Surin Beach – The Quiet Luxury in Phuket

Thursday, February 02, 2017 by admin

Surin beach is a millionaires haven, but also a beautiful beach to visit. This place is simply amazing. The backdrop having a vast selection of huge millionaire villas and five-star resorts. This is known to be a celebrity hot spot. The property set on the hillside overlooking the Andaman Sea is one of Phuket’s finest.

Surin Beach – the Hidden Gem between Bang Tao and Kamala Beach

Set on the west coast of Phuket, Surin Beach has golden white sands and very clear water. Even though it is a tourist spot, the place is not too overwhelmed. It’s rather peaceful and has a relaxing vibe. You could say this is more of a small village than a town. Surin Beach is family friendly, and there are many things to keep most occupied here. It is not a seedy type of town but more upper class in many aspects.

There are plenty of amenities spread around the village, from your local 7/11’s to family marts, a few pharmacies, and some rather high-end shops located near the centre.

Things to Do in Surin Beach

Aside from the dining, shopping and beach activities, there isn’t too much to do as compared to Patong or Kata for instance. The activities are focused on relaxation here more than adrenaline sports. The spas are absolutely fantastic and generally attached to one of the five-star resorts. Twin Palms Phuket hotel and Ayrara Hill Tops are examples of this. The spa treatments here are of course to the notch which reflects in their price.

Surin Beach Cooking Classes

Fancy taking a cooking class? Build your knowledge of the local Thai cuisine dishes by taking up a cooking class. These do vary in length, but usually around 3 – 5 hours. There are a couple of places in Surin Beach that offers this, the Chedi and Twin Palms resort. If you are looking for a more in-depth local experience, then the Chedi is best. This is because you spend some time at a local market picking ingredients. Twin Palms is a good resort for cooking classes, but you do need to book in advance. They offer you to learn how to cook three signature dishes.

Surfing in Surin Beach

Crowds of surfers tend to come to Surin in the low season. The reason being is that the waves are much better to ride during the months of March – October. If you’re a beginner you might as well find it useful to read our beginner’s guide to surfing in Thailand.

There are three surf sections in Surin Beach: north, south and the midsection. The mid section is best avoided because it can be very rocky, making it quite dangerous, especially for amateur surfers. If you are looking to rent a surfboard while here, you can get them from the lifeguard posts. Lifeguard posts are situated on the beach and easy to spot. These usually cost around 300 baht per hour ($10 approx). If you are looking for a more high-end board or some tuition, then Saltwater Dreaming is the place to go. For tuition, you can usually get 1 hour for around 800 baht ($15) on top of the board rental. The board rentals vary on the type of board.

Accommodation on Surin Beach

Surin Beach has a large amount of very high-end accommodation, one of the best in the whole of Phuket.

The Surin Phuket

The Surin Phuket is a resort with rooms starting from circa 14,000 baht ($390) per night. Each room having an amazing sea front view. The Surin Phuket has 103 rooms, which can get booked up quickly in the high season due to its popularity. You will find two full sized tennis courts on site, a decent swimming pool, and a full spa service for guests. From the actual beach, it is located about 10 minutes walk. Rooms range from the typical 1-bed deluxe cottage, a beach studio suite, and the hillside cottage. All rooms are graciously spacious, new decor with a contemporary feel, and on suite.

Twin Palms Phuket

Twin Palms is a luxury resort with a spa. Rooms here begin circa 9000 baht ($250). Twin Palms is located closer to Surin beach itself being only a 5-minute walk. Comprising of 97 rooms, three restaurants to indulge in, fitness centre, full spa service and a beautiful large swimming pool. A choice of rooms includes the Deluxe room, Duplex Pool Suite, Penthouse, and Palm Suite. The rooms here are fabulous as you would expect, spacious, fresh decor, and five-star service all round.

Ayara Hilltops Resort and Spa

Then we have the Ayara Hilltops Resort and Spa. Room pricing ranging from 8500 baht per night ($240). The resort has an Asian feel to it, and looking at the design of the main building which is geared towards looking like a large oriental temple.

Ayrara Resort is an adults only accommodation. There are 48 villas, all having patios and a distinct flavour to each of the villas. Resort amenities include an outdoor pool, full spa, fitness centre, restaurant and bar on site. The Ayrara is very close to the beach being only a 3 min walk.

The Chava Resort

Another high-end resort situated in Turin is The Chava Resort. Comprising of only 28 rooms, this place is peaceful and tranquil. Never over crowded as it only attracts a certain type considering the cost of a room per night. A night here would set you back 27000 baht ($750). Chava Resort is simply exquisite, rated as a 4.5-star hotel, and you have one of the best Spa, massage treatment facilities in the whole of Surin here. Again, it’s only a 5-minute walk to the beach.

Surin Beach Resort

If you are looking for a more reasonably priced accommodation, then the Surin Beach Resort is a perfect place to check out. Rooms starting from around 2000 baht ($55). Located about five mins walk from the seafront itself. The resort is spacious, having 70 rooms, an onsite restaurant, 2 bars, fitness centre, rooftop terrace and garden. The Surin Beach Resort does get fairly busy in high season, and the price of rooms and location itself attracts a lot of tourists. This is a place that is best to book early to avoid disappointment. Surin Beach Resort is rated as a 4-star hotel and includes daily housekeeping, and breakfast is available but not included.

