JW Marriott Khao Lak Resort and Spa

Alexander L

I had a very relaxing time at the JW Marriott Khao Lak Resort and Spa. Visiting in the off-peak rainy season (mid May) means the resort is very peaceful and quiet with lower occupancy, however as expected also comes with a higher chance of rain. Whilst I must warn you that the weather will play a significant factor if you are looking to do certain activities - sunbathing, water-sports, hiking etc., my goal was actually to just enjoy the hotel facilities, the pool, the gym, the spa and the various activities on offer such as Thaiboxing, eco-printing and a Thai cooking class, which I made the most of. Starting off with the location, it is worth bearing in mind that the hotel is a 1.5 hour taxi from Phuket International Airport and is not in a busy part of Thailand, so there are more limited options when it comes to shopping, food markets etc. compared to Phuket, Bangkok etc. My family room pool access studio was well appointed, large (65 sq meters / 699 sq ft) and clean, with a comfortable bed and a modern bathroom with a bath and a well pressurised shower. The service was fantastic - full of smiles and greetings whenever I came across hotel staff, with staff very much seeking to provide guests with an enjoyable stay. The breakfast hosted at the Waterfront restaurant is very comprehensive with a multitude of diverse options covering Asian and Western palettes - freshly cut fruits, juices, pastries, noodle soups, eggs made to order etc.. All were very tasty and of a good quality. I also utilised the room service to order some Thai dishes on one day, and fish and chips on another. Whilst I thought the food was generally good, it was not particularly memorable e.g. the tiger prawns in the Pad Thai were overdone and the presentation of my mango sticky rice was rather simple for a 5* hotel (for example, it was much more elaborate in The Athenee Hotel Bangkok, another Marriott property). The Quan Spa on the property also offers a range of treatments (albeit at 5* hotel prices). For reference, a typical 1 hour Thai massage locally is 300 baht whereas here it is over 2500 baht. In any case, I enjoyed my Thai Massage and Head Massage, with the Spa being literally a 2 minute walk from my room. The gym is also very good, with multiple techno gym machines for weights and cardio, including a bench press, and free weights up to 28kg. Lastly I cannot end the review without mentioning the star feature of the property - the 2.4km lagoon pool (advertised as the longest lagoon pool in South-East Asia), which I had the pleasure of swimming in multiple times throughout my stay, having entered straight from my pool access room. All in all a wonderful stay in a beautiful hotel, made even more enjoyable by the amazing staff. A special mention to the staff at the JW Garden, as well as Lookked and Apple who led the Thai cooking class, Chompoo at the front desk who impressed me with her willingness to always provide an excellent service and the hotel manager Natasha, who clearly leads a great team. I hope to return.

alex j

The hotel rooms are gorgeous and the hotel is in a beautiful, huge tropical garden. So lovely just to walk around the extensive hotel grounds. Many different pools and if you are a swimmer, you can easily swim 50 to 60 meters straight without crowds. The beach is in front of the hotel and is also very lovely.. the big disappointment at the hotel was the breakfast. Mediocre . a lot of variety, but nothing better than average . coffee was also mediocre. I tried both the breakfast venues. I

David Dallal

Perfect family vacation and anniversary celebration! We highly recommend this hotel! The service was incredible, and they made our anniversary celebration truly special. The kids had a blast with all the fun activities, the gym was top-notch, and the food was excellent. ​We want to give a special shoutout to the manager, Namfon – she made sure we lacked absolutely nothing and went out of her way to make our holiday perfect. Thank you for an amazing stay!

손정우

This is my second stay at JW Marriott Khao Lak after visiting in October last year. The Family Pool Access Room is spacious and perfect for families with children. The sofa bed can be converted into an actual bed, which my kids really enjoyed. As it is the rainy season, the pool access room feels a little humid at times, but keeping the air conditioning on makes it comfortable. One positive improvement compared to my previous stay is the Kids Club. It has been relocated to a larger area and now offers more space and a wider variety of activities, making it even better for families with children. The staff at the lobby, restaurants, and pool areas are all exceptionally friendly and welcoming, which continues to be one of the resort’s biggest strengths. However, I noticed a few changes compared to my previous stay. The bathroom amenities seem to have changed, the complimentary resort bag that used to be provided in the wardrobe is no longer available, and the complimentary coffee capsules and tea in the room were only replenished on the first day and not refilled afterward. Overall, it feels like the resort may be making some cost-saving adjustments, which is a bit disappointing. That said, the excellent facilities, beautiful pools, family-friendly environment, and outstanding service from the staff still make this a great resort. Despite some minor disappointments, I would definitely consider staying here again in the future because of the resort’s excellent hardware, family-focused facilities, and genuinely friendly staff.

Barrie Henderson

The place itself is amazing. The environment surrounding the hotel is relaxing and beautiful. The pools were perfect and plentiful. The room we stayed in was amazing too. It had pool access and was very spacious inside. The furnishing was very Thai and made our stay very comfortable. We were also given a complimentary snacks and sparkling wine as a welcome gift. Perfect way to start our stay. The breakfast was plentiful and covered a variety of tastes - Asian, Western, Eastern etc. There were two places to eat but both had similar choices. Staff at both places were friendly and helpful. If there was any negative thing to say about the place was the weddings. There were two while we were there. And both took up a lot of the spaces in the hotel. The views and noise from the weddings kind of spoiled the relaxing ambience of the place. I thought it was inconvenient for the regular guests to endure the situation when they had paid quite a lot of money for the ambience of the place. So for me, it was a little disappointing. JW does have a ballroom so I didn’t understand why the wedding g couldn’t have been held there.