Kata Palm Resort & Spa

I have been going to Phuket Thailand every year since 05 and have for the most part stayed at the Hilton Arcadia in Karong beach. This time around I was on a bit of a budget and chose the Kata Palm Resort for a few reasons. I really enjoy the Karong beach area of Phuket Island but had not ever been to Kata beach. They are actually just down the road from each other, walking. The pictures shown on [...] and afew other hotel booking websites looked pretty good and they showed that the hotel had some good features that made it look really comfortable. And for the money it really seemed like a great deal. It defiantly was in a good location in Kata just walking distance to the beach and everything else.Upon arrival I could see that the Kata Palm was going to be subpar compared to a major corporate run hotel chain. JUst walking in you could tell they were going to be lacking in customer service. Now mind you if theres a score for the bare minimum they would get great scores!!! I guess Im just used to the staff to really go to great lengths to make you feel welcome and that if you were going to have any needs or wants the staff would go to reasonable lengths to help. Im not sure exactly what it is but the staff at The Kata palm resort just didn't seem motivated to be sincerely welcoming.The room was fairly basic but with some neat decorative details. But really a basic room. Everything was modern and up to date except for the TV that seemed kinda old. The house keeping staff did a great job at freshening up the room everyday. The bed was comfy and the pillows were nice but the bedding although clean and fresh was worn and a bit tattered. Good aircon and two complementary bottles of water a day as well.The grounds were nice and the pool area was large and really a fun layout with some neat details that the kids seemed to enjoy. The lil restaurant in the middle had good food and fruit smoothies as well and the breakfast was not bad. They had a decent choice of items but not the best Ive ever seen.So basically for the rate I received by booking here I really think I got a great deal. All the basics were met. My only problems were in the details. Room service was lacking. Wrong orders and over priced. Skimpy on taste the condiments and napkins. But I guess they were pretty fast. The shower head shot out the water at high velocity and in multi directions which was kinda funny. Oddly enough the sink water pressure was on the low side.I originally booked for 4 nights but ended up staying 7 due to getting ill. The Kata palm showed no mercy and charged me a higher rate for the extra 3 nights. No consideration to the amount of nights previously booked and no sympathy shown for my condition or situation. It was the slow season and Im pretty sure they were not booked near to capacity. Thats another detail customer service related that could have been handled better to ensure return business. A lesson I learned on this years trip is not to skimp when it comes to lodging. I guess I defiantly got what I paid for.Basically a good value for the price as long as you're not expecting to much.