In this article you will find a description of the hotel Railay Princess Resort Spa. Guest reviews and photos made by them served as an informative basis for compiling a general impression of the hotel. It should immediately be said that the hotel is positioning itself as a place of calm, and you can even say, secluded relaxation. It is located on the Railay Peninsula, in the province of Krabi (Thailand). This interesting area is very popular among travelers. How can you explain such a love of tourists?
The fact is that many of them consider Railay an island, since it is almost impossible to get to it from the land side - a ridge of high, with sharp-pointed karst rocks rises between it and the rest of the mainland. Therefore, there are no cars on Railay. You can only get here by boat. What many do to spend daylight hours on the wonderful Railay beach. And when the sunset comes, all the sightseers move out, and only the inhabitants of a few hotels remain on the secluded peninsula. Want to feel like Robinson (living, nevertheless, in the comfortable conditions of the Thai "four"), away from the hustle and bustle of modern civilization? Then welcome to the Railay Princess Resort Spa.
Tropical peninsula
Perhaps you were alarmed by the isolation of this place from civilization? But what about shops, cafes, restaurants, transfers, in the end? After all, most hotels in Thailand offer breakfast only. But in terms of nutrition, you can not worry. At lunchtime, numerous long-tailed punts, with a brazier on their bows, sail to the Railay Marina. Thais before your eyes will fry you a lunch of seafood, fish, meat, give baked corn, pour soup or generously put pat-Thai or rice in disposable plates. In the center of a small peninsula there are several shops and cafes.
There is another small nuance of relaxation at the Railay Princess Resort Spa. Photos of tourists often depict monkeys living in packs on this isolated peninsula. They are terrible beggars, and some individuals are also thieves. So your lunch should not be left unattended on the beach. Local monkeys are divided into two species - cynomolgus monkeys and "bespectacled" smoky thinbodies. The former are more social and smart. There is also the Princess Grotto on Railay.
It is popularly called the Phallus Cave. To the statue of a mythical princess deep in the grotto, Thais bring offerings in the form of male genital organs made of wood (some of them the size of a telegraph pole).
How to get to the hotel?
Hotel Railay Princess Resort Spa is located in the province of Krabi, in Muenang. The nearest "mainland" resort, from which all boats sail on Railay, is called Ao Nang. For a small amount, you can order a transfer from or to Krabi Airport. You will be met in the air harbor, taken to Ao Nang in a minivan, and from there they will be delivered to the east coast of the peninsula by hotel’s motor boat. For independent tourists, the path to the hotel will not be a problem either.
A lot of “sang-teo” (open pickups with seats) depart for Ao Nang from Krabi Airport. You can take a taxi directly to the pier of the resort. The ticket office of the boat station sells tickets to many destinations. Do you need Railay Beach or Pra Nang? Then the boat will take you to the eastern coast of the peninsula. From there, the hotel is literally 300 meters away.
The hotel is ideally located relative to the Railay infrastructure. Go to the nearest beach for exactly a minute. But since the lion's share of the tourists who arrived there rests, it is worth spending another minute to walk along a winding path laid right among the overhanging rocks and grottoes. The path leads to the best Railay beach, Pra Nang Beach. The Princess Grotto is also located there.
Railay Princess Resort Spa. Hotel Description
The hotel has a fairly spacious territory. It is located two hundred meters from the center of Railay - the place where all the shops and cafes are concentrated. The hotel itself is closer to the east coast with a gorgeous beach. As an eight-minute walk, you can visit the western tip of the peninsula. There are huge ebbs, the sea goes almost over the horizon, and you can see how hotel guests with their belongings are taken to boats on trucks along the bare bottom of the lagoon.
The hotel has several buildings and bungalows. Tour operators direct those travelers who check into a three-star hotel to the old buildings. But under the guise of the “Railways Princess Resort Spa” are new buildings, which are considered a four-star hotel. On the roof of one of the buildings is a swimming pool. Near the buildings there is a pond in which giant carps live. On the territory there is another pool. It is located on a hill, so, floating in it, you can contemplate the sea, the beach and the surrounding picturesque cliffs.
Hotel specifics
It should be remembered that the Railay Princess Resort Resort is located in the jungle, and wildlife makes itself felt. So do not be surprised if you see a 1.5-meter monitor lizard or monkeys on the veranda. The latter are absolutely not aggressive, but love to beg for food. Macaques, living side by side with people, learned to drink even alcoholic cocktails. But if they are impudent, for example, crawling into your bag or occupying your sunbed, you should contact the attendants (they are on duty at the beach). One formidable look of a man in a uniform with a stick plunges macaques into flight. The hotel's garden amid the cliffs overgrown with jungle attracts exotic birds - toucans, lanes and others.
