We enjoyed our stay there, but i was travelling with my mother for her 60th b'day and she is a beach lover and i prefer the pool, so firstly we were quite disappointed to see how far out it was, away from Patong etc, although it says 30 minutes to phuket town, on their website, it seems alot further and getting to other places, plus their website says they have a private sandy beach with watersports avaliable, but on arrival, we were told that their beach was not for swimming, as it was rocky and the sea wasn't that clean or good for swimming on that part of the coastline, so they ran a speed boat service to another island, which wasn't ideal as that would mean my mother and I spending time apart in the day, so we felt that they are currently selling something that they can't provide and so being able to charge more for a hotel on a beach and use beach images alot on their website, creating the impression that this hotel has a beautiful beach area!!! It is true that they have a bit of beach, but it is not very clean at all and no-one sits down there at all. With regards them having watersports, i never saw any on the beach and only saw one guy taking out a kayak!! We felt that the hotel should give exact and correct details of what they offer, so that customers can make the right and informed choice, as if we had known we would have booked somewhere else with a proper beach and sea to swim in, as this resort especially over Christmas is very expensive, more top end than some others and they actually don't really offer very much. There is bascially a nice pool area, which if you like to swim, is good as it is very quiet in the mornings and during the day, a small pool bar area, a main dining area, a restaurant and small spa. We both felt that it was very pricey for what they actually offered. The staff are nice and helpful, especially the evening pool bar waiters and the house keeping staff, but i feel that they can charge this price as they call it a Boutique hotel. A nice place for couples, if you don't lke the beach and just want to chill out and not go anywhere, as it quite pricey to get around by their taxi service, so best to find a local guy to drive you around, otherwise if you want to see parts of Phuket it is going to cost you a fortune!! It is a very quiet place and everything shuts down early in the evenings, good if you are a couple or family with young children, but there is not enough to do if you have older children and isn't great if you are friends travelling together, as its more of a chill out place. There is also two small rooms by the pool with some fitness equipment in, but again felt that a place charging these kinds of prices, should have some kind of fitness facility better than this. In one room they had a treadmill and cross trainer and in the other, a treadmill and bike, all new and at least a few pieces to use if you like to keep a bit active on holiday, but I had to ask them to clean the equipment on a number of times, as it was dirty and mend the air con in there, as otherwsie it was like trying to work out in a sauna, which i thought was not great for such an expensive resort. Overall it is a pleasant resort, a good place if you don't like to holiday with too many other people, but not a resort that will really impress you, like some of the others in Phuket, it is very average and the pool area is probably the best bit about it!!

The moment we stepped into this Resort, we were mesmerised by the ambience, the view, the staff and most importantly the serenity of the place. Our van took us for a 30 mins ride from the airport as Chandara is all the way in a remote village.

We got ourselves the Jacuzzi suite and were amazed by how big the room was. Look at the pictures we posted to see for yourselves. Since we are honeymooning, we feel that this room is just nice for the both of us. And yes, there is a private outdoor jacuzzi overlooking the sea, private ourdoor shower, huge bathtub in the huge toilet, huge living room and bed.

One point i'd like to highlight is that the staff are so so so friendly and go to all lengths to serve us. They know when we are out of the room. They know when we are coming back. And every night, we received complimentary chocolate balls with 'Good Night' card. Every time we came back to the room after a day's out, the room will be prim and proper again, with fresh towels, filled-up soaps and shampoos, free bottled water in the fridge, made-up bed, arranged toileteries, and fresh orchids placed nicely around the room. The sunrise is breathtaking. If you explore the compound, you'll discover a helipad where you can take good pictures.

We went for the spa session too and that itself is magnificent. Massage was great. Service was excellent. The food at the hotel is also very nice. The library is always filled up with good free DVDs to watch or free internet access to surf to or good books to read when you get bored. Ps: you can borrow as many DVDs as you want and return them anytime you want, No hassle at all.

Tip: You can take a day trip to Patong to buy back some groceries/snacks to eat or munch on if you get hungry at odd hours.

Stay at this resort if you are not keen on the nightlife of Patong. Stay at this resort if you want secluded privacy to just relax and enjoy the sea breeze. Time really really really stops at this place. We will sure come back here for one of our next honeymoon.

-Sheikha & Zaini from Singapore

Every aspect of this resort is first class. Upon arrival my husband and I were instantly mesmerized by the beauty of the resort. We enjoyed the privacy the resort offered and were constantly impressed by the friendly and engaging staff. The rooms are excellent - food is excellent - service is excellent. The Manager, Robert always made it his business to meet and greet guests. My husband and I were so impressed, we in fact miss being at Chandara and have resolved to return next year. This place is a must for anyone wanting to visit Phuket!

We stayed at Chandara for 13 nights, 21/09/07 thru 04/10/07. We chose this resort because it was a reasonable distance from Phuket & Patong as we would be there for our 21st anniversary. So if you are looking for night life and lots of arranged entertainment go somewhere else.

First off I would have liked to have given a 5 star rating but a couple of things stopped me. Let me say though that the resort is first class and the service is excellent. We had no trouble whatsoever with the service provided.

We initially booked a Jacuzzi room but were upgraded to a 1 bed villa on arrival, which was nice. The villa was well appointed and large with small kitchen, living area, dining area, bedroom, dressing room & bathroom. The villa also had a large veranda and reasonably large “splash pool”. We had a couple of leaks in the bathroom roof and sink but these were fixed within minutes of informing housekeeping.

The resort was very quiet due to there only being about 50 rooms so the restaurants were always quiet with excellent service. The area around the main pool is lovely with 2 work-out rooms with ac over looking the Andaman Sea. There is free internet access and free DVD’s if you want as well as a library for when you have run out of something to read, although we received a free newspaper each day. The Spa is very nice and both myself and my wife went for a couple of treatments.

Overall we have no complaints about the staff, but the villa was beginning to look a little tired decor wise and could do with being “brightened” up a bit.. As I mentioned the resort if fairly remote so there are NO shops etc within walking distance and the resort has taken advantage of this by charging well over the odds for drinks etc. If you want to get out and about you will need to hire a car as the hotels bus is expensive, 400bht pp to Phuket & 800bht pp to Patong. As a guide to costs a small beer, 300ml, is 130bht – 160bht plus 10% service & tax (£180 or $360) which imho is expensive! The cheapest wine is about 1600bht a bottle (£25 or $50) and this is normal Australian wine you would expect to pay £4.00 in Tesco or about £10 in a restaurant. Also if you are staying B&B there is a 250bht pp delivery charge if you chose to have breakfast in your room. This is a good alternative as they will deliver enough food to provide for not just breakfast but your midday meal also.

I would give the staff 5 stars but overall I think that the resort is more in tune with a 4 star resort and would need to go some way to match some 5 star resorts we have been too in Borneo, Malaysia & Bali. So while I heartily recommend it I can in all honesty only give it 4 stars overall.