Our next trip to Phuket saw us travelling with 4 long term friends for a week of relaxation & fun.

We had booked a "Luxury Escapes" package at the Pullman Arcadia Resort in Thailand.

The resort is built on the cliff edge overlooking Naithon Beach.  It is quite hilly, so each accommodation block is at a different level with a winding road traversing the whole property.  They do have cars that will take you from the main reception area to your room should you need it.  Otherwise it can be quite a hike to get around.

There are various room types at the resort, ranging from the "Deluxe" through to "Ocean" rooms and the "Ocean Pool" villas.  In the picture below, the Ocean Pool villa is in the foreground with the Ocean rooms behind it, and at the top right partially hidden, are the Deluxe rooms.  These rooms are all facing the ocean, although some have obstructed or no view of the sea.  The Ocean Grand room we had booked gave us lovely views out over the ocean, although it was partially obstructed by the roof of the rooms below us.

The resort itself was lovely.  It is a short drive from the International airport in Phuket, a good distance away from the main drag of Patong Beach.  You can take a short stroll down to Naithon Beach where there is a local supermarket & some restaurants & sidewalk food vendors.

The main swimming pool was refreshing & had many more people around it than this picture shows:

Azur bar is near the pool & sells food from Elements. We enjoyed lunch here a number times, together with the obligatory glass of refreshing sav blanc!

At night we would retreat to the sunken lounges at C Bar, if they were available, for a sunset drink. Sadly the cocktails included on the package were limited to 4 rum based drinks.  Not liking rum, I decided to stick with sparkling wine.  It was a lovely way to watch the sun set on yet another day!

The resort has 2 main restaurants, the Italian themed Vero upstairs and the less exotic Elements downstairs.  The meals at both venues were quite nice, with Vero's being slightly more up market.

There was also a second pool & gym at the top of the hill overlooking the resort. This was a quieter place to enjoy a swim & a chat with friends.

All up, we had a lovely stay & it was great to spend time with our friends.

If I was asked to state my preference between the Pullman Arcadia & Le Meridien, I would have to say we enjoyed our stay at Le Meridien much more.  It was better value for money, had more restaurants to choose from, and had a nicer ambience.  The beach was also much better!

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