PP Red Tuna Hut in Phi Phi Island

Tl;dr, a hotel located in one of the most beautiful parts of the world, however, (maybe because of this) it is at best a four star Hotel that is severely understaffed and does not provide the luxury of a five star accommodation.

We were picked up and brought to a port for a one hour journey on their speed boat to the back entrance to the hotel. On arrival, it was cool to wade through the water from the boat but the two minute journey to hotel had rubbish everywhere- an impression a 5 star hotel should not have. Check in was brilliant and our room was very cool- a hut on stilts with a lovely terrace and a very functional set up. However, again missing the luxury of 5 star- poor pillows and a fuzzy tv channels.

The pool and beach area have spectacular views and comfort, both pools offer a level of peace that is unparalleled overlooking the bay and you really get the sense of relaxation swimming in them. Same with the beach, at dusk you are as close to paradise as you can get. However, the quality of food in the Pool bar is frozen burgers even though it is pitched as wagyu and priced at higher quality offering. Breakfast has a lot of variety but again missing five star offerings such as barista coffee and instead has a bad quality bean to cup machine as well as stray cats which are not ran away by staff and are let wander the breakfast area ( not a cat person and find it disgusting they are allowed to stay)

The hotel also request you to download an app to communicate with them, but it can take up to 30 minutes to respond and you may not get your request actioned e.g we asked for bigger bathrobes and never got them (we are both European medium sizes and these were tiny on us) and the buggy to go to the spa during heavy rain never arrived (the walk is actually fine as they give umbrellas but the spa recommended we take this offer)

The staff here are brilliant though, and I highly recommend the half day trip to maya bay. Our guide was fantastic and the snorkelling was one of my favourite experiences in Thailand! Yo and Pancake also have great facials and massages in the spa!It did feel like there was not enough staff, an example being there were 10 people waiting for coffees with only one barista in their on site cafe who was on point to take orders and make coffees, which meant an iced latte took 20 minutes to make even though I was first in queue of the ten. One person cancelled their order as after 25 minutes they did not receive it.

Overall, we were disappointed not to receive what we see saw on their Instagram. Felt like a catfish experience as this was the accommodation we were most looking forward to out of the 5 on our honeymoon and it was the only one we feel we did not get the services promised

The reviews that describe this hotel as a 3 star pretending to be a 5 star are spot on. We spent 5 nights here as part of our honeymoon. We had actually booked to stay elsewhere but sadly the booking agent had to move us to Saii at the last minute because of a maintenance issue with the hotel we had chosen. Saii is a nice hotel with lovely staff but it doesn't feel like a 5 star experience and is not good value for money.

The location is beautiful, but the view of the coastline and the beach atmosphere is spoiled by the constant coming and going of engine powered boats. I understand the island is only accessible by boat and Phi Phi is very popular with tourists but for me it was excessive and could be improved by having a designated boat drop off area further from where people are trying to relax. The constant smell of weed and noise of engines is too much.

On arrival we were instructed to download an app, so that we could book activities etc. We assumed activities would be discounted for hotel guests but prices were higher than elsewhere on the island and they even charged for borrowing snorkeling masks... In comparison, the next hotel we stayed at offered a wide range of complimentary daily activities, including kayaking.

The room was nice and spacious, although for us it lacked character and didn't live up to 5 star expectations.
The water (which was almost never hot) had a weird yellow colouring, which was so bad at times we couldn't bathe in it (I'll try to upload a photo). Some of the white bath towels had the same yellow staining. When it rained, water poured through a light fixture. This was promptly repaired, but when we reported it the staff didn't seem that surprised.

The breakfast buffet was really nice and there was a good selection. Other food from the menus was OK, but nothing special. Again, over priced for what you're getting. The gym was very basic so I didn't bother with it. The hotel just has the feel of a place that has done the bare minimum to qualify as a 5 star without having the substance or finesse you'd expect from a 5* hotel. Even the guy at the pool bar had to phone a friend to ask how to make a white Russian cocktail..

The hotel employs a lot of staff. Lovely people, and very friendly. Impressed with the maintenance team and the room cleaners who clearly work very hard and always gave us a cheerful hello whenever they saw us.

There were a few nice touches - drink and live music on arrival, a little 'happy honeymoon' note in the room etc but I would much prefer for the hotel to dispense with the frills and just deliver on the basics.

We had a nice time but we wouldn't stay here again. Ultimately it felt like a bit of a tourist trap and wasn't good value for money. It would be nice for feedback to be acknowledged and responded to by an actual person. All of the feedback responses from the hotel appear AI generated and not very sincere.