The Melia Mai Khao is a brand new small resort on one of the best beaches in Phuket- but
does that alone mean it’s worth the trip?
Find out as we go for a full tour, coming up.
I visited the Melia Mai Khao just five days after its opening in December 2021.
As is expected, anytime a new business opens there will be a few speed bumps here and there-
but on a whole they did well.
That said, I’m not sure I’d go back.
First off though let’s check out the area.
If you’ve been researching Phuket for more than five minutes, chances are you know one
or all of these beaches- most of the resorts on Phuket are located in and around them and
they’re all south of the airport.
Mai Khao, directly to the north of the airport though is like an untouched wilderness.
Mai Khao Beach is in a protected national park that spans more than 11km from north
to south.
The Melia is a quick 15 minute ride away from the airport.
The property itself is quite the unique shape that honestly made orienting yourself at the
resort surprisingly difficult.
Everything is kind of on a diagonal.
In typical Melia fashion, the entrance is a bit sparse, but clean and lush.
While they don’t use the term per say, Melia certainly strives to be a lifestyle brand
that targets younger and mostly European crowds.
Founded in 1956 in Palma de Mallorca, Melia International operates over 350 hotels and
is Spain’s largest hotel brand.
All of the structures in the resort are a maximum of two levels.
Partly due to this and partly due to the diagonal layout, the property has a very geometric
and boxy feel.
On a small scale like this resort, I think it works.
A larger resort I don’t think could get away with the same design.
The exterior facade of almost all buildings is clad with the grey ironwork that you can
see.
When I was being guided around the property after arriving, the front desk agent pointed
out that the design of the metal work is inspired by traditional Peranakan designs.
Peranakan refers to the Straits Chinese who reside in parts of southern Thailand, Malaysia
and Singapore.
It’s said that almost 70% of Phuket’s current population has some Peranakan heritage
in their family lineage.
When researching the hotel for writing today though, they mention nothing of the Peranakan
inspiration.
Rather, they refer to the design as a blend of contemporary Thai and Mediterranean aesthetics.
Don’t know the reason for the disconnect there.
Either way though, the early morning golden sunlight is when the open air reception area
looks it’s best.
A small lobby bar is on site serving juices and teas, including the apple tea I was served
upon arrival- a nice departure from lemongrass.
Across the pond we are now in front of the Melia Spa, which was not yet open at the time
of filming.
Here is where you can get the best shots of the lobby.
The landscaping throughout is clean and modern- nothing spectacular, but fitting of what I
was expecting.
The resort has two pools.
The one we see here is in what I’ll call the fat part of the property surrounded by
villas and suites.
The other which we will see soon is in the skinny part of the property and just in front
of the beach.
You can see what I mean a bit more clearly here.
According to Google maps, that part on the right is just 15 meters wide.
This is where the conference rooms are, known as the Power Lounge.
This part, I don’t really understand.
Such a small property and so much of it allocated here.
They must have some big corporate contracts in mind.
The resort has a total of 100 rooms.
Thirty of them are suites mostly one floor above the ground and the seventy villas are
all ground level.
Note, all suites and villas are attached though.
Here, we are passing by Sasa.
Sasa is where you’ll find breakfast in the morning and is also open generally for lunch
and dinner serving contemporary Thai cuisine.
Just past Sasa, we have my favorite venue Gaia.
With an open kitchen and a very fresh and modern feel to it, it is easy to imagine dinners
here al fresco on a warm and humid night.
Here we can also see the Peranakan design motifs continuing in the wall decorations.
Next down the line we have the pool bar.
It is advertised as being swim up- not sure how that would work.
It does look very modern and inviting but I don’t think I’m the only one that would
like just a few actual tables here and there- maybe I’m just showing my age here.
Then we have the beautiful turquoise pool.
I much prefer the design of this one compared to the one in the center of the property-
but let’s remember there are 100 rooms.
Let’s assume that means 200 guests.
By my count there’s only seating for around 30 guests at this pool.
At the end of the pool is a small artificial beach and then a pristine and natural lawn
leading to the beach itself, surrounded by tropical pine trees.
There is also a small restaurant to the left.
One thing I do love about being in Mai Khao- even if the resort was at capacity, this line
of trees continues up the coast and so you’d never be able to see any other resorts and
probably not many other hotel guests.
And then finally we have, my beach of the year for 2021, Mai Khao.
The camera truly does not pick up the scale here.
The lawn and trees are up top and then there is around a 5 meter drop and plenty of comfortably
course sand.
Then the beach drops again before you’re able to meet the water.
Those levels give you this unbelievable feeling as if you’re on the top of the island looking
out over the sea.
And no matter how powerful your binoculars are, you’re not going to be able to spot
anything for 11km.
