Paradise Resort Phi Phi

Taken at face value, Paradise Resort Phi Phi looks exactly as its name indicates: a small slice of Thai-island paradise. The simple beach resort is set on Phi Phi Don's famously beautiful Long Beach, offering direct access to the uncrowded white sand plus wonderful views of Phi Phi Leh (the second-largest island in the Phi Phi group) across the bay and the jungle-covered mountains of Phi Phi Don's southwest peninsula.The resort consists of a beachfront restaurant, a modern room building, and lines of villas and bungalows working their way back from the shore. Staying on the first line of beachfront villas is well worth the extra cost, as the rooms toward the middle and back of the grounds are older and not as well maintained. The non-beachfront accommodations in particular have yielded a good number of complaints from past guests, who have brought up cons like poor upkeep, hard beds, rank-smelling showers, and little natural light. Substandard customer service is also regularly reported, though this might have to do with language barriers. But it's not a good sign that the resort leans so heavily on the generic management response of "We are sorry you were unhappy" for its numerous critical reviews on TripAdvisor. Couples represent the biggest bulk of guests at Paradise Resort Phi Phi, with families and friends forming a distant second and third. Guests typically come from all over Europe, India, the U.S., Australia, Russia, and U.A.E. For low-maintenance guests who are aware of and okay with the resort's limitations, Paradise Resort could fit the bill for a simple, fuss-free tropical beach escape.

Paradise Resort Phi Phi is set on Long Beach, on the west coast of Ko Phi Phi Don's southeast leg. There are other Long Beach resorts to the north and south, but other than those, there is nothing here but jungle and sea. One could walk north to Tonsai village in about 40 minutes, but this shouldn't be attempted after nightfall or a storm. The jungle path is steep at points, not illuminated (always bring a flashlight or headlamp), and very muddy after rains. To get to Ko Phi Phi Don, travelers can take ferries or speedboats from mainland Krabi (Ao Nang, Railay, or Krabi Town) or Phuket, which dock at Tonsai Pier in Ko Phi Phi's main village. There are usually representatives from Paradise Resort Phi Phi waiting with a sign at the pier to transfer guests to the hotel via a long-tail boat. If not, guests can hire third-party boat operators to take them on the 10-minute journey south. 

While Paradise Resort Phi Phi's 35 rooms are technically broken into eight different categories, guests could look at the room options as beachfront, and everything else. The modern beachfront villas are the best way to go, as they are the largest (592 to 700 square feet) and the closest to the beach. All beachfront villas have sleek decor (minimalist furniture, recessed blue ceiling lighting) and sliding-glass doors that open up to a beachfront terrace. Some come with outdoor rainfall showers in addition to indoor showers. The 484-square-foot Sea View Rooms are located in the hotel's two-story room building (most other rooms are freestanding cottages). These units also sport contemporary decor, but some pieces, like the red pleather loveseat, can look a little out of place for a Thai beach resort. Be aware that the resort's website makes it look like these rooms face the beach directly, but the building is actually built perpendicular to the shore, giving all but the corner units lateral sea views. The 378-square-foot Thai Modern Rooms are stylistically similar to the Sea View Rooms, but minus the water views (despite being located within the beachfront resort building).The rest of the rooms are Standard and Superior Bungalows located in the middle and rear of the resort, away from the beach. One complaint that the Superior Bungalows garner is that their terraces face one another, giving occupants little privacy. Superiors have sitting areas, and Standards do not. Generally speaking, Standard Bungalows are the most dated and the least kept-up of the accommodations, with worn furnishings, faded curtains, and basic bathrooms with handheld showerheads.Despite their differences, all rooms come with air-conditioning, empty mini-fridges, TVs (mostly flat-screen, but tube-style in the Standards), and free safes. Tea, coffee, and two bottles of drinking water, replenished daily, are free. Often-reported gripes about the rooms include their hard mattresses, weak shower pressure (and fickle water temperature), smelly bathrooms, and lack of natural light.

Without question, this resort's main feature is its beachfront location. The sand is soft and white and there is a large sectioned-off area for swimming. However, the resort does not provide sun loungers here. Taking advantage of the views of the water and Ko Phi Phi Leh, the hotel's restaurant has positioned tables and chairs overlooking the beach. The restaurant opens every morning for a free breakfast of fruit, yogurt, fried rice, pancakes, ham, sausage, and eggs/omelets cooked to order, and continues through a la carte lunch and dinner service. Expect traditional Thai dishes, like spicy prawns salad and fried noodles.The hotel offers massages in open-air thatch-roof pavilions right on the beach. Surprisingly, rates are not inflated and are similar to what you'd find in town. Snorkeling masks and fins can be rented for a small fee, and for island excursions can be booked through the hotel. Laundry and boat service are both available. The hotel has a "library" of left-behind books, plus two computers in the lobby for guest use. A convenience store sells things like beer and ice. Wi-Fi is free throughout the property.