Where to Stay in Phuket: The Best Areas & Hotel Picks

The Best Places to Stay on Phuket

Wondering where the best place to stay in Phuket is? It all depends on what you want to do on the island.

Different areas suit different travel styles, and choosing the right one makes a real difference to your trip. Here are our recommendations for four distinct areas.

1. Patong: Ideal if you want to combine beach time with a lively nightlife scene.
2. Phuket Old Town: Perfect if you’re only on Phuket briefly and are island-hopping around Thailand.
3. Kata Beach: A strategically great base if you want to explore lots of beaches and attractions across Phuket.
4. Phuket Airport: Great for an overnight stay if you have an early or late flight.

Overview of the Districts on a Map

On this map, we’ve marked where our recommended places to stay in Phuket are located.

Staying in Patong

Patong is perfect if you want to go out a lot in the evenings and stay right on a long stretch of beach.

If you’re after energy and buzz by the sea, Patong is your spot. It’s the largest beach resort on Phuket and the island’s premier tourist hub.

Hotels, bars, clubs, restaurants, and massage shops line every street, and everything is geared toward visitors. At night, the famous party strip Bangla Road comes alive — be prepared for a lot of skin.

The long sandy beach at Patong is great for swimming, but it’s honestly not the most beautiful beach on the island. Patong is heavily built up, and it shows. That said, Freedom Beach is a genuine dream beach just around the corner.

You won’t find peace and quiet in Patong, and you won’t discover authentic Thailand here either.

Advantages of staying in Patong:

• Lots of bars and restaurants
• Great for partying and going out at night
• Right on the beach

Disadvantages of staying in Patong:

• Very touristy and fairly expensive
• Loud and chaotic neighborhood
• Not the most beautiful beach on Phuket

Our Hotel Recommendations for Patong

Nicky’s Handlebar is a stylish boutique hotel where everything revolves around biking. The rooms are seriously cool and it’s totally quiet — a real under-the-radar gem of a hotel in Phuket!

At Hotel Clover you’ll pay a little more for your room, but you get a rooftop pool in return — absolutely worth it!

Staying in Phuket Old Town

Staying in the Old Town is your best bet if you’re only on Phuket briefly and are island-hopping around Thailand.

For us, Old Town is the most beautiful neighborhood on the island — and for good reason: it’s one of the top attractions on Phuket. The architecture is gorgeous and the streets are perfect for a leisurely stroll.

The Old Town also has solid connections to Phuket Airport, and boats to Koh Phi Phi depart from the pier right here. That makes a hotel in Phuket’s Old Town a smart choice if you’re using Phuket as a launchpad for island-hopping.

Advantages of staying in Phuket Old Town:

• Beautiful surroundings and close to many highlights
• Great starting point for day trips around Phuket
• Lots of great dining options
• You’ll also find many budget-friendly hotels here

Disadvantages of staying in Phuket Old Town:

• Not on the beach
• More of a city vibe than an island vibe

Our Hotel Recommendations for Phuket Old Town

The Xinlor House is perfectly located in the heart of the Old Town, yet the rooms are quiet and the value for money is excellent.

If you’re after a really budget-friendly place to stay, our pick in Phuket is the Baan Sutra Guesthouse.

Staying at Kata Beach

Kata Beach is your best bet if you’re mainly on Phuket for a beach vacation and have a few excursions planned around the island.

Kata is a relatively small town that flows almost seamlessly into Karon Village. The big advantage here is that Kata Noi Beach — one of the most beautiful beaches on Phuket — is right around the corner.

You can also reach other stunning beaches like Nui Beach quickly, along with major sights like the Big Buddha and Wat Karon.

Kata also has restaurants and a night market, so you really have everything you need in this little town.

Advantages of staying in Kata:

• Beautiful beaches nearby
• Strategically great location for combining sightseeing with beach time
• Good selection of restaurants

Disadvantages of staying in Kata:

• A touristy area and many hotels are fairly expensive
• Fewer accommodation options than Patong

Our Hotel Recommendations for Kata Beach

A great place to stay with a pool and beautiful rooms is the Niranapa Boutique Resort. The property is absolutely lovely and a delicious breakfast is included every morning.

The Shore is a seriously luxurious hotel that we consider one of the most beautiful beachfront hotels in Phuket. This is the place to really treat yourself.

Staying near Phuket Airport

Right near Phuket Airport you’ll find a solid range of accommodation options. We’d recommend staying here if you arrive late in Phuket or are departing early in the morning.

Even if you don’t plan to stay on Phuket at all — say, you’re just landing here to head to Khao Lak — it’s worth spending one night near the airport rather than rushing.

The handy thing is that there are plenty of affordable hotels right at the airport, and you can walk to many of them in just a few minutes.

Our Hotel Recommendations for Phuket Airport

If you want to stay as close to the airport as possible at a great price, we recommend the Louis’ Runway View Hotel. For more comfort and even a pool, check out the Phuket Airport Hotel.