Areca Resort & Spa

Areca Resort & Spa is a 192-room resort for divers who want a proper base rather than a beachside address at any cost. The setting is in Kathu, central enough for moving around Phuket and equipped for the unglamorous but important parts of a dive holiday: air-conditioned rooms, food on site, a pool, a spa and somewhere to leave the car.

English and Chinese are spoken by the hotel team, so you can deal with the useful things in English from arrival onwards. The website also caters for English- and Chinese-speaking guests. This is a resort with plenty going on around the edges, but the main appeal is straightforward: return from the day, cool down, eat, and decide whether you have the energy for anything else.

The address is in Kathu, Thailand, on Wichitsongkram Road. Kathu town centre is 2 km away, giving you a location that is inland rather than directly on the coast. That matters if you picture stepping from the lobby onto sand; this is not that sort of hotel.

The surrounding list is more Phuket than postcard village. Phuket International Hospital, the Aphrodite Cabaret Show and Tiger Kingdom are nearby, while excursions can be arranged towards Patong Beach, Karon Beach, Rawai Beach, Phuket Old Town and the island's markets and shopping centres. Naka Market, Banzaan Fresh Market, Central Festival and Big C are all part of the hotel's excursion suggestions, giving you plenty to investigate when the sea is off the day's schedule.

For two people who simply want a reliable place to sleep, the standard Deluxe Double and Deluxe Twin rooms keep the choice uncomplicated: one double bed or two single beds. The pool-access categories are the more obvious pick if you want the water close by rather than treating the room as somewhere to drop your bags. The Harbour Pool Access and Deep Ocean Pool Access rooms take that idea further, while the junior suite gives you a roomier category with a dining area and desk.

Air conditioning is available in the Deluxe Double rooms and the more comprehensively equipped pool-access double rooms and junior suites. A fridge is useful for keeping drinking water cold when you return warm and salty, while coffee and tea facilities cover the first cup before anyone starts discussing the day's plans. The better-equipped categories also add blackout blinds and soundproofing, which may be welcome when recovery matters more than an early view.

Private bathrooms, showers, towels, toiletries and hairdryers appear across the room information, with bathrobes and slippers in selected categories. Safes, televisions and wardrobes are also available in the better-equipped rooms. Room fittings vary by category, so choosing for the features you actually use is wiser than assuming every room carries the full kit.

PENAE Restaurant handles breakfast, lunch and dinner, with local and international cooking on the menu. Its setting uses contemporary Balinese style and local thatch, giving the main restaurant a defined look rather than a generic dining room. For a diver, the useful point is simpler: the three main meals can be taken on site, so dinner does not automatically require another journey across Phuket.

There is one named bar, the Pool Bar, beside the outdoor pool and its Jacuzzi. A separate snack bar and complimentary tea and coffee are also part of the resort's facilities, along with bottled water.

Breakfast is available, but whether it is included depends on the rate you choose. That is worth checking before booking, particularly if your diving starts early and breakfast is part of the daily calculation.

The outdoor pool has a Jacuzzi and sits alongside the Pool Bar, making it the obvious place to cool off without turning the afternoon into another organised activity. Pool and beach towels are available. There is also a sun terrace, a garden and a spa, with YAREY Spa offering massage and a steam bath for the sort of post-dive recovery that requires no timetable and very little conversation.

A gym and fitness equipment cover the basic exercise option, while a golf course is also available among the resort's activities. Fishing is listed as another possibility. None of this requires you to leave the property, which is useful on the day when your body votes for a horizontal afternoon and wins.

For families travelling with younger members, the resort has a kids' club, children's play area, playroom, babysitting and a children's pool. Excursion assistance can arrange outings towards beaches, Phuket Old Town, markets and shopping centres. There is also an on-site barbecue area, although the restaurant and bars remain the more direct choices when the appetite has been earned underwater.

Check-in runs from 14:00 to 22:00, with check-out at 12:00. Reception is open around the clock, and an airport transfer service is available through the resort, along with shuttle services and car hire. Arrange the transfer with the hotel before travelling. Free on-site parking makes the address particularly workable if you are driving or hiring a car for the island.

Wi-Fi is available throughout the hotel, and an accessible lift serves the upper floors. The resort also has a currency exchange service, concierge, luggage storage, room service and a safe. Laundry, dry cleaning and ironing are available, with some of these services subject to an additional charge. A business centre and meeting facilities are available as well, although most divers will probably regard them as useful background infrastructure rather than a reason to book.

The hotel is non-smoking and has wheelchair-accessible facilities. Visa, Mastercard, American Express, JCB and Visa Electron are accepted. For a stay that involves early departures, long drives or several wet days in succession, the combination of reception cover, food on site, parking and airport transfers removes a fair amount of everyday friction.