Outrigger Khao Lak Beach Resort - SHA Extra Plus

This was our second stay here within 2 years.

Positive:
The staff are great - very attentive, very polite, very helpful, very responsive.

The breakfast offered more variety than last year, the hotel also offers gluten free bread and sweets, but you have to ask for it directly and have to wait a little while. I was very thankful for the option and hope that other hotels pick this up too. Having allergies is no fun in Asia.

The beach is simply stunning.

Neutral:
The rooms are spacious, the design is minimalistic. I did not find an issue with it. Upon arrival late in the evening, our two single beds were given to us as one King bed. Upon our complaint, the housekeeping swiftly changed the beds. While it is not a big issue, it was annoying after a day of travel to not have the room you asked for.

Food at the restaurant is decent, but overpriced and catered to a Western audience. A couple of meters down the beach, you can find cheaper and more authentic Thai food. This is purely up to one's taste though.

Negative:
This year, more guests were staying at the hotel than last year - unfortunately, people started reserving beds at the beach and the pool early in the morning. Arriving later than 10am resulted in having to hunt for beds, no parasols, no shade. Last year, this was not the case. This does absolutely not contribute to a relaxed atmosphere - breakfast has to be rushed or one has to rush to reserve beds as well. While Outrigger in its app let's guests know this is actually forbidden, nothing is done about it and some beds are occupied without any people in sight for hours.
It might be better to put up signs and actually act - if no one is there for an hour, remove the items from the beds. The staff at the beach is very attentive and nice and should be directed to maintain a fair distribution of beds for everyone.

Negative/neutral/positive:
This has turned into a family hotel. Lots of families with lots of young, screaming kids from sunrise to sunset. If you're a family, you might already be deaf or simply don't care, but if you're looking for peace and quiet on a beautiful beach, this is not the hotel for you. Maybe we were unlucky with the parents and their parenting style while we were there, but it's been a long time since I've seen so many screaming babys and toddlers and at times unsupervised children under 10 in one place. It's really a shame for people who are looking for quiet holidays.
We understand that there is nothing Outrigger can do about screaming children, but it is important to know for future guests, thus I am explicitly mentioning this issue.

To sum it up:
A decent hotel with great staff in a picturesque location, but not the place to be for people who are looking for quiet, relaxing holidays.

If you're looking for a laid-back hotel for your holidays in Thailand, this might not be the one.

Upon arrival, the reception staff was friendly, promptly escorting us to a better room that the one we booked. The rooms are spacious with a wide bed, TV, air conditioning and a bathroom. They also have a fridge (only with water, not a minibar) and a coffee machine. However, the rooms seemed a bit old and poorly maintained – noticeable wear on the walls and switches. The air conditioning is noisy but necessary for a good night sleep. The room door doesn't close tightly, allowing the occasional bug/mosquito to sneak in.

Room cleanliness could be improved overall. A couple of issues were promptly addressed by the housekeeping team though.

Common areas are lovely, spacious, and well-maintained. Some areas have a rather unpleasant smell of sewage.

The breakfast is rather basic. Not a lot of variety and average quality. I would advise to go early (around 7 AM) to avoid the chaos of people and kids running in swimwear later on.

In summary, this could be a good hotel for families, but it was definitely below our expectations (F&B, room design and equipment, maintenance).