Sand Sea Resort: Pictures, Reviews and Rates

Big changes at Sand Sea Resort: On April 20, 2010, Sand Sea will tear down its old deluxe fan bungalows and build a new "Deluxe Chalet" wing, three small blocks of rooms, with 2 floors each, housing this new room category. Construction is expected to be completed by November 2010. Work will be carried out during the hours of 8am to 5pm daily. Guests staying during this period can expect noise during this time. Only the superior and Sweet Cottage bungalows will remain open for reservation as they are located furthest away from the construction site. Guests with confirmed reservations during this period in the deluxe fan and deluxe air con categories will receive a free upgrade to superior air con and Sweet Cottage respectively. For further details on the new rooms, please see below.

Sand Sea Resort is perfectly located bang in the middle of the spectacular west Railay beach. It's a well-maintained resort, with all its pretty, individual bungalows spread out over a vast tropical garden filled with flowers and exotic leaves.

Bungalows are spacious, spotlessly clean and, for the most part, tastefully decorated (although there are some amusingly kitsch aberrations). Each has its own terrace overlooking the garden and surrounded by enough greenery to make it private. Unlike the other neighouring resorts, Sand Sea does not offer public access to cross to the east side of Railay, so there are no passers-by and its rooms really are quiet and peaceful.

The restaurant, swimming pool and reception area border the beach and offer r 'n' r with soft drinks (though no alcohol is available at Sand Sea, you can bring it in - there's a minimart next door) and a decent Thai menu, with an emphasis on seafood. An early dinner is recommended to catch the great sunsets over the islands. Please note that Sand Sea is a Muslim-owned resort and as such does not serve pork or alcohol.

We can't really find any fault with Sand Sea, except perhaps that of many larger hotels: it's a little lacking in character. But the quality of the rooms and service you will receive are excellent value given the location - and the local staff are charming.

Rooms
There are 68 bungalows, spread out over a large tropical garden. The distance between the rooms and the amount of greenery means each is relatively private. All represent excellent value for money on the West beach, especially following the recent moves of Railay Bay and Railay Village Resorts (its neighbours) upmarket.

The charmingly (mis)named Sweet Cottages (to be corrected to Junior Suite Cottages from Nov 2010) are revamped (Nov 2007) deluxe bungalows, that have been turned into small suites designed for couples and equipped with king size beds, jacuzzi bathtub, telephone, satellite TV, digital safe, fridge and minibar, bathrobes and slippers, kettle with tea and coffee, hair dryer and a fruit basket and flowers on arrival. Their privileged location means the verandah overlooks the pool and sea.

All other accommodation comes with an outside terrace, hot water shower (no bathtub), television with satellite channels, telephone and fridge. Deluxe and superior air conditioned rooms also offer a kettle with coffee and tea set and a hair dryer. In terms of proximity to the beach, the Sweet / Junior Suite Cottages are in the first row, followed by the deluxe air con bungalows, the superior air con bungalows, with the deluxe fan bungalows being furthest from the sand. Deluxe fan and air con rooms are available as twin or double - Sweet Cottages and superior air con rooms are available with double beds only.

There are only small cosmetic differences between the types of rooms in terms of size, layout and furnishings.

As of April 20th, 2010, the deluxe fan category will no longer exist (see above) and will be replaced by 3 blocks of 8 hotel rooms known as "deluxe chalet", due to open in November 2010. These will have the same facilities as the deluxe air con bungalows, with the addition of a bathtub in the bathroom.

Interested? You can check rates and make a no obligation reservation enquiry now - click the link at the top of this page.