Cape Panwa Hotel

Phuket, Thailand

Virgin rating

The hotel

Nothing less than idyllic, Cape Panwa offers a quiet retreat in the southeast corner of this popular island. Excellent service, stylish rooms and world-class amenities can all be enjoyed as well as a secluded beach for hotel guests only. All suites and villas boast plenty of space and light with airy décor. There’s a variety to choose from, ideal for couples, families or groups of friends. Activities at the Cape Panwa abound – although if you want to do nothing more than laze by one of the 2 pools, that’s absolutely fine! For moments when you’re feeling more active, there are water sports galore, including canoes and stand-up paddle boards. As well as sporting activities, there are cultural activities and a spa in which to feel truly pampered. Children are welcomed with open arms and there’s plenty for them to do too, allowing parents time out to soak up the sun. Dining is plentiful at the Panwa, there are several superb restaurants, serving dishes from around the globe. There are also four bars to unwind in at the end of the day, sipping on a handcrafted cocktail perhaps whilst listening to a live band at The Light House or the swell of the sea at Bamboo Bar.

Amenities

  • Sailing
  • Babysitting service
  • Bar
  • Fitness Centre/Gym
  • Games Room
  • Internet Access
  • Laundry Service
  • Restaurant
  • Safety Deposit Box
  • Swimming Pool
  • Beachfront location

Where is it

Built into the hillside and overlooking a gorgeous stretch of white sand. Although everything is within walking distance, there’s a quirky little train to transport you between the hotel, the beach and gardens! Transfer time from Phuket Airport: 50 minutes.

Hotel information

205 rooms, suites and villas. All are air-conditioned with private balcony or terrace, widescreen TV with cable,  telephone, WiFi access, mini-bar*, tea/coffee maker, safe and hairdryer. Superior Rooms with partial views of the ocean have 1 king-size bed, or twin beds, sleeping maximum 2 adults or 1 adult and 1 child (aged 2-11 years).

Junior Suites have extra living space and large balcony with most offering partial views over Panwa Bay with 1 king-size bed, or twin beds, sleeping maximum 3 adults or 2 adults and 1 child (aged 2-11 years).

Cape Suite with partial sea views (limited by vegetation), master en-suite bedroom and separate lounge with sofa bed, sleeping maximum 3 adults or 2 adults and 2 children (aged 2-11 years).

Family Suites are comprised of a Cape Suite with connecting Superior Room, with master en-suite bedroom and separate lounge with sofa bed, sleeping maximum 5 adults and 4 adults and 2 children (aged 2-11 years).

Two Bedroom Pool Villa with private swimming pool and master en-suite bedroom, sleeping maximum 5 adults and 4 adults and 2 children (aged 2-11 years).

5 restaurants including: Café Andaman (International cuisine), Panwa House (Thai delicacies), Top of the Reef, Uncle Nan’s Italian Restaurant, Laem Panwa Restaurant (outdoor seafood restaurant). 4 bars including: The Light House, Otter’s Bar, Bamboo Bar, Dolphin Bar. Café Kantary. 

2 swimming pools. Cape Spa*. Thai massage on the beach*. Fitness centre* with sauna. Water sports* including canoes, catamaran and stand-up paddle boards. Badminton* and table tennis on the beach. Beauty salon*. Weekly cultural activities* including Thai cooking classes, Batik painting and fruit and vegetable carving, games room, playground and menus.

Babysitting available* (on request). Complimentary WiFi in public areas and guest rooms. Laundry/dry-cleaning service*. 24-hour reception.

5 nights between 27 Dec-5 Jan.

*Denotes local charge.

