Add Mansion, Phuket

When I was last in Phuket, we had originally booked our accommodation with Nirvana Hotel. However, on our first night there, we realised how far the hotel was from the main activity on Patong and each time we went out, it meant a long trek back to the hotel again.

Luckily Patong is full of all kinds of little hotels and guesthouses and one that we kept passing everyday was Add Mansion, right smack on Rat-U-Thit Road, one road behind the Beach Road on Patong. In Phuket, for some strange reason, all guesthouses are called Mansion. Maybe it gives it a tiny bit more grandeur!

It looked very decent from the outside, clean and popular so the next time we passed it, we popped in to find out how much they were. They were as cheap as Nirvana at THB600 a night and in a much more strategic location! The nice thing about them was that they allowed us to view the rooms before we made up our minds. They were very nice as well and always with smiles whenever they saw us. On our last day, they even allowed us late check out till 4pm and then allowed us to store our luggage with them until our airport transfer arrived.

This was the room that we got. It had a comfortable bed and a tiny balcony that looked out to lots of telephone wires and Christin’s Massage - the biggest massage parlour in Patong. They even had a telly with cable channels so finding an English channel wasn’t difficult at all. They gave fresh towels and soap everyday, unlike Nirvana and had a little bar fridge in the room. Their bathroom was a bit small though.

After several trips to Phuket, I’ve noticed that the rooms in their guest houses are often around the same standard as some of the 3 star or tourist class hotels we have in Kuala Lumpur or on some of our resorts. The only difference is that theirs comes with a much cheaper price tag and ironically, much warmer smiles.