Taking a look at my room now.
N101.
N is the building, 101 being the first room on the first floor.
This is one of their private pool villas, which sadly- was not my favorite.
The outer door brings your into the pool courtyard.
Behind the sliding glass doors is the bedroom.
The rooms are fresh, distinctly beachy and really poorly laid out.
Look at all of this space.
To put your beautiful suitcases on display?
How about a sofa or a chaise?
The mini bar area is decently stocked but the placement is a bit strange just beside
the bed.
Any menus or info you needed was available from the QR code cube on top of the fridge.
Plenty of glass bottled water, a Nespresso pods, Dilmah tea and some instant sachets
as well.
Outlets are conveniently placed bedside but there is a distinct lack of premium feel in
most of the materials used in the room.
All of the wood and many of the surfaces has a beachy Ikea feel to it.
Nothing wrong with Ikea, but for a pool villa in Phuket, I expect a bit better.
I won’t go into detail but it’s also clear which materials will and will not age well-
as some paint was already beginning to peel.
Then we have this single lonely chair over here.
After replacing that luggage storage area with a sofa, how about a nice desk or working
space here?
I do fully realize not everyone works while traveling- but I am pretty sure everyone appreciates
a hub of sorts in the room where they can keep all of their important day to day things
and charge everything together.
The bluetooth speaker was appreciated though.
The closet was I guess a standard size but considering you don’t need to fit your luggage
in here, is probably plenty big enough for most and came complete with everything you’d
expect plus a steamer as well.
Going back out now, there’s a small padded seating area in the corner, a single lounge
chair and then the pool itself which was such a disappointment.
Let me tell you why.
It was only 1.2 meters deep, thats under four feet!
To me, that is not a pool, that’s at best a plunge pool.
To enjoy a good book, you’d need to either sit on the tile bench or kneel down in the
pool like I did.
Also, I’m sure this will grow in more, but these bushes do not provide that much privacy,
especially at night, especially since the bathtub is also out here.
Directly behind the bathtub is the indoor/outdoor shower which leads into the rest of the bathroom.
In theory you could close the glass shower door and then open the doors to the bedroom
if you’d like the bathroom partly air conditioned.
Let’s forget about that room for now and focus on the positive- the sunset that we
know is coming up really soon.
This was by far the most people I saw on the beach in any direction at any given time.
I understand it’s during covid- but I stayed at many properties in Thailand recently and
this is exceptionally quiet.
The sunsets here are simply spectacular.
For dinner that night, the Caesar salad chronicles continued as this time I was served an oh
so petite salad, naked.
They insisted there was dressing on it already.
Perhaps I’m blind, but I certainly didn’t see or taste any.
That was followed up with a white pizza which was better, but still not fantastic.
The next morning we headed to Sasa for breakfast.
One note if you’re still with me, if you don’t enjoy loud music with your meals-
all your meals- you might not enjoy dining at this resort in general.
There was always freakishly loud music playing- I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt
that those were growing pains, but yeah- worth noting.
There was a buffet with a supplemental but limited menu of a la carte dishes you could
order.
The buffet itself though was bog standard generic.
If this was the spread in a big city hotel’s club lounge, it would be good- but for what
we’re calling a five star resort- I don’t think so.
Vanilla mini muffins aren’t going to get you very far- and the hot dishes, limited
to congee, fish curry, bacon, sausage and shumai was a bit less than inspired.
The eggs benedict were pretty good though- this being a Spanish brand though.
Our final stop today is the large, but sparsely equipped gym.
A bit ironically, at every turn at this resort was Melia banding, reminding you “our passion
is conveyed in every corner, in every object, making our guests’ stay something memorable,
where wellbeing and comfort reach their maximum expression.
Welcome to the place where everything has a soul.”
Welcome to Melia.
It’s ironic because a bit of soul is just what it needs.
Ok now onto the Flip Flop Score.
The room design was the biggest letdown for me, just a lot of wasted space at a five.
The room was mostly in great condition as it should be, but i'm curious what it will
look like in a year.
Service was well intentioned, but slow.
Some of that we can put on just opening, but some of it always came from just not being
proactive enough.
The common areas are nicely designed but, the linear fashion of the restaurants and
pool does limit how many people can enjoy them.
Grounds and cleanliness were not a problem though with full marks.
Food quality was just, meh.
The small issues at dinner were growing pains- that breakfast buffet though was just poorly
executed.
Amenities were good overall and then we have what I think is the magnificent Mai Khao beach
with a special score of 11.
Overall, an 84 out of 100.
Do I feel the need to get back to this resort soon?
Not really, but I can see how it would be desirable for some young couples.
That said, I will definitely be checking out other resorts along Mai Khao in the future.
Hope you found this tour useful.
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See ya soon!