Tony Resort

Tony Resort sits in the middle of Patong, with the practical character of a long-established resort rather than a polished hideaway. Traditional Thai decoration, a swimming pool, a pool bar and an on-site restaurant give you the essentials without asking you to retreat from the town around you.

This is a sensible choice if you want the beach and Patong's evening life within walking distance, while keeping a pool and a proper room to return to. The 24-hour front desk, concierge service, luggage storage and tour desk also make it easy to deal with the small logistics that accumulate around a diving holiday.

Wi-Fi is free in the rooms, lobby and throughout the hotel. There is free private parking on site too, which is useful if your Phuket plans involve more than one beach and a taxi queue.

The address is on Rat-U-Thit 200 Pee Road in Patong Beach, Phuket, Thailand. Patong Beach is about 0.4 miles away on foot, roughly a seven-minute walk, so you can reach the sand without turning the excursion into a transport operation. Kalim Beach is 1.9 miles away, while Tri Trang Beach is about 2.2 miles away.

Jungceylon Shopping Mall is less than 1 km from the resort, making it an easy option when you need supplies, a change of scenery or somewhere to escape the midday heat. Restaurants, cafés and bars sit very close to the hotel, including 88 Restaurant & Lounge and Patong Social Best Thai & Indian Restaurant, both about a minute away on foot.

For a change from the immediate Patong circuit, Kathu Waterfall is about 6 miles away and Rang Hill about 9 miles away. Phuket Bus Terminal is around 6 miles away, while Phuket Bus Terminal 2 is about 7 miles away. The resort is therefore firmly urban and connected, not a base for pretending civilisation is several bays away.

The room choice is mainly about how much space you want around the dive bags and whether the pool should be part of the view. The Standard Double Room, Economy Double or Twin Room and Small Double Room keep things compact for two, while the Deluxe categories give you more room to spread out. The Deluxe Pool Access is the obvious pick if stepping straight towards the water matters more than having a king-size bed and a view of the pool.

For three people, the Deluxe Triple adds a single bed alongside a large bed. For four, the Junior Suite is the practical option, with substantially more room and a private bathroom. It is the room to consider when four adults need to coexist without arranging their belongings in a corridor.

Every room has air conditioning, a private bathroom with bath and shower facilities, satellite or cable television, a wardrobe, an electric kettle and a refrigerator. That last detail earns its keep when you return hot, thirsty and not in the mood to go back out immediately. Daily housekeeping keeps the routine simple, while room service lets you stay put when the legs have had enough for the day.

Some rooms face the pool. Non-smoking rooms are available, and the hotel has a lift, although the building serving Deluxe Pool View Rooms has had a scheduled lift maintenance period. If that category is your choice, check the lift situation for your dates before booking rather than discovering the stairs with wet hair and tired knees.

Red Wood Restaurant handles breakfast, lunch and dinner, with Thai and international cooking on the menu. Breakfast is a buffet starting at 6:30, which gives you a reasonable start for a morning organised around a boat departure rather than a leisurely lie-in. Lunch and dinner run from 10:30 until 23:00.

Thai favourites include Tom Yam Kung, Pad Thai and Pad Krapao, alongside spaghetti and other Western dishes. It is a useful combination when one of you wants something recognisably familiar and the other wants to keep eating locally. The restaurant sits on site, so you do not have to make a second decision about dinner once you are back at the resort.

There are two bar outlets under the Pool Bar/Main Bar listing: the Pool Bar and the Main Bar. Both open from 09:00 until 22:00, with happy hour available as one of the hotel's activities. The poolside option is the natural place for a drink while the swimwear dries; the main bar gives you another spot when the pool has had enough of you.

The swimming pool is open from 09:00 until 22:00, and pool or beach towels, sun loungers and beach chairs are available. That covers the useful gap between returning to the hotel and deciding whether you have the energy to go out again. Some rooms look over the pool, and the Deluxe Pool Access category puts the water directly into the room choice.

Patong Beach is close enough for an easy change of scene, while the nearby beaches offer alternatives when you want a different stretch of sand. Kalim Beach is about 1.9 miles away, Tri Trang Beach about 2.2 miles, and Freedom Beach about 2.2 miles by car. The latter requires transport, so it is a planned outing rather than a quick stroll in flip-flops.

The hotel can also arrange a tour or class about local culture, giving you something more purposeful than another hour of scrolling through weather forecasts. Babysitting is available for families who need a little time without the children, and laundry is available for the practical aftermath of saltwater, humidity and repeated use of the same shirts.

Check-in runs from 15:00 to 00:00, and check-out from 06:00 to 12:00. The front desk is open around the clock, with a wake-up service, concierge service, tour desk, currency exchange and luggage storage available for the awkward edges of a travel day. The hotel also asks for your expected arrival time, which is worth arranging before you set off.

Phuket International Airport is about 14 miles from the resort as the local distance, with the road journey listed at roughly 20 miles and 37 minutes by car. An airport shuttle is available and can be arranged with the hotel, in private or shared form. There is also free private parking on site, with no reservation needed.

Cash is accepted. Children of any age are welcome; cots can be requested for children aged 0 to 3, and extra beds can be requested for older children, subject to the selected room and availability. Pets are not allowed, and guests under 18 must check in with a parent or official guardian. The hotel is non-smoking throughout, with designated smoking areas.