First off and discussed in many of the other reviews. If you are arriving in a taxi they almost certainly will not know where to take you. There is literally nothing else up these roads but taxi parking and vacant lots, a retention pond and mostly run down other buildings including an abandoned hotel. The resort is up two separate hills up a winding road. The resort is not close to the beach despite them saying it’s “close”. If you choose the wrong road to walk back there is more or less zero sidewalk. Walking up the road some nights you’ll likely pass piles of garbage (with rats feasting from the vacant lots. Definitely needs to run more like hourly between 9am and 9pm. The pool area is lovely but desperately needs more patio chairs (my first day there one inconsiderate family had managed to use 80% of them just by themselves). Is also slightly marred by the infinity pool looking out on a vacant lot where people seem to randomly burn things.

Bed was large and comfortable and the shower was huge and well appointed. It wasn’t that the lock was broken either but that it had just not been installed. Staff were all cheerful. Pleasant but some were fairly useless. I eventually gave up. Basically you probably need to stock up on your first day here. I mean, it’s fine if the resort doesn’t want to staff that constantly but then combine it with check in to save staff as having no place to buy a bottle of water after 6 is pretty terrible when you’re a solid fifteen/twenty minute walk from the nearest convenience store, not to mention most people want to do their laundry on off hours, not the prime of the day. Take a cab back to the hotel with your purchases. I don’t think it’s ridiculous to think a simple paper map could be on offer when even the cabbies can’t find the place.

Commercial projects has reached a high level. For residential properties, developments with over nine units are required to carry out an environmental impact study, whilst those with over ninety units are obliged to do two studies. If properties are bought off plan then there is a much lower risk of oversupply for the developer. Oversupply could also be avoided if property is of a high standard. The challenge in having such a name for a resort,” said Hajo, “is explaining to overseas guests just what the fruit looks like and tastes. A number of our guests have found our resort by word of mouth, so that has been a positive start for us after Sars,” explained Hajo. “Here at the Mangosteen, we welcome all types of clients because we have a product that is unique. But it’s been a joint effort that the couple are now proud of. I travel about 80% of my time, so I have been to the best hotels and resorts, but the Mangosteen stands out in that it’s very customer-oriented.

The new rates, which reflect the island’s continuing property boom, will be effective from January 1, 2004 to December 31, 2007. The Bangkok-based Valuation Authority, which is responsible for appraising land values nationwide every four years, reported increases in some areas over 100%. Kathu district showed an average increase of 127%, while Thalang and Muang districts had increases of about 35%. Tamrong Tongtan, new chief of the PTO, told the Gazette that the new figures reflected trends in Phuket’s continuing property boom. The most expensive land on the island continues to be along Rassada Rd in Phuket Town. The greatest recorded increase in Phuket Town was along Pra Phuket Kaew Rd, which runs between Kathu and Samkong. Assessed values there were are as high as 80,000 baht per square wah, the same as in the previous valuation. Prices for land there increased a dramatic 299%, with plots in some areas now going for as much as 12,500 baht/sq wah. In Kathu District, land valuations along the beach road in Patong increased as much as 300% in some areas. The most expensive plots were valued at 50,000 baht/sq wah compared to 31,000 baht/sq wah previously. Assessed values in Thalang District remain, on average, the lowest on the island. The lowest assessed prices in this zone are now at 20,000 baht/sq wah, a four-fold average increase over the previous assessment. Some areas along the Baan Don-Cherng Talay Rd doubled in value. Similar increases were recorded along the road from Bang Roang-Ao Por, where land doubled in price from 1,000 baht a square wah to 2,000 baht, on average.