Ban Raya Resort and Spa

Rooms at Ban Raya Resort and Spa measure from 30 to 80 m² and include suites, double and twin rooms, the Grand Ocean View room, a terraced house and a garden suite with a terrace. Rooms sleep up to three guests, except the terraced house and the garden suite, which sleep up to five.

Rooms can have blackout curtains, a desk, individual air conditioning, a private bathroom with a shower, hair dryer and toiletries, and a balcony or terrace. Several rooms look over nature or the garden, one has an ocean view, and some have a whirlpool bathtub or a separate shower and bathtub. The bed set-ups also vary between rooms.

Guests can use an outdoor swimming pool, a fitness centre, and a spa with massage, sauna and foot bath, and there is a solarium and a garden for relaxing. The resort has a private beach, and snorkelling, diving, fishing and boating are also possible, with watersport equipment for rent.

Restaurants serve breakfast à la carte, as a buffet or in a Western style, and there is lunch and dinner in the restaurant, plus a coffee shop, a snack bar, a poolside bar and room service. The resort has a 24-hour front desk, free Wi-Fi is available in all rooms, and there is a playground, a children's swimming pool, and kids' meals are offered.

Ban Raya Resort and Spa is on Racha Island, an island off Phuket that is reached by boat, lying not far from Chalong Bay on the south coast. The island's bays and coves keep the sea close at hand, and the private beach gives guests a place to spend the day in the water, with a solarium and a garden for resting between swims.

Konkare Bay is 50 m from the resort, and Ter Bay lies 450 m away, with Bay 1 / Ao Ter about 700 m off and the Ko Racha Yai viewpoint, a lookout on the island, 1.2 km away. On the main island of Phuket, the Big Buddha on Nakkerd Hills is 26.1 km away, and Patong Beach, one of Phuket's best-known beaches, is a longer trip. The island is reached on the resort's speedboat from Chalong Pier, and sea conditions can change boat times, so plans on Phuket are best built around the transfer.

A good day here combines snorkelling or diving around the island with a trip to Phuket for the Big Buddha and Chaithararam Temple (Wat Chalong), a large Buddhist temple near Chalong Bay, and an evening on Bangla Road in Patong, the street lined with bars.