My wife and I stayed at this resort in early January 2012. We chose Khao Lak to get out of the bustle of Phuket and for a nice beach. The beach did not disappoint, but other aspects of this resort did. First, the service was very poor. Thai people are known for the hospitality and friendliness. Briza staff were neither. We had tried to arrange for a pick-up from the Phuket airport as we were arriving late (11pm). After trying to get in touch with the hotel multiple times to get confirmation that they would pick us up, when we reached Phuket, guess what? No one showed up. We asked for an explanation and the staff couldn't respond and no one cared, not even the manager. We had even explained that it was our honeymoon and not even a smile or a "congratulations" came out of any of the staff's mouths. The other disappointment was the bed. I have never slept on a more uncomfortable bed. It literally felt like I was sleeping on a piece of plywood covered by a bedsheet. After 3 nights of a sore back and multiple bad experiences with service we decided to switch resorts. On a good note, the massage overlooking the beach was wonderful.

My friends and I had just stayed in your hotel during 23-28 Dec 2011. We were so pleased with the facilities and service. Usually, I would have doubt on the photos of the hotel put in the website which are likely to manify the size andcharacter of the rooms and facilities. However, after staying in your resort, Imust admit that there is always some exceptions, as we found the photos are not foul play. The room and facilties are as nice and stylish as captured in thephotos in the website.

What we were most thankful and happy is the care and professionalism displayed in every staff of the resort. When at the end of our trip my friend and I werepulling our luggage down to the main entrance to take our transfer to theairport in the morning on 28 Dec 2011, one of the hotel staff who was walking pass,a gentleman in blue T-shirt who was once seen cleaning the vehicles, immediately approached us and gave a hand. To be honest, this was obviously not his job,but like other staff, he cared wholeheartedly.

In fact, I must admit that I was definitely not a favourite client during thetrip, as I was sick all along and coughed quite seriously. However, what I felt was the best service and manner from the staff.

Even my friend who have travelled frequently around the world for business and leisure said that we could stay again.

There are five hotels on Khao Lak Beach (or South Beach as many call it nowadays), and in my opinion The Briza is the most inviting one. The hotelarea is very clean and the rooms modern. Both the poolarea and the beacharea have a very nice look. The only complaint is about the rock hard beds, but that´s a general problem in Thailand. Nowadays there are 7-8 local restaurants around South Beach so you don´t have to go into the centre every day if you don´t want to. If you choose between Briza and Emerald I would absolutely choose The Briza.

My wife (7 months pregnant) and I stayed at Briza for 5 nights this December and had a great time. The transfer from the airport was around 30-40 min's but we didn't need to take another bus or ferry etc and got dropped off right at the front entrance of the resort. The rooms were perfect, really nice and clean. We were drawn to this resort since we wanted somewhere that would not be as busy (noisy) as other Thailand spots, but still wanted to access to activities near by. The resort is a few metres from the beach and the resort swimming pool is great for lying down and having a rest. Breakfast was perfect, standard resort type western food, no complaints. There are a few restaurants near by (short walk) for lunch and dinner at a reasonable price (between 130-200 Bhaat per meal depending on what you eat of coarse). We had a few massages in the few days we were there, between 200-400 Bhaat depending where you go, and what you want. I can recommend the massages right on the beach by the resort employees as best value and experience! You can also get a taxi (bit pricey, but cheaper the more people you have, as they charge around 250 Bhaat one-way per trip for around 15min trip) to the Dragon Market (12-15 min away) for some shopping!! In our experience you can bargain to around a 40% discount from their first offer (unless prices stated), could probably go for more, but remember, they probably get paid based on sales, so a few Bhaat to you is nothing, but for them, it could be feeding the family!!

All and all a great experience and we are possibly making it our annual Christmas getaway, so will definitely be back!

Oh yes, we could not do any day trips (diving, snorkeling, James Bond Island etc etc) but they are all available. Just go to the little town shops outside the resort (3 min walk) and have a look around. Average day trip cost around 1500-2500 Bhaat per person, depending where you go and what you do. I did do the elephant trekking which is only a 10 minute walk from the resort (so do not pay for a transfer!!) which was around 1200 Bhaat for 90min (I paid double because I was the only one, would have been 600 Bhaat if there was one other)

Enjoy!!
Derik