Serene - рекомендую !!! Serene - I recommend !!!

Rested with his wife in Phuket at the Serene Resort from 10 to 21.01. 2011. Read, gentlemen, all the reviews on all forums, there is a lot of useful and repetitive information, and I will write only what I was convinced of from my own experience. I immediately join all the positive reviews about the hotel, location, staff, breakfast. So:
1) Hotel - disadvantages: in the last two days, ants began to appear in the room. The only remedy for this is not to leave food out of the refrigerator. And when you eat fruits, throw the peel and peels into a separate bag and tie it tightly. Mosquitoes fly - buy a fumitox plate at 7-11 - and the problem is solved. everything else is a plus. there are a lot of them. any problem - a call to the reception, and the excellent staff will solve everything in a moment. oh yes, here's another drawback - the Internet is very slow in the hotel. 3 computers at the reception, you buy a card for 100 minutes - and you spend these minutes waiting for pages to load. I went from the communicator a little faster, but also slowly.
2) excursions - our powerful tour operator Natalie-tours still divorced us to buy two excursions, although I knew about the overpayment by 2.5 times. now I agree with everyone - the overpayment is not relevant. yes, a Russian guide, yes, interesting stories, but the overpayment is too big. On the street, there are the same Russian-speaking guides, and excursions are the same for much smaller grandmothers. We went diving and safari in Khao Lak. The tours are absolutely incredible. Divers, attention - if you did not dive there - you have lost a lot. And Safari - communication with wildlife, elephants, monkeys, rafting, turtles, waterfalls... - awesome. overpaid, but nevertheless did not regret. By the way, the tour operator usually scares you - do not rent a bike, they say an extra scratch and they will not give you your passport. Listen to them, it's better not to breathe at all. We didn't take the bike and it's fun without it. But they take everything. If you're careful, it's very possible. Just don’t get lost there, you’ll get used to the left-hand traffic of FIG!!!

3) beaches and surroundings: Kata is quite a normal beach. Go left on the beach to the very stones, taking pieces of bacon for breakfast. Come along the stones with your camera down - spread the bacon on the stones, turn on the camera - and watch how cute crabs eat bacon. If you go uphill to Kata Noi, then take a banana or a bun with you. There, put on a mask near the stones, dive and crumble a bun - the Discovery TV channel will rest. such fish, mother dear. Beauty!! ! You can walk to Karon. Walk 25-30 minutes. The sand crunches like snow in the Urals. But Patong is a party place and the beach is not very good. In this regard, I was glad that I chose Serena Resort very successfully. Pharmacy across the road. I bought home green and yellow Thai balms, the benefits of which have already been discussed and discussed. Massages - once went to the Mali Spa at the hotel - and began to go there with my wife almost every evening. That's great. The rest of the salons were no longer needed. Overeat fruit - mangosteen, rambutan and other crap - it's cool. I tried a piece of durian - a rare muck.
4) Tips: Free SIM cards are offered at the airport. TAKE!! ! This is not a divorce, Simka is really normal. then you put money on her - and the call is cheap. 4-5 baht per minute to Russia. I didn't take it and regretted it. I bought a similar one, but for the money already.
5) Restaurants are all normal. This is already an amateur. I tried all kinds of Thai dishes, and my wife more often European cuisine. They cook well almost everywhere. in the evening on the street a tray with delicious pancakes. The fish market in Rawai. . . Well, it's also an amateur. A sea of ​ ​ all sorts. Everything is fresh. They cook delicious. But the restaurant there is quite dirty, there are flies all around. And the waiters are trans. We went there once - cool of course, but the second time we would not go.
6) who has not been - be sure to go to the local zoo. 500 baht for entry. the price includes a visit to three shows - monkeys (very mediocre), crocodiles (extreme), elephants (just super - you won't regret it. just for him it's worth going there)
All Thais are very friendly and sociable. Not for money and not for shopping. Just. With us, I can't imagine a security guard who would smile at you along with a greeting. They are kind and considerate people. And a beautiful country. I will definitely go again. And you have a good rest. Serena Resort has it!! !