Villa in Ao Yon, Cape Panwa, con Piscina esterna privata (non riscaldata) e Giardino privato

Dear Vilva, Thank you for the wonderful comments of 'simply amazing' for the villa and location. Your comments are very important for us and we shall use them to make the experience better for our guests. Please let me clarify and comment on the other points you raised. Guest: Whilst the villa was simply amazing and the location was perfect the package promised was not delivered. Villa Reply: Thank you for your kind words. The villa certainly is located on the nicest beach in Phuket and is super modern and spacious. Guest: There was blocked drains almost every day. Villa reply: As the villa manager told you, Thailand does not enjoy any type of main drainage at all and so all toilet paper and sanitary towels must be placed into the bins provided in the toilets. You will find the same on every villa on Phuket, from 5-star resorts, to luxury beach houses too. Your guests were not happy to use the bins provided so our staff had to pull toilet paper and sanitary towels regularly out of the toilets. We did stress this to you several times but your guests continued to block the toilets with these items. Guest: We were promised a personal concierge and villa manger. This person was new and could not advise on anything. we had to use the locals to assist with attractions, boat hire, taxis etc. Villa reply: You were right we had a new villa manager, and she was very experience and very helpful. I am sorry she sometimes did not immediately know the answer to any questions you may have had. Guest: Free full time chef, again you are presented with a menu and have to order from that specific menu for everyone. Which was very expensive. (i have a copy to review) approximately 695 THB per person for canapés and 1295 THB per person for dinner. the impression we got we could order a few dishes and will only pay for the ingredients. This is not the case. Villa reply: Yes you had a free full time professional chef saving you over £500 each day on the normal hire rates. We provide menus of a wide selection of dishes that rage from 350THB per person to the most expensive at 1295 THB per person. The comments we received regarding the food is delicious, amazing and super value for money. It is far cheaper and much higher quality than eating in a restaurant, and gives a true villa experience. Having menu choices is the only way this can be prepared, and charged to the guests. You mention two menus, an Asian canapes menu for 695 THB, and the Grilled BBQ Buffett banquet menu for 1295 Thai baht. Personally I, and the majority of our guests do not find the prices at all expensive, on the contrary I think they are excellent value. Please have a look at what is included again, for each person:- Asian Canapes - Chinese dumpling with shrimp filling and traditional dim sum dipping sauce - Classic Thai chicken with cashew nuts (Gai ped med muang) - Minced pork stir-fried with fresh basil and chilli (Moo Sap Pad Krapow) served in a crispy pastry shell - Locally caught seabass, deep fried, and skewered, served with a sweet chilli sauce (Pla tord raad prig) - Fresh vegetable spring rolls with a Thai plum dipping sauce (Por pia sod) - Classic Thai chicken and fillet beef satay skewers, served with Khun Sao delicious peanut sauce (Gai satay) - Grilled pork tenderloin in fresh salad leaves flavoured with chilli, garlic and lime (Yam moo yang) Price 695 THB per person Grilled BBQ Buffet Menu 2 Starters - Tomato and mozzarella salad - Classic coleslaw salad - Caesar salad with seasoned grilled chicken - Mixed green salad - Freshly baked bread rolls and butter Mains (BBQ) - Chicken fillet skewers marinated with fresh herbs & lemon grass - Locally caught Thai prawn skewers marinated with herbs - Imported premium Australian grass-fed striploin steak - BBQ whole white snapper with special ‘good luck’ sauce made from the villas own tamarind tree - Grilled Mediterranean vegetable skewers, drizzled with balsamic vinegar and olive oil - Buttered BBQ corn on the cob and grilled bell peppers - Jacket potato with butter - Steamed Thai jasmine rice - Sauce selection: Béarnaise, hickory flavoured BBQ, tzatziki, chimi churri, black pepper, Thai sweet chilli, Thai lemon & garlic seafood Desserts - Chocolate brownie with walnuts - Fresh fruit of the season Price 1295 THB per person Guest: Mini bus and driver available you only pay for mileage. This was not the case. The new villa mange will call a local taxi company and rates was more than normal so we called taxis and negotiated much cheaper rates. Villa reply: We negotiate special rates for our guests to use minivan and not normal taxis. Guest: Very deceptive. food and water were rationed and we were made to feel very uncomfortable when we requested top ups. Villa reply: Nothing is rationed and we have free water always on hand and available. Guest: We arranged a private speed boat and did the island. The villa manger organised the same trip for us with a commercial boat which was going to cost us a lot more. I think this company is just out to make money not make your trip memorable. Villa reply: Your thought the price our villa manager offer for a private speedboat tour was expensive. As she explained we only operators, that are licensed, with modern boats, trained crew, and two or three engines. Of course it is possible to find old boats with a single engine, untrained and unlicensed equipment but we cannot offer those to our guests. Guests: massages included was average on the beds in your room and any extras cost 500 THB, however 10 steps from the villa on the beech the massages cost 400 THB and much better. I am not sure if the owners actually know what is happening. Villa reply: Again I am sure you can find a massage for $2 or $3 cheaper on the beach, but we are asking a trained massage therapist to travel to the villa and massage you in the air conditioned comfort of your own room, with privacy and a shower. You can also opt to have the massage around the villas pool. The beach massages are indeed $3 cheaper but you are lined up alongside 6 other people, without privacy or comfort. It is simply not possible to match that price. Other hotel and resorts charge 2,000 to 4,000 THB for private massages. We think the fee of 500 THB we have negotiated for our guests represents outstanding value. Guests: I think they have this huge expectation of what their guest should expect and perhaps want to make it memorable, but it is not executed. I did send an email to Steve and Julia before doing this review , however Julia advised the are very busy and could not discuss our feedback. So i decided to flag it here. I would not book this place again although we are looking for a large venue for our sons wedding. this place while beautiful was deceptive and very much focused on costs not the experience. very very disappointing. Villa reply: I am sorry but I could not locate your email to Steve, who arranged your villa for you. I am sorry you though the villa was expensive. Steve agreed to the 20% discount when your reserved the villa, and he thought you got an exceptionally low price. Guests: We should of realised this when we booked we had to pay for the accommodation almost 3 months in advance and in the tiniest print it is converted from sterling to Australian dollars and a huge credit card fee. this is all about the money ...... i think you can get much better accommodation for that cost. Villa reply: As you know we charge a 25% deposit to secure the villa, and you paid the balance 6 weeks before arrival, which is actually due 8 weeks before arrival. All of our competitors as for the whole payment at the start, as well as the sites like Airbnb and HomeAway etc. The conversion from AUD$ to GBP$ is done at the market spot rate and there is a 2.5% credit card processing fee, that is waived if you pay be bank transfer or direct debit. We are very sorry the villa did not live up to your expectation. We would certainly like to make that right in the future. If you like to return we would offer a special 25% discount, and you would be assured of our best attention at all times. Kind regards, Khun Pum. Villa Manager