All the accommodation mentioned above have the top end on site amenities. Most of them have spectacular sea view rooms and fantastic spa treatments. If you are looking for more budget style rooms, then it is probably best to look just outside of the Surin Beach area. You will find it hard to find a room in one of these resorts for under 2000 baht ($55). In the high season when this place becomes higher in demand, the prices do go even higher. In the low season, you may be able to find a few rooms for circa 1500 baht ($45) in the Surintra Resort or Surin Beach Resort if you look hard enough.

As mentioned, Surin Beach is known for its four- to five-star resorts and hotels. It is known for its luxurious accommodation and top-notch service and treatments throughout. Surin Beach is probably not the best place for a backpacker to look to stay.

Dining out in Surin Beach

Because of the nature of Surin Beach, and being a spot that is filled with rich people per say. The restaurants here are mainly all top notch and high quality. The food is exquisite, and the menu caters for a diversity of foods.

All of the resort and hotels feature quality restaurants. On the menus, you will find anything from Mediterranean, Swedish, English western dishes, to traditional Thai and much more.

Cudos Surin Beach Restaurant

If you come out away from the resorts, then there are also a few very nice places to spend your time dining. One particular indulging restaurant is actually based on the seashore itself. Cudos, a new restaurant located right next to Surin Plaza has some tasteful themed Mediterranean cuisine.

Oriental Spoon Grill and Bar

Oriental Spoon Grill and Bar is another food joint that is located actually inside the Twin Palms restaurant. It is known for its amazing fresh seafood, Sunday brunches, roast beef, and a selection of delicious sweets.

Street Food Stalls in Surin

You can head to the roads parallel to the beach front, and here you will find many more local restaurants serving up local delicatessen, Thai foods, and more Asian style foods. In this high season, the streets do fill up with quite a few street food stores, which can be somewhat very tasty and cheap. Perhaps you just want to grab some food and head off to find a quiet spot on the beach. Grab a bottle of wine, some street food, and chill on the beach watching the waves crashing in, and the stars flickering. The view on Surin Beach of a clear evening is quite outstanding.

Although as mentioned, because of the high-quality hotels, resorts based in Surin. Don’t think its just a place for the rich and famous; there is something for everyone here. Families flock here for the laid back vibe and friendly atmosphere all round.

Nightlife in Surin Beach

Surin used to have a great nightlife. From early afternoon the beachfront became alive. At night time the beach lightened up and crowds headed to the beach clubs that were in plenty here. Just to name a few, we had Catch Beach Club, the Salt on Surin, Zazada Beach Club, and Bimi Beach Club. It was nothing like Patong, though. Surin is more laid back and relaxed, meeting the requirements of a more sophisticated club goer and beach lover.

It was all good until April 2016, when all of the beach clubs were all demolished in one day. The reason was that they all were built illegally on this territory in the first place. The Governor of Phuket has recently announced plans to build a public park to replace the old beach clubs.

Shopping in Surin

Surin offers some nice shopping spots. The main location and most known about is the Surin Plaza Shopping Mall. Here you can find many decent high-end shops in one place. You will find all sorts from tailors (fitted suits to be made to order or while you wait). Souvenir shops, galleries for paintings and artwork.

La Route de la Soie Resortwear

La Route de la Soie Resortwear is a very good place to head to if you are looking to buy some clothing. Here you will find trendy, elegant and very fashionable clothing. Evening dresses and swimwear are also available here.

Lemongrass House – natural products shop

Lemongrass House is a must-visit for all organic cosmetic adherent. This is one of those cute shops selling natural beauty products, hand-made soaps, various oils and essences and so forth. Make sure you have some extra space in your suitcase as you will not leave this place without a dozen of bottles of amazingly smelling things.

It’s not easy to find this shop, though. Look for a green coloured sign above the ground saying “Lemongrass House” somewhere in between Family Mart and 7 Eleven on the beach road, opposite Surin Bay Inn Hotel.

Surin Beach Markets

Markets are another attraction in Surin as it is in most other beachside towns/villages. There are two main markets to visit when you are in Surin Beach; one is the market near Bang Tao Mosque. This market is open Tuesdays and Fridays from 4 pm to 7 pm. The second market is located next to Lotus Tesco. The market is open Monday and Thursdays, 4 pm to 9 pm. Both markets are on the road Srisoonthorn, which is about a 10-minute walk from the Surin beachfront. As usual, markets in Thailand sell a whole variety of items, handcrafted pieces, ornaments, clothing, electrics, street food and much more.

Markets are always a great place to explore and find some wonderful deals. Again, another tip is always to haggle, and you can always get things cheaper than prices first stated by the seller.

Conclusion of Surin Beach

Surin Beach, being known to be the home for millionaires and having a high-class reputation. Don’t let that put you off, Surin beach is for everyone alike, and welcomes everyone. It has spectacular places to visit, the beachfront clubs, the restaurants, Surin Beach itself, and all the back roads. In essence, Surin is beautiful, and you won’t find lager louts here like you would in Patong Bangla Road. But do remember Surin is much more lively in the high season than it is in Low season. We hope you enjoy your time here.