Red Planet Phuket Patong

Red Planet Patong is a simple, straightforward budget chain based in Bangkok, and its Patong outpost gives guests a modern and clean space to sleep between sightseeing or beach outings. The exterior, a seven-floor building punctuated in a red-and-white pixilated design, is a prelude to the interiors. Inside, the lobby is a glossy white-on-white space brightened by loads of red lacquered details. A few leather ottomans in the hotel’s signature crimson provide seating, but this isn’t a space to linger. Instead, guests check in swiftly, maybe check email at one of the public computers here, and perhaps snap a selfie with the hotel’s wall-mounted touchscreen, which visitors can email to themselves. Two elevators off the lobby take guests up to the rooms, which are connected by red-white-and-gray hallways.

The Red Planet tends to draw couples, solo travelers, pairs of friends, and occasional families (though there are no family facilities to speak of). Most guests are millennials, and they’re encouraged to download the hotel’s app in order to contact the front desk or connect with friends in other rooms. Despite the fact that the clientele skews toward the up-all-night set, the hotel itself is remarkably quiet, which is probably due to the fact that apart from the functional lobby there are no common spaces and no bar, lounge, or even breakfast room to mingle.

Red Planet is toward the north end of Patong. It’s solidly situated near Patong Beach, which is just a seven-minute walk away. This public beach is a long, sandy stretch fronted by a paved promenade. All around on neighboring streets are restaurants, bars, little shops, and convenience stores like 7-11 and Family Mart. The area’s infamous party-till-dawn base, Bangla Road, is also within walking distance, a 14-minute walk away, which is far enough away to keep its noise at bay. Other nearby attractions include the Jungceylon shopping center and the Baan Son night market, both a 16-minute walk or seven-minute drive. The major Phuket attractions of Wat Chalong and the Big Buddha statue require a car to reach, and they're a 26-minute and 42-minute drive respectively in roughly the same direction. The Phuket Airport is a 50-minute drive away.

Guest rooms at Red Planet are paired down presenting just the basics. Rooms have tidy platform beds, plexiglas nightstands and wood veneer floors. They’re small in size, with little room to stow luggage without blocking pathways to the bed. But little fold-down work surfaces by the bed provide a clever substitute for the usual writing desk. Decor is limited to full length and above-the-headboard mirrors, and wardrobes a replaced with single hanging rods with a handful of wooden hangers.

Glass-doored bathrooms are equally straightforward with small white sinks and pump dispensers with soap and body wash, but walk-in showers are surprisingly roomy given the compact nature of rooms overall. Room categories are all Standard, but handicapped-accessible rooms are available as well with wet-room style showers and bars for support.

Amenities in all include flat-screen TVs, free Wi-Fi, safes, hairdryers, air-conditioning, and ceiling fans. One obvious omission in the rooms is phones. In lieu of these, guests are encourage to download the Red Planet app, through which they can call the front desk or connect with friends in other rooms. 

Features are notably few at Red Planet. There’s no pool, which is a typical amenity even in mid-range and budget properties in Patong. And there's no on-site dining, although an independently owned cafe on the corner of the hotel’s building serves meals to guests and non-guests alike. Bars or any lounge space are also omitted. Guests can purchase snacks such as cups of noodles or chips, along with items such as toothpaste and slipper sets from the front desk. A little case here also sells Red Planet-branded items such as a stuffed version of their red panda mascot. Two computer stations in the lobby offer free printing services, and Wi-Fi is free throughout the building.