Renaissance Phuket Resort and Spa

mike Vernon

Our recent visit to the Renaissance was fantastic. No video really does it justice. Set in Mai Khao, the hotel is surrounded by beautifully landscaped gardens that give a real jungle feel, with birdsong everywhere and a peaceful beach setting. The swimming pool and large jacuzzi overlook the sea, so you can relax, take a dip, and simply watch the ocean — perfect for a wonderfully relaxing stay. If you walk to the right along the grassy promenade, you’ll eventually reach a small wooded area with old shanty-style buildings that almost feel like a film set. Continue further and you’ll find a timber walkway with restaurants and other hotels. It’s very beautiful, and even more magical at night with the beachfront scenery and massage huts along the way. You can even walk all the way to Turtle Village along the coastline if you have the stamina in the heat. There are also some cheaper places to eat within walking distance, or you can jump in a taxi for about 100 baht. Highly recommend this hotel and the whole area if you’re looking for a quieter Phuket vibe.

Funfun

This is my first time to stay in Renaissance hotel and it was totally disappointing to us. Total 5 of us were travelling to Phuket for 4 days and chose to stay in this hotel for one night as it is closed to airport for more convenient departure. Plus we were heard that the hotel was newly renovated and close to the beach. It does close to the beautiful Maikhao beach, but I would say this is the only advantage when we staying in this hotel. We had a lot of frustrations and disappointments during our short stay. 1) We didn't feel welcoming when we arrived. We drove and arrived to the hotel entrance for check in, no one asked us if we need help for the luggage and parking for the car. 2) We reserved 2 rooms under different channel and informed the reception upon check in. It's ok that the rooms were not assigned to each other, but it was very disappointing to find out our room is with 2 single bed when we entered to the room. The room type I reserved on Trip.com states clearly as "King Room with Balcony and Garden view" but we were informed by the reception that the bedding is not guarantee and they had no room for us to move when we called for clarification. No one ask our preference of bedding when we checking in, so we expected to have a King bed room as this is the room type I booked online. Obviously they forced or even cheated us to stay in the room which not the one we booked. Otherwise it would be more respectful if they can let us know in advance if they were overbooked and offer alternative for us to choose which a five star hotel always do. 3) We found 1 dead and 1 live crock coach in the room, we just clean it up ourselves as it was too tired to call and report and maybe there will not come up to a solution for us and wasted time at the end. However, it does reflect the low level of hygiene in the hotel rooms. 4) Upon arrival, we reserved a table for 5 of us for dinner at 8:30pm at the Thai restaurant Takieng. 2 of us arrived the restaurant 15mins earlier, we don't mind to wait at the bar or at the restaurant entrance if the table wasn't ready, but it just wired that we were told to wait to be seated next to the table that wasn't ready. After we were invited to be seated, no one offering us menu or asking for drinks until we asked for it. Even the welcome snack was delivered to the table after one hour we seated. We felt like we were left out and were not taking care by anyone in the restaurant. The service of the other restaurant on the street that we had dinner the other night was way better than this restaurant in a hotel and it was double cheaper than Takieng. The food here were just average, the braised pork was good but the seafood like shrimp and fish were not fresh. 5) The buffet breakfast was below average, the selection maybe ok but the quality of the food is not good. Salad and fruit were not fresh; the egg dishes were not tasty as it looks; the waffles, pancakes and the crepe were not crispy as it looks; the coffee were bad, no flavour at all. I can’t find a word to describe how unsatisfied after having breakfast there. There were many flies when we seated outdoor for breakfast, we even moved to a table with the shelter, but the situation didn’t get better. Overall, we were seriously disappointed by the service, hardware and the hygiene level in the hotel. Upon departure, no one checking on how’s our staying experience, until they sent us a cold email by system for feedback. My impression of Marriott hotel was very positive before staying here according to my enjoyable experience of staying in JW Marriott Phuket few years ago. This time staying in Renaissance just disappointed us in every single area and ruined our holiday mood. We will definitely not coming back to stay here again.

