tl;dr Huge kids club with supervision. Wonderful pools and small water Park. Good service. Long version: We enjoyed our stay at the Sands with a baby and a toddler on the "splash" and noisy side of the hotel. That side includes the small water Park, the big kids club, a restaurant with Pad Thai, pizza and stuff the kids can eat, with fairly reasonable prices but it closes at 18. The quiet side has a more prestigious restaurant, beach access and two pools: one for adults only and one for all. It has a lake with big fish with twice a day feeding time so little ones can help feed. The beach is about 5-10 minutes walking from the "splash" side. Breakfast buffet is also separated for families and adults by 2 different restaurants. We used the babysitting service for our baby. Someone from housekeeping came to the kids club (as per our request) and wonderfully played with our baby, while our toddler was fascinated by the vast variety of toys and entertained himself. The kids club staff is not interactive with the children (other than planned creative activities) and mostly watches the safety of the children. Parental presence is welcome. The hotel provides free water bottles and beach towels to your room. The baby got a wooden baby bed and our toddler used the extra bed/sofa which could be conveniently turned around so the back of the sofa became bed safety rails.

tl;dr Pristine beach is not private and without security control. Better priced restaurants and massages on the main road. Long version: For breakfast all are seated outside, no air conditioning. The hotel has a mobile app where you can order room service and receive warnings of jellyfish but unfortunately it didn't have the weekly evening magic show for kids and the advertisement appeared on the quiet side of the hotel, which we didn't attend regularly. The bathtub wasn't clean when we first entered the room but the room service came in briefly and cleaned. Outside the hotel, on the main road, a good selection of cheaper restaurants and massages.

This was a perfect stay for our young family of 4. The check in process was smooth and easy, bags carted to our rooms and the app on the phone gives you all the details about the property including room service. We loved the buffet breakfasts, the waterslides, the aqua zone, the beach and all the restaurants. I loved that the in house room service dishes and prices are similar to dining out in one of the resort’s many restaurants. Pool towels were constantly replaced without needing to call for more and there’s complimentary water that is constantly replenished by calling for more water. The resort has a laundry room operated by coins which made it easy to wash and there’s a mini mart on site with access to beer, water, snacks etc. We had a pool access family room which had two TVs, a separate sleeping area for the kids and direct access to the pool which was so handy. The staff were super friendly and everything was easy and relaxed. The walk to the main road is easy and there are plenty of restaurants and bars if you need a change of scenery. I preferred the beach massage to the spa massage (and it was a lot cheaper too). Kids club is okay but the kids would much prefer the waterslides. Great great family resort!

Nothing. It was perfect.

The hotel is a large resort but still there was plenty of space around to not feel too crowded. The fact that the kids pool area was a separate pool area made a huge (positive) impact. And having a pool area for adults only was great. The beach is only a few steps away and the shops and restaurants a short walk from the hotel. One could also use the hotel's own taxi service to get into town for a small expense. The rooms were large and nicely decorated. The bed was supercomfy.

It was peak season so during meals (breakfast & lunch) the restaurants were pretty crowded but we managed to find a spot every day.

Exceptional service. Amazing facilities and set up

They should have more for teens and should run a shuttle service via their golf carts up to the main road and to the night market

We had a great stay with our daughter (2y) in this family friendly hotel and would recommend it to everyone travelling with young children. - Friendly staff - Multiple swimming pools (1 adult only, 1 with a lot of waterfun, 1 close to the beach) - Well-equipped gym (don't expect high-end materials, but there is enough for a proper workout) - Great kids club (also possibility to request babysitting services at a reasonable price) - Large breakfast buffet that offered a wide variety of foods (Thai, Western, children's buffet, ...). They have enough high chairs and plastic tableware for the little ones. - Direct access to the beach - Close to the main street where you can find diverse restaurants, bars, massage salons, etc. Note that the Bang Niang night market is located 5 minutes (by car) from the hotel. The Bang Niang area is also busier. Nang Thong area felt more child-proof (except for the streets, strolling with a buggy can be challenging - but that seems to be the situation in more Thai locations) - Lunch at Talay restaurant was good.

