Thavorn Beach Village Resort & Spa Phuket

Every room at Thavorn Beach Village Resort & Spa Phuket has a private bathroom with a hair dryer, mirror, toiletries and towels, and most of the rooms come with a bathtub. The views are of the lagoon pool, the gardens, the nature around the hillside or the ocean, and the hillside rooms are reached by the resort's cable car.

Some rooms sleep up to six guests, with the Family Connecting Room - Lagoon Poolside among them, while the rest sleep up to three. Several rooms offer a choice of bed set-ups, and the lagoon pool is within easy walking distance of the poolside rooms.

The resort has an outdoor swimming pool, a children's swimming pool, a spa with a sauna and a steam room, and a fitness centre. The beach is private, and non-motorised water sports such as canoeing, snorkelling and diving are offered.

For getting around, there is an airport transfer, car hire, a shuttle service and a taxi service. A 24-hour front desk, a concierge and currency exchange are also available.

Families can use babysitting services and kids facilities, and laundry, dry cleaning and ironing services are available. Dining includes a restaurant, a coffee shop, a poolside bar and room service. Rooms can have a balcony or terrace, an in-room safe box, a mini bar and a refrigerator.

Kamala is a seaside area of Kathu district on Phuket, and it feels calmer than Patong, the island's best-known beach town. The bay has a sandy shore, and the streets behind it are lined with small shops and massage parlours. Guests can spend much of the day on the resort's own private beach, where non-motorised water sports such as canoeing, snorkelling and diving are offered.

Nakalay Beach, 150 m away, is the closest beach, and Kamala Beach, a sandy stretch with restaurants and beach bars, is nearby. Patong Beach, with its nightlife and shops, is 3.4 km away, and Phuket International Airport is 21 km away. Most trips across the island go by road, so a hire car or taxi is the easiest way to reach the other beaches and the sights.

A good day out combines a morning on the sand with a visit to Chaithararam Temple, known as Wat Chalong, 11.2 km away, one of the island's most revered temples. The Big Buddha, a large statue on a hilltop, is another stop, and the waterfalls in the hills near Kamala make a change of scene from the coast. For an evening out, Patong's bars and clubs are the island's best-known nightlife, reached by road.