Новый год в Тайланде New Year in Thailand

Sunwing Resort & Spa Bangtao Beach, Phuket, Thailand (tour operator - Tez tour).
We rested in this hotel with my family (husband, wife and daughter 9 years old) in the period from 12/22/2012 to 01/01/2013.
Flight. Departure from Yekaterinburg. The airline is Transaero. Flight there and back according to the schedule. The duration of the flight is about 8 hours 30 minutes. Plane - Boeing 767-300 (seats: 2 - 3 - 2), back 767-300 (II, seats 2 - 4 - 2). The flight there was at night, so it went unnoticed (they took off, had dinner, fell asleep, woke up, had breakfast and flew back). We flew back during the day, of course, heavier, but the seats are comfortable, everyone has tablets, so the flight did not seem difficult.

Transfer. Upon arrival in Thailand, I was met by a Thai with a Tez tour sign, taken to the next Russian-speaking guide, who gave out a bottle of water per person, a map of the island, a prospectus with excursions and indicated the number of the minibus. 2 families were traveling in a minibus, so in half an hour we were at the hotel.
Also, upon arrival, an emigration card was filled out for each person, one half of which was taken by a Thai at passport control (by the way, everyone was photographed here). In the minibus, the guide immediately warned that the second half of this card must be kept until the return flight. And so it happened: the second half of this emigration card was taken home before the flight, right at the boarding gate.
In the baggage claim area, local SIM cards were issued, but we did not take them. The hotel guide gave us the same SIM cards. These cards were used to communicate with each other and call the guide, since he only came to the hotel “on call”. The cost of calls is quite cheap, the balance was replenished 1 time in a local communication salon next to the Tesco Lotus supermarket.
The return flight was at 13-05, we were also taken from the hotel by minibus at 09.00, we stopped at the neighboring hotel "Amore" and in half an hour were at the airport. However, they waited about an hour for the start of registration (it is not clear why they were taken from the hotel so early). It should be noted that by the beginning of the check-in for the flight and the activation of the corresponding counters, there was no information on the start of check-in on the scoreboard.
Settlement. We arrived at the hotel around 11:00. The room was naturally not ready, they asked to wait 1.5 - 2 hours, since according to the hotel, check-in is at 14-00. In order not to wait at the reception, we changed into swimming clothes in the toilet (next to the hotel mini-market, which has a shower) and went to the beach; after 2 hours, after swimming and sunbathing, we returned to the reception, received electronic keys (cards) from the room on the 3rd floor in the 3rd building and calmly settled in. Upon check-in, we were required to pay a deposit of $100, which was returned directly upon check-out.

Territory. The territory of the hotel is small, compact, a lot of greenery. Swimming pools are located between the buildings. The beach is sandy, but the sand is not white, but quite ordinary. Sunbeds and umbrellas on the beach are municipal, for 3 sunbeds and 3 umbrellas they paid 200 baht per day. Sometimes a number of free hotel sunbeds were put forward on the sand; also along the beach there is a strip of grassy lawn, on which there are also free hotel sunbeds.
Directly on the beach there is a currency exchange office, the rate of which was a little more profitable than at the hotel. We didn't see any other currency exchange places. It was possible to change only in the supermarket "Central Festival", but there are long queues. By the way, they write about this supermarket that it is one of the best and largest on the island, but in fact it is an ordinary supermarket that can be found in any big city with the same prices as in Russia, however, there are stalls with cheap textiles.
The hotel is located quite far from any cultural activities, opposite the entrance to the hotel there is only one restaurant "Sugar Cane" and a taxi rank. The nearest Tesco Lotus supermarket is a 10-minute brisk walk along a deserted, albeit illuminated, roadside or by taxi (100 baht).
Near this supermarket, on Mondays and Thursdays, a market is organized where all sorts of junk and fruits are sold (fruits can also be bought at the above mentioned supermarket or directly on the beach). By the way, they leaned on fruits, mainly on mangoes, pineapples and watermelons. Local Thai fruit exotic somehow did not seduce.
On the beach there is a rental of jet skis - ride for half an hour for 1400 baht.
The sea is clean, the tides and tides were somewhere around 5 meters, the coast remained clean after low tide. To the left of the hotel (if you stand facing the sea) some stream flows into the sea, but there was no smell, no dirt and turbidity from it. What I would like to note is the presence in the sea of ​ ​ some kind of biting plankton, which greatly limited the time of swimming (not painful, but unpleasant).

