This resort has the amenities of a 4 star resort but nothing else! Construction works everywhere waking you at 7am and the front desk staff were rude and unhelpful. Shower was horrible, kept going burning hot to freezing cold. Would not recommend at all.

We had a deluxe pool view room which was comfortable but also ageing. The air conditioning didn't respond to the thermostat and operated on "cold" all of the time which resulted in us freezing during the night.
The hotel has excellent facilities but is too large and does not cater sufficiently for the guests.
The pool area is large but guests reserve the pool chairs from 6.00am which results in most guests not being able to find a chair near the pool.
The buffet breakfast is extensive but is very overcrowded.
The check-in staff were very impersonal which I guess comes from working in a large complex.
I would prefer to stay in a smaller hotel that can service its patron's needs to a higher degree.

Went in early November with another family (2 mums, 4 guys (all 20ish). What a fantastic time we had. We will certainly be coming back, that is for sure.

Location:
Gracelands is undoubtedly the best resort in the Patong Beach area, although it is only 4 star. You can't beat staying right next to the beach. Staying in town would be a much less fun experience when you have the beach across the road, and can view the water and palms from both the lower and rooftop ('sky') pool. Great proximity to the little street stalls for massages, henna tattoos, clothing, booking tour trips (cheaper than reception version). Will always stay here for location alone.

Food - where is the best?
Breakfast buffet is always changing around and a great mix of cooked, continental and more eastern style dishes. However, we never had lunch in the place, and we only had dinner once (room service since we finished town late!). For lunch and dinner, I can't rate one street stall highly enough. On the corner of the main beach road and the side road is a small street stall restaurant, with plastic chairs and tables, and they have a big barbecue during the day which smells amazing. Note it is on the corner, not a little bit past (as many other places are further along the pathway). Amazing service, the head waiter Ka-Ka (a short, round, mid 20s/early 30s man), is an exceptional host and looks after you very well. Fantastic guy, and goes beyond the call of duty when you repeat your business there. Helped pick a reputable tour place, took my friend and I to a tattoo parlour when our Henna tattoos needed retouching. Fantastic man, always interested in how we were getting on and gave us a warm welcome every time we walked past! That being said... THE FOOD IS MAGNIFICENT!!!! A menu of 150 or so items, with exceptional prices. Most gorgeous lobster/crayfish you have eaten, the BBQ chicken is to die for, and plenty of complimentary fruit for dessert. Everything was great! Even when I fell sick for a day (stomach bug), they packed me a takeaway meal and sent it back with my family! Note, I got sick from eating from another place :P

Gracelands Staff:
Staff at Gracelands are reasonable, some can be a bit short with you, really due to the language barrier and they need to get across certain information. That being said, some were very warm. On leaving, one of our group came down with exceptionally bad gastro (had it before he left too). We had an extension on our checkout time until the last minute when the taxi arrived, and they were very quick to get a doctor in to get him checked to check he could fly. The manager and other staff spent a lot of time with us to make sure he was comfortable and make sure they could do everything in their power to make him comfortable. We were so grateful!

The Spa:
Very good massages at the spa, however you can get decent massages out by the beach just across the road at the street stalls, or if you go into town there are some really good places.

Facilities:
Bowling was great fun, the pools are both really nice, and plenty of stuff at the beach to do. Can't say we were ever bored!

The Rooms:
We had three rooms. They were kept very clean, however, sometimes staff were a little relaxed with giving new towels. If this is so, just go to the reception and ask for more, too easy! Rooms are nicely furnished, and the aircon is really good. For the first few days you will need to keep it going! The beds can be seen as hard, however, once you get used to it, it does wonders for your back. I'd like a mattress like that one for summer!

Town - what to do?
If you go left up the side street away from the beach, you'll get to one of the town main roads. Turn right (south) and there are plenty of street stalls and such. On the eastern side of street there is a dentist who does whitening (big whitening sign outside). Definitely the pick of the bunch. Had a clean and teeth whitened. They speak fairly good English, and very accommodating. They did a better job of my teeth than my dentist, the whitening was really good and the price smashed back home! Massages are good all along this road, whether you are looking for a massage... some do a little more if you wish! Keep walking south and you will get to one of the main shopping plazas. Lots of stuff there. Between the dentist and plaza, there is a fairly run down looking warehouse structure with stalls inside. Very good for clothing bargains and such!

On the main beach road, there are also plenty of clothes shopping opportunities. One thing you MUST DO whilst you are in area is go to JOHN'S TAILOR. It is on the eastern side of the road, past Ka Ka, past the dirt soccer field, it has a black sign with yellow writing, and then shop is quite light (lots of light) with rolled up fabrics on the walls. This is not a dodgy tailor like others, these guys do a most professional job whether it be suits, shirts (business and more casual), jackets (men and women), women's business attire and women's dresses and ball gowns. The guys in there have great English, are open until about 10:30 most nights, and will measure you up for anything. They get you back to make sure they have the right measurements and such, and will push out your clothing in the time frame you are there (we had stuff in 5 days from the night we ordered.

So there you go, Gracelands is an exceptional place. Main thing is location, there is none better. All that I have mentioned is easy walking distance, and you are surrounded by very nice people, rather than the slightly rougher Patong Beach the further you go in town. Close to all the things I have mentioned, which makes carrying bags of shopping very easy.

If you chose Gracelands and explore the area close by, I wish you have such an amazing time as myself and my family did. Maybe see you there when we go back sometime this year ;) (It was that good!)

My partner and I stayed here last year and highly recommend it to all family and friends! Staff were very friendly and I was so happy with our room. We had a room right beside the main pool and on the ground level so we could easily slip out of the side door to our room and hop straight into the pool. The pool bar was great and the large list of cocktails! Buffet breakfast was amazing ! So much to choose from. The beach is directly across the road and a short stroll to shops and Bangla road. The resort also has bowling for a small fee which my partner and i enjoyed. If you are into fitness then the gym is ideal. We would get up early and do a workout before we set off on our adventures. Treadmills steppers and a variety of weights. Overall I love this place so much and highly recommend it! The only thing I could fault which isn't really the resorts fault is its very hard to get a pool bed. I found that even at 6am majority of ppl had placed towels on them to secure them for when they decided they wanted to go for a swim which is a little unfair when I noticed that some ppl had been out all day shopping to come back in the afternoon to then use the chairs. I think there should be monitoring of this or something. Maybe even simply a sign to say their towels would be taken if they were unattended after a certain time ?