthday I've ever experienced
BREAKFAST -
Raya Dining is where we ate breakfast. The spread of food was amazing, fresh fruits, hot dishes in cast iron pots, fresh made to order meals and some of the best coffee ive ever had. We also had one informal dinner night there....sometimes you just want a burger.
Kat was our server and she got to know what we liked to drink/eat and was super attentive. She went out of her way to get us some Palm Sugar from the market so we could use it back home. She offered without hesitation, all because we mentioned how we didn't think we could get it at our markets back home. She escorted us to our boat on our departure day, stood and waived as we left as well as the manager and the adventure team.
ADVENTURE PROGRAMS -
Even thought the weather was bad we really wanted to adventure off of the resort if possible. Phranag Beach by itself is enough but if we could we were going to try for it. Salma made three suggestions for three separate days as we only wanted to leave the area 3 out of our 7 days. A Tour of Krabi, Hong Island and a Cooking Class. Due to weather her and Mario watched to make sure whatever day had the best weather for the excursion and honestly we couldn't have planned it better. Taking a private boat to Krabi and Hong was quick and easy. They kept communications open via the app on our phones so that we always knew what was going on and there were reminders about our bookings.
The tour of Krabi - the Tiger Cave Temple, the Market, the touch free elephant encounter and the Mangroves was a full day that included lunch. So Worth it. Nothing is rushed and you get just enough time to take in each experience. We looked into planning the experience through Viator but honestly the pricing for the experiences was worth it through the Resort and not overpriced.
Hong Island - We did experience some showers while visiting however it was a nice reprieve from the heat. There were quite a few people at the island so I can only imagine how chaotic it is in High Season. The stairs up to the viewpoint are steep however there are 3 zones so if you dont want to go all the way up...you have an area to take it all in and sit. The dock is floating, so if you have balance issues (like me) it can be a little daunting...Mario made sure I was okay the whole time and made sure we got on and off the boat safely.
Cooking Class - Nina was the Best! She made it fun with all the questions my mom and I had about our dishes. I absolutely loved understanding the core components of the dishes we cooked and how best to make them...after the experience we were gifted a recipe book full of Thai dishes (which I have made several already since being back home and for the first time my dishes actually taste like they should) and a apron souvenir.
RESTAURANTS
We ate at the Grotto our first night as that is their most famous restaurant, honestly while beautiful we all liked Krua Phranang more. It's a lot more expensive and it's a lot of food to commit to. We agreed that a late lunch at the grotto before sunset is fine as we can choose a single item to try versus the 3 courses.
Krua Phranang is a stones throw from the Grotto and still has views of the Limestone caves. Their assortment is heavy in Thai but also Indian cuisine. We like this restaurant the best of the two fancier options.
Overall, I strongly recommend you book the experience. Reach out to management if you have specific needs or what you are looking for experience wise. They are all incredibly helpful and willing to help build your vacation. If you can, book one of their packages if you are couple. It gets you a spa experience, the grotto twilight dinner, a dinner at Krua Phranang and I believe 3 excursions. Its worth it I promise ;)
Oh and there are adorable monkeys everywhere....it was a blast floating in the pool watching them jump from tree to tree above me