Nutrition. The hotel has one main restaurant and one a la carte restaurant "Fino". As already noted, at the entrance to the hotel is the restaurant "Sugar Cane"; There are also several cafes right on the beach. We were in all nearby, but more often for lunch and dinner we went to the hotel restaurant, since the menu and prices are about the same everywhere. In this restaurant, when parents order dishes, the child has lunch (dinner) for free at the buffet, although sometimes there was absolutely nothing to take there. On the territory of the hotel in bars and restaurants, you can not immediately pay, the credit system "on record" is used (some write that when leaving, other people's amounts were included in the bills; and so, when signing a check in a restaurant, no one checks the room number, and therefore unscrupulous comrades they may well indicate the number at random; upon departure, they took exactly as much from us as was reflected in our checks). There are always a lot of people for breakfast in the hotel restaurant, you can wander around and look for a table yourself, but in fact there is a different system there - at the entrance to the restaurant there is a counter on which it is written that “you have to wait and you will be shown”. This is exactly what happens: when the waiters remove the next table, then the next vacationers from the queue at this counter are invited to it. Everything is very civilized.
Number. The standard room for this hotel is the Studio (looks exactly the same as on the websites). Quite spacious, as it is designed for 4-bed accommodation (children's bunk bed with a retractable compartment - like in a kindergarten). The room has a free safe, 4 beach towels and 2 umbrellas, which were very useful, as it rained periodically and lay on the beach, including under these umbrellas. At the entrance to the room there is a kitchenette: a sink, a refrigerator (with 3 bottles of free water, which turned out to be very nasty, so we bought water at the supermarket), a microwave, a kettle, dishes, knives, forks, tea and coffee bags.
The bathroom had all the necessary little things: shampoo, gel, bathrobes, slippers, comb, razor, toothbrushes, disposable toothpaste, cotton swabs (toothbrushes and paste came in handy during a 2-day excursion, they were thrown out there).
The only thing that was a little annoying was the shower, in which both the watering can itself and the mixer were leaking. The faucet was repaired 10 minutes after the call to the reception, and the watering can was pulled up by hand. Moreover, this watering can was not removed from the wall and was not pulled out, i. e. It was a sprayer built into the wall, which could only be turned slightly to the sides and up and down - it was very inconvenient for use for its intended purpose.
The room has central air conditioning, which worked with an inserted electronic card, which, as it was already inserted during our check-in, was not taken out by us even during a 2-day excursion. The air conditioner was turned on during our absence and it was enough for a comfortable temperature for the whole evening. At night we slept with an open balcony, and here the fumigator brought from home came in handy, as mosquitoes sometimes flew in. As for the noise from music and animation, it was, of course, but only until 10 pm, later there was complete silence - the hotel is still for families with children.

