Having stayed in a number of similarly priced hotels around the world including in the Far East, America, Middle East and Europe, my girlfriend and I stayed in this hotel in February and we were both very disappointed with the hotel and level of service from the staff.

This is the only hotel I have stayed in where I felt the need to write to my tour operator afterwards because it was so poor. FOR ALL THOSE THINKING ABOUT BOOKING WITH HAYES AND JARVIS - DO NOT DO IT - choose someone else - they just do not care if you have an issue at a later date! Since coming back, we have had ongoing correspondence with Hayes and Jarvis who have singularly failed to provide us any satisfaction about the very poor stay we had - I will never book with them again and would recommend booking with someone who actually cares about their customers like Kuoni with whom I've travelled with no problems in the past.

I had stayed the week before in the Marriott Royal in the centre of Bristol at £90/night including breakfast - this hotel was £ 85/night...and despite the fact that local costs are considerably less than that in Bristol, the difference in service was astonishing....with the Marriott being a true 4* hotel getting it right, and Cape Panwa getting it horribly wrong.

Negative points:

- most rooms have air conditioning fans outside the rooms which come on at night...dont expect to sleep if you have one of these rooms. There is no excuse...other hotels around the world do not use this system.

- there is a compulsory 10% service charge - the trouble is that the service doesnt exist so that for example, if you want an ice cream, you pick the ice cream out of the freezer yourself and they charge you for the ice cream and 10% for...well, I'm not quite sure because you've served yourself.

- breakfast - food good but not once was a table cleared before we had sat down, we had to ask for tea/coffee from the staff every morning.

- the beach is a beautiful beach spoilt by driftwood and the sight of large merchant ships anchored close by (with the resultant polythene bags washing up on the beach on a regular basis)

- there are not enough sun loungers...perhaps because guests at the sister hotel (costs £ 10/night including breakfast) are allowed to use the beach/pool/sun loungers...which is fine...except that the cost per night at Cape Panwa is £85/night ish - and you have to wonder - why am I paying the extra if those facilities and "private" beach are available to other people too.

On the plus side:

- the hotel runs a regular shuttle service which is reasonable into both Phuket/Patong Beach and the local village - this works well.

- the local village has a couple of excellent restaurants - food fantastic, service amazing and...well, why cant this hotel match it?

Anyway, you'll see loads of reviews on here - people do have a good time...but do not be fooled...this is not 4* luxury - 2-3* at best...but at 4* prices.

We have just returned from a five day stay at Cape Panwa Hotel. We are sun and sea lovers - a holiday for us is staying in a beach area, one location, in good accommodation, bargain shopping and bargain food. This was our first time to Thailand and the experience was excellent.
Our holiday was decided upon from the reviews in Traveladvisor and we were not dissappointed.
Cape Panwa Hotel is fantastic. It is a bit tired but everything worked and was clean and the service great - just the way we like it. We got 4 star accommodation and service at a bargain price. The hotel has a lovely charm and peace. We stayed in E Wing on the third floor which is probably the best location. There would be some rooms that dont have a great view but most have good views of the sea. Wings E and F are the safest bet for a view.The rooms are quiet and have everything you need. If you need music or news I suggest you take your own devices. Hotel food prices are more than the local cafes but still very reasonable. The inclusive buffet breakfast is as good as anywhere - I couldnt fault the hot or cold food and the tea and coffee were always strong and hot. The gym was excellent - good functioning equipment. The beach and pool stuff was all functioning and always available. If you want night life I suggest a hotel elsewhere would be better as Cape Panwa is about 40 minutes by taxi to the main resort areas. We went into Phuket Town and mingled with the locals which was just great.
The taxi cost us $20 for a 20 minute drive and included him waiting 3 hours for us to do our shopping.
The local cafes have delicious food and you can stuff yourself for $30 including alcohol and a good tip. Top of the Hill is excellent Thai food, as is Swasadhee (something like that) in the village. Bliss Massage was also great - 1 hour massage for $10.
Some reviews made a problem out of the steepness of the Hotel site. We are 65 and 58 and had no problems - it helped work off the breakfast. Yes it is hot and humid but it is a pleasant climate and that is why we were there.
We will be going back as soon as we can and I recommend the hotel to anyone.

