I need to start with Wow!!!
What a great resort, outstanding staff (especially Training and Development manager Stuart Baker). We stayed in 4 pool villas with 4 kids, young people and old people, the staff catered for our every desire.
The breakfast is excellent, the swimming pools are out of a magazine and the villas!!! The cotton sheets on the beds was to die for. Shame that we went in Monsoon season and could not swim in the very rough sea. The package that we had was an absolute hit, we had free massages thrown in at the divine Spa.
The attention to detail in this resort is impeccable. One day there was a mix up at breakfast and i complained, the staff went out of their way to make up for it. I cant wait to get back and have been telling all my friends the world over to visit Phuket and saty at Sala.
Only downside, a bit far from everywhere (except airport and the superb golf course). I forgot my backpack at the hotel on checkout and the resort sent a car and driver who made it there in 10 mins~ What service....i need to go back and experience the Sala hospitality again!!
A real hidden gem.
Even when we were on our way to the resort, we had no idea where it was gonna be. Totally hidden, about couple more mins further inwards from where the Marriott is, we arrived at the resort entrance in awe. Flanked by grey stonewalls and zen-like yet modernized decorations, we felt like we stepped into another world.
The welcome was lovely, with cold towels and a nice cold refreshing drink, a quick check in at their gorgeous open-air lobby, brightened by lots of crystals in cages, we were escorted to our villa. We had the SALA pool villa which was gorgeous. It had a beautiful pool right in front of our bed, with total privacy. An outdoor bathroom - literally, which was really gorgeous.
They provided us with mosquito coils that were totally effective through our entire stay. Little touches that were absolutely lovely - their do-not-disturb sign was was a little hanging charm, which you hung outside the door if you didn't want to be disturbed.
The main pool was beautiful too, and we even spent some time out there, with wonderful beds (literally) that you lie on for relaxation. The restaurant and the bar was exquisitely done up as well
PLUS
Service was excellent. From room service - when we asked a bucket of ice or anything, it was brought to us within a reasonable period of time.
The room was gorgeous, sleek and elegant, and was nicely cold. The restaurant served excellent food, and great choices too. We loved it so much, we extended our stay by a day The spa had excellent service too, even the settings around the spa area was lovely. It felt like an exploration of the whole place when we first got there Even the library - where they had computers available for surfing - was nicely done up.
MINUS
The location, which was about an hour away from Patong beach and the happening areas. But then again, I would have been happy not going out of the resort at all. It was kinda expensive, and if you're looking for a budget sort of holiday, the SALA Phuket is NOT the place for you.
The hotel enjoyed a sense of calm and quiet.
Don't think that I have forgotten the wonderful holiday that I enjoyed at Sala in April this year nor the welcoming and very thoughtful manner of all the Sala staff. Whilst I did mean to write earlier, I have in the meantime enjoyed many beautiful memories of my time in Thailand made all the more enjoyable by your efforts.
The staff including yourself, San, Pen, Tom and the other beautiful and helpful ladies at front desk (I apologise for not remembering everyone's name), Con and the other drivers, the ladies at the Spa and the F&B staff were professional, helpful and sensitive to the needs of guests.
The hotel enjoyed a sense of calm and quiet. Nothing was ever too much trouble. The groundstaff maintained lovely surrounds and the poolstaff ensured an enjoyable time by the pool. Sala food was just sensational...it was in fact the reason that so many of us travelled from all parts of the world to Sala Phuket to enjoy a 40th birthday dinner at Sala for my friend Leisha Pigott.
I have returned to Sydney very relaxed and rested and have spoken highly of my experiences at Sala. I have recommended Sala to many friends - in fact, it may just be my mum and dad who are next to visit!
In the meantime, attached are some very memorable photos of San and our day out with the elephants which was definitely a highlight of my holiday. He was an excellent tour escort and ensured that I enjoyed many special Thai experiences on land and water!
Please pass on my expressions of appreciation and warm thanks to all Sala staff for making my stay with you so memorable.
Warm regards,
We have never had the kind of care and hospitality at any other hotel we have traveled to.
Dear manager at SALA Phuket -
Please pass this message on to the staff at your wonderful resort.
My wife and I stayed here this week to celebrate our 10-year anniversary. We have never had the kind of care and hospitality at any other hotel we have traveled to. From the moment we met Korn at the airport for our pickup to the first time we stepped into the lobby and were greeted by Palm, Gee, A ... all your staff treated us with kindness and gentleness. My wife and I took advantage of many of the special events that you had planned as well and found the staff to be very kind, considerate and friendly. Most notably, we were the only couple to sign up for two events - the Thai Cooking class on Thursday and the Shopping at Phuket Town on Friday. We were treated with such kindness and friendliness by the staff who were with us for those events. Today, while shopping, our driver Jo went out of his way to help me find a Thai drum in Phuket Town, which I was very excited about.
I don't remember everyone's names, but I need to let you know that EVERY STAFF PERSON we met was so wonderful to us. There were many waitresses, waiters, housekeeping staff, groundskeepers, and office staff that were so kind to us, made us laugh, and made us feel welcome.
This trip was especially meaningful to me because I was recently attacked at work by a patient at the hospital I work at. This has been especially difficult for me to sleep the past few weeks. To be treated with such kindness and hospitality was something that really touched my heart. Please pass on my thanks as well to all the Spa staff who gave me massages. To have someone be kind to my body after someone tried to hurt me has been very healing for me, and I will always appreciate this.
Your staff do a wonderful job, and you should know this.
