Ramada Resort by Wyndham Khao Lak

The rooms include a private bathroom with toiletries and towels, wireless internet access, satellite or cable channels and a telephone. Several rooms look out over the garden, a villa has a pool view, and some rooms have a whirlpool bathtub.

The beds are king or queen, and the 100 m² villa has a pool view and sleeps two. Other rooms have a separate shower and bathtub, with a whirlpool bathtub in some of them, and the garden-view rooms look over the resort's garden. Rooms can also have an in-room safe, a desk, ironing facilities and slippers. The 40 m² rooms sleep up to four guests, and several come with bathrobes and a hair dryer.

The resort has an outdoor swimming pool, a children's swimming pool and a poolside bar, along with a spa, a sauna, a steamroom, a hot tub, a yoga room and a fitness center. The property is beachfront, and the spa menu includes massage, body scrubs, body wraps and foot baths.

Dining covers buffet breakfast from 06:30 to 10:30, with Asian, American and Western dishes, and the restaurant also serves a la carte dishes, Asian and international cuisine, with room service, a coffee shop and food delivery.

For families there is a kids club, a playground, babysitting and kids meals, and the resort also has a library, billiards, table tennis, a game room, tours, bicycle rental, a convenience store, laundry and a 24-hour front desk. Free parking is on site.

Bang Niang Beach runs along the Andaman coast of Khao Lak, in Takuapa district of Phangnga province, and the hotel is about 100 m from its sand. Khao Lak is a quieter stretch of coast than the busy towns farther south, with small restaurants, shops and guesthouses along the roads near the beach.

Walking distance from the hotel, Bangnieng Afternoon Market is about 750 m away, with local food and everyday goods, and the International Tsunami Museum, 1 km away, tells the story of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that struck this coast. Lampi Waterfall is 500 m away, and Khao Lak-Lam Ru National Park, 4.1 km away, is the place for forest walks and waterfalls.

Phuket International Airport is the closest airport, to the south, and the Similan Islands, a marine national park reached by boat from the coast, are closed for part of the year, so a day trip there depends on the season. A good day can combine the national park's trails with a swim on Bang Niang Beach. Khuk Khak Beach and Sunset Beach are other stretches of sand along the same coast, and the Wat Panatnikhom pagoda and Khao Lak Mini Golf are also nearby for a lighter afternoon out.