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Holiday Inn Resort Krabi Review (Thailand)

If you are looking for a family friendly place to visit all year round, or perhaps to find some winter sun, I can definitely recommend Thailand. We loved exploring the islands, including Koh Jum. The first place we stayed at was the family-friendly Holiday Inn Resort Krabi Ao Nang beach. We were invited to spend 5 days there for an honest review of our experience. (For latest prices see here)

This family hotel is situated in the quieter area of Ao Nang – with the most breathtaking views of the famous Thai sunsets -with hues of orange, red and pink.

We arrived early evening and were welcomed into the lobby, with a refreshing cold drink. The facilities were pointed out to us along with further information about the resort (including the free kids club and local area information. Restaurants, convenience stores, massage places, laundry, ATM, tour and taxi/tuk-tuk services located within walking distance.

Walking through the well kept, lush tropical gardens we were led to our room. After settling into our spotlessly clean room, our five-year-old was feeling hungry. (Both girls slept pretty well on the flight from London to Bangkok) We headed to the restaurant Inn Asia and sampled the chef’s recommendation of Pineapple rice and other local Thai dishes. Needless to say, there was not a lot left after we demolished our plates!

Rooms at the Holiday Inn Resort Krabi

We were staying in one of the two bed Kid Suites- which have sliding walls to make the space into one big area, or alternatively more private areas incorporating bedroom and separate lounge with bunk beds. The bathroom is shared and can be open plan or enclosed. A lovely touch was the child-sized sink for small people. There was no bath, but a shower.

The beds were very comfortable – so much so that no jet-lag worth mentioning occurred! We all went to bed at 10pm local time and just woke up in time for breakfast which finishes at 10am.

The Kids’ Room also has a large balcony, overlooking one of the pools. We didn’t find it noisy in the slightest and liked the fact that family and kids rooms are all in a family block.

Rooms come well equipped with an iron, ironing board, hairdryer, mini bar fridge (with room for your own items), kettle and tea and coffee. It would have been nice to be provided with fresh milk in the fridge for tea and coffee as standard. However, the staff were happy to supply from the pool bar.

Power sockets varied from the usual UK plug type to assorted sockets I’ve seen in the USA and Europe. I would still recommend bringing your adaptor, as these are multifarious with room type.

There is one TV, which can viewed from the bunk beds, the master bed or sofa and the girls were happy to watch a bit of the Disney channel and Zoo Moo – another kids’ channel.

A substantial room service menu is available with items such as prawn cakes, chicken and avocado wrap, various soups,, pizza, sandwiches, penne pasta, spaghetti bolognese, fish and chips as well as many other dishes.

Other rooms available

The Holiday Inn Krabi also has a Family Suite with two interconnecting rooms and specially themed kids room. The kids have their own bathroom and toys are provided!

My sister came over to visit us and she had a lovely room too in the ‘grown-up’ area. Lots of adaptors were available and the use of wooden floor and decore made the whole room feel spacious and chic. Her room had a bath, but our family room didn’t.

Kids’ Club

The complimentary kids club and Teen Zone, has a range of activities in the morning and afternoon for children aged five and over. Younger ones can attend with parental supervision or a babysitter. ( Must be booked 24 hours in advance) Socks must be worn inside the air-conditioned play area.  I was very impressed with how clean and well equipped the kids club is! A soft play area, with balls, steps and a slide, lego building table, SO many toys, games and puzzles, a TV area with bean bags, and more. The staff were friendly and engaged. They also provided fruit and water on request too. For older kids there are also play stations and Thai boxing kit.  This excellent play area and range of activities and toys, puts this up there as possibly the best hotel in Krabi for family holidays.

 

Pools

The Holiday Inn Krabi has 3 pools – 2 of which are for family use. Helpfully, they have a couples wing and pool located on the other side so you never feel like you are disturbing people. The kids pool with waterslides has graduated entry and it is PERFECT for toddlers or those nervous in the water. My youngest has never been a fan of pools, but she grew in confidence here. She could stand up, sit down and within a day she was using her armbands to practice floating. For my eldest, she loved hiding under the ‘mushroom’ water fountain and zooming down the slides. The largest was under repair during our stay, but that didn’t impede on any of her fun.

 

There are two sunbeds near the splash pool with an umbrella but the main sunbeds are around the other pool. Whilst we were there, we didn’t observe any of the annoying reserving sunbeds at dawn and not using them to 4pm behaviour. In fact, we never had a problem securing sunbeds at any time of the day.

Next door to the kids’ splash pool, is a deeper one with a swim-up bar- with excellent fruit smoothies. If your child is around 6, there are parts where they can just stand up but it’s predominately deeper for more confident swimmers. This pool also has the bubbling jacuzzi like bursts. There are warning signs up as the entrance to this pool can be a bit slippery on the tiles. The girls didn’t slip but I did once.

 

The pool area does have waiter service, or alternatively, you can head to the table and chairs to sit. The food at the bar was mainly snack items such as spring rolls, pizzas, beef burger, club sandwich, Caeser salad etc. Fresh fruit and ice cream were also available. However, I would have liked to have seen a few more healthier snacks and other vegetarian options – especially if I was staying for longer.

Around the pool is a small climb on play area, with a couple of slides and a large trampoline – the girls love these.

On-site activities

There is a list of daily activities organised by the staff near the ping-pong table. Examples of these are water polo, bingo, frisbee, badminton.

Massage

Thailand is famous for massages – the value is so much better than at home! My husband and no less than 3 here and I had 1. We were super impressed – the staff really managed to release some knots and make us feel a lot more relaxed.

Breakfast

Breakfast was a magnificent colourful buffet feast with numerous food stations – so you never get bored of what to eat. (Often the case in many places). I certainly couldn’t sample all of it, but it was a great blend of Western and Thai dishes for every palate. One of the favourites for the girls was the egg station, for made to order omelettes and of course the pancake station. It was great to see proper fresh fruit, as well as some home staples like cornflakes and muesli. Highchairs are available, and a lovely touch was plentiful melamine kids crockery and cutlery. I always worry that my kids will smash a china plate – so this was a welcome addition.

 

 

Here’s a little video I made of the room and resort:

Around the hotel:

Around the hotel are ATM’s, restaurants and mini-marts with Ao Nang a 15-minute walk away. My two LOVED the disco tuk-tuk! There are no seat belts or helmets but it is an experience. I would also highly recommended a long boat trip to the other islands. I’ve more information on this coming soon!

 

Verdict

This an excellent contender for one of the best family hotels Krabi. The added little touches make it a fun place for kids and adults. The kids’ pools and slides perfect for younger ones! For latest prices see here.

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