Kamala Dreams Hotel

The rooms are studios and a suite, several with a sea, ocean, beach or pool view and some with pool access. Rooms can have a kettle, a refrigerator, a kitchenette, a microwave, a balcony or terrace, and a dining table.

One studio sleeps up to six guests and the Superior Studio with Pool Access sleeps up to five, so a group or a family can stay together. Rooms can have a walk-in shower, a hair dryer and free bottled water.

The resort's pools are a main draw, with an outdoor and an indoor swimming pool, a children's pool, a hot tub and a playground. Restaurants serve Asian, Western and vegetarian dishes, a poolside bar and a snack bar are on site, and room service is available.

Travel services include an airport transfer, a shuttle service, a taxi service and car hire, and bicycles are available. Tours can be arranged, and activities include diving, snorkelling and non-motorised water sports.

There is a concierge, luggage storage, safety deposit boxes, currency exchange and laundry service. A kids meal is also offered for younger guests. The resort has a library as well, and dry cleaning and ironing services can be arranged.

Kamala is a beach village on the Phuket coast, where the village streets run close to the sand and the pace is calmer than in Patong, the island's busiest beach area. Kamala Dreams Hotel is 40 m from the beach, so the sand is a short walk from the hotel.

Within a short distance is the Kamala Night Market, 700 m away, a market busy in the evening with food stalls and local goods. Phuket FantaSea, a cultural theme park with evening shows, is 900 m away. For a livelier beach, Patong Beach is 5.2 km away, with bars, restaurants and nightlife, and the Jungceylon Shopping Center is in the same area.

Taxis and car hire are the usual way to explore the rest of the island, since Phuket International Airport is 18.1 km away and most sights are a drive from Kamala. Freedom Beach and Karon Beach are both further along the coast, and Wat Chalong, one of Phuket's most revered Buddhist temples, lies further south. A tsunami memorial stands near the beach, a reminder of the 2004 disaster that hit this coast. A day can start with the sand, continue at the hotel's pools, and end at the night market or a Phuket FantaSea show.