Dusit Thani Krabi Beach Resort – A Review By Punam Mohandas
The Dusit Thani Krabi is a partnership initiative between the Dusit brand, globally acclaimed for its Thai hospitality standards, and the MBK Hotel and Tourism Co. Ltd, which owns the property.
Spread across a staggering 40-acres of lush greenery situated on the beach, this is without a doubt one of the most wholesome, holistic resort experiences I’ve had.
Verdant foliage and manicured lawn spaces have a lotus “river” cutting through the property like a winding ribbon. There are thoughtfully placed benches around the resort for you to rest awhile, listen to birdsong and soak in the absolute serendipity. There’s even a small herb garden near the spa. I have previously reviewed the MBK Group’s Layana Resort at Koh Lanta and it was a pleasure to find that similar high levels of service and adherence to brand values are to be found at the Dusit Thani Krabi as well.
The lobby at the Dusit Thani Krabi is this vast, pillared open space beyond which you can see the shimmering, emerald green sea. White stone flooring with a black concentric design is complemented by tall vases of orchids. Most mornings, you will find a staff member dressed in traditional Thai attire, playing a musical instrument in the centre of this space. The Reception desks are to the right, while the hotel activities’ desk is to the left. Further beyond is a cosy sitting area with an astonishingly well-stocked library of books in English, Finnish, Swedish, Polish, Dutch and Norwegian. There’s also a tailor shop, an excursions counter and a photographer’s desk; the hotel employs a photographer who can take all those posed beach shots for you (at a price, of course; it must be said he’s constantly trying to hard-sell his services, which can be intrusive). The resort also has an ATM and a medical clinic on the premises.
The Dusit Thani Krabi has 240-keys that are housed in typical Thai pavilions, with high vaulted roofs made of wood and bricks. Each pavilion has thirty rooms spread across three floors. The rooms are categorized as follows: Deluxe Garden (42-sqm); Deluxe Sea-facing (42-sqm); Club Deluxe (42-sqm); Club Premium Sea-facing (42-sqm); Club Sea-facing Suite (80-sqm); Club Premium Suite (125-sqm) and Club Suite with Private Pool (150-sqm; two rooms only). Please be warned that, despite the categorisation, none of the rooms are actually sea view or sea-facing; they only accord a partial view of the sea. However, they all look out over some very scenic views of the gardens.
The Sea-facing Suite has a tiled entrance, but wooden flooring in both rooms. The sitting room has a settee, armchairs and a TV, while the bedroom has another TV as well as a functional wooden work desk. The suite has a really long balcony, with seating in varnished cane outside both rooms. The wardrobe can be accessed from the sitting room as well as from the bathroom, which is partitioned in two – one side has a washbasin and the toilet, while the other has yet another washbasin and a jacuzzi. It is possible to get connecting rooms in this category.
The Deluxe Garden rooms provide a serene view of the lawn and lotus pond, while the Deluxe Sea-facing rooms offer a view of a lawn expanse, the meandering lotus river and gently swaying trees through which you can catch a glimpse of the sea. Wide balconies with wooden slatted railings have gaily coloured blue chairs and table, as also sensibly placed clothes rails. The busy chirp of birds as one sits out over the morning cuppa and gazes out at this vista brings an indescribable feeling of peace that sets the pace for the day.
There are delicately carved panels in typical Thai design interspersed amid the walls of the rooms. The floor is cleverly split between tiling and wood; the area around the bed is wooden boards. The bathroom is spacious, however, plumbing (at least in the room I had) needs an urgent overhaul, because the bathtub leaks and overflows,
All rooms at the Dusit Thani Krabi are provided with settees, bathtubs as well as spacious shower cubicles and come equipped with electric tea kettles (the Club rooms have coffee makers as well), four complimentary glass bottles of drinking water (although I was rather dismayed to find that when I asked for extras, they came in regular plastic bottles), electronic safes, large screen televisions, bathrobes, umbrellas, irons and ironing boards and magnifying mirrors in the bathroom. All the minibars have been temporarily barred off, due to the pandemic. Club room guests of course, have access to the Club Lounge that serves complimentary afternoon tea and evening cocktails. They also get two free pieces of laundry per day.
F&B options include Mangosteen’s that can accommodate 120-pax inside as well as outside and serves breakfast and dinner; Cocovida Bar beside the swimming pool that serves food till 6PM, post which the Italian outlet Limoncello swings into action and can accommodate 30-pax inside and another 30-pax al fresco, and then the Breeze Pool Bar.
Breakfast has a good spread of Thai delicacies and, surprisingly, there are a couple of Indian dishes daily, which are just passable (the Indian chef from Dehradun who’s been there ten years now doesn’t quite get the Punjabi or south Indian dishes right), apart from the ubiquitous eggs and sausages. There’s also a live pancake station where the chef obliges by drawing faces, hearts, Mickey Mouse, etc; very popular even among the adults. (Do bear in mind that Krabi is a Muslim area and therefore, pork dishes are unavailable.)
