At $250 per night, I thought I was getting a luxurious stay at an elite resort at a bargain price... well, it looked luxurious from the pics anyway, even from other users. Wasn't I the fool!! (those snazzy hotels don't go for less than $700 in this part of the world afterall - lesson learnt). In any case, it was a SOLID hotel for the most part.

The positives: good food (breakfast buffet), good location (5 mins drive from Patong), good amenities (Pool and such), decent ambience

The negatives: small private beach (size of a soccer field lodged between two cliffs.. but kinda quiet and peaceful, if you like that sorta thing), less than ideal service (Staff refused me late check out until I almost had to throw a fit when they resentfully relented for a measly additional hour from noon to 1pm check out).

Definitely more of a family vacation place than a romantic getaway. I guess I set my expectations too high, but I got EXACTLY what I paid for.

Just back from a 2-week stay at MBR with my 9-year old son (my wife coulnd’t make it at the very last minute), overall impression is great. Hotel was in good condition, pools are nice and offer a wide range of options. We didn’t go for special room arrangements, yet everything was fine, and there was nothing to complain about in terms of cleanliness.
Breakfast is great, and there are a lot of choices for the other meals within the hotel. We’re not particularly hot on local food, so we had all our meals at the hotel, which roughly cuts even in terms of expenses compared to eating at restaurants nearby, since you get a food stamp voucher with progressive discount up to 30% from the eleventh meal onward.
The resort is almost hundred percent family with kids oriented. There’s pretty good children entertainment throughout the day and in the evening, and a reasonably diverse range of shows every night. My son was very enthusiastic about the Sugar Daddy Band, who were very friendly and played American goldies, and a bit of Beatles and Abba. Christmas and New Year’s parties worked out just fine.
Massages are a must, and they can be taken at the huts just out of the property and on the beach.
We booked through our Jet Air representative the trip to Phang Nga islands (the James Bond movie scenery) and the Elephant trekking, and have been quite pleased with the value for money. I can only assume the Phi Phi islands tour is equally worth taking, primarily for swimming and snorkeling fans.
Patong is very accessible, and has amazing shopping opportunities. We never felt unsafe anywhere in Phuket.
There’s only 2 things on the downside about the stay at MBR: staff was surprisingly slow on English, you need to be patient and use sign language a lot; most of the children activities are carried out in Finnish, in keeping with the overwhelming proportion of tourists at the resort.
All in all, MBR was a very pleasant and enriching experience and we plan to come back

We spent 9 nights at the Merlin Beach from 14th Jan 2012. The first night was spent in room 4323, overlooking the carpark & road on one side and the pool on the other. A large development is currently under construction on the next block so I was very unimpressed when woken by the traffic & building noise. The staff were very helpful in allocating & moving us to 2 new rooms when they became available late the following day. The rooms are comfortable and bathrooms large and modern. The pool areas are very nice and we always managed to find sun lounges without difficulty. The Hotel beach is very rocky and access for swimming difficult but it is only a short walk (200m) across the road to Tri Trang Beach (not so many rocks) for swimming. The Beach Hut is on the sand @ Tri Trang is worth a visit for lunch or dinner. The Merlin is a 5-10 minute TukTuk ride from Patong, so perfectly placed to join the rat race or hang by the pool and relax. All up, we had a great stay at the Merlin!

WE spent 2 weeks at the Merlin beach from Dec 30th.. booked a pool access room and this certainly added to the resort experience, however have stayed in a deluxe room before and had a great stay too. Staff mostly all great.. a few of the breakfast staff seem a bit off hand at times and tend to get stressed if they get busy, however great range of food to suit all. Not the most animated service from staff at Pool bar next to the main family pool.. however you eventually get what you ask for. ( think we were spoilt last year at the Shangri La on Penang)
Plenty of food choices in and around resort, try the Little tiger up the hill on the beach and the restaurants on the beach across the road from the front of the resort.. great spot for lunch or a relaxing drink. Book a pool access room if you are a couple or have older children. Wouldn't recommend a room near the waterfall… 4124 was a great room.