Rooms
The new buildings of the Railay Princess Resort Resort have elevators, and the rooms are more spacious. Room categories start with standards, and there are both single and double rooms. The new buildings have superior. These are superior standard rooms with wide beds and new modern appliances. The category above can be called deluxe rooms. They are more spacious in area. In the new building are magnificent grand deluxe. These rooms have wide four-poster beds, a flat-screen TV with large screen, a split system and other modern amenities. Slippers and bathrobes are provided.
In old buildings there are rooms of the economy category, with a minimum set of services. The hotel also has a honeymoon room, specially decorated in romantic colors. The guest rooms have balconies in the buildings, while the bungalows have terraces. Room facilities correspond to the four stars of the hotel. There is a hairdryer in the bathroom, minibar, safe, air conditioning, TV, telephone. Maids are cleaned daily. For a tip, they twist various figures from towels. Bed linens and towels in the superior rooms are very new, of good quality.
Nutrition
Railay Princess Resort Resort includes breakfast. Tourists do not cease to be surprised at the abundance of dishes that are served during this seemingly modest meal. The thing is that Thais are accustomed to eating up in the morning, when it is not so hot. The rest of the meals are more moderate. But for breakfast it is customary to serve soup, meat, fish or seafood dishes, pizza with pineapples, burgers, fruits and sweet pastries. But those who are accustomed to starting the morning in a European way did not stay in the loser.
Tourists report that for breakfast they give eggs in different forms, cereals, granola, milk, fresh vegetables, coffee, juices, tea. These meals are buffet style. In the hotel restaurant you can have lunch and dinner. According to reviews, it is tasty, but a little expensive. Therefore, tourists preferred to wait for the boats on which the Thais from Ao Nang brought a variety of dishes. Dinner and lunch are available at other hotels. Tourists praise the restaurant at the Diamond Hotel. But you can also eat at the Pineapple Cafe by the shops in the center.
Beach at the Railay Princess Resort Spa
Tourists accompany the description of the hotel with numerous photographs. And 80 percent of them are represented by the beach. He is really wonderful and just asks for photo wallpaper. The steep cliffs, the very ones that make the peninsula isolated from the land, overhang the sea with steep cliffs. Rains and storms washed the karst and formed caves and grottoes through which a path leads to the cape itself. Swimming is best to go there. There, at the Princess Grotto, and fewer people. The entrance to the sea is average; there are no hedgehogs, stinging plankton and jellyfish in the sea. Tourists mention that on the east coast low tides are not noticeable. But in the evening it is worth visiting the western tip of the peninsula - the sunsets there are simply enchanting.
Pools
Many tourists are nervous about excursions, every morning in droves landed on the banks of Railay, not far from the nearest beach of the Railay Princess Resort Spa. For privacy seekers, there are two options. You can walk along the path between the rocks for about five minutes to the cape of the peninsula. The beach there is definitely better and it is he and the Phallus Cave that are the visiting card of Railay. And the second option is to sunbathe by the pools. Moreover, from them, in full view, the sea is visible. The sun terrace contains enough sun loungers and parasols. According to reviews, there are always few people at the pool on the roof of the building. In addition, here you will not need to protect your snacks and drinks from the monkeys.
Hotel Facilities
Throughout the hotel Railay Princess Resort Resort 4 * (Krabi) operates a very fast and free "Wi-Fi." Its speed is sufficient to communicate on Skype or watch movies online (especially since there are no Russian channels on TV). The hotel has a gym, as well as a wonderful spa with a full range of bath and massage services. But this is already a paid service. Reception is open 24 hours a day. Its staff is fluent in English. At the hotel you can book excursions and transfers to the airport, exchange currency, hire a professional nanny for the child, and hand over things to the left-luggage office. For the youngest guests of the hotel there is a games room. Breakfast can be delivered to your room at an additional cost.
Excursions
The isolation of Railay is not an obstacle at all to make organized trips around the edge. Moreover, at the Railay Princess Resort Resort (Krabi) you can book excursions directly at the reception. A boat will come for you and take you to the islands of Phi Phi, Chicken, Poda, Hong or to the James Bond rock.
Tired of the sea? Then go with a guide to the Klong Thom hot springs. For independent travel you will first need to get to the "Great Land", that is, to Ao Nang. Boats and boats of various designs (both long-tailed traditional Thai motorboats and modern gliders) run from seven in the morning until sunset. After seven in the evening to return home, on Railay will be problematic. Boaters raise tariffs two to three times.
Hotel Specialization
For which category of tourists is Railay Princess Resort Resort suitable? Traveler reviews describe it as an island in the jungle. Tourists claim that the hotel will appeal to lovers of wildlife. If you are shocked by the appearance of a lizard or if you don’t tolerate the presence of monkeys nearby, you should not go to this hotel, or to Raily in general. Despite the fact that the hotel is positioning itself as a place of family relaxation, there are not too many amenities for children. There is only a games room, high chairs and cradles. There are very few Russian tourists in the hotel.