Showing posts with label hotels. Show all posts
10 tips about staying on Phi Phi
12:34
1. Even if you have pre-booked, Check-in/Check-out times will not necessarily match with your ferry arrival/departure times - usually hotels/resorts will look after your bags in the gaps so that you can get on and enjoy your stay.
2. A lot of rebuilding post tsunami has taken place, but in high season its still advisable to book before you come, you might be left with less choice
3. Rooms on Phi Phi are more expensive than the mainland but still pretty cheap for a world famous tropical paradise island! Expect to pay around double what you pay for similar on the mainland - it just costs more to provide the same services on an island 50km from the nearest mainland.
4.There are 4/5 star luxury resorts on the island but most of these are not in the main town area and require you to take a taxi boat to another part of the island - so it's not easy to come and look around for the more expensive/luxury resorts without prebooking.
5. At certain times of the year water supply, quality and pressure can be a challenge on Phi Phi, so unless you are going 5 star don't expect power showers or lashings of hot water.
6. Electricity is around 5 times more expensive on Phi Phi than the mainland, so many rooms will not have electrical items like hairdryers & kettles in the rooms. It's also nice to be aware of this if you ask a local to charge your telephone or plug your computer in - to them it might be a significant expense.
7.There are no cars on Phi Phi - so transfer from the pier to your resort is by foot. Many hotels, guest houses or resorts will meet you at the pier and help with your bags if you prebook - but the cheaper you go with your room the less likely this is to happen. If you book a room at the pier or on the ferry you should be able to negotiate your bags being carried for a small fee.
8. If you book & pay for a room with an agent at the pier or on the ferry - it's like any booking anywhere else in the world and you essentially lose your right to look around and change your mind when you get there (unless you forfeit your cash!). If you are fussy and want to see the room first - then don't book before you look! If you don't want to traipse around looking for rooms in the heat book ahead using websites or agents on the mainland with photos and just book for the one night - just in case you don't like what you get.
9. If you are prepared to do the leg work, you can generally negotiate small reductions on room prices during the evenings - but the risk is that everywhere is full or receptions are closed already. If you are staying for a few days - book the first night and then look around for bargains or something you like better - minus the bags and at your own pace.
10. Agents at the pier and on the ferries are not necessarily more expensive than walking around by yourself - mostly they work with a small number of hotels/guest houses or resorts and have arranged a special rate which includes their small commission.
2. A lot of rebuilding post tsunami has taken place, but in high season its still advisable to book before you come, you might be left with less choice
3. Rooms on Phi Phi are more expensive than the mainland but still pretty cheap for a world famous tropical paradise island! Expect to pay around double what you pay for similar on the mainland - it just costs more to provide the same services on an island 50km from the nearest mainland.
4.There are 4/5 star luxury resorts on the island but most of these are not in the main town area and require you to take a taxi boat to another part of the island - so it's not easy to come and look around for the more expensive/luxury resorts without prebooking.
5. At certain times of the year water supply, quality and pressure can be a challenge on Phi Phi, so unless you are going 5 star don't expect power showers or lashings of hot water.
6. Electricity is around 5 times more expensive on Phi Phi than the mainland, so many rooms will not have electrical items like hairdryers & kettles in the rooms. It's also nice to be aware of this if you ask a local to charge your telephone or plug your computer in - to them it might be a significant expense.
7.There are no cars on Phi Phi - so transfer from the pier to your resort is by foot. Many hotels, guest houses or resorts will meet you at the pier and help with your bags if you prebook - but the cheaper you go with your room the less likely this is to happen. If you book a room at the pier or on the ferry you should be able to negotiate your bags being carried for a small fee.
8. If you book & pay for a room with an agent at the pier or on the ferry - it's like any booking anywhere else in the world and you essentially lose your right to look around and change your mind when you get there (unless you forfeit your cash!). If you are fussy and want to see the room first - then don't book before you look! If you don't want to traipse around looking for rooms in the heat book ahead using websites or agents on the mainland with photos and just book for the one night - just in case you don't like what you get.
9. If you are prepared to do the leg work, you can generally negotiate small reductions on room prices during the evenings - but the risk is that everywhere is full or receptions are closed already. If you are staying for a few days - book the first night and then look around for bargains or something you like better - minus the bags and at your own pace.
10. Agents at the pier and on the ferries are not necessarily more expensive than walking around by yourself - mostly they work with a small number of hotels/guest houses or resorts and have arranged a special rate which includes their small commission.
water, laundry & wetrooms
18:00
These days when we travel so easily to remote destinations and so many other travellers end up in the same place it's often forgotten that its easier to create beautiful exteriors than it is to develop or change infrastructure so that water supply meets the standards we are used to back home.
A stop or two in an international hotel in Thailand en route to Phi Phi may lure you into thinking you are back home with great weather, white sandy beaches and palm trees. However, the reality is that this is country where many villages on the mainland, off the tourist trail, may have water for just a few hours a day and still rely on wells; and where waste water management is often handled by the home owner with homemade sceptic pits and kitchens are often unplumbed.
Culturally, around the world, kitchens and bathrooms probably demonstrate the biggest gaps. I know Thai people who laugh and think westerners who put carpet in their bathrooms are completely crazy; and in these days of heightened awareness of natural resources and conservation its an interesting argument to know who has it right with water guzzling machines plumbed in or a typical Thai family where its carefully managed in buckets and bowls.
If you see the bigger picture, and remember the devastation of the tsunami that hit Phi Phi less than 6 years ago, and that its an island more than 50 kilometres away from the mainland - it starts to make sense that when we look behind the scenes, beyond the colourful reception buildings that we would uncover bathrooms which to us might seem spartan.