Rating summary

  • Location Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Sleep Quality Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Rooms Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Service Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Value Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Cleanliness Image of the Tripadvisor rating

Traveller rating

  • Excellent (2420)
  • Very good (889)
  • Average (343)
  • Poor (129)
  • Terrible (69)
Image of the Tripadvisor rating Disappointing

Nov 19, 2024 julieth_12 Marton cum Grafton, United Kingdom

Struggling with how to score Cape Panwa, or more importantly quite how we feel? My husband summed it up by saying g it had grown on him, but we won’t be back…. After a great hotel and beach for week 1 in Khao Lak, we thought week 2 here would offer another great beach, a step up in amenities and a luxury week 2. We enjoyed the choice of… Read more
Struggling with how to score Cape Panwa, or more importantly quite how we feel? My husband summed it up by saying g it had grown on him, but we won’t be back…. After a great hotel and beach for week 1 in Khao Lak, we thought week 2 here would offer another great beach, a step up in amenities and a luxury week 2. We enjoyed the choice of restaurants and our cape suite was spacious and had a spectacular view. Food was good quality and there was lots of choice with the different restaurants. We enjoyed the day trip we booked on to coral island. That was so nice after the beach at Cape Panwa. I can see the hotel are doing their best against the incoming rubbish, but there is no fun swimming in rubbish and picking your way through nails, pins and plastic made worse by the recent festival where the wreaths include these sharp items. The container ships belching fumes drove me off the beach another day… we just struggled to see beyond these external factors after a week on a clean fresh beach. The tide here also renders the sea not swimmable when out and the old coral is visible. So the beach really wasn’t for us, despite it being “pretty”. Staff were the other disappointing surprise. Thailand - the land of smiles. Here we arrived to no welcome, no one to carry our bags in, no sit down check in or welcome drink. Indeed reception appeared over staffed and ineffectual for the full 7 days. You would wait and be ignored. No smile, apology, I will be with you shortly… Elsewhere service was haphazard and English little spoken (why should it be), but surprising none the less. Staff didn’t seem to love the place, or enjoy their jobs. Management were very visible, but didn’t engage with us guests but spoke sharply with staff. Finally, this hotel which we anticipated would have old world charm was very much a corporate, events focused hotel. On arrival we had an Italian holiday group on a ra ra, followed by 3 weddings. These closed off areas at different times and were exuberant naturally noisy groups, but not what you want when you are for example at top of the reef trying to have a romantic piano bar meal ..,, So overall an attractive hotel in a good location now ruined by pollution, probably best suited to corporate events therefore when there are such a plethora of fantastic Thai beaches for holidaymakers. Not for us as we are seasoned travellers and know what more in terms of hospitality and beach beauty is available else where. However compliments to the chefs who are superb! Read less
Image of the Tripadvisor rating Hidden gem with private beach

Nov 12, 2024 Jan T

If you're looking for somewhere for a complete getaway in a stunning location the Cape Panwa hotel is for you. Set in beautiful grounds this attractive hotel has everything you need for a relaxing getaway. We had a Cape Suite overlooking the sea. A very spacious room with very large balcony, dressing room, lounge area and large bathroom with… Read more
If you're looking for somewhere for a complete getaway in a stunning location the Cape Panwa hotel is for you. Set in beautiful grounds this attractive hotel has everything you need for a relaxing getaway. We had a Cape Suite overlooking the sea. A very spacious room with very large balcony, dressing room, lounge area and large bathroom with walk in shower. Very comfortable and clean. A variety of restaurants to choose from but our private celebration dinner on the beach was the highlight of our stay. Stunning location and excellent food and service. The Spa is great with a range of great value treatments and a very warm welcome. Bamboo Bar was popular with us for food and drinks. We also enjoyed an excellent meal and entertainment at Top of the Reef. There's a great minibus service to Panwa and Phuket for a small charge. Staff were very helpful, my only minor criticism was language barriers which created some frustrations with room service on occasions. Having said that they were very apologetic and it wouldn't prevent us from returning. Thank you to Maggie for her warm welcome and overseeing our stay and our special meal and to the admin and reception staff prior to our trip. Read less
Image of the Tripadvisor rating Dream Come True ~ EXCEPTIONAL!!

