Grand West Sands Resort and Villas Phuket Link to their website
We first learnt of this hotel after intrepid Manchester spotter Paul Moiser visited in 2015. Enquiries were made and room rate agreed at 6800 Thai Bahts per room per night (approx £150) on a B&B basis. The resort covers a large area, its on the beach and borders the airport on the resorts south side. From a spotting / photography perspective its hard to beat, and although its not cheap, its 5 star.
The important aspect of staying here is to make sure you stay in specific rooms. We stayed in rooms 6713 and 6714, which are adjoining and have a bedroom and kitchen, so no problem. However 6714 does not have an outside balcony, as they are only on the odd number rooms, so be careful. In true Thai style, 6713/4 is on the 7th floor!! and again, this is required so trees are not a problem. Its important to stay in Block 6, we cannot advise on views from other blocks, so 6711/6709/6707 should be OK. Also, its damn hot in Thailand, and the sun is on the balcony all day, although you can use the lounge as a base before diving out for the aircraft, FR24 etc. is a must, and the free wifi means nothing is missed.
If you are only a reg spotter, then you could sit on the balcony all day and not miss anything, although shots can also be taken from here and they are OK, the best place for shots is the beach, which I will come onto. Here are some shots from the balcony of 6713, HERE HERE HERE HERE HERE As you can see, the view is excellent, along with the traffic.
As mentioned, the resort is on Mai Khao beach, and great shots can be had from here. HERE HERE HERE. HERE HERE HERE You need to walk along past the runway threshold for the best light, and shade can be had with trees until mid afternoon. Taxi way shots are available when 09 is used (most of the time) but be very careful of approaching the perimeter fence, as a security patrol shouts at you with a recorded message warning of death, prison or both!!!
Facilities are very good on resort, which is kept spotless at all times, and security is tight. Breakfast is available at 2 buffet restaurants, along with an Italian and 2 Thai restaurants, prices are not through the roof, but not cheap. Close to the hotel is a 7-11 store and some "Street Food" outlets, selling everything from chicken to deep fried Crickets!! If you take the missus there is a reasonably priced Spa, and a large infinity pool. Beach towels are free and can be taken off resort.
There is a buggy transport system on site, as it is large and they will collect you from the airport (for a charge of £20 ish). We would recommend this, as although it borders the airport the road system means its a good 10 miles and 20 minutes away. Try not to hire a car, if you value your sanity, and life!!
To summarise, West Sands is a great resort for a weeks holiday / spotting and the Phuket Airport traffic is fantastic and shootable. If you struggle to sleep, then stay up and see the 12 - 15 Chinese visitors every night, unbelievable!!
We decided to take a day out and fly to Bangkok, and savour the delights up there (Aviation). Because of the competition, fares are cheap so we flew to Bangkok Don Muaeng with Air Asia (£25) and back later in the day with Thai from Suvarnabhumi (£35). We left Phuket at 6am and arrived back at 7:30 so plenty of time up there, after an hours flight each way. Its a very busy shuttle route, with an arrival from Bangkok every 30 minutes or so, by Air Asia, Thai, Bangkok Airways and Orient Thai. We flew back on a 777ER, but Thai fly everything other than a A380 on the route!!
A 300mm lens is required from the balcony, much less from the beach.
PHUKET PHOTO ALBUM - FROM DAVE ROSE
Suvarnabhumi Ville Bangkok link to their Website
It was apparent during our research that spotting can be challenging at both Bangkok airports. DMK is the old re-opened field, dealing mainly with low cost airlines and the Air Force. We spotted from the Terminal viewing gallery here, behind glass. Shots are better in the afternoon but we were over at BKK by then. By chance, we saw a report from BKK which mentioned the Phoenix Hotel. However, it was only useable when arrivals were on runway 19R and useless in the afternoon, due to the sun. We checked the runways and they were landing on 01R so it looked like the terminal viewing gallery was the only option, which is poor. As we had a flight from BKK later, there is a free shuttle bus between the 2 airports, just show your boarding pass in arrivals and it ges every 30 mins, and is timetabled at 55 minutes. Our driver had other ideas, and weaved in and out of the traffic like Lewis Hamilton, taking about 35 minutes ( of pure terror). We checked FR24 before leaving DMK, and the spotting gods were on our side, the runways had switched at BKK!!!. However, the Phoenix is no use in the afternoon, so the reserve ( and untested) Suvarnabhumi Ville was our choice, reached via a short taxi ride from the terminal. We had contacted the Manager and asked about roof usage, as the rooftop restaurant doesn't open till 5pm, and permission was granted, and our prayers were answered.
Its a modern hotel, but in an industrial area on the airport boundary, here are some shots HERE HERE HERE. The afternoons are best, and 19R needs to be in use, and you are parallel to the threshold. The roof has a raised viewing platform, along with some shade below. All in all, an ideal spot and some examples of shots are HERE HERE HERE
The Manager, Mr Lee is happy to allow roof access during the day, by request, and please buy some drinks.... Rooms are very reasonable (£40-£50 per night) and its of a good standard. We would suggest using the Phoenix on a morning and the Ville on the afternoon if you are a shooter. FR24 using the free wifi is required for departures off 19L along with overflights both high level and DMK departures. Due to the position of the hotel photography will be difficult if 01L is in use for departures, as most will be too high.
The hotel does have some rooms that overlook the threshold, we didn't see the view but would guess they would be ok for night spotting for landers on 19R, there is also an outdoor swimming pool to help cool down after a hard days' spotting.
Traffic at BKK is very tasty, lots of Asian stuff mixed with Chinese and Thai, with an arrival every 3-4 minutes so you need to be on your toes.
Once back at the terminal, we checked out the viewing gallery, its in the roof basically and looks out onto the western side of the airport. Its probably OK for reg spotting, as there is a cross taxiway and everything will taxi past, either arriving or departing, but photos are through glass and roof supports, so very poor. HERE
A 300mm lens is needed from the rooftop area, although the odd smaller prop airliners will require larger, but its mainly the bigger stuff here.
BKK PHOTO ALBUM - FROM DAVE ROSE