The Thai town of Patong has been famous for many years as the most popular resort on the island of Phuket. Thousands of tourists are attracted by the local exotic nature, mild maritime climate, sandy beaches, developed infrastructure and great opportunities for entertainment and shopping. You can swim in the sea and sunbathe on the city beaches in Patong all year round, with the only difference being that during the rainy season, from December to February, high waves on the sea or heavy short-term showers can interfere with your vacation.
An additional plus of the resort is a large selection of hotels of any level of comfort at very affordable prices. One of the hotels with quite affordable prices, Raha Gold Residence Patong 3, is located next to the famous shopping and entertainment center Jungceylon. You may notice that reviews of a budget hotel left on Russian-language forums for tourists are rather contradictory. What did former guests like at Raha Gold Residence 3 (Phuket)? What are the shortcomings most often noted by tourists vacationing in this hotel?
About the hotel
Raha Gold Residence 3 was built in 2013, in the central part of Patong. This is an eight-story building offering 60 small rooms, including non-smoking apartments. The hotel is part of the hotel chain along with the respectable Raha Grand Hotel, whose buildings are located 40 meters from Raha Gold.
The hotel is in demand among tourists due to its convenient location. In addition to the Jungceylon center, within walking distance from the hotel building there is a large round-the-clock city market, a water park, the most famous show on the island - Simon cabaret and the main place for nightlife, Bangla Road. Phuket International Airport is 25 km away.
Infrastructure
The infrastructure of the Raha Gold Residence 3 hotel includes:
- Reception.
- Restaurant (Oriental/Chinese à la carte).
- Buffet restaurant.
- Snack bar.
- Business Center.
- Shops (products, souvenirs) - on the territory of the hotel.
- Elevator.
- Laundry/dry cleaning with ironing service.
- Beauty/Spa/Massage Salon.
- Fitness room.
- Rooftop pool.
- Open terrace.
At the reception there is a 24-hour front desk with concierge services, quick check-in and check-out. For the convenience of guests, there is an ATM, a left-luggage office, an exchange office.
Wi-Fi is provided free of charge on the territory of the hotel, there is a free parking lot for vehicles and a rental pointcars.
The main inconvenience of the hotel's infrastructure can be considered that some of the amenities offered, including the pool, bar and restaurant, are not located in the building itself, but nearby, in the Raha Grand Hotel.
Beaches and beach holidays
The hotel is located on the third coastline, just a 10-minute walk from the sea coast. The most accessible for guests of Raha Gold Residence 3(Phuket) Patong Beach. This popular beach with clean white sand is equipped with sun loungers and parasols. In the daytime, on Patong Beach, you can not only swim and sunbathe, but also find various types of active water activities: rides, diving, sea fishing and much more. The beach is always crowded, there are bars, many vendors of food, drinks and inexpensive souvenirs. In the evening, the entire beach area turns into a place for a disco: beach equipment is removed, loud music plays until the morning.
Besides Patong Beach, there are several more beaches in the city that are quite well equipped and relatively clean. In general, the territory occupied by the beaches has a length of more than 3 km. What impressions about a beach holiday are most often shared by the guests of Raha Gold Residence (Patong) 3 ? Reviews often note such features:
- Beautiful scenery, clear sea water and white sand. Good access to the sea. Very picturesque sunsets, especially in the northern part of the city.
- Variety and flexible prices for water activities.
- Inventory rental is quite cheap, about 100 rubles. Staffrental centers are very attentive, umbrellas are constantly adjusted to create the most comfortable conditions for vacationers.
- Fun and safe discos.
Tourists are most often indignant at the road from the hotel to the beach: the whole path is littered, there are frequent complaints about an unpleasant smell and a large number of insects. As for the beach itself, the shortcomings are the importunity of local merchants, a small amount of plankton in sea water, pollution of the territory during a large influx of tourists.
Numbers
Check-in time at the hotel: 14.00, check-out from the room before noon. Apartments for living in Raha Gold Residence (Patong) 3 are conventionally divided into the following categories:
- "Standard", designed for the settlement of two guests (19 m², double or 2 separate beds, shower room).
- Double superior (Superior) - 29 m², double or twin beds, some rooms have a balcony, shower or bath. There are several connected apartments of this type.
- Deluxe room for three guests, 29 m², double or twin beds, bathroom. Some apartments have a balcony.
All rooms are equipped with air conditioning, a TV (plasma), hair dryer, kettle (coffee machine), bathroom, safe (included in the price). The room is cleaned daily, guests are provided with hygiene products, drinking water.
The rooms are designed for people with disabilities. Optional when orderingrooms can be selected from the hotel stock:
- Honeymoon suite.
- Non-smoking room.
What you need to pay attention to when booking: Standard rooms are cheaper than others, but due to the unusual layout of the building, they do not have windows. The conditions there are quite acceptable, but guests who feel uncomfortable are advised to take an apartment with a window.
