4.4
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Though we never see the Sun @ The Naka Island Phukethttps://youtu.be/BBORQ6d7ZsE
I sat one morning at the outdoor bar counter of Rum Chapel. The pitter patter was accompanied by the vocals of Ed Sheeran piping out of them speakers. It had been raining since breakfast and as noon approached, it got heavy. The few guests that were trying standup paddle boarding had cleared from the beach. The families with kids that were waddling in the pool had retreated into their rooms. I stood my ground, still sipping my Americano. It was tranquil. Occasionally, the buzz of electric carts as they whizzed past behind was heard. They were ferrying guests to the pier on their checkout hour. Exclusive vibes, no one around, I like. Only the waiter browsing away on his phone, wondering when I will be calling on him for the bill. It was near lunch time, Tonsai Restaurant seemed deserted. One family was in the Chapel, they ordered hamburger for their child. The Chapel was where they served free ice cream to everyone, not just Marriott Bonvoy Kids. Supposedly, it was limited to just lemon and coconut flavors, those that do not go well with kids. But here they were kind. They offered strawberry, chocolate, or chocolate chips on some other days. My kid was happy. Happy kid equals happy family trip. Z-Bar, another restaurant right at the edge of the island, was closed. It only opens on weekends. Staying here, you are limited to dining in 3 restaurants they have. Unless you want to walk the path to the local village nearby. It rained and rained, we did not.
Breakfast was a buffet of limited spread. It was decent in taste. One dish that grabbed my attention was what they called poached egg. It was actually Egg Benedict, served on a layer of smoked salmon that sat on toast. The other that I loved was the freshly made waffle. The rest in the range were run of the mill. They had the usual western and Thai dishes served in warmers. On the Sunday and Monday we were here, they had a buffet going on. Sunday, the staff told us it was Seafood BBQ, we went for it. It cost a hefty 1,499 Baht per person (excluding taxes and charges). The only seafood they had was fish, squid and prawn of mediocre size. There was nothing exotic, like lobsters nor a fresh bed of oysters on ice. There was sushi, the rice was beady. There was a lot of pork dishes. And when we looked at the sign, there was no mention of seafood, so why did the staff told us it was a seafood buffet? Never mind that. Monday’s buffet was called Asian Night. It was much better then Sunday’s. They had slipper lobster, soft-shell crab, squid and prawn in the mix. They also had pork and chicken satay that were nicely infused with spices and they were tender. All the better and exciting dishes for under 1,000 Baht. Come on Naka, get your pricing right please. Rather disappointingly, none of the meals we had here thrilled my palette much. In one dinner, I ordered Hor Mok (Thai curry fish custard). It is a traditional Thai dish. It was nicely grilled and wrapped in banana leaves. 3 large slabs, generous and visually appealing. But the taste… I think they used seawater. Seriously, Hor Mok here needs some heavy desalination. Pineapple fried rice, visually appealing. But like the sushi, the rice was beady. I was having high expectations on dining in Naka, for the prices were high and the resort exotic.
What met my high expectations were the amenities in our Tropical Pool Villa set up high on the hill. I would say that it encompassed the all the charms of a simplistic clay hut but is imbued with all forms of elegant luxury. The land area each villa occupies is a whopping 450 square meters. The bedroom is an air-conditioned enclosure. The bed is large, in clean white linens. It has its own netting in case you want to open all the windows for a sleep embraced by mother nature. The large window overlooks the plunge pool. Over the low bushes that formed the perimeter, we can see the ocean and the mainland beyond through the canopy of trees. A wooden pavilion stands by one end of the pool. And on the other end, 2 deck chairs and beach umbrella. Too bad we did not get to enjoy them much. It rained almost non-stop in our 4 days here. Behind the bedroom is an enclosed passage that is naturally ventilated. It is where the loo, the vanity counter with two basins and where the shower is. The shower doubles as a steam room, we enjoyably used that several times. The passage was protected from insects by having meshed windows all along both sides of the corridor. It was like we were in an aviary. We were the birds inside. At the end of the passage where the shower is, a wooden door opens out to the interior open sky garden. There stands a tree, and a bathtub housed in an open hut. Another door beside the hut, a flight of stone steps leads down into the pool. Everything is heavily themed in clay and wood. It is truly exceptional.
To get to Naka is over water. It is a 10 minutes ride in their hotel boat. However, finding out where to embark on the journey was a hunt for information. All the hotel told us was to go to Ao Po Grand Marina and meet them there. When we arrived, we had no clue where to wait or exactly meet. We saw a taxi stand operated by the Phuket folks. There were several people dressed for a good holiday that stood out. So, we approached and asked, they said yes to my question. Then we saw a golf cart arriving and we were finally sure that we were on the right track.
Over the 4 days we were here, we enjoyed just chilling it out in our exotic villa best. Most times were too cold for a swim. We only saw the sun on the final day before checking out. On one of the mornings, we visited the sea spots center. We went out for an exciting ride encircling the whole island in a rented jet ski. The machine we were told, is owned by the residents of the island. There is no kid’s club here, but they have what they called a Kids' Game Room. It was… well my kid did not want to play in there. It seems in this review there are some mild rantings about several shortcomings. Yes, there are, and Naka should really look into improving guest reception, and to pay more attention to their food. But for me, those drawbacks did not significantly douse a happy holiday we had. The surroundings this resort is crafted in, the design of the entire place, the vibes, they are just overwhelmingly exquisite. The sun would have made it perfect. Perhaps another time then.
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