Recreation options include the DFit gym that’s open from 6AM-9PM. It’s a large, very well-appointed space, with plenty of equipment, including a machine that can calculate your BMI, muscle weight and other body analysis (THB 250). Khun Saraswadee is the personal trainer and she’s really informative and can guide you well. The charges are THB 950 per hour, but if you just want some general guidance, that’s free of charge. There’s also a relaxation lounge where complimentary, fresh ginger juice is served. Apart from the gym machines, there’s also a small boxing ring, table tennis facilities, a badminton court and an outdoor tennis court. There are also bicycles for rent at THB 350 for four hours.
There are two swimming pools. The larger one has open-air cabanas with covered roofs; a section of them have ceiling fans as well, great for those with small, fractious children. There are lots of sunbeds around the pools, on the lawn and overlooking the beach, so that there’s no “fighting” and “early booking” among guests. I particularly liked how the hotel has cleverly camouflaged the beachside showers within the trees, to appear more natural. The beach itself has soft, brown sand and is not prone to jellyfish, thank goodness. There is a massage outfit on the beach, but it’s locally run and has nothing to do with the Dusit Thani; therefore, please note you can only pay by cash here.
There’s plenty to occupy your time at the Dusit Thani Krabi, if you so wish. The resort organises a lot of activities such as aqua biking, Zumba, bookmark making, candle making, etc, but the one I’d strongly recommend is the sound healing meditation, because it’s so immensely peaceful and healing. It’s held in a glasshouse called BeWell that is situated amid riotous greenery. Complimentary sessions are held thrice weekly; do check days and timings, but if you’d like private sessions, it can be organized at THB 1,200 an hour.
Last but definitely not least, is the Linger Longer Spa, which has a wide, restful relaxation area and seven treatment rooms (of which five are couple rooms), all with individual steam rooms. (Please note that if you want to use the steam facilities, it’s THB 900 per hour and it’s an additional THB 900 to use the jacuzzi). The spa also offers a salon with waxing, manicure/pedicure and haircuts. There are some unusual treatments here and I opted for the unique bamboo massage.
I walked into a room that had vermillion coloured walls, offset by a small rockery outside the shower cubicle that has a glass roof as well as walls; overall, it had a very soothing effect. The therapy itself is quite interesting; the masseuse first oils a limb and then uses heated bamboo rods across it in a rolling motion. It irons out kinks in the muscles, as well as soothes any aches, however, if you want a completely relaxing experience, then it would be better to opt for the standard Swedish massage.
Convention facilities include Andaman Grande (225-pax, theatre style), which can be partitioned into Andaman I and Andaman II, to accommodate 90-pax each. Krabi I & II can also be merged, but for a smaller gathering. The Koh Hong room looks like a glasshouse and is surrounded by towering trees; it can accommodate 30-pax. The hotel can also organize a marquee on the lawns or beach for about 400-pax, for a wedding, for instance.
Of course, given the size of the property, there are golf carts to take you around, but it’s just lovely walking the winding paths and discovering things for yourself. With all that abundance of greenery, it is to be expected that there will be snakes and monitor lizards, therefore, I’d recommend not venturing into the bushes and perhaps availing of the golf carts late night, even though the pathways are well lit.
The boiler and air conditioning systems are effective. Pest control is to be commended; not an easy task to achieve a balance between nurturing Nature while maintaining almost zero pests in the rooms. Housekeeping, F&B and the spa/gym teams are courteous and friendly. The Front Office team could unbend a little. I also found the hotel policy of demanding a deposit of THB 1,000 for every night that one plans to stay which can only be paid for by cash or credit card, failing which you won’t be allowed to charge F&B to your room, needlessly stern and quite odd. If one is providing card details for the stay, it stands to reason one would be able to pay for food as well as other extras, such as spa treatments. This is something the hotel can certainly take under consideration.
The Dusit Thani Krabi is located on Klong Muang Beach, which is quiet and secluded and 15-minutes away from the more popular Ao Nang beach; 45-minutes away from Krabi airport. If you want to be able to travel around freely, I’d recommend you hire a car, as the local taxis can be expensive and involve some haggling. However, in all truth, there’s so much to experience at the hotel itself that I never felt the need to venture out. Moreover, there are several local restaurants right outside the hotel, as also a 7Eleven, money exchange, taxi service and a couple of massage parlours. There are no sea sports available here, but you can find this on Ao Nang beach. From Ao Nang, it’s a short longtail boat ride away to picturesque Railay beach and the Phrang Nga cave with its absolutely spectacular lagoon.
Krabi is easily accessible by air as well as rail. If you would like to be spared the hassle, fly into Krabi’s small but efficient international airport (approximately 90-minutes from Bangkok.) A taxi from the airport to the Dusit Thani Krabi costs THB 750 (one-way).Krabi is also ideally situated to visit the islands of Phuket (three hours) Phi Phi (roughly two hours) Koh Lanta (two hours) and Koh Lipe (about four hours); if you have the time and an adventurous spirit, I would recommend taking the comfortable overnight train from Bangkok to Surat Thani and then the combo bus/ferry ticket to the islands mentioned above (Do check current prices/timings, as a lot has changed post the pandemic).
DUSIT THANI KRABI BEACH RESORT
Tel: +66 75628000
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.dusit.com/dusitthani-krabibeachresort
Punam Mohandas asserts her right to be identified as the author of this work. Any views or opinions expressed in this review is that of the author.