Centara Grand Beach Resort & Villas Krabi

One thing very memorable was on our arrival as it was our 10-year anniversary, the staff had gone to the effort of making a beautiful “happy anniversary” decoration out leafs and flowers on the bed including two swan towels. We would like to thank you all for making our anniversary so special.

I've dreamed of staying here for almost 20 years .. so it was a real bucket list experience. Felt like coming to fantasy island as we had the shuttle speed boat to the resort all to ourselves! The scenery, setting, backdrop of cliffs, views out to sea and Ao Nang Tower were just heaven. The staff were phenomenal. So warm, welcoming, friendly and efficient. All of them smiling and kind. It's sad to see other guests not showing respect to the staff .. some other guests were rude and had no manners ... But the staff were always kind and respectful. The restaurants on site were beautiful and the food was delicious with a wide and varied menu. Coming from UK though the exchange rates of about 43THB to 1 GBP ... proved to be almost as expensive as the UK so meals in the resort were kind of overpriced for us. But it's a captive market as there's nowhere else to eat . so we survived mainly on pizza and basic Thai dishes. Steaks were very expensive! but we spoke to some Americans who were finding everything so so cheap . so they were enjoying the exchange rate from their US Dollar! The location was remote and wonderful. The shuttle boats were great but the climb over and back via monkey trail was exciting and fun .. but not if you've mobility issues or unfit. It is a gruelling 15 minute climb up very steep and uneven steps with a rickety and often broken, handrail... but we adored it every day!! And was fun at night too!! But must wear sensible footwear as you could do yourself a serious injury... and don't carry too many bags as you need free hands to grab onto the bamboo rails!! You'll feel like Indiana Jones! Such an adventure staying here. It's not 100% perfection... but damn well near. Loved it , loved the staff, views, setting. Didn't love - overpriced for us UK folk -food ... but we didn't starve! And Ao Nang was only 20 min walk away to cheaper places.

My stay at this hotel had both positives and negatives. Starting with the good – the breakfast was absolutely delicious, the staff was friendly, and the location is stunning. Unfortunately, there were quite a few disappointments. In my bathroom, I found long black hairs, which was very unpleasant. The hotel advertised various activities like yoga, water volleyball, and children's programs, but none of them actually took place. The restaurant prices were ridiculously high – I understand this is a five-star hotel, but the pricing was excessive. I would expect the cost to be maybe twice as high as in regular restaurants, but not ten times more! Another major issue is accessibility. To get to the hotel from the airport, you have to take a boat that runs only every two hours. If you miss it, your only option is to pay for a private transfer, which costs 1600! This is an absolutely outrageous price, considering that for the same amount, you could book a full-day island tour with meals if arranged locally. Yet here, they charge that much for just a 10-minute boat ride. Additionally, getting to other restaurants required either taking a difficult hiking trail through the forest or using a boat, which was provided by the hotel only very rarely. If you're traveling with a small child or an elderly person, you’re basically stuck at the hotel most of the time. I understand this is a luxury resort, but I still find this unfair to guests. While the location is breathtaking, the overall experience did not match the high price.

My stay at the hotel and location is excellent, and I have no complaints. The staff were incredibly professional, knowledgeable, and friendly. The rooms were very clean and comfortable. However, I do have two suggestion—elevators should be available throughout the property to better accommodate guests with disabilities or limited mobility. Secondly, staff transportation accommodation should be available, especially for those who work late shifts. The monkey trails should not be their primary access point to the hotel.

Private beach is beautiful, but hotel rooms and facilities are poorly maintained - Website images are clearly very outdated. Room was dusty and had a strange smell. Door connecting my room to the adjacent room had a broken lock, meaning other guests could easily access my room. Complimentary shuttle boat was schedule was unreliable, meaning long waiting times to check in and check out or paying a 1600 BHT for a private long boat. Front desk staff were also incredibly rude when concerns were raised, and constantly trying to get you to pay more money for things that were either complimentary or had already been booked and paid for. Booked an airport transfer with the front desk, they claimed they didn’t have a booking from me and I was forced to pay again for private taxi so that I wouldn’t miss my flight. Would not recommend, not worth the money at all.

Not clean

Consistently poor service. The food was second rate. Limited access outside of resort. Air conditioner flooded our room everyday. They had no solution. I would not recomend this resort

Don’t recommend this hotel to anyone. Staff behaved rudely and unprofessional. We had communication gap while it was not so easy to convey

Thank you for an excellent stay! 🙏🙏

I’ll start with the positives and the reason for two stars as opposed to one. The location is stunning and nature doesn’t alter too much over the decades. Two further positives for two star review were firstly that the breakfasts were good , plentiful and a lot of choice and secondly we were given a change of room without issue. Now to the negatives. The resort is tired and poorly maintained. Our first room ( premium deluxe with sea views) was not clean and smelled badly of damp from the AC. Only a very superficial clean had been done between guests and even the bed linen was yellowing. Fixtures within the room were dirty , chipped, rusty, stained. On complaint after our first night the manager did accommodate our request for a cleaner room. The second room was cleaner but equally as ‘tired’. The sun loungers were grotty and the pool looked unsavoury. The restaurants were overpriced for mediocre fare. Some of the staff were lovely ( as is the Thai way) but others somewhat jobs worth. The private beach is actually open to public ( unclear if for a charge). We were aware of the boat or monkey trail only access to the hotel so being relatively fit this did not bother us however any mobility issues ( or even lack of fitness) would constrain you in the evenings. Every time we passed through reception we overheard guests complaining ! The staff dealt with these without surprise. It was a disappointing end to our holiday but I guess I should have done my own research and not relied on our travel agents recommendation. We have subsequently let said reputable UK agents know not acceptable for the price!