Centara Grand Beach Resort Phuket

Rooms and decor

Centara Grand Beach Resort Phuket picked its spot well — it sits on the small southern end of Karon Bay, with a private beach in front of the hotel and no road to cross. The 262 rooms and suites are spread across 3 buildings, done in a contemporary Thai style of browns and creams. Standard rooms run 40-45 sqm with a private balcony, the Deluxe Ocean Front looks straight out to sea, and the Family Loft Suite is 80 sqm with two bedrooms — room for two parents and two or three kids. Real reviews on Trip.com (8.4/10) split fairly clearly: guests in an ocean-view room agree the view is wide and easy on the eye, while guests in a standard garden-building room grumble that the room feels dated. The move is to book the ocean view or the Family Loft when you reserve.

Food and amenities

The thing that made Centara Grand Karon a family destination Thai families know well is the free in-resort waterpark — a 60 m lazy river, 3 slides (tall, mid-height and one for kids), a shallow kids' zone and a play waterfall, open 09:00-18:00 at no extra cost. There is also a Cenovaree Kids Club with minders running baking, drawing and games, free for guests in a Family room or above. Add 2 more pools and 4 main restaurants — The Cove for the international breakfast buffet, Cove Brasserie for steak and seafood, Suan Bua for Thai, and Hagi for Japanese. The Cense Spa works in Thai herbal treatments, the gym runs 24 hours, and there is a tennis court and aqua aerobics in the pool. Overall score: 8.6/10.

Location and getting there

Centara Grand Karon sits at the far southern tip of Karon Bay, where the beach narrows before it meets the small Karon cove, so there is an 80 m private beach out front — clean white sand with free umbrellas and loungers, and a 1-2 minute walk down from your room. Want a longer beach? The main Karon beach is 200 metres away, and Kata is a 5-minute drive. Patong is 9 km and about 18 minutes by car, while Phuket airport sits 36 km out, roughly a 50-minute to 1-hour drive. The location pays off — you are on the beach and close to the Karon-Kata strip, which is thick with restaurants and massage shops.

Things to know before booking

Straight talk to help you decide. First, the lobby and some areas look dated — the resort has been open more than 20 years and the lobby has not been fully renovated, so anyone coming from the Hyatt Regency or The Slate may not be wowed; the answer is to spend your time in the room and by the pool. Second, costs inside the resort run high — meals are about $23-43 a head and drinks $7-11 a glass, while the eateries out the side gate along the Karon road cost far less. Third, peak season gets very crowded: over New Year, Songkran and through October the slides carry a 10-15 minute queue and the kids' pool fills up, so traveling about two weeks after the peak is much easier.

Our take

Centara Grand Beach Resort Phuket is the pick Thai families love and return to year after year. The free in-resort waterpark and the small private beach out front are the combo that makes a family trip easy to pull off, and a starting rate around $97 is real value. If your idea of a trip is letting the kids swim all day without leaving the resort, a kids' club that buys the parents a breather, and a beach you can reach in a minute, this lands well. If you are a couple or traveling solo and want a sleek, modern, quieter feel, another option on the list fits better. Overall we give it 8.6/10 — best for families with small to mid-age kids and anyone who wants an in-resort waterpark at a price they can actually book.