At a glance:

The InterContinental Phuket is a luxury beachfront resort with 221 rooms and suites located at the end of Kamala Beach. Split across both sides of the main highway and connected by an underground tunnel, it offers expansive facilities, many family friendly amenities, and easy access to the local town.

What it actually is: A beautiful, high-end resort with great beach access, comfortable accommodations, and resort amenities.

What it is not: A quiet, fully secluded sanctuary (due to ongoing villa construction and lively main areas).

Time of year: Spring

Room Type: Classic Mountain View Room

Scores

Hotel Design: 80 – Visually, it is a nice property on both sides. The inner courtyard offers contemporary Thai design with a temple where the spa is located and pools that surround it. The hotel is split on both sides of the main highway and seamlessly connected via a clean, well-lit underground pedestrian tunnel with gold cart service available. Nearby villa construction is making the area and hotel property feel more dense with high rise buildings.

Location: 85 – Fantastic location right at the end of Kamala Beach. The beach itself is lovely and excellent for swimming, and it is an easy, flat walk straight into town whenever you want to access local restaurants, drinks, groceries, or shopping.

Sleep: 85 – We slept well as the bed was very comfortable.

Service: 80 – Mixed experience. While staff across the resort were generally pleasant, there was a noticeable lack of rule enforcement around designated areas (such as adults-only spaces). Housekeeping was great as they replenished our water daily and often gave us a couple of extra bottles.

Room Design: 88 – Our room had a spacious layout that felt more like a junior suite than a classic room. It featured a large entrance closet with an air purifier, a combined living and sleeping area, and a spacious bathroom with a tub, shower, and wide vanity almost as big as our condo at home! The balcony was spacious with two chairs, though it faced neighboring rooms and ongoing construction.

Room Amenities: 83 – The room had a safe, robes, slippers, minibar, fast Wi-Fi, Nespresso-style machine, bottled water, and standard Byredo toiletries. Shower pressure was excellent. However, there was no empty mini-fridge for personal use as it came pre-stocked with hotel items that weren’t kept particularly cold.

Hotel Amenities: 80 – Features a nice gym, a dedicated kids’ club, reserved beach chairs, and great bars. However, the pools were a major letdown as they were way too warm and it was unappealing to swim in. Additionally, while the rooftop infinity pool is strictly designated for adults only, guests kept bringing children up anyway, and staff did nothing to enforce the rule. The beach area had lots of loungers, umbrellas, and showers. There were ample onsite dining options but we did not find them appealing based on our tastes.

Vibe: 75 – Crazy rich Asians/Russians meets families on vacation. Very busy and noisy, especially with the ongoing villa construction and noise from the beach club bar.

Cleanliness / Maintenance: 80 – The common areas were well maintained despite people leaving messes, but our room could have been slightly cleaner in some spots.

Value / Extras & Perks: 76 – We used a combination of a free stay voucher, points, and a cash rate. This hotel is quite expensive, as is expected for the area and calibre. No extras or perks other than complimentary premium water in the mini bar daily and some discounts on hotel restaurants and bars, that require you to read the fine print as many things are excluded.

OVERALL: 81.2

Would we stay again? No.