The Internet at the reception is free (they give out a login - a room number, you come up with a password yourself), it worked properly, Skype did not slow down.
Excursions. The excursion program is quite extensive, but I would rate the prices higher than European ones: $ 1.400 for 3 excursions for three (2-day boat tour of 5 islands, 1-day excursion to the Khao Sok reserve, Siam Niramit performance). Moreover, this price, taking into account the fact that the third tour was free of charge due to the fact that the first two were paid at the same time. As a matter of fact, there were no options for purchasing excursions - miserable signs on the beach somehow did not inspire confidence.
Excursions, of course, interesting, left a lot of impressions. Everything was very clear and organized, lunches, dinners, drinks and fruits are included in the price everywhere. The only thing I wanted to note was the need for a fumigator during an overnight stay on Phi Phi Island (we spent the night there during a 2-day boat trip to 5 islands) - we settled in a bungalow, it was hot, the air conditioner blew directly on the bed, so they turned it off, opened the door to the street and the mosquitoes just ate it.
Given the cost of excursions, we were not surprised when the guide offered a free private transfer to any store on the island any day. We took advantage of this offer and went to the pearl factory (where we didn’t buy anything), after that the driver dropped us off at the Central Festival supermarket, from where we got to the hotel on our own (700 baht).
In addition, the Tez tour offers two free excursions: a sightseeing tour of Phuket and an excursion to the Botanical Garden (naturally, these excursions include shopping). They took advantage of an excursion to the Botanical Garden, during which they brought them to a snake farm, where they showed a snake show and, of course, sold snake ointments and creams; in addition to this, they were taken to a store of natural creams and ointments, from where those who did not want to watch and buy all this were calmly sent by minibuses to hotels.

New year's night. During our holiday, two festive nights fell on December 24 and 31. On December 24, the cost of dinner was about 2200 baht per adult (child free), dinner and the performance itself went unnoticed. Around 23:00 the whole hotel was already asleep. On December 31, the cost of dinner is 2400 baht per adult (child is free), the performance was more serious, at 24 o'clock there was a gorgeous fireworks display on the seashore.
The most interesting thing was when, after the salute and the celebration, everyone began to return to their rooms and found that the electronic keys did not work. Accordingly, the entire hotel lined up at the reception for their reprogramming.
Insurance. The saddest thing is that 4 days before the flight home, I had a chance to use the services of medical insurance due to my daughter's illness. Although it was possible not to apply, since all the medicines were with them and the treatment had already begun, but the Tez tour did not return previously paid excursions without the opinion of a doctor from the hospital (the conclusion of the hotel doctor did not suit them).
Insurance company VSK (insurance - Business class) - the worst insurance service has not yet been met. About everything in order.
Calling the phone number indicated in the insurance policy, we were told that we needed to take a taxi to Phuket International Hospital on our own and seek medical help there. Moreover, they immediately stipulated that the translator was not provided for by the insurance policy. Accordingly, upon arrival, I had to apply in English, which was rather forgotten from my student years. The next surprise was that in order to visit a doctor, it was necessary to leave a passport as a pledge or pay a deposit of 5.000 baht, which was returned only after the insurance company sent a letter of guarantee in response to the faxed doctor's report and a copy of the insurance policy. According to the hospital registrars, this usually takes 2-3 days. The next surprise is that in order to return the passport or deposit left as a pledge, you need to go to this hospital again, respectively, after the insurance company sends a letter of guarantee (from our hotel, a taxi costs 1200 baht there and back). At the same time, I note that a 3-minute call to the insurance company cost 300 rubles.

In general, at the reception, we left a deposit of 5.000 baht for them, we were escorted to the waiting room, where there were about a dozen of the same families with children, where an hour later we were received by a doctor and prescribed medicines. Leaving the doctor's office, we waited for the conclusion, with which we were escorted to the cashier and for medicines.
At the box office, they immediately took a fee for admission and for drugs, as well as a deductible of $ 30. In total, it cost about 3.000 baht, which was deducted from the previously left deposit. A new receipt was issued for the balance of the deposit. As noted above, the rest of the deposit had to be returned again after the hospital received a letter of guarantee from the insurance company.
Those. The doctor's appointment and medical care were provided exclusively at our expense, and it is not clear why the hospital kept the deposit.
Having considered all this nonsense, the prospect of repeated calls and trips to this hospital, we decided not to send the doctor’s report and insurance policy to the insurance company, but to make a calculation on the spot and collect the costs from the insurance company upon returning home (fortunately, we already had such experience). After another debate in English at the hospital's cash desk, we were given back the deposit, a doctor's report, and a paid bill for the appointment and medicines.
Conclusion. In general, even with a few unpleasant moments, the rest in Thailand was a success. But it makes sense to go there only in winter, because we didn’t feel any other exotic in a beach family vacation, in contrast to a quality European vacation (for example, in Spain. ).