OVERVIEW AND LOCATION:
The Tui Blue Mai Khao Lak is a 4 star family friendly resort approximately 1 hr 30 in a taxi from Phuket airport and we visited this resort as a family of 4 (2 adults, 2 kids aged 7 and 9) in February 2024.
It’s a large resort spilt into 3 sections (2 for families and 1 for adults) and is edged by the stunning Pak Weep Beach. Turning either left or right onto the beach there are plenty of local shops, bars and restaurants and places to get massages and book tours.
The majority of guests we met were Scandinavian and Dutch however more UK guests arrived as we got closer to February Half term. The hotel is part of the wider Mai brand, and incorporates the Tui Blue concept across the resort, with a full activity schedule run by the Tui staff onsite.
Board types available are bed and breakfast, half bard, full board and all inclusive.
ROOMS:
We stayed in a Deluxe Suite with Pool Access (swim up) type room. This was a family style room with a king side bed and king size sofa bed separated by sliding doors which comfortably sleeps 4. Both the master bed and the sofa bed when made up were enormous. There was large bathroom and walk in shower, and huge bath in the master bedroom.There was a day bed on the patio and a small table. Outside there were steps into the pool and a jacuzzi section. These room types are also available in the adults only section.
This was a great room type for our family however there a couple of aspects which could be improved. Firstly, there is no bar at this pool so you wither need to walk up to the adult bar (swim up bar) or down to the sand pool bar for drinks. If you do this, just make sure you ask for drinks to take away and they will provide you with a carrier bag for any cans. Secondly, the day beds on the patio are always in the shade shade so can’t really sun bathe. There are a couple of flat areas to the side of the pool for sun beds, but there are only a handful of beds. The pool in this section is also too deep for young children, with my 7 year old only able to stand up on her tip toes. There was however a large inflatable slide which they loved so we did spend most of our time in this pool.
Other room types on the resort are the Deluxe Premium / Deluxe Premium Pool Access
(Swim up) which have a better location for bar access as there is another swim up bar at this pool. The pool for these pools is also much better for younger children as most of it is quite shallow.
There are also a number of small detached bungalow rooms, which sleep up to 3 (1 bed plus a roll away bed), and some of them have a hot tub on the patio or their own small private pool. These are located closest to the beach.
FACILITIES:
There is a small gym, with some free weights a multi gym and a few cardio machines, fine for a quick workout but disappointing for hard core gym goers.
There is an onsite spa, which I didn’t actually visit as the prices for massages compared to those on the beach were pretty uncompetitive. There is also an outdoor playground next to the entertainment stage.
The evening entertainment was held in the outdoor stage area, and there is a bar in this area for drinks. The entertainment was all Tui ran, with shows from the resident entertainment team, plus quizzes and discos. The hosts alternated between Dutch (I think!) and English when conducting the quizzes etc.
The activity pool is located next to the beach, and this is where the aqua fit sessions and swimming lessons take place. There is a swim school available in peak season. This pool is also quite deep and I could only just stand up so again not great for young kids.
The sand pool is located in the middle of the resort and has small slides and shallow water. There is also a large water slide, which requires helmets to use. The floor of this pool was quite gritty with sand so worth bringing pool shoes.
FOOD:
There are 3 restaurants onsite, plus a snack bar, and aside from the dinner buffet, the food was very good. Buffet breakfast was available in 2 locations, one next to the upper end of the resort and one next to reception. The breakfast options were great, with lots of choice and our favourite the omelette station. There was a selection of gluten free options and lots of alternative milks.
Lunch was available at the sand beach snack bar, the Green and Grill and Talay Thai Resturant, all served a la carte. Again the selection was great, with plenty of salads, sandwiches, burgers etc and also a great kids menu at the Green and Grill, and a traditional Thai menu at the Talay Thai which overlooks the beach.
Dinner can be taken at the buffet or at either the Green and Grill or Talay Thai. Those on half, full or all inclusive board are given a voucher for an evening meal at Talay Thai (one per stay), and the Green and Grill was payable for dinner for those on all inclusive. There is a set price for those on bed and breakfast or half board to eat dinner at the buffet, but to be honest, I wasn’t impressed so choose to eat at a local beach restaurant most evenings where dinner for 4 including cocktails was around £35, so if I visited again, I wouldn’t bother with all inclusive and probably opt for bed and breakfast or half board (which is not my usual stance!)
The mixed drinks selection was ok, with local spirits on offer for cocktails. The beer selection was excellent with Chang, Tiger and Shinga available as part of the all inclusive range. Soft drinks were all served in cans, which was great if you wanted to take any back to your room for later.
AGENT TIPS:
Although this resort is part of the Tui Blue Concept, it is still available to book via various bed banks, such as Rate Hawk and then there are plenty of flight options (usually with a short layover) from the UK.
If your client is interested in day trips it is significantly cheaper booking with local company or online via a supplier rather than direct with Tui at the hotel.
Having personally stayed at this resort, if it is stretching your clients budget, then definitely consider suggesting bed and breakfast board basis. Eating out is very cheap in Thailand for those used to western prices, and the prices for lunch and drinks (at the time of writing) were very reasonable. The cost of the evening buffet was 690 bhat for 1 adult which compared to the cost of eating at a local Resturant on the beach is quite steep, where we were paying circa 1500 (about £35) bhat for 2 starter, 4 main courses, 2 cocktails and 2 soft drinks. This would most likely go for any resort where there is easy access to local food outlets, so always worth considering when quoting.
This is a great resort for clients with young children and it was full of families when we visited, just make sure you talk to your client about the best room type for the pool depth if going for a swim up room. The resort also provides beach bags and mats so that’s one thing they don’t need to pack! Plus there are lots of places locally that will do your laundry so no need to over pack when 1 kg of clothes was £2.20 to wash!
This is a fantastic winter sun option for clients looking for consistent weather as the best weather in this area is December through March. If your clients are looking for an evening out make sure you suggest a trip to the Bang Naiah night market, which is full of market stalls and restaurants all catering to tourists.
Check out my site inspections of the JW Marriott Khao Lak and Le Meridien Khao Lak here if your client is looking for a more high end resort in Khao Lak!
Want to find out more? Watch my blog over on Youtube!
This review was written by Mimi Gee (Director, Find Your Resort) in February 2024.