Equipment and general condition of the rooms: guest opinions
The level of comfort in Raha Gold rooms is most often mentioned in reviews by those guests who did not like the hotel. As a rule, first of all, tourists are discouraged by the layout of rooms without windows. What, according to former guests of the hotel, does not correspond to a three-star level? And how can Raha Gold Residence (Patong) 3 attract new guests? Reviews of tourists are quite unanimous: you should not count on a spacious room or "five-star" comfort in an inexpensive hotel, primarily intended for tourists who come to sunbathe all day and have fun at night. What are the advantages of staying in this hotel for tourists?
- Good furniture and comfortable beds in the rooms.
- Daily cleaning, change of bed linen, towels.
- Large modern flat screen TV.
- Fresh renovation. Modest, but quite cozy interior.
But there are enough comments about the hotel rooms:
- Lack of soundproofing. A huge minus, given the proximity of the busiest street of the city with a largethe number of night discos and the roadway next to the hotel.
- Technique and equipment in the rooms are not new and often break down. Switching off Wi-Fi or a Russian-language channel, not working sockets, a kettle, a towel dryer - all these problems are often mentioned by former guests. It is worth noting that faults are repaired at the request of the guest at the reception.
- In-room safe does not provide secure storage. It's just a box, not attached to the wall or floor, with an easy-to-open lock.
- Despite the fact that there is a kettle in the room, tea-drinking utensils may not be brought to the room. Tourists have to buy mugs, spoons and tea itself at the mall.
- Cramped bathroom.
Paid services
- Transfer (bus or minibus from/to the airport).
- Breakfasts (optionally included in the room rate when booking).
- Extra bed (at 2016 prices: children under 12 - 500 baht/day, over this age - 700 baht/day).
- In-room food and drink delivery.
- Babysitter (nanny).
- Massage.
- Washing and ironing clothes.
Food
The hotel provides the opportunity to immediately pay for breakfast for the entire stay. However, for tourists accustomed to the "buffet", the set of dishes for breakfast may seem too modest. There are few reviews about the quality of food in the restaurants of the hotel complex, but the assessment of the hotel's cuisine is positive: the dishes look appetizing, the food is of high quality. The Chinese restaurant on the ground floor features a large number of exoticdishes, although the guests are disturbed by the strong smells of food that are carried throughout the building.
According to reviews, the presence of a children's and dietary menu by order of the guest is the main plus of the Raha Gold Residence 3restaurant (Thailand). Patong (Phuket) is a place where you can fully get acquainted with exotic Thai cuisine. Experienced tourists often recommend not eating at the hotel at all, so as not to overpay, but to embark on the study of local cuisine in numerous local cafes and restaurants. Alternatively, for in-room breakfasts or snacks, groceries can be purchased at the nearby market or at the Big C supermarket in the mall.
About staff
Hotel staff, Thais and their foreign counterparts are often praised for their smiling and friendly attitude towards guests. High-quality cleaning in the rooms, diligence is noted. Of the shortcomings in the work of the staff, it is mentioned that the problems that arise are not resolved quickly enough.
In addition to Thai, hotel staff can communicate with guests in English, Chinese, Farsi, Hindi, Urdu. Russian-speaking staff at the hotel can be found at the reception during the daytime.
Conditions for families with children
In addition to paid services for babysitting and childcare, Raha Gold Residence 3provides additional services common to hotels, designed to ensure the comfort of guests vacationing with babies. Rooms for children can accommodate one extra bed, including a crib. The restaurant provides freearmchair, special menu available. The hotel pool has a toddler section.
No playground or special animation provided.
Fun & Shopping
About leisure for the guests of Raha Gold Residence 3reviews of tourists practically do not mention. According to official information, animators work in the hotel staff, and there is karaoke on the territory of the building. In addition, guests can use the services of the hotel massage salon and SPA, visit the nearest water park. Definitely, tourists agree on one thing: there are many entertainments in Patong itself. From the Raha Gold Residence 3hotel, you can quickly, on foot or by rented transport, visit any part of the resort: visit the Thai boxing stadiums of Patong and Bangla, jump on a cable from a height of 50 m on Bungy Jump, visit the ancient Buddhist temple Suwan Khiri. In the vicinity of the city there is a large shooting range with firearms and it is possible to take a ride on an elephant.
When it comes to city entertainment, especially Patong's intense nightlife, Bangla Road is the main street of the resort, which starts right from the main entrance to Patong Beach. On a rather short street, only about 500 m, there is a huge number of nightclubs, discos, bars and other entertainment venues, including erotic ones. In addition, on Bangla Road, unlike the rest of the city, there are 24-hour shops and cafes. Separately, it is worth mentioningcabaret Simon with nightly enchanting trance show.
Shopping lovers at reasonable prices can find a lot of interesting things in Jungceylon Shopping Center. In addition to the large Big C supermarket, an analogue of the Russian Auchan stores, the building houses cafes, souvenir shops and inexpensive Asian goods, as well as branded outlets of famous brands, such as Swarovski, Espada, Nixon, Mango, Pierre Cardin and more. Jungceylon hosts a unique evening fountain show every day.
