Phuket is often one of our holiday destinations of choice, simply because it is nearby and cheap for a short break. We are pretty familiar with Patong Beach so when we were looking for a short honeymoon to recover from the wedding stress, Phuket as an easy choice as I didn’t really want to be stressed out with more travel planning and running around to look at things I had never seen before!

Banyan Tree Phuket was oh-so-very-tempting as an accommodation choice until we checked out the prices! We toyed with the idea of staying on different and quieter beaches, for a change, but in the end decided to go back to Patong Beach simply because food, entertainment, massages and shopping is very easily accessible and cheap.

Patong Beach has recently seen the sprouting of many new hotels to cope with the rising tourist numbers and Mercure Patong is one of those which recently opened, less than a year ago. We got a great rate for Mercure and after reading the excellent reviews of it on Tripadvisor, we were sold! :)

Read on for my review of Mercure Patong, Phuket.

Patong Beach is located approximately 45 minutes from the airport and is one of the most popular and busiest beaches in Phuket with lots of accommodation, food, massages and tour options available at every corner. Mercure Patong is located further down from the main action in town and the very hip and happening Bangla Road where bars and table-top dancing are aplenty! ;) This makes it a nice choice if you are looking for somewhere quieter yet not too far from the action.

Mercure Hotel has a bright and breezy lobby and we were very warmly welcomed with some bright green drinks masquerading as guava juice whilst we were checking in. The band is right next to the reception and from what we heard, had some pretty good singers. I liked how the hotel receptionist briefed us on where the facilities were just after our check-in. I also liked how the hotel has daily free and paid activities on-going such as water aerobics, yoga, napkin folding, etc. which are pasted up in the lifts and in the lobby which you can choose to join.

The rooms were pretty new and very clean which was a big plus point :) They had an interesting window concept between the bathroom and the bedroom. However, you can lower the blinds provided for some privacy should you wish a soak in the tub! The room hosted a queen sized bed which was a little disappointing as I expected a hotel of that reputation to have at least king-sized beds in their rooms. The TV provided was also very tiny and mounted on an arm on the wall which I found cheapened the room a little.

We had informed the hotel that we were on our honeymoon in our reservation and they were quite nice in preparing this for us, together with a welcome fruit basket!

The rose petals were so painstakingly arranged that it even had pointy little tips for the ends of the hearts! :)

The most popular part of the hotel is their swimming pool and Sun Bar which is visible from the lobby. It featured an interesting sunken bar with stools in the pool and some deckchairs right next to the water which was hugely popular with the Western tourists. The pool is big enough to do laps in but do be careful of splashing the sun-bathers right next to it! I found the water pretty cold too! A big children’s pool is also available right next to the main swimming pool.

mercure2 by you.

The hotel also boasts of a tiny swimming pool up on their rooftop called the Moon Bar which serves drinks in the evenings and is very popular during their Happy Hour.

Our package did not include breakfast but we had the option of purchasing it at 50% off the normal rate which worked out to approximately RM20 per pax. I would really recommend their breakfasts as you get a wonderful spread of both Western and Asian food from cereals to hot chicken soup! It is a really filling spread and absolutely delicious!

The staff were pretty attentive and our requests were attended to quite quickly with smiles. They provided us with 2 complimentary bottles of mineral water a day which was really good as it saved us the hassle of buying mineral water and lugging it back to the room. Shopping is also easily accessible as the Otop Markets, which is full of local products and souvenirs, is located right next to the hotel. There are also lots of restaurants, cafes, tour desks and massage shops all around the hotel if you don’t want to walk too far. The beach is just less than 5 minutes away!

I would recommend staying at the Mercure Patong only if they continue to maintain it in this condition and if you do not mind walking for approximately 15 minutes to Jungceylon Shopping Centre and Bangla Road. Otherwise, it is a great value for money hotel on Patong Beach if you are looking for something quieter yet not too far from the attractions!