Where you stay in Phuket shapes your whole trip, because the island is large and the drive between beaches is slow. Each area has a distinct character, and the right base depends on whether you want nightlife, a calm family beach, seclusion or local culture. Here are the main choices, matched to the five hotels on this site.
Patong: for nightlife and convenience
Patong is Phuket’s busiest resort town, with a long beach, the Jungceylon mall, hundreds of restaurants, Simon Cabaret and the neon of Bangla Road. Every tour picks up here, and you can walk everywhere. The downsides are noise, crowds and traffic on the hill roads out. Holiday Inn Resort Phuket is the best mid-range choice, a three-minute walk from the beach, with a family-friendly Main Wing and kids club and the calmer Busakorn Premium Wing for couples. For a budget stay, Lub d Phuket Patong offers stylish private rooms and four-bed dorms around a pool, with pool parties and a pub crawl that make it easy to meet people.
Kata and Kata Noi: for families and beach lovers
South of Patong, Kata is relaxed and pretty, with a lively strip of restaurants and surf schools, while Kata Noi, over the headland, is smaller, calmer and quieter. Both are close to the Big Buddha and Promthep Cape. Katathani Phuket Beach Resort, our featured pick, fills the bay at Kata Noi, with three wings, nine pools including a lazy river and water park, two kids clubs and twelve places to eat. It is the best all-round family resort on the island.
Kamala: for seclusion and luxury
Kamala is a quieter bay north of Patong, with a village feel and Carnival Magic on the edge of town. Its hills hide some of the island’s most special hotels. Keemala is the splurge: 38 private pool villas shaped like tree houses, tents, clay cottages and birds’ nests, set in the jungle with a wellness spa and a shuttle down to the beach. It suits honeymooners above all.
Bang Tao and Laguna: for space and easy airport access
On the north-west coast, Bang Tao has one of Phuket’s longest beaches and is home to Laguna Phuket, a large integrated resort area set around lagoons. It is calm, green and around thirty minutes from the airport. Angsana Laguna Phuket stands right on the beach, with a 323-metre pool, a free kids club, pool-access rooms and a beach club, giving families and couples big-resort facilities at a fair price.
Old Phuket Town: for culture and food
If you care more about atmosphere than a beach on your doorstep, stay a night or two in Phuket Town, among the Sino-Portuguese shophouses and some of the best local food in the south. The beaches are a half-hour drive away, so it works best as a short stay at the start or end of a trip.
Matching base to trip
For a family beach holiday, Katathani on Kata Noi. For a honeymoon or a special occasion, Keemala. For a calm beach close to the airport, Angsana Laguna. For first-timers who want to walk to everything, Holiday Inn Resort Phuket in Patong. For a social trip on a budget, Lub d Phuket Patong.
Practical tips
Book early for Christmas, New Year and the peak weeks of the high season, when the best rooms sell out. Check that tour pickups cover your area, since some boat trips do not collect from the far north or the east coast. Ask for a quiet room in Patong, and book an airport transfer in advance if you arrive late at night.
