The Sands by Katathani

Glenn Shelley

Overall a very very nice place to stay. The beach was clean and lovely. The coconut bar staff are fantastic. The pools were very good, always clean. The Talay restaurant was good 2 out of 3 visits but average on one. The rooms were lovely. Lots of room. Air con on when we arrived which was nice. Rooms were large and well equipped. They are now our standard for resorts and hotel rooms. The staff with one single exception were lovely, helpful and super polite. When we next travel The Sands will be hard to go past.

OrionIndigo

We went for a 6 night stay and had a lovely time. It rained, a lot, but you get that going in May. Our kids had a blast on the lazy river and water slides, and the pools were great. There is a beach, but it was too windy for us to really enjoy it, plus it’s far from the family rooms compared to the pools. The ladies working in the Kids Club are brilliant, but the activities are mostly add-on pay and are only on the hour, so the club itself is mostly a play area. They have a TV playing which we weren’t big fans of as we limit screen time for our kids and hoped KC would have more staff to play and interact with the kids. Only 2 staff makes it a challenge for them. The restaurants have a good selection and none of us got any problems from the food. The bars are ok, but if you’re on a “free happy hour” package, they have a smaller more limited menu than normal, and frankly aren’t great drinks (though the Tin Lounge voucher for bar directly next to the Talay restaurant is a must: it was lovely!) No free water at the restaurants—but you can order free water in your room—is really odd to us, as we had to genuinely bring our water bottles to dinner (which the food was part of our stay). Really odd and really inconvenient. All in all, a good stay and we enjoyed it, but a few little things could be better.

Sheppy1959

Just spent a week at this hotel in a Seaside Junior Suite and we enjoyed a perfect stay. The room was large and modern with a huge bed and even had english style plug sockets. This is a family hotel with lots of children but the childrens pool was in a separate part of the hotel and we ate our breakfast in an adult only dining room so we had no issues as 2 adults with no children. First time we have visited Thailand and I knew Thailand is known as the land of smiles. However, we were blown away just how nice and polite and friendly the staff are and they do everything in their power to improve your holiday experience. Hotel grounds were immaculate and the Khao Lak area was very nice and laid back. It was easy to get around the area cheaply via a Tuc Tuc or taxi. Don't often say this but I would definitely return to this hotel as the experience was so good.

Eleisha Cosby

The Sands Khao Lak is a wonderful place! We stayed in a family room for almost 2 weeks through luxury escapes. The room space was enough with our 2 young kids. Having lunch or dinner included through the lux deal was so handy and really made it easy to relax. The food was mostly good…with pizza a standout. The massages depended on who you got and whether you upgraded to an oil massage at the spa. It was great how easy it was to book since it was quiet season. The Free flow drink hours included in our deal were at set times. 3-4pm and 4-5pm. Being back to back meant we usually only enjoyed 1 per day and is a set drink menu so kids couldn’t get what they wanted. This part of the deal felt unclear and as always comes down to fine print. Other than this all other aspects of the resort were great! The kids club was amazing for our preschool aged kids. They loved playing in the space and the free activities were fun! Finally the staff make this place a home away from home. They are so friendly.They made our stay so memorable! We will be back!

Gernot Reisinger

The hotel is very well suited for families with children. The numerous pools are perfect for swimming and splashing around in the water. The children’s area is large and well-organized, with plenty of lounge chairs available. Unfortunately, swimming in the ocean wasn’t possible during our stay, but our grandchildren enjoyed the pools. The breakfast buffet offers something for everyone, but the tables and chairs do not meet the standard of a 5-star hotel. They look like they were bought at a thrift store, and neither the seat height of the chairs nor the table height is comfortable. We, in particular, had trouble sitting comfortably. Unfortunately, the quality of the fruit was also not what we were used to from our 17 vacations in Thailand. The staff was helpful and always friendly; the rooms, like the rest of the resort, were very clean and well-maintained. The booking process proved somewhat problematic regarding an upgrade to a better—and thus more expensive—room. There’s a need for training in this area, as well as in English, which only a few staff members spoke well. But the staff’s friendliness overcame all language barriers.