We brought a Living social package for our stay in Surin Phuket. We were met at the airport and taken to our hotel- this was included in our package (other wise is about 800 BHT). We had upgraded our package to a pool suite. We arrived about 11.00 but our room wasn’t ready- check in is 2.00pm. Our room 611 was in the newer part of the hotel – which I’m glad about as the older part looked really dirty and in need of a renovation (we sat by the pool there one day as there were no spare lounges on our side of the hotel- we lasted about 10 mins as the smell from the drains was horrible). Our room was spacious but as other reviewers have said needed a paint re do (there were marks all over the bathroom wall were mozzies had been squashed) - there were bare plaster walls which I’ve read are supposed to be part of the hotel decor – erm not sure about that. The bathroom had a lovely big shower with a rain shower head (which we couldn’t use as it was clogged up – maybe just needed a lime scale clean) there was another shower head which kept dropping down so we jammed it up with some flannels – the bottom of the shower was mouldy which could have been easily fixed with some bleach and a scrubbing brush. The tap in the bathroom was very wobbly –another easy fix hubby said. The room was dark of an evening leaving it impossible to read. The rooms pool area was ok but they could have been a couple of lounges instead of the two uncomfortable chairs that were there- the pool didn’t look overly clean and I’m not sure that the filtering system is on enough. There was a bad smell outside of our room, but it didn’t penetrate into the room .Housekeeping was good- the towels and beds were changed every day, but i don’t think they did much else. We had a problem with our aircon – within 10 mins of reporting it the maintenance guy was there to fix it. The pool area in our side of the hotel was lovely and the pool sparkling clean, my only gripe is that there was not enough beds (and there were the guest that got up at the crack of dawn to “reserve” their spots which reduced the numbers even more) – there is a nice outside bar area that serve snacks etc, but this was on the expensive side for Phuket. Breakfast was part of our package – again the breakfast room was nice but if you looked closer at the ripped and stained cushions and food on the floor it was a bit off putting – breakfast its self was ok – everything that you could want (apart from decent tea of coffee- but this is Thailand!) though i am concerned that the food is tepid rather than warm or hot – it seems that the ban maries are not left on- there is a eggs station which was nice- the milk we had for our cereals was warm and should have been kept on ice- there were pastries but when i looked they were not covered and had some flies on them- we had breakfast here for only 1 day out of our 7 as we had bad tummies after the first- I’m not attributing our sickness to the breakfast but it meant that i couldn’t trust the breakfast from then on. Service was good, attentive and i didn’t have a problems communication, the majority of staff speak some English and do look like they are really trying to learn. We ate in the restraint one night as we had a voucher to dine as part of our package but when we compared the voucher menu with the normal menu we chose to forfeit the voucher and choose and pay for the normal menu. The food was ok, service great until they brought the wrong food to our table – it’s a lovely setting though – the hotel at night is simply beautiful with candles and lamps- it’s just when its daylight the dust and sometimes “grottiness” of this hotel can be seen. It’s a real shame as it has the potential (without spending huge amounts of money or time) to be so much better. I asked to see the duplex rooms which looked good- lots of room and a balcony. The beach is just across the road and along the park area- it’s one of the better beaches in Phuket- the guys from Mr Tans will grab you a bear or cocktail. The hotel provides beach towels. There is a laundry just past the hotel that is much cheaper than the in house laundry service and a there are a couple of mini marts for beers and water. I recommend Taste (we went twice) and the beach club for dinner also try the supper club – a taxi ride away for about $500 BHT. Breakfast at the hotel next door was fabulous- buffet of hot food, assortment of bread, champers and proper coffee and juice- i think it was about $35 a head- though we got there about 30 mins before they closed 10.30 and there wasn’t much hot food left.. Massages for about $10 down at the beach we chose the ones next to the beach club as they seemed the busiest and they did a great job. The hotel provides transport one way to Patong but you have to book 3 hrs in advance and we were not that organised – we took a taxi into patong for 500bht. We got a great deal via living social however if i had of paid the going rate i would have been very disappointed and would have been complaining quite a bit about the niggling things that bring this lovely hotel down to a 3 star.

The Manathai is in huge need of a refurbishment. The rooms were musty and tired. Every painted wall in our room was marked. It is a long time since this resort resembled the photos on their website. The pools were both small and had very limited surrounds. The high point was the restaraunt, the food was first class and the service was great.

My Husband and I stayed in the Manathai Resort from 26th Dec 2011 for 10 nights. We booked the standard Lanai room but were upgraded on arrival to a Lanai Suite room number 422. The room looked over the car park near the reception area and main pool but we didn't have any issues with noise or smells from the pool bar or air con units. Very good first impressions of the room, good size, lovely furnishings and had a really big shower area. We didn't use the pool or eat in the restaurant as we spent most of our time at the beach.

Breakfast was OK, however there wasn't as much choice as other 4 star hotels I have stayed in. However the egg station was good so we were happy.

The best thing about this hotel is it's location. We wanted to stay somewhere close to Patong but far away to be able to relax on a nice beach. The Manathai was prefect for this. We loved Surin Beach and will definitely be going back. The hotel was a few minutes walk to the beach and there was a dedicated area with free sunbeds for Manathai guests. As Surin is quite quiet we would catch the free transfer to Patong every second night paying only 500 Bahts to get home by taxi.

All in all, the Manathai Resort was perfect for what we were looking for... Traditional Thai hotel, close to a nice beach and quiet resort but easy to get somewhere busy when we wanted.

If we had any feedback rather than complaints, I would say the reception staff could definitely be friendlier as they generally didn't acknowledge you which is unusual in the Land of Smiles. We had a couple of small issues while we were there but nothing that I would complain about or put us off staying again.

We booked a Pool Suite at Manathai for our honeymoon in Feb this year...
We were incredibly impressed by the resort - despite needing abit of maintenance done.

PLUSES:
The staff were friendly and helpful.
Breakfast provided - huge variety of options.
Free shuttle to Patong
Limosuine and Driver available for tours/airport pick up and drop off
Clean resort
Stunning design work and lighting around resort
Located so very close to beach
Close to awesome resturants
Safe and secure

NEGATIVES:
Not all that impressed with the meals from the Manathai's resturant (The Weaves)
Had a cleaner walk in on us despite having the 'DO NOT DISTURB' sign up

All in all, we were happy with our stay and if we ever get the chance to have a child free holiday again - We would be happy do another stay at Manathai.