By Laurence Civil

It took only one hour and ten minutes to fly from Bangkok into the pearl of the Andaman Sea. Exiting the baggage hall we were immediately greeted by a chauffeur from the Ramada Phuket, who helped us with our luggage before driving us to Karen Beach on the southwest corner of the island.

As we pulled into the hotel compound we were greeted by a multi coloured sign reading This Is Where The Fun Be­gins. It’s therefore not surprising that the newly re-furbished resort, having successfully re-invented the concept of family vacations in Thailand was awarded “The best family resort in Southeast Asia 2007” by AGODA Travel network.

The resort sits within stepping distance of Karen Beach, an al­luring stretch of white sand ad­joining the crystal waters of the Andaman Sea.

For those looking for lively nightlife, Patong Beach is a mere 10 minutes drive away. The resort’s exterior and the 121 guest rooms and suites mimic the style of a Mexican Hacienda. In addition to the modern, standard and deluxe rooms the resort also has a number of wonderfully unique themed rooms for the kids, such as outer space and underwater rooms. These rooms, despite being at­tached to the parents’ apartment, encourage a degree of play­ful independence amongst the younger guests. There are also duplex castle themed suites available.

Dads were playing with young kids on their shoulders, throwing them up in the air and into the water as a way of build­ing confidence in the pool while having the time of their lives.

As I was travelling without kids I had a ground floor room with direct ac­cess to the garden pool. The entrance to the pool is at the back of the room. Passing through the doorway one immediately enters a lobby where a built in wardrobe to the left leads to a comfortably sized bathroom. To continue straight on the guest will enter a spacious bedroom with sitting area. The décor is practical and functional, polished concrete floors and walls painted in hues of vibrant mango yellow. There is a built in concrete sofa on one side of the room and a pair of chairs and a dinning table on the other; ideal for when one wishes to forego the restaurant and choose room service.

Beyond the bedroom is a covered terrace with a pair of sun loungers and direct access from the room to the pool area. The figure eight shaped pool is more recreational than Olympian in style, a place to splash about, cool off and have fun rather than to do laps. Dads were playing with young kids on their shoulders, throwing them up in the air and into the water as a way of building confidence in the pool while having the time of their lives. The hotel rooms cluster around the pool in a horseshoe formation with Joe Kool, the 50’s style American dinner, sitting at the open end.

Joe Kool does sell itself short when it claims to be “The world’s worst restau­rant, home of lousy food and overpriced drinks.” Staying at a beach resort where the weather is hot there is a need for simple honest food, especially for those with kids who can demonstrate a resistance to foreign food. The menu is pretty extensive, with a good selection of starters, salads, burgers, sandwiches, pasta and pizzas. Plus, for those who want to try something lo­cal there is a good selection of Thai dishes.

A neat touch is the placemats made of blue denim with a pocket for the cut­lery and a paper napkin. At the heart of every American dinner is a burger served with fries and ketchup. I tried their signature dish, Shroom Burger with freshly sautéed mushrooms, melted aged Swiss cheese, mayonnaise and pickles. This was a moist tasty burger with crinkly fish, an honest wholesome dish. For dessert I savored what is said to be one of Joe’s favourite dishes, bread & butter pudding topped with vanilla ice cream. The pudding was very tasty with a rich, thick texture and the ice cream made a nice balanced combination, washed down with a local beer.

After a very comfortable nights sleep, I showered and dressed, then made a cup of tea and took it out onto to the terrace to take in lungfulls of fresh

Even the most adoring parent needs their time away from the kids; World News Café is an adult oasis, an ideal location to enjoy coffee and cake while reading a book in peace.

morning sea air. I had woken early to enjoy the peace and tranquillity, no one else was about so I took a quick dip in the pool before breakfast. The set­ting of a natural lush tropical garden that surrounds the pool is in harmony with nature. A pair of gold beaked birds flew down onto my terrace to say good morning.
Breakfast is served buffet style in Joe Kool with mostly western items avail­able; I found the Mexican potatoes particularly tasty. It was nice to see they had beaker size glasses for the juices and freshly made tea or coffee was served in mugs, a jug of fresh milk was on each table.

Even the most adoring parent needs their time away from the kids; World News Café is an adult oasis, an ideal location to enjoy coffee and cake while reading a book in peace. Computers are available with Internet access at the affordable price of THB 20 per 15 minutes. Wifi is available for those who have brought their own laptop in the lobby and the ground floor seating areas.

Ramada Resort Karon Beach Phuket is ideal for families with pre-teen kids to holiday together, as the needs and expectations of both parent and child have been well thought through and delivered in a way to assure that eve­ryone has fun.