Ruined our stay in paradise (Phi Phi Don Chukit Resort (Krabi, Thailand))

Member Name: aylawarner

Product:	Phi Phi Don Chukit Resort (Krabi, Thailand)
Date:	15/04/09 (45 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: On a beautiful island, looks lovely from the outside

Disadvantages: Everything ...

My husband and I booked a trip to the Phi Phi islands in Thailand from Phuket. There are many travel shops where you can do this and we went around a lot of them searching for the cheapest price. Every single one recommended the Phi Phi Don Chukit Resort as the best resort to stay in and so we booked it up. It was a package trip including boat, snorkelling on the first day and two nights on the main island, Phi Phi Don.

The resort is a long walk down from the pier when you're carrying a heavy backpack but the location is great in Tonsai Bay near shops, stalls, restaurants and bars. It looks beautiful from the outside - petite pale blue bungalows surrounded by green grass and palm trees on one of the world's most idyllic islands. However, disaster loomed straight away and the horrible sounding name of the resort really just sums it up.

After being in our room for 2 minutes I noticed a black mark on the wall. When I went over to inspect it, it was actually a huge line of ants parading their way up our wall and over the bed towards a suspicious looking spot of dirt. I followed the trail backwards and it took me all the way across the wall where they eventually disappeared out the window. Now, some bugs I don't like and I would have freaked out if it had been spiders or beetles or something, and I don't mind ants, but there were literally hundreds of them and, quite frankly, I wasn't going to sleep anywhere near them and especially not on the bed where they'd be trailing over my head. I would have had to have kept my mouth firmly closed all night in fear of swallowing the tiny things. Plus our toilet was leaking. We went straight back to reception where a couple of the staff followed us back to our room with pest spray. Well, really this wasn't going to get rid of them, there were far too many and the procession was getting bigger every second. One of the woman then began to slap at the wall with her hand so some of the ants dropped to the floor. The other then sprayed the pesticide all around the room. They then looked at us as if to say, there problem solved! I told them no way was I still sleeping in there - there were now dead ants all over the floor and the bed and they were still coming in through the window (which wouldn't completely shut properly so there was no way of stopping them). They said it was fine and that we could change rooms straight away so I didn't need to make a fuss which I was very happy about.

They took us to another room and we checked the place thoroughly before agreeing to it. After no signs of ants or any other such disgusting insects, we took to checking some of the island out. On our second day on the island however, we were joyfully met by, yes, more ants. I couldn't believe it! There weren't anywhere near as many this time though and they weren't near the bed so I wasn't too bothered by them. We did have another little visitor though - a gecko lizard that just would not leave our room. My husband hates lizards and he freaked out which gave me a good laugh but even I jumped up on the bed with this one as it was a fast little thing. Eventually we managed to get it out the door and get to bed.

We did have other problems with the resort - the shower room was dirty and the water smelt rotten and whenever we used the shower it didn't even feel like we were clean. The room was generally nice though - a decent size with a big bed and a TV, and the buffet breakfast in the restaurant was nice with lovely views overlooking the bay.

The morning of our departure I ended up in tears. I opened my backpack to pack my bits and bobs in to find it completely infested with the tiny ants. The little buggers had managed to get in every pocket and crevice possible and were all in my clothes and make up bag. We used up almost an entire body spray killing them off but my bag was still full of them. I hated having to carry it around on my back in case they started crawling up my neck. There were so many in there that I had to buy a new bag when we got back to the mainland and ended up washing everything in my bag just in case there were still some left.

Room rates start at £20 a night for a standard fan room, reaching up to £140 for a deluxe family room. Because we paid for it as part of a package deal, we didn't pay as much, but on their website our garden view bungalow costs £45 a night and there is no way in hell it was anywhere near worth that amount.

Our problems may just have been because we were in a garden view bungalow and not a beach or sea front one, which may have been lovely, but the place just gave me a horrible view. We went there looking for a relaxing and wonderful stay in paradise and this resort just ruined it for us. I felt cheated out of our time there and I wish we could go back and stay in a different place instead so that we could have had the trip we expected and wanted it to be.

Summary: Chuck out Phi Phi Don Chukit