Ibis Styles Phuket City is a 3-star hotel located at Phuket Town. It is about 1.5km from the famous Phuket Old Town. We actually walked from the hotel to Phuket Old Town and managed to visit a number of places and eat nice food along the way (stay tuned for my detailed travelogue!).
Ibis Styles Phuket City is right next to Novotel Phuket City Phokeethra. Since they are both under the same Accor Group and ibis Styles doesn’t have any facilities, ibis Styles guests can access the gym and swimming pool at Novotel.
We paid around THB 5,074 (~SGD 188) for a 4-night stay in the standard room with twin bed, with breakfast included.
To sum up our stay, here are things that I like and don’t like
What I Like:
- Great service
- Nice pastries
- Welcome drinks at Novotel
- Able to use facilities at Novotel
What I Don’t Like:
- Small window
- No sheltered walkway to Novotel
- No convenience store or supermarket nearby
- Not many food options nearby
Location
In my opinion, Ibis Styles Phuket City’s location is not that desirable. It’s definitely way quieter compared to the beaches or even the Old Phuket Town.
There are some food options, but not too many. Our go-to place to eat near the hotel is McDonald’s and Only Yum.
There is no convenience store near the hotel, so we had to walk about 500m to Phuket Grocery to get our water and snacks.
Right outside the hotel is the morning market which sells mostly wet groceries, such as meat, vegetables, spices and cooked food. At night, the perimeter of the market turns into roadside stalls selling seafood (most of them are Halal).
If you love massage, there are a couple of massage parlors within walking distance from the hotel, such as Kim’s (they have many branches near the hotel), W’s and Anda.
Getting to the hotel
Ibis Styles Phuket City is about 40km (or 1-hour drive) from Phuket International Airport (HKT). There are many ways to get from Phuket Airport to Phuket Town.
The cheapest way but most time-consuming way is to take the Airport Bus. The journey costs THB 100 and takes 1.5 hours. The bus only stops at designated locations. The good news is that its final destination, Phuket Town Bus Terminal, is just 850m from ibis Styles Phuket city (about 12 mins walk).
Because our flight arrives quite late at 8.40pm and the airport bus is no longer in operation at that time, we decided to order Airport Transfer service from the hotel.
We paid THB 850 for Airport Transfer from Airport to Ibis Styles Phuket City. We booked at the same time when we booked our room through Accor’s website. The vehicle is a van and the max number of adults are 3 people.
Meanwhile, for the Airport Transfer from Ibis Styles Phuket City to Airport, we booked from front desk. The prices are THB750/car and THB900/van. Since there are only two of us, we book the car option, which is essentially a taxi.
Both of our airport transfer experiences have been great. There wasn’t any delay. In fact, the taxi came much earlier than our appointment time.
Check-In
The check-in was very smooth and efficient. We requested late check-out and were guaranteed a late check-out at 3pm.
We got assigned to a room at first storey and it looked like most people stay in the first storey anyway. I’m not sure if the above floors are open or not.
Accor Gold Member Benefit
I was given a paper stating all the benefits that I can get as an Accor Gold Member. However, I forgot to take a photo of it and the housekeeper threw it away.
So, I’ll just try to list down what I actually received and did not receive.
- Welcome Drink: Yes, we received a voucher to get 2 drinks from Estrella Bar at Novotel next door.
- Early check-in OR Late check-out: We got a guaranteed late check-out.
- Upgrade to the next room category (subject to availability): Nope. To be fair, the next category is Family Room, and we didn’t really need a Family Room for just the two of us.
- Welcome amenity: Not applicable to ibis Styles. But we did receive macarons, chocolates and simple room decoration.
Standard Room
There are only 3 types of room at Ibis Styles Phuket City:
- Standard Room with double bed (20m2)
- Standard Room with twin beds (20m2)
- Family Room with double bed and bunk bed (27m2)
We had wanted to book Standard Room with double bed, however, it was not available during our chosen dates. So, we booked Standard Room with twin beds.
The staff did a simple decoration for our celebration. They even gifted us a plate of macarons and chocolates. It was a nice gesture, macarons is one of my favorite desserts!
Now, let’s talk about the room. We arrived in the evening, so the photos that we took are pretty dimmed because there was no more natural light, and the lights inside the room are pretty dimmed.
At the end of the bed, there’s a TV and a small work desk that can be used by 1 person only.
One side of the bed is the wall with two miniscule windows. It was suffocating to be honest; it felt a little like a quarantine room. From the photos that I saw online, other rooms seem to have half-height windows, so I’m not sure if we have small windows because we are at the ground floor.
On the other side of the bed is the sink area with half height mirror. It’s a compact sink with some bathroom amenities, a hair dryer, glasses and hand wash. No toothbrush was given due to environmental concern.
The wardrobe adopts an open wardrobe concept. Basically, there are a few hangers right next to the main door. Below these hangers is the safe and luggage rack.