- Food in the restaurants is more expensive compared to local restaurants around the corner - The room was sometimes a bit humid and tv had some issues (we did not really need it so not a real problem for us) - They play quite loud music at the children's/family pool, which is not needed (in my opinion) as there are a lot of children and water activities that make noise already. Or play some chilled music instead

Multiple pool options is a plus, our son enjoyed the kids pool. Rooms are very similar to the pictures in the web site, they are spacious and the housekeeping is good. You will have multiple options inside the hotel for food and the open buffet provides variety of options. Should you need, there are many restaurants at a walking distance along the main road of the Khao Lak. Staff are responsive and helpful. The kids club is nice and clean. All in all, it is a good Hotel for a family trip.

The waiting time at the all day dining is a little bit annoying. Just to note, not much to do in or outside the Hotel at night time.

Great location. Ocean front. Very large and varied breakfast. Self service. But what’s with the chicken sausage??? All over Thailand they have chicken sausage that looks like a hot dog 😳 If you have kids the kids pool area looks amazing. But we don’t so did t use it. Lots of kids at breakfast. Hard to tune out all the crying

The adult pool does not have a swim up bar? That’s in the family pool. Makes no sense. When we check in the ac in our unit was not working. Housekeeping was aware that it was not working. They still had us check into that room. Communication was very poor. Ultimately the ac was fixed but we were told to use their app to communicate with the staff but no one ever answer our messages and replied. Poor customer service. We had to run around and try to figure out ourselves if it was repaired. This is not something we feel like we should have had to deal with.

Very nive resort. It looked amazing and has enough pools to enjoy. The food is good and prices are acceptable. Room spacious and maintained. Staff in kids club were exceptional and I saw them at breakfast with the same attitude. A big thank you to all of them! Very kind smiling and professional as well as through out the hotel. Breakfast was very good as well.

The staff at coconut bar were not attentive, didn't care to assist. That part needs some improvement. The cleaning was kind of lacking. We had to chase them and ask to come and clean the room even though we had the card placed at the door that we need cleaning. The sheets were changed only once, one day before departure (6 nights stay). It was my birthday during the stay and that information kind of slipped without even a happy birthday message. Usually hotels pay attention to their customers about this kind of events to make them feel welcomed. They don't really have beach area with sun lounges. You can stay on the grass in the hotel but not on the beach. It's ok to swim in the sea.

The facilities were incredible. Definitely more for families but a good amount of adult only areas too. The kids club is amazing - my 4 & 6 year olds were asking if they could go! We didn't even end up having a nanny at all because of how good the kids club and swimming pools were. The food was amazing - if you like Thai food then you'll be in heaven at the flavours. And such good value for money. 8 nights we had massages, dinners, cocktails, room service, nibbles - we paid $1400AUD on checkout. Very very happy. Will definitely be back

As with all resorts, after a week you've tried everything, but not much to complain about. The bed mattress wasnt great and fine for the first 5 days but definitely started getting aches and needing my home mattress

The breakfast spread was absolutely incredible and delicious! The staff were amazing! Shout out to one fella who wore the name badge Jacob 1, I asked him what his Thai name is and he said it was god! When I asked him if he had BBQ sauce he said no but then had the chef make me some from scratch it was far better than the sauce I'm used to, he brought me out a little bowl of sauce every morning. Big love to him and the chef which whipped up the sauce this little moment made my stay at the sands very special! I hope his commitment to guest satisfaction is recognized! He definitely deserves a big pat on the back and a raise!

The food and beverage at the hotel was a little pricey compared to everywhere else but I imagine you are paying for the view and convenience of eating and drinking at the resort. A great example is a Pad Thai; A staple Thai dish which at the resort went for 250 baht and everywhere else was priced at around 80-100 baht. I understand the price hike though as the facilities and staff at the resort were absolutely top quality so this is only a minor gripe. For the more frugal traveller I recommend eating outside of the resort!