Anyone who has driven on holiday around Europe will be well familiar with the Ibis chain of hotels because they are well established in towns and cities everywhere here – especially in France. You tend to associate them with overnight stopovers and we have stayed in several Ibis’s over the past years on our travels – they serve the purpose, are budget priced but not el cheapo and you get services that do not come with the lower end of the budget hotel scale. We have seen pretty much the full range…

Of course each Ibis hotel differs according to where it is located but what about the scene at left for a prime location – Phuket…? this is where an Ibis hotel really comes into it’s own and proves just what high quality accommodation and service it can offer. Located just ten minutes from those sublime waters of Kata Beach, the new ibis Phuket Kata in beautiful Thailand offers at far more affordable rates what other local hotels charge the earth for.

This Ibis offers the 24 hours food and drinks service from their reception that makes this hotel chain such a convenient one to stay with; you basically pay only for the food and drink you order and it is delivered to your room without the hefty ‘room service’ charges that you get in supposedly ‘better’ places. Phuket is well known as a place very popular with the younger travellers – as well as families – due to the low cost of dining out and entertainment choices, in keeping with this the hotel has a contemporary design, ultra-modern in many ways and definitely streets ahead of those Ibis’s I have stayed in along the motorways in France….

Take a look at those rooms – and with the beach just a few minutes away it is a very tempting idea to take off for this place now rather than sit here in the cold for Xmas. The modern design takes in the rooms as well as the public areas of the hotel and if you notice the floor of the rooms does not have that usual tacky ‘hotel carpet’ – nice, fresh, clean looking timber floors. Kata itself has been a haven for tourists for many years now and is still the paradise it was when first discovered with great nightlife, fantastic dining out, bargain-filled shopping opportunities and the hotel also offers a free shuttle bus to Kata for it’s guests so that they can get into and out of the town whenever they like. The hotel has an established 3 star service reputation so you will eventually leave feeling like you have been staying in the lap of luxury. Don’t forget Kata is not all go-go-go; the place offers the perfect atmosphere and environment for relaxation to those who want to just take it easy and enjoy the seaside beauty of the place. High season is from December  to March with low season May to September, you’re near the equator don’t forget so the middle of the year can often be the best time to take advantage of the lower rates and still benefit from the great weather.