See.Taste.Do

Curation of things you can "see, taste and do"

Travel Diary :: Things to See, Taste, and Do in Angsana Laguna Phuket resort

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When I look back at Angsana Laguna Phuket each resort, I think a beach resort, pools, fun and family friendly. Whilst the time we went was the beginning of monsoon season, the sun was out some of the days we were there and we enjoyed the 31 degree humid climate which was a welcome warm relief to Sydney’s Winter. We headed off in our tut tut with our luggage from Banyan Tree Phuket where our 3 night stay ended and headed to Angsana Laguan Resort for a 2 night stay which was only a few minutes down the road. The Laguna Phuket complex is a large but discrete village of five resorts united around a lagoon or lake and Angsana Laguna is known to be the most family friendly option. But even if you are a couple or with friends it is also a good option with pools, activities and the beach.
The main feature of the resort is the 323 metre pool, the longest on the island (and in Asia I believe) that snakes through the resort which you can see from your hotel room how it winds whilst children play in the water. Everywhere you go you see the pool beautifully meaderinng around the building structure.

 

The rooms we stayed in offers a nod to contemporary Thai design, with royal Thai purple artworks and modern furnishings. The room was airy and the beds are comfortable and our balcony had a view of small beach area in the resort where children and family played. Finding your room was a little bit of a puzzle initially as the suites are located in what looked like one large complex maze but I took a bit of time to get my bearings and worked out the shortest route to the resort room.

 

 

As soon as we arrived the lovely staff gave me a delicious exotic fruit platter of all the fruits in season in Thailand. On the plate I remember was rambutan which I can’t remember the last time I had that fruit in Australia. It has a nice white firm flesh inside and very sweet. The skin is rubbery and you just cut the top off and peel it off easily. Fruits I saw the most are pineapples, mangoes, coconuts, dragon fruit, watermelon, rambutans and papaya. The longan, is spherical and has a translucent flesh and large black seed. They were very sweet and is translated in Chinese to dragon eye because longan looks like a dragon’s eye. The mangos there I recall were very juicy sweet and although the seeds are large, they are flat and cardboard thin and not round like the varieties in Australia when in season.

 

There is no shortage of things to see, taste and do within the Angsana Laguna Phuket alone for a 2 night stay.

See.
Angsana Phuket offers convenience to the beach and on the first night of arrival we watched the sunset along the shores of Phuket’s Bang Tao Bay whilst sipping signature cocktails and guava juice from the Xana Beach Club.

 

It was hard to imagine how a place so serene and beautiful was devastated by a tsunami in 2004 caused by the earthquake in the Indian Ocean where waves rose to 10 metres high right here. It was interesting to hear from my host Namteoi how the ocean disappeared for moments before big waves rose to building heights and they started to see ocean life surface. Apparently the water receded down to the ocean floor and then rose again in such magnitude. Nowadays there are warnings with adequate notice of tsunamis and tsunami evacuation procedures at the resort if that rare occurrence was to even happen again. If you are sitting on the beach and the ocean disappears, the local tells me make a run for it, inland and somewhere high up. That was a once off rare occurrence and it’s good to know there is adequate warning to prepare before something like that hits again. Plenty of ocean water when was there so there was nothing worry about!

 

Taste.

My favourite bit. Where to start?
Marketplace for your buffet breakfast or brunch of western, Thai or Chinese cuisine, with a view of the lagoon. From the buffet, I choose things that I don’t eat often or don’t ordinarily eat for breakfast back at home. So I tried the massaman beef curry and rice, congee (boiled rice porridge) with fried bread & preserved egg, fruits of rambutan, guava, roseapple (it tastes like a nashi pear but it’s red).  I was blessed to have all this food on the table.

 

 

XANA Beach Club for a casual lunch by the beach and here I tried the most delicious pineapple rice and where you can get the best burger and fries in Phuket whilst munching it by beautiful beach views. Here I hung out with Namteoi of Angsana and learned a few Thai greetings which you can check out here and here.

 

 

 

 

Bodega and Grill for meatlovers: I went here for breakfast dining alfresco style under the pillared porch set right by the pool. I also had dinner there. For meatlovers we tried the Gourmet BBQ Delight for dinner designed for those resort guests who need their dose of Western food and a good quality steak in Thailand. The beef was from Australia, lamb from New Zealand, pork sausages from Italy which is served on a sizzling hot plate with roasted vegetables prepared by Chef Marco, with an Italian background (from Sicily) but who told me he had lived in Thailand for 4 years and who started off his interest in cooking by learning from his grandmother. The meats I tried were very tender, high quality and delicious.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Do.

Whilst being on an island resort like Angsana Phuket encourages you not to do too much and the best thing to do is to lie on the beach or the poolside at the Xana Beach Club, there are a number of other activities you can do.

 

Water Sport Activities

I tried pool side aqua aerobics which was fun and our instructor was so entertaining so that it wasn’t just an ordinary exercise class. It was also good to meet other guests from around the world who were also staying at the resort.
Angsana Spa
If you feel like a Thai massage then you can let the therapists at Angsana Spa lull your tense muscles into a state of perfect calm through a wide range of Asian-inspired therapies and treatments at this Phuket Spa at Angsana.
Local community projects
Angsana Laguna and also the Banyan Tree Resort has a community project program that resort guests can take part in. I planted trees with the locals of Phuket, Thailand and learning about the social responsibility program which is about giving back to the community. The planting of trees is part of the Stay For Good program and World Environment Day.

Trip Summary Notes

 
Getting there

We flew with Qantas to Singapore and then flew Jetstar to Phuket Airport

Where to stay

 

Angsana Laguna Resort

10 Moo 4 Srisoonthorn Road, Phuket
83110, Thailand
· +66 76 358 500
· +66 76 324 108
Must see, taste and do’s in and around the resort (& organised by the resort)
Chill at the Xana Beach Club
  1. Water Sport activities
  2. Angsana Spa
  3. Golf
  4. Participate
     in local community projects for resort guests
See.Taste.Do stayed as a guest of Angsana Laguna Phuket