Phi Phi is busy improving both the water quality and supply - but its a testament to the ingenuity and perseverance of the Thai that they can run businesses when water is cut off for hours, and how they manage to cook and wash up often with only bottled water.
If you look closely, while you'll be distracted by a growing number of beautiful looking resorts, hotels, restaurants and bars, you'll see some of the locals using the hidden outdoor wells for showering.
Some quick useful facts:
Laundry: typically 50 Baht per Kilo and returned next day to wherever you drop it off. There are many places doing this all over the Island. Resorts, hotels and guesthouses will also take laundry but this tends to be 60-70 Baht per Kilo. Don't send anything valuable, the water quality used for laundry is not great and whites can come back a little off-white as a result. Beware that there is generally no come back if clothes are lost or damaged in the laundry. There is no dry cleaning on the Island.
Public Toilets: There are no public toilets on the island, however, most bars and restaurants do have toilet facilities. Given the challenges with water and waste water on the island, its considered impolite to use toilet facilities in places where you are not a customer. On the plus side the island is very small and so you are never far from the bathroom in your room/hotel. In public places quite often there is a bucket and bowl flush rather than a plumbed in toilet - it might seem odd at first but it works well and conserves water. The waste water system on Phi Phi means that there is a ban on putting anything down the toilet, so NO paper should be flushed. The other quirky Phi Phi thing is that many public places (bars & restaurants) have the toilet paper stashed behind the bar or reception - so you just have to ask for it.
Drinking water: water from the taps is not drinkable.Water on the tables in the restaurants and bars is NOT tap water on Phi Phi. Free water in hotels, bars and restaurants tends to be from the very large water bottles - this is safe to drink. However, if you have a sensitive stomach, buy mineral water, rather than the basic opaque bottled water. The Ice is safe to drink - owing to the high cost of electricity on the island - none of it is made from tap water!
Bathrooms: hot water will generally only come from electric showers or boilers, very few places have any water heating facilities to give running hot water from the taps. However, with Phi Phi's tropical climate, a cold shower on Phi Phi is never really cold! Water conservation also means it's rare to find baths or bidets.
Still on the topic of water, but of another kind, being a small island Phi Phi is surrounded by the Andaman sea, and the beautiful blue warm water is never more than a step or two away and is always in view. It really is a paradise island but just a note to self, that tiny tropical islands often don't have all the modern conveniences you have at home.
A stop or two in an international hotel in Thailand en route to Phi Phi may lure you into thinking you are back home with great weather, white sandy beaches and palm trees. However, the reality is that this is country where many villages on the mainland, off the tourist trail, may have water for just a few hours a day and still rely on wells; and where waste water management is often handled by the home owner with homemade sceptic pits and kitchens are often unplumbed.
Culturally, around the world, kitchens and bathrooms probably demonstrate the biggest gaps. I know Thai people who laugh and think westerners who put carpet in their bathrooms are completely crazy; and in these days of heightened awareness of natural resources and conservation its an interesting argument to know who has it right with water guzzling machines plumbed in or a typical Thai family where its carefully managed in buckets and bowls.
If you see the bigger picture, and remember the devastation of the tsunami that hit Phi Phi less than 6 years ago, and that its an island more than 50 kilometres away from the mainland - it starts to make sense that when we look behind the scenes, beyond the colourful reception buildings that we would uncover bathrooms which to us might seem spartan.
Phi Phi is busy improving both the water quality and supply - but its a testament to the ingenuity and perseverance of the Thai that they can run businesses when water is cut off for hours, and how they manage to cook and wash up often with only bottled water.
If you look closely, while you'll be distracted by a growing number of beautiful looking resorts, hotels, restaurants and bars, you'll see some of the locals using the hidden outdoor wells for showering.
Some quick useful facts:
Laundry: typically 50 Baht per Kilo and returned next day to wherever you drop it off. There are many places doing this all over the Island. Resorts, hotels and guesthouses will also take laundry but this tends to be 60-70 Baht per Kilo. Don't send anything valuable, the water quality used for laundry is not great and whites can come back a little off-white as a result. Beware that there is generally no come back if clothes are lost or damaged in the laundry. There is no dry cleaning on the Island.
Public Toilets: There are no public toilets on the island, however, most bars and restaurants do have toilet facilities. Given the challenges with water and waste water on the island, its considered impolite to use toilet facilities in places where you are not a customer. On the plus side the island is very small and so you are never far from the bathroom in your room/hotel. In public places quite often there is a bucket and bowl flush rather than a plumbed in toilet - it might seem odd at first but it works well and conserves water. The waste water system on Phi Phi means that there is a ban on putting anything down the toilet, so NO paper should be flushed. The other quirky Phi Phi thing is that many public places (bars & restaurants) have the toilet paper stashed behind the bar or reception - so you just have to ask for it.
Drinking water: water from the taps is not drinkable.Water on the tables in the restaurants and bars is NOT tap water on Phi Phi. Free water in hotels, bars and restaurants tends to be from the very large water bottles - this is safe to drink. However, if you have a sensitive stomach, buy mineral water, rather than the basic opaque bottled water. The Ice is safe to drink - owing to the high cost of electricity on the island - none of it is made from tap water!
Bathrooms: hot water will generally only come from electric showers or boilers, very few places have any water heating facilities to give running hot water from the taps. However, with Phi Phi's tropical climate, a cold shower on Phi Phi is never really cold! Water conservation also means it's rare to find baths or bidets.
Still on the topic of water, but of another kind, being a small island Phi Phi is surrounded by the Andaman sea, and the beautiful blue warm water is never more than a step or two away and is always in view. It really is a paradise island but just a note to self, that tiny tropical islands often don't have all the modern conveniences you have at home.
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