We stayed at Karon beach area - very near beach - will check and post where we stayed tomorrow.

You could look at the Kata area. Very nice beach, quieter than Patong or Karon but still plenty of bars and restaurants. Kata Beach Resort is actually on the beach. If you fancy a quieter beach than Kata Noi is nearby, nice beach - hotels like the Katathani again beachfront. Surin beach might be another to consider. The a look at http://www.phuket.com. Its a commercial site but has loads of info on beaches, hotels and trips

It was the Karon Palace Hotel we stayed in right near the beach. However a tuk tuk driver took us to a lovely bay one day - about 15 miles North of Karon - any idea what that might have been Sunbear?

Diffcult to say. We sometimes stay at Naithon which is a lovely quiet bay in North Phuket. Its so quiet that most things are shut down by 9.30. Its a beach area that only just now is starting to get developed (sadly).

We enjoyed our stay at the Kata Beach Hotel. Right on the beach and close to bars & restaurants.

Thanks for all the replies so far, because we've never been to Phuket (although we did stop in Bangkok & Pattaya on our way back from Australia many years ago) we have no idea of food & drink ,tuk tuk or taxi prices ect. We are toying with the idea of trying to book it DIY but again we've no idea of what's a good or bad price for hotels or airport transfers. I have been in contact with two holiday firms ( Travelasia & Travelbag) and I will let you know what they come up with....thanks again to everyone.....Keith

I've used travelbag a couple of times and found them really good.

Hi everyone, we have received a quote from Best Travel for 3 weeks (Feb)at Karon Centara Resort with decent timed flights with Etihad from Manchester for £1670pp. Has anyone stayed here or know anything about the place? We are still awaiting a couple of quotes and I will keep you updated....thanks Keith

Friends of ours stayed here in Jan of this year and loved it. It was their first visit to Thailand and they loved it so much they came back and booked again straight away. Karon has a long crescent white sand beach. Quite a lively resort in its own right, plenty of restaurants and bars,but not far by taxi from the craziness that is Patong. South of Karon is Kata Beach, a short taxi ride or even walk.

The Centara group is well regarded in Thailand - we stayed at a Centara in Chaing-Mai this year - the Khum Phaya and it was fine.

Oh and Etihad are a very good airline as well. We've flown them on a number of times.

Would highly recommend the Pacific Club in Karon, it's a little bit of a walk to the beach but a great place to stay and very good value.

http://www.pacific-club-phuket.com/google.htm?gclid=CMCrg_ukm7ECFa4mtAodW1keRA

Hi All, well it is nearly make your mind up time for us as an answer is required by the weekend as the travel agent reckons he cant hold the flights The hotel options are Centara Karon Beach, Centara Kata Beach and Best Western Bangtao Beach. Our problem is that we've never been to Phuket and therefore have no idea of time/distance between resorts. I keep thinking it cant be to different to Goa and the layout of Baga, Calangute & Candolim distance wise and the way each beach runs into the next and there's a main road connecting each resort (although I could be so wrong). I think the girls have a preference for the Best Western Hotel as it's right on the beach and my only worry would be if the resort was REALLY quiet of a night and a bit isolated. Can anyone give us a rough idea of costs and travel time from Bangtao Beach to say Patong,Karon, & Kata as these would be the places we would look at going to for restaurants and for a few drinks.....many thanks Keith....

Be aware that the beaches in Phuket tend to be on seperate bays often with with hilly headlands in between. You can go from Kata to Karon on foot, and Kata to Kata Noi if you have the energy. But other beaches often involve taking transport. Bangtao is a long stretch of beach. If does have some bars and restaurants on it. It also has the manicured Laguna complex with its collection of up-scale hotels. Probably 20 mins to half an hour from Bang Tao to Patong and further to Kata and Karon. Taxis on Phuket are not cheap and are controlled by a taxi 'mafia', public transport is limited.

Thanks for the swift reply Sunbear, it looks as though we have opted for Karon Beach although the hotel is not yet finalized as the travel agent threw another one into the mix. The Andaman Seaview is the latest proposal and to be honest it does'nt appear that bad and is just accross the rd from the beach, and resort wise there seems enough choice of eateries, bars ect and the odd journey to Patong or Kata would'nt be to much hassle. The hotel at Bangtao looked really nice but (thanks to the forum) we realised it maybe a little isolated and a trip to the other resorts of an evening would be to much hassle. We were also offered the Kantabury Seaview Panwa hotel (and use Cape Panwa Resort & Spa the sister hotels facilities) but these were even further away. Thanks to all for the tips & advice and I have decided that the safest option is to let the girls decide which hotel. I will probably be on again to pester people for places to try for food & drink, I have tried to look up hotel & resort reviews ect but they all seem to be donkey's years old.......Keith

Hi All, just to let you know we've booked our Thailand hols. We will be staying at the Centara Karon Beach for 2wks and then moving to the Double Tree Hilton at Surin Beach for our last wk so a big thanks to all for your help and suggestions and I am sure I will be looking for more advice nearer the time .....
Thanks again Keith

I've booked to go to Phuket in November. Only problem is I'm just a bit confused by the very similar names of hotels in Karon.
I've been looking at Google Maps to try to figure out exactly where I'm staying. There's Centara Karon Resort (which I think I've booked) - shown in two different places, and Centara Grand Beach Resort - which doesn't seem to have the word Karon in the name but is a small distance away.
Anyone actually been to either of these please? Comments appreciated.

There are actually three Centara's in the Karon area - the Centara Karon, Centara Villas and the Centara Grand Beach (the most upscale property). Take a look on the Centara website for details and a map of the various property locations.
http://www.centarahotelsresorts.com/centara/hotels.asp#.UCaA_IGfU1A

Thanks sunbear. The word "Grand" wasn't in the title of the place I booked, nor was the word "Villas", so from the map I'm assuming I'm actually going to be in Centara Karon Resort which appears to be a small distance away from the beach.
Has any HT member been there?