Desa Phuket

The rooms at Desa Phuket include standard doubles, superior and deluxe rooms, and a family room that sleeps up to four guests. Some rooms look out over the city or the street, and several have a separate shower or bathtub next to the private bathroom.

Depending on the room, you will find a hair dryer, a mirror and an electric kettle, and some rooms have blackout curtains, a safe box or soundproofing. Bed set-ups vary by room, and an extra bed carries an additional charge.

The hotel has a 24-hour front desk, room service, a concierge, a fitness centre, a restaurant, a bar, a coffee shop and a snack bar. Breakfast is offered à la carte, with Asian, halal and Western styles, and it can also be taken away.

For leisure there are massage and body scrub treatments, billiards, a dart board, karaoke and a nightclub, as well as bicycles and bicycle rental. Tours can be arranged, and the hotel also has car hire, a shuttle service, a taxi service and an airport transfer.

Free parking is on site, with bicycle parking too, and free Wi-Fi is available in all rooms. Laundry and dry cleaning, currency exchange, luggage storage and a gift and souvenir shop are also offered, and languages spoken include English, Thai, Mandarin, Cantonese, German, Turkish and Burmese.

Desa Phuket stands on Poonpol Road in Phuket Town, the island's administrative centre, where old Sino-Portuguese shophouses and Peranakan-style buildings line the streets. The area offers a different side of Phuket from the beach resorts that draw most visitors, and it suits a stay built around town life rather than days on the sand.

The Phuket Red Cross hospital is 250 m away, and the local bus station is 1.2 km away. Within a short walk are the Bang Neow Shrine, the Plein Poa night market and the Peranakan Museum, which covers Peranakan culture. Further out, Chaithararam Temple (Wat Chalong), one of the island's most important Buddhist temples, is 6.6 km away, and the Big Buddha, a large hilltop statue, lies further still. Phuket International Airport is 27.8 km away, and the hotel offers an airport transfer.

A good day could begin with the museums and shrines in town, continue to Wat Chalong and the Big Buddha, and end at Patong Beach, the island's best-known beach resort area, 10.6 km away. Back in town, the Plein Poa night market is a short walk away for the evening, and the streets around the hotel are lined with old Sino-Portuguese shophouses and quiet side streets.