Oct 29, 2024 BohoDreaming Sydney, Australia

Cape Panwa was a dream come true. Travelling to Phuket was a lifelong dream and all expectations and hopes were exceeded with my stay at Cape Panwa Hotel. Service is exceptional and I could not believe my room. It was just amazing! The location was perfect for the peace and serenity I was seeking in a local setting. I absolutely LOVED the… Read more
Cape Panwa was a dream come true. Travelling to Phuket was a lifelong dream and all expectations and hopes were exceeded with my stay at Cape Panwa Hotel. Service is exceptional and I could not believe my room. It was just amazing! The location was perfect for the peace and serenity I was seeking in a local setting. I absolutely LOVED the ambience of Cape Panwa. But better than the hotel and the location were the staff. Saying goodbye brought great sadness tears to my eyes. It felt like leaving family. As a solo traveller I was concerned having never travelled alone. I had nothing at all to be worried about. I was embraced with great warmth and love. I made lifelong friendships and was taken in with such kindness and love. I met the most AMAZING women ~ a huge shoutout to Lisa my beautiful butterfly whom I shared breakfast with every morning and to Nuch who became my dearest friend taking the most beautiful care of me every night. Thank you also to Ong and Jennifer also such beautiful women to share heartfelt conversations and laughs with. To Tan in the Lighthouse bar ~ I thank you for you care and kindness. And a special heartfelt thank you to my boys in the band ~ to Ti, Lit and Mike. Your music and harmonies were beautiful and made my days perfect. Sung with joy and such love. I felt every song in my soul. Cape Panwa felt like home and I am so thankful, grateful and already planning my return ❤️❤️ Read less
Image of the Tripadvisor rating Cape Panwa Hotel, Thailand

Oct 20, 2024 richardpV404FN

This hotel is rated as a 5 start hotel. I'm not sure how this is so, because it has some very good points and some not so good, so 3/4 really. The hotel seems well run, the rooms are spacious, clean and well appointed. We had a room with a balcony, which overlooked the pool. Our initial concern that this would be noisy, were completely unfounded.… Read more
This hotel is rated as a 5 start hotel. I'm not sure how this is so, because it has some very good points and some not so good, so 3/4 really. The hotel seems well run, the rooms are spacious, clean and well appointed. We had a room with a balcony, which overlooked the pool. Our initial concern that this would be noisy, were completely unfounded. The reception staff are very friendly, as are all the staff generally. The breakfast is first class with a wealth of choices to accommodate the range of nationalities who stay here. We found the evening menu a little strange with the i-coupon, a la carte menu. There are several different restaurants on the site, but we only ended up trying two, Uncle Nans and the Andaman. Uncle Nans is stated as an authentic Italian restaurant. They messed up my order, by bringing the wrong starter dish. The Calzone was a disappointment stuffed with spinach, which completely dominated the taste. I left over half and the local birds got well fed. In the Andaman, my wife ordered a burger, with bacon and hash brown, without the salad and it was accompanied by French fries. It arrived without the bacon and the hash browns, which the waiter said weren't included. Even though these were detailed on the menu. We found some of the local restaurants to be very good. One which is billed as an authentic Indian Restaurant, called Live India, as has been trading since 1997. Most of the established restaurants have a 10% service charge, plus 7% VAT. This doesn't appear to be the same for local restaurants. Hence we paid almost 600 baht (£14) for this element on one bill. Singha beer is the drink of Thailand. The price rang is crazy, a small beer in the restaurant is 180 baht plus taxes, buying it in a local restaurant is 90 baht with no taxes. Buying in the local take away for a large bottle is 75 baht. Hence a 1/3 of the price for twice as much. Read less
Image of the Tripadvisor rating Cape Panwa Hotel and Spa

Oct 18, 2024 Kate M Hong Kong, China

I recently visited CPH and it was divine. I spent most of my time swimming, eating delicious Thai food and at the Cape Panwa Spa. I had the 120min Top to Toe massage. I would have that 100 more times if I could. It was a full body massage with 100% coconut oil. I felt fabulous. Make sure to book as the spa is quite popular amongst guests.