This is a fantastic hotel in a great location with its own private beach and beautiful gardens. The beach is beautiful with an amazing coral reef that you can see clearly when the tide goes down.

The hotel staff are very friendly and this is a truly 5-star, luxurious experience. The hotel organises trips to nearby towns and markets that are worth taking. Definitely, a place to relax in busy Phuket and I would thoroughly recommend it.

As a gay man, I also did not have any problems whatsoever in staying here with my same-sex partner and being given a double bed, something that still sometimes raises a few eyebrows in some hotels or guest houses. Staff were very efficient and friendly and made us feel welcome all the time. However, the hotel is mostly straight so two men on their own stand out and many people stare and comment. If you are ok with this, this is a perfect place to stay.

My wife and I are fortunate that we get to travel often, however this is the first review we have ever submitted(always promising but never do) and never book without reading trip adviser so here goes....

We stayed at Cape Panwa from 4th June for 8 nights, were in Hong Kong for a couple of nights before hand, we were there with my stepson and his girlfriend age 22/19 – from the moment we go there we knew we had chosen our holiday well! Staff are excellent, John at the beach bar and his colleagues, very amusing and knowledgeable, the hotel is quiet but very relaxing, the beach is clean and private so no worries of being pestered there, I unlike my wife and kids did not surface as early as them and met them at the pool around 11 ish ;>) the main pool is great big clean and with great views as it is kind of cut in to a high part of the hill- yes there is a cable car/tram like thing to get you to the beach if you cannot make the walk, we had superior rooms which were a little dated but nothing wrong with them at all, a mini bar, good sized tv with lots of English channels, and football – which was great, now a tip- the first person we met at the hotel was Dosed Up Dicky- a policeman from Huddersfield, very nice guy- he had been eaten alive by mozzy’s then I noticed a few other people with bites!! As I really dislike mozzy bites I asked John behind the beach bar is this was customary? Of which he replied yes but pointed me at the hotel shop to get the local spray, I did this and can thankfully say that none of us got bit at all.

We were at the hotel whilst some great guests were there too- which always makes your time that much better, Dean and Lucy Gill and Bob (if your reading Jan I hope your Mum was ok when you got home!)

Prices- Curry and rice at sawadee in the village £1.80 Curry and Rice at the hotel- £4.50
Hot Dog at the pool with chips (very nice too) £4.00
You can have all your washing done at a place just up the hill outside the hotel for -well ours was £20, no washing wehn we got home!! im good to my wife........ lol
Beers all about 120 BHT
Taxi to Phuket town 500 BHT return about £8.00
Taxi to Pattong 1000 BHT
Golf at Phuket Country Club with caddy and hiring decent ish clubs green fees was about £75 per person for 18 holes
Day trip through Russ at the sunset bar to banana beach, which I recommend you all do! Is between £8 and £12 per head depending on the day etc...
Massage at either place up the hill outside 1 hr £5 to £7

We only ate one evening meal at the hotel and it was in the “top of the reef” which you must wear trousers to, 2 coarse’s and a couple of drinks each was about £85 for 4 of us, literally no more than 2 drinks each and 2 coarse’s, which at home is cheap, even for the quality and the atmosphere in the “top of the reef” it was cheap but when you can eat like a king in sawadee, or the natural restaurant and many others in Phuket Town (5* excellent Thai food) for £20 for 4 people it does make the hotel look expensive, not one bad meal no stomach upsets at all and we ate seafood/chicken/rice well pretty much most everything without a worry.

Can also confirm that yes there is a resident monkey most days near the outside massage tent in the hotel grounds-apparently there were 3 but the burmese builders ate the other 2, ummm nasty people!

Get down to the Sunset bar and speak to Russell and Wassana they can advise on most things, and its a good night in there company. get Russ to take you to the night market in Phuket town, then Natural rest, then the "Timber Hut" awsome place will say no more and let it be a surprise......

I had a suit with x2 trousers 7 double cuff shirts and a silk tie made from Barry London- just outside the hotel for about £125

Overall great place!!!