Richard Thomas

I originally had a stay booked at the JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa but changed it based on reviews that described the Renaissance next door as the more private, adult-focused option. Multiple reviews suggested it offered a calmer, more refined atmosphere — closer in feel to places like Vana in Samui or The Sira in Lombok — despite being a Renaissance-branded resort. That portrayal doesn’t match reality. While the property itself is pleasant — modern rooms, well-kept grounds, and generally good service — the experience on the ground is very different from what those reviews imply. The pool is small and becomes crowded quickly. Even though there is a separate kids’ area and splash pool, the main pool is still overrun with children, which completely undermines the idea of a more adult-leaning or tranquil environment. On top of that, there’s a strong European 4-star package-holiday feel, including the familiar behaviour of sunbeds being “reserved” with towels for hours while no one is actually there. The overall atmosphere is busy and mass-market rather than calm or refined. It does not deliver the chilled, grown-up vibe that many reviews led me to expect. Bottom line: It’s a decent hotel, but it is not the relaxed, adult-focused retreat that reviews suggest. If you’re looking for something genuinely calm and grown-up in Phuket, there are much better options.

Jasmine Abbott

We stayed here on our last trip to Thailand 5 years ago. The stay was amazing. 5 years later EVERYTHING is below average at best. Having also stayed at The jw marriot in Khao lak, the renaissance isn’t even comparable. The jw marriot exceeds everything. The outside area has developed some what in the 5 years, there’s lost of areas to eat around the hotel in the evenings now which are walking distance. The good bits first, the rooms. We stayed in room 216 a standard twin. The house keeping is great. Rooms are clean, tidy and well kept. 10/10 for the rooms The hotel, the hotel itself is beautiful, the setting is lovely, the grounds man work hard to keep it tidy everyday. The pool is absolutely lovely and extremely clean. The lack of service is something the hotel really needs to work on. There’s hardly anyone ever around to take your order at the beach restaurant for drinks or food and everyday for the last week at least once a day I’ve had to go and get myself menus and go upto the bar to order. The food is extremely westernised. The menu doesn’t consist of much more than burgers and pizza. There is one pool boy running around like a headless chicken all day trying to tend to all the guests. I hope they appreciate this man’s efforts. ALL CUSHIONS AT ALL PARTS OF THE HOTEL ARE FILTHY!!!!!!!! The breakfast area, we’ve had to swap the cushions twice because they’re ripped, and the pool bar cushions are borderline disgusting. The food is average. The breakfast is average. The fish and chips (battered sea bass fillets) at the pool bar was extremely delightful. You can get by eating for two weeks but nothing to rave about. I think it’s a shame they’ve removed all boutique personal feel from the hotel - they’ve even replaced the hotel coffee shop with a Starbucks. It’s a real shame. I wouldn’t ever stay here again. The recent reviews also show the hotels decline.

martin osicka

We expected more… Hotel belongs to Marriott’s resorts, that’s why we chose it. Unfortunately it didn’t fulfill our expectations. Fullboard package was messy, you’ll get just some paper card with “coupons” for the food. But everytime we went for the lunch/diner, nobody knows what this fullboard covers. For every food you wait cca one hour, for drinks 20 minutes. Breakfast is repetitive with no so much to choose from. Basket with fruit in our villa was not replenish during our stay. No refreshment during the day - you’ll get bottles of water in your room, but anywhere out of the apartment you have to pay for water (which is weird in country where is usually 30 degrees). For example, we had a diner in Takieng restaurant, where they charged us for bottle of still water and then, after 10 minutes one lady came and pour us a water from a jug. 🤪 But we also have to highlight some positives - definitely kind and diligent staff, location of the hotel (empty beach 🔝, not crowded), calm resort, amazing spa treatments, privacy within pool villa. Overall, our stay was good. But from 5* stars hotel and the price we paid we would’ve expected much more.