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Well despite advice from fellow forum members I decided to go ahead and stay at the Hilton Arcadia Resort & Spa in Phuket. I had a billion Hilton points burning in my pocket, so I was able to book the room for 4 days using points. It's odd, because the Hilton Arcadia is a very nice property but its only a level 1 rewards property, the lowest level. You only need 10,000 points per night, which you can easily run up in a week on a business trip.
The Hilton Arcadia is about an hour away from the airport and about 25 minutes south of Patong beach (I'm using Soi Bangla as a point of reference). I wouldn't recommend staying at the Hilton because its likely you will be spending a lot of time near Patong/Bangla and the tuk tuk rides back and forth begin to add up. Maybe I had bad experiences, but it seems like its a cartel of tuk tuk drivers up there that jack up the prices depending on how desperate you are. I usually paid 200-250 baht per way, but had to pay up to 400 on the way back when I found only a few (colluding and scheming) drivers in the wee hours of the morning. Also, because the Hilton property is secluded, which can be a plus if you like to have a whole resort and beach to yourself, its hard to get anywhere. As a consequence, I ate most of my meals in the hotel before I went out and it was very expensive, basically Western prices.
There are 3 pools, including one with slides and seperate swimming areas. There are also tennis courts, a very nice spa, and several activities that are arranged by the hotel staff every day. They have their own beach front with charis and umbrellas, but its also quite a bit more expensive than if you were to go to a beachfront not by a hotel. The rooms are very nice and include a very comfortable king size bed, balconies with ocean-front views, sitting desk, and TV with premium channels. If you had to pay, I think rooms start at 5,000 to 8,000 baht, so its not really worth it. But it was nice to stay in such a plush place for a few days, especially after shacking it up in the Dynasty.
As for being ladyboy friendly I think the forum was half right. I don't think the hotel could really say anything as I'm a Diamond Hilton Honors member (meaning I spend over 2 months of my year in a Hilton!), but you could tell they were a bit uncomfortable, but the staff did their best to hide it. I was actually with two ladyboys for the duration of the trip and I think the bellboys were having a good time with it because every time I passed them I could see smirks and smiles on their faces. We didn't have any incidents in the pools, restaurants, or any of the lounges, so I guess there is truth in that the more you the pay the more they don't care.
That being said, I think the Hilton is nice, but would not recommend anyone staying there due to its distance from the action and the cost. However, if you're just there to enjoy Phuket and everything it has to offer, it might not be a bad option, especially if you got the wife and kids in tow.
The Hilton Arcadia is about an hour away from the airport and about 25 minutes south of Patong beach (I'm using Soi Bangla as a point of reference). I wouldn't recommend staying at the Hilton because its likely you will be spending a lot of time near Patong/Bangla and the tuk tuk rides back and forth begin to add up. Maybe I had bad experiences, but it seems like its a cartel of tuk tuk drivers up there that jack up the prices depending on how desperate you are. I usually paid 200-250 baht per way, but had to pay up to 400 on the way back when I found only a few (colluding and scheming) drivers in the wee hours of the morning. Also, because the Hilton property is secluded, which can be a plus if you like to have a whole resort and beach to yourself, its hard to get anywhere. As a consequence, I ate most of my meals in the hotel before I went out and it was very expensive, basically Western prices.
There are 3 pools, including one with slides and seperate swimming areas. There are also tennis courts, a very nice spa, and several activities that are arranged by the hotel staff every day. They have their own beach front with charis and umbrellas, but its also quite a bit more expensive than if you were to go to a beachfront not by a hotel. The rooms are very nice and include a very comfortable king size bed, balconies with ocean-front views, sitting desk, and TV with premium channels. If you had to pay, I think rooms start at 5,000 to 8,000 baht, so its not really worth it. But it was nice to stay in such a plush place for a few days, especially after shacking it up in the Dynasty.
As for being ladyboy friendly I think the forum was half right. I don't think the hotel could really say anything as I'm a Diamond Hilton Honors member (meaning I spend over 2 months of my year in a Hilton!), but you could tell they were a bit uncomfortable, but the staff did their best to hide it. I was actually with two ladyboys for the duration of the trip and I think the bellboys were having a good time with it because every time I passed them I could see smirks and smiles on their faces. We didn't have any incidents in the pools, restaurants, or any of the lounges, so I guess there is truth in that the more you the pay the more they don't care.
That being said, I think the Hilton is nice, but would not recommend anyone staying there due to its distance from the action and the cost. However, if you're just there to enjoy Phuket and everything it has to offer, it might not be a bad option, especially if you got the wife and kids in tow.
