Carpe Diem has an impressive pedigree for a beach club, with one of its two owners starting his own club after 22 years working for Nikki Beach. The other owner has also worked in the industry for years.
One of the owners also set up the Nikki Beach in Phuket, which closed down in 2015 after some controversy involving a brunch and a baby elephant. It had only been in business for a single year.
So, we wondered what Carpe Diem would bring to the table, and our team were very keen to visit the beach club that claims to be the “leading” star of Phuket’s scene, and this is what they learned there.
Introduction – Getting To Carpe Diem Beach Club, Phuket
To get to Carpe Diem, you’re first going to have to get to Phuket, Thailand. That’s normally going to mean a flight to Bangkok and then a connecting flight to Phuket.
If you’re coming from within the region, you may want to force that into a single day, but many people are going to prefer a stopover in Bangkok for 2-3 days to recover from longer international flights.
Once you reach Phuket, there’s no doubt that this beach club is reasonably easy to get to from anywhere in the area. It’s probably no more than a 30-60-minute drive or tuk-tuk journey.
The club is directly on the beach, which is nice, and you can park at the club or get dropped off at the front door as needed.
Where Is Carpe Diem Beach Club, Phuket? 99, 1 Bangtao Beach Road, Choeng Thale, Thalang District, Phuket 83110, Thailand
Online: Carpe Diem
Opening Hours: 12 p.m. to 12 a.m. (kitchen closes at 11 p.m.) – this beach club may close for Thai public holidays or elections, please check before you travel if it is open
What’s Available At Carpe Diem Beach Club, Phuket?
There is a pool area including a pool deck, a beachfront area, and a deckchair area, as well as bar and restaurant services.
Our Detailed Review Of Carpe Diem Beach Club, Phuket
We follow a uniform process to evaluate every beach club, ensuring equitable consideration for owners, management, and staff, and presenting reviews in a standardised format that makes venue comparisons seamless.
The evaluation process is outlined as follows:
- A team is designated to assess the venue.
- Each member must visit the beach club, with the flexibility to do so independently and on different days.
- During their visit, every reviewer completes a scorecard, rating the club from 1 (least satisfactory) to 5 (most satisfactory) in specified categories, while also noting their observations.
- After all team members have completed their visits and scorecards, they gather to discuss their experiences and determine final scores for each category.
- A chosen team member then drafts the review, capturing the team’s discussions and final scores, before it is published on our website.
Reservation and Booking Process
The booking process at Carpe Diem is better than at many beach clubs, but that’s not a ringing endorsement of things.
Sadly, while they are very happy to accept a time and date for your booking, they’re not so good with allowing you to choose an exact seat, which ought to be a guarantee at a good beach club.
Also, there’s the matter of the confusing minimum spend arrangements. During the off-peak season, they expect you to pay 500 Baht per person just to sit down, but there’s no requirement for a minimum spend. This is pretty poor value, but not the worst we’ve seen.
But then, there’s the peak season, in which the cost of sitting down shoots up to at least 1,000 THB per person and can reach 1,500 THB.
There is also a minimum spend requirement in addition to the cost of a seat, which is equal to the cost of the seat. So, for a 1,500 THB seat, you will need to spend another 1,500 THB.
And you can’t choose what you spend it on in some sections; there is a mandatory requirement that you buy a bottle when you arrive, too.
When we take all that into consideration, we have to wonder why people are booking here at all. There are much better deals available in Phuket.
Ambience and Atmosphere
Assuming you’ve decided to ignore the sticker shock and visit Carpe Diem anyway, then you will find that the ambience in this club is very pleasant.
The combination of views, good service, and like-minded folks who aren’t shy to splash the cash on a day out, combined to deliver a friendly atmosphere that’s very welcoming.
It’s not a high-energy spot, but if you want a relaxing, calm day out, you can’t really go wrong with Carpe Diem.
Location And Accessibility
Phuket is not accessible as some beach club destinations like Bali, where you touch down and you’re within a few miles of a beach club, as you’re probably going to have to go through Bangkok.
But once you are in Phuket, this beach club is well located with a nice view at sunset and within a reasonable distance of all the other popular spots in the area.
However, there’s no escaping the toxicity of the ocean in this area, and we’ve got to deduct some points for that, even though this is not within the control of the beach club.
Aesthetic And Design
We think this little beach club is very nicely put together, and it’s very attractive to look at. It doesn’t quite have the wow factor of the very best beach clubs, but it’s going to look great in your Instagram feed.
The colour scheme is good and the place feels branded without feeling overtly corporate, which is a positive as it helps it to stand out from the 5-star hotels and beach club chains of this world.
Staff Friendliness and Professionalism (Service Standard)
One thing you can’t argue with when it comes to Carpe Diem, Phuket, is the quality of the staff. They are very friendly and professional.
If you were ever wondering why they call Thailand the Land of Smiles, the staff here will leave you in no doubt about that.
They’re a genuine credit to their employer and will go out of their way to ensure you have a great day at Carpe Diem.
We also found them to be very knowledgeable about the menu and the local area, which helps to make you feel confident about spending money here.
Service Speed and Efficiency
We also thought that their team were very speedy and efficient. They were good at anticipating when we wanted to order and would quickly materialise the moment we started signalling for their assistance.
The drinks and food were brought swiftly from the bar and the kitchen, and none of our team felt that we were waiting too long for any given item.
It’s also nice that the check and any necessary change were delivered with the minimum of fuss when we were ready to leave.
Food Quality and Variety
The menu at Carpe Diem is very varied and there’s a good selection of food from around the world on offer.
There’s a nice emphasis on things you can eat with your fingers, too, which makes ordering by the pool super easy.
However, despite the fact that every dish was very tasty, we did feel that the prices were just a bit too high to award full marks in this category.
The equivalent of $10 USD for some fried peppers or $50 for some grilled octopus (in a seaside town, no less) is over the top for Thailand.
Beverage Selection and Creativity
The same was true of the beverages, where we found the selection to be excellent, the presentation to be first rate (get your Instagram snaps) and the drinks to be strong enough.
But once again, everything was just a bit steep when we think about where we are.
Though, we do acknowledge that nobody in Thailand can sell a cheap bottle of wine, Thai wine is actually grape juