best kept secret in Phuket
We just returned from our 2-night stay (9/3/06) in KBR. Wish the stay was longer.
The hotel is rated a 4-star, but above all, has a stunning 5-star view of Karon beach, which has a long stretch of sandy white beach. It is one of the very few hotels that is truly "on the beach" in Phuket. Even the 5-star hotels like Hilton and Moevenpik don't have beach access as convenient as KBR does.
Room is nice size, clean, but dimly lit. The room we stayed in has a tub that its height is higher than usual, which may be inconvenient for elders or young children. We stayed on the 3rd floor, good view, but the 1st floor room has direct access to pool and beach. Excellent buffet breakfast, made to order sausage, bacon, pancake (with natural honey dripping from actual honey comb, first I've seen), omelet, fresh orange juice, served on a balcony area overlooking the ocean.
nearby street in walking distance has currency exchanges, laundry service, multiple convenient stores, Dino Park (putt-putt golf), and best of all, a group of sea-food stalls 5-min away. This is not your usual Patong rip-off-tourist-with-250baht-per-100g-lobster kinda sea-food restaurant. These are seven local owned local style sea-food with outdoor seating under tents, charging 140bat/100g for lobster. you can probably tell I love to eat sea-food, so I was ecstatic to find these restaurants so nearby.
the only downside we experienced was mosquitoes. Do bring with you some repellent, and remember to apply it before going to bed.
Another good feature of KBR is that it's next to a small area of rocks at the end of Karon Beach. My children and I had great fun catching fish/carb/hermit crabs in them.
I'm very glad that I'm the first one to post a tip about KBR on VT. But it wasn't without hestitation as I partly wanted to keep this gem hidden so it won't get widely-known and overbooked. ha.