My husband and I had a lot of stress in the past few months and were looking to get away from it all over Xmas. After researching the resorts on Phuket, we saw the good reviews on this website of Phuket Pavilions and gave it a go.
What more to say, than we congratulated each other on the choice nearly every day... it was jst perfect.
Phuket Pavilions is small, only 21 one bedroom Pavilions and a few big villas and although the resort apparently was full, you would not know, because you hardly see anybody around. The Pavilions itself are completely private.

Service was second to none, from the drivers to the room maid we only saw friendly, smiling faces, always willing to serve and help.
What we liked: All, but especially, the size of Pavilion, great Pool and views. The service. The small details on the bed every night. Breakfast served in the Villa.
The in villa Spa: possibly the best massage I ever had. 360 bar - not once did we miss the daily happy hour at sunset, the Best place to see it on Phuket I can imagine.Cockails are yummy.
One day we choose the Romance day package with Spa, food and so on. It was heaven, we were pampered and had a wonderful time.
What we didn't like: if you keep the doors open bugs come in...

Thumbs up for Pavilions!

I wish the last two reviews had been posted before we booked the trip, as previously the hotel appeared to be fantastic according to the reports. But it must have all gone downhill recently, as our experience was more similar to the last two.

First the positives. The hotel does sit on a nice hill overlooking with nice a nice sea view (if you're in a one-bedroom villa, as none of the 3-bedroom villas have any sea view). The villas themselves are spacious (we've seen 3 and stayed in 2, more on that later) and the pool is very attractive. The villa is private and you can really skinny dip without any prying eyes. The staff are genuinely friendly, however very poorly trained. This is the fault of the management, which seemed invisible in our 5-night stay, and not the help. Wifi works pretty well.

Now a long list of the negatives. Our biggest problem is the amount of maintenance problems we faced in our 5 days, light bulb not working, shower head not working, shower drain clogged, air conditioning not working, water from the faucet putting out black water for 5 minutes, the pool being constantly dirty, the list goes on and on. It almost seems like nobody's lived in this villa for months. We are not extremely picky, but it felt like I was always on the phone with the front desk reporting a technical problem that wife jokingly said I should be the maintenance manager of this hotel. Because of the litany of problem we had to change room once, and nearly twice in 5 days. What a shame to handle such a nice property with such neglect.

Room service selection is limited, and same dish changes every day, taste and ingredient, (I suppose by a different cook). The bar staff appears so busy when the place was literally half empty. They tried, but have just not been taught the way of relaxed efficiency. My wife compares it with a bar in a disco, when 3 people behind the bar push one another aside to make drinks, serving about 5 people sitting at the bar. If I wanted to see this I would have moved to Patong. Had dinner at Banyan tree one time and I realized the food made this restaurant taste like MacDonald's, the service put the staff here like trainees at a corner coffee shop, eager to try but just not experienced enough.

All and all, it's not a place that deserves the price, over US$900 a night after tax and service. We would not recommend it unless management changes or really treats this hotel with the respect it deserves.

Pavilions offers incredibly large bungalows with their own huge swimming pool and a fantastic view over the sea. However, the bungalows are furnished relatively basic and tacky. The personnel ist very friendly and helpful. The degree of cleanliness in the bungalows does not correspond to the standard of a luxury hotel. All bungalows have wi-fi internet access with slow data rate and tv with only 13 channels. The 360 bar is supposed to be one of the most beautiful bars in Phuket and has a breathtaking panoramic view. The quality of the kitchen is far beyond average, but the little selection of menus, the long waiting times and the partially cold menues are a nuisance. Despite of many positive points, the hotel was not able to meet the high expectations. The hotel first and foremost is visited by young honeymooners from South Korea that can be characterised by their Mickey Mouse clothes and partner look. The hotel does not offer any restaurant and zero infrastructure. The breakfast is served in the lobby where there are only 5 small tables with chairs without backrests and armrests. The service personnel appears to be inexperienced and does not master the rules of servicing. The hotel is situated in a pretty remote location and the guest has to rely on the proprietary shuttle service when he wants to leave the hotel. Unfortunately the unrealible shuttle bus only departs every 2 hours. The deck chairs and parasols offered at the beach are impertinent. The hotel has no ambiance of luxury and exclusivity and is not able to meet the expectations of demanding guests by far.

We are frequent visitors to Phuket, and when we first visited Pavilions in July 2006 we were sure we had found heaven. We returned in November of that same year and had another great experience. We reurned a few weeks ago, November 2007, and were basically shocked at all the changes.

The first two times, we were met at the airport by a handsome driver dressed in white linen. The car was a new volvo, aircon, leather seats, etc. We were given a beautifuly scented cold towel, the wlecome drink was a Compari, and there was relaxing, groovy music for a ride to the hotel.

This time, a surly driver in a tattered uniform arrived to pick us up in.... a Toyoto van. The welcome drink was water. The towel was tepid and dripping wet. The music was a Thai radio station. Oh well.

The first two times, the manager met us on arrival, arranged everything for us (dinners, boat charer, golf, nighclub recommendations), and took care of our every need during the stay.

This time, there was no manager to meet us, and no sign of any management anywhere in the hotel, whatsoever, at any time during our stay.

First wo times, beautiful touches in the room - tiger orchids, wonderful bath amenties, spa products, etc.

This time, standard dreary hotel fare.

First time, the food was good to great. This time, it was yucky.

Previously, we loved the beautiful 360 bar, mingled with a surprisingly sophisticated crowd, and danced to great DJs. The bar is now closed, changed into a restaurant with ridiculously overpriced "buffet" food. There was no DJ and - not surprisingly - no customers.

The previoulsy enhusiac staff was now lacklauster. Before, we were given an ipod with groovey music. This time, the ipod had Korean pop songs. OK if you're Korean I guess, but we preferred the chill out stuff from before. When we complained, the staff claimed ignorance, and gave us another ipod, but it was broken.

I could go on, but anyway the place has sadly gone down hill. We met someone who owns a villa there and he told us that the hotel has now been taken over by a German management company focusing on group tours. Thats not us.

My husband wanted to check out but we stayed. He was right, we should have left. We certainly won't return. Next time, it's back to Trisara for us.