Thank you very much.
my thanks to you and all the staff at SALA Phuket who made our wedding, and our recent stay, at SALA such a wonderful experience
I wanted to drop you an email to once again pass on my thanks to you and all the staff at SALA Phuket who made our wedding, and our recent stay, at SALA such a wonderful experience.
As I mentioned to you I did a great deal of research when choosing the venue for our wedding. I narrowed it down to a few hotels in Phuket, all of which described themselves in similar ways such as stylish, boutique, chic and trendy. The thing that really struck me about SALA was the design. It was very different from all the other hotels in Phuket. We loved the look, it was very modern and urban.
I contacted at least 3 hotels in Phuket for details about what they could offer for a wedding. These were SALA, Trisara and Indigo Pearl. The response from SALA, from Pla, was the quickest and most friendly. The other hotels could also offer wedding packages but there seemed little room to change things. However, Pla made it clear that SALA were very flexible and I felt that SALA would make it a very personal and individual day for us. I really liked the fact that SALA do not have many weddings. We wanted to avoid a hotel where there were weddings every week or so.
SALA was everything we had hoped for and more. It is even more stunning and beautiful than in the photos on the website. It is such a calm and relaxing place. Importantly, everyone one there is so warm and friendly. I have spent a lot of time in Thailand and so know how friendly the Thai people are. But the people at SALA are even more friendly. They made Yujin and I feel so special and that we were the centre of attention. They could not have been more helpful. For example I forgot to buy some film for my video camera and only remembered on the day of the wedding. It would have been stressful if I had had to go to Phuket town to get the film. However, Narong and others on reception made arrangements for some film to be bought for me in Phuket Town and brought back to SALA. That is what I call service.
Special mention must go to Pla who I dealt with so much before arriving at SALA and while I was there. She was so helpful and made organising a wedding as easy and stress-free as possible. She made our lives so much easier.
I would also like to mention Jan, Tibor and Stuart, who was our celebrant. All did a fantastic job. The food was awesome, most of our guests commented that it was the best food they had had at a wedding. Likewise Tibor and his staff did a super job with all the drinks and in setting up the venue. The Vanilla Margarita's in particular were a huge hit. And Stuart did a great job during the ceremony and in allowing me to keep changing things.
Yujin and I absolutely loved it and we were so sad to leave. However, we both want to return again soon.
Please pass on our thanks to all your staff. If there is anything Yujin and I can do, such as provide a reference for other couples thinking of getting married at SALA, please let me know.
Finally, I will send Pla some photos when I have received them from our photographer.
We look forward to visiting SALA Phuket again and trying SALA Samui in the future.
Many, many thanks and kind regards
the villa really is exceptional
We spent 3 nights at Sala and stayed in one of the sala pool villas. the villa really is exceptional, beautifully designed - love the private pool, outdoor bathtub and shower. the food is fantastic too. the service could be better, while many of the staff were warm and friendly, the reception particularly was not very helpful or "on the ball" when it came to requests and queries we had.
We booked the sala package online and selected the thai dinner as the free add on. When we checked in, the reception informed us to simply make the reservation with the restaurant when we wanted the dinner. so we did. we decided to have dinner on our last night. so we went, and only after we had sat down at the restaurant, did they come up to us and inform us that we don't have the thai dinner as part of the package, but have the couples spa massage instead (this they tell us when we're already checking out the next morning!). after alot of to-and-froing the reception girl came over to the restaurant to clarify the matter before finally agreeing to give us the dinner. that experience was very disappointing and was probably the only black spot of the trip.
that aside, the location IS quite remote, so stay there only if you're not planning to leave the resort or venture very far out. its a great place for a romantic getaway though. the villas and the entire resort setting is beautiful.
We will definitely be back!
We just returned from a great stay at Sala Phuket. We were looking for somewhere new to stay for the long weekend and decided on Sala after reading other reviews. We weren't disappointed!
Originally we booked a balcony room, but after seeing the Garden Pool Villa we decided to go for that. The room design was beautiful and with the pool right outside our room it made us want to lounge around and really use our room instead of it just being a place to sleep. The design of the rooms, indoor and outdoor space makes for a completely private experience, how amazing to wake up in the morning and climb out of the feather bed right into the pool?!
Having said that, we did leave our room to go out to the two main pools. Again, the design was fantastic as they're both huge infinity pools. The first done in black terrazo with crystal clear water, kept warm from the sun. The second pool was slightly more shaded and had shallow areas to lay in as well as a much deeper end. The second pool has a deck with beautiful cabanas, perfect for lounging on.
The restaurant was great and the food, both the Thai and western menus, very well done. I think I was most impressed with the breakfast which was included with our room. On our first morning we went down to the restaurant expecting to see the usual buffet but were pleasantly surprised when we found out we could order anything off of the beautiful menu. My favorite, which I repeated every morning, were the pancakes with fresh mango and vanilla whipped cream. I guess the only downside might be the fact that there is only one restaurant. The menu is varied enough to keep it interesting but we opted to have a couple dinners outside the property and took a taxi down to Surin beach to have the barbeque at the Twin Palms and a great dinner at the Amanpuri.
The spa was very professional, beautifully designed and a Sala treat (I recommend the Oriental Foot Massage after a walk on the beach!)
I can't recommend the Sala more highly if your after a relaxing, lazy holiday. It's beautiful, private and the staff are always there if you need them, but never intrusive. It's always nice to be greeted with a smile and we always were at Sala. If you need action, or nightlife then you probably won't be looking to stay here.
We will definitely be back!