Between luggage rack and work desk is the simple minibar where you can find an electric kettle, mineral water in glass bottles, instant coffee powders, teabags, creamers, cups and glasses. There’s also a small fridge underneath.
The bathroom consists of two separate rooms, one for toilet and one for shower. Space is really tight so we had to watch our steps carefully.
I have some trouble operating the shower mixer. It doesn’t work the way I’m used to. The default handle is pointing to the east, not the usual south. I spent too much time trying to figure out how to get the right amount and temperature of hot water.
Gym at Novotel Phuket City Phokeetra
Because ibis Styles doesn’t have its own gym, we were given access to the gym at Novotel Phuket City Phokeetra. The gym at Novotel is located at Level 3.
It is a pretty small gym. You can see the available equipment in the below photos. It was empty during our visit; there wasn’t even any staffs on duty.
Swimming Pool at Novotel Phuket City Phokeetra
Similarly, because ibis Styles doesn’t have swimming pool, we were given access to Novotel’s swimming pool. The pool is located at Level 3, right next to the gym.
It is an outdoor, but sheltered swimming pool. There depth is 1.4m, which is quite deep. Towel is available at the pool entrance, there was no staff on duty as well.
To be honest, for a 5 star hotel, the swimming pool is overly underwhelming. It felt just like a typical apartment’s swimming pool, not a luxurious hotel’s swimming pool.
Estrella Bar at Novotel Phuket City Phokeetra
Accor Member with Silver and above status will get a free welcome drinks at Accor properties. In our case, instead of free drinks at ibis Styles, we get free welcome drinks at Estrella Bar which is located at the rooftop of Novotel Phuket City Phokeetra.
Estrella Bar is located at Level 18. However, the lift at Novotel only goes up to Level 17. Hence, from Level 17, we needed to climb a staircase to Level 18, sigh! It’s a shame that the rooftop garden isn’t accessible to people with mobility issue.
The free welcome drink menu is quite extensive. They serve cocktails, mocktails, liquor, spirit, beer, wine, soft drinks, and fruit juices.
Estrella Bar has 3 sections: a dark indoor area and two small outdoor terraces. One terrace is facing the northeast direction (mountain view), while the other is facing the southwest direction (sea view).
I love the views from the terraces, and the fairy lights. But, when the rain came, we had to evacuate to the indoor area.
The terrace facing the southwest direction (sea view) seems like the preferred terrace for most people. We decided to settle down here for our drinks.
We made the right decision to visit the bar during sunset. I mean, just look at that sky!
I ordered Phuket Island mocktail and my spouse ordered Honey Jito cocktail. We were both disappointed with our choices.
Plus, service was really slow. We ordered at 5.45pm and we only got our drinks at 6.15pm. The bartender was not friendly. The only saving grace of the Estrella Bar was the view.
Amor Restaurant at Novotel Phuket City Phokeetra
On one of the evenings, we decided to dine at Amor Restaurant at Novotel Phuket City Phokeetra because we felt that the price was reasonable and Accor Plus members can get up to 50% discount.
Amor restaurant was really quiet when we were there. We were the only guests in the restaurant, it felt kinda awkward. There were 2 staffs, 1 speak perfect English and the other one had a hard time communicating with us.
We ordered prawn with tamarind sauce (THB 290) and Thai pork belly stew (THB 250). The presentation of the food is definitely admirable. But… the pork belly stew arrived cold!
I mean, isn’t stew supposed to be served hot? Or did I miss out anything? Maybe this Moo Hong Phuket (Phuket style pork belly stew) is supposed to be served at room temperature?
We communicated our disappointment. The staff brought it back to the kitchen to heat it up before serving it back to us.
All in all, Amor Restaurant is a restaurant I’m not keen to return to, no matter how cheap their food is.
Breakfast at Harmony Restaurant
Breakfast at ibis Styles Phuket City takes place at the Harmony Restaurant at Level 1, next to the Receptionist.
For a 3-star hotel, the breakfast is much better compared to other 3-star hotels I’ve stayed in.
The main buffet serves oriental as well as continental breakfast items. Over 4 days, these items were served on rotation: fried egg, ham, sausage, omelet, fried noodle, fried rice, steamed rice, minced meat, curry, porridge, salad, fruits, desserts, and yoghurts.
They also had a corner where they serve vegetarian options. No live station, but the food is being topped up quite frequently.
Final Thoughts
At the rate that I’m paying, I think Ibis Styles Phuket City is a decent hotel for budget travelers in Phuket Town. It doesn’t have the best location, but you can always take taxi or Grab to get around.
Breakfast is good for a 3-star hotel. Despite its lack of facilities, guests can use the gym and pool at Novotel, so you still can get your workout done.
If you’re like me who’s on a mattress run, Ibis Styles Phuket City is a good option to make the best bang for your bucks.
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