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EVASON PHUKET
Pulling up to the hotel's 64 acres of beautiful, tropical, landscaped property, I was feeling pretty good about our hotel choice. But when we walked into the packed hotel lobby, I was shocked to see how busy it was. I think it was just bad timing as a tour group had just shown up. I didn't see it nearly that busy the rest of the trip. The sprawling resort has 260 rooms in five low-rise building. If you're not up for a lot of walking, there's a continuously running shuttle. This hotel is nice but definitely not five stars, as it's billed. In fact, I somehow mistook this resort for Evason's Yao Noi resort, which is more secluded and exclusive.

DUPLEX SUITE
Given the crowd, it took a while to get checked in but the hotel's outdoor lobby area is so uniquely designed and soothing, providing an incredible view of the Andaman Sea, that it was hard to mind the wait. But after the crowd dispersed, I was really able to relax, take in the sights and enjoy the welcome drink and cold towels. To top it all off, Natalie and I were upgraded to one of Evason's 21 duplex suites with a private pool! Two floors, two balconies, two bathrooms and two desks ... it was way more than any couple needs (100 square meters of total space.)

ROOM DETAILS
We had a garden room so there was no killer view of the sea. The bedrooms are located on the bottom floor along with the pool. All the rooms are air-conditioned, have an old TV with a DVD player, a mini bar, safe, hair dryer, big soft towels, and tea and coffee facilities. The rooms are built soundly but need some minor touch-up work, especially the tub and shower. The good news is that you can't hear the neighbors and with the high walls and different types of trees (which smelled wonderful, by the way) between the rooms and the path, there is some privacy … except when the pool guy comes around unannounced. For Internet junkies like me, they do offer wireless access; prices: 214 baht ($6.79) for one hour or 642 baht ($20) for 24 hours. The hotel business center had free computers and no need to worry about plug adaptors; the rooms have outlets made for U.S. plugs.

ECO-FRIENDLY PRODUCTS
What's nice about the hotel is that it's eco-friendly. They grow and produce all their food themselves. They have products, like body lotion, made with lemongrass to keep bugs away, the homemade soaps in the bathroom were made from orange and had a recycled paper wrapping. In the shower were clay dispensers of shower gel, shampoo and conditioner. But according to Natalie, the conditioner was the worst she'd ever used and tangled her hair badly -- something I wouldn't know about. Instead of leaving bottled water each time the maid came in to clean (twice a day), she left large glass bottles of water by the bed.

RESORT FOOD
There are several dining choices at the resort and they all are strategically placed facing the Andaman Sea. The first night, we dined at Into Thai. Here, the chef creates Thai specialties from various regions of Thailand and the result? The food is amazing! But the highlight was sitting there, staring out at the dark night sky, sprinkled with the bright twinkling of stars and a glorious moon that provided enough light to make out the surrounding mountainous landscape. When you shake your head and realize that you are halfway around the world, you just can't help but smile.

BREAKFAST BUFFET
Each morning, we indulged in the killer breakfast buffet at Into The View. The choices were vast, from a wide variety of fresh exotic fruit and any style eggs/omelets to all the usual breakfast trimmings like cereal, pastries, and of course lots of Asian dishes as well. You know what? I now love dim sum for breakfast. Besides staring out at the shimmering sea on a bright, sunny morning, my favorite thing to do was sample and mix the different fruit juices. Who would ever have thought that pomelo and lychee juice would taste so good together? Into The View also offers a nightly buffet. The one time we ate here, it was Italian night. I was disappointed at first because who would think, that in a remote part of Thailand, you could get good Italian food? Wrong again. And you don't just have to trust this half-Italian ... there were a few Italian families in the dining room and no unhappy faces. The only downside was that the dinnertime staff wasn't that efficient. They didn't come around to get the dirty plates, though in their defense, I'm sure they didn't think it was humanly possible for someone to go through courses as fast as I did. The one hotel restaurant we did not try was Into The Med, which serves Mediterranean dishes.



SIX SENSES SPA
The resort is famous for its Six Senses Spa and the service there was much better. We were greeted immediately, offered a cold towel, seat on the deck and fruit and drink while we filled out some forms, and then were shown to the dressing rooms. There's no need to tell you how fabulous the spa is but you might like to know that it's spread over three floors, it provides a truly relaxing experience and they only use natural products.

BON ISLAND
The hotel doesn't have a sandy beach on their immediate property though it does have several pools, one of which is an amazing adult-only infinity pool. However, exclusively for hotel guests is Bon Island. Just hop on the free, 15-minute, long-tail boat ride (the boats run hourly), out to the 140 meters of private beach, surrounded by a terrific tropical environment. The service there is excellent and is even better if you reserve (for a fee), a daysala, which is a little open-air hut with a daybed and outdoor shower (though no hot water), a cooler stocked with drinks and a phone to order "room service" from the island kitchen. Natalie and I ordered up some delicious pad thai, a mediocre hamburger and a dry chocolate brownie. Our daybed wasn't terribly clean or comfy but the views ... well, they were spectacular! It was the perfect place to take a nap after taking a dip in the warm water, which, incidentally is filled with colorful fish that swim right up to you when you walk in. Overall, this beach makes my top 10 list of all-time favorites.

OVERALL
The Evason Phuket & Six Senses Spa is a fine place to stay for a tropical getaway. It's family friendly and has a welcoming Thai staff. However, I will say that the staff is not as efficient as they should be. In addition to not clearing the buffet plates, the maids didn't clean the rooms very well and when we were checking out, I called to have our bags picked up and told them our car was arriving in 10 minutes; 15 minutes later they still hadn't shown up and I ended up carrying them myself. But other than those minor details, our trip was as pleasant as can be and for the amount of money, it's a much better deal than going to other tropical getaways most Americans visit. Rack rates for the lowest category room and breakfast for two people begin at just 4,500 baht ($142) but better deals can be found through a tour operator or websites like LastMinute.com. Evason Phuket & Six Senses Spa, 100 Vised Road, Moo 2, Tambol Rawai, Muang District, Phuket 83130, Thailand, Tel: +66 (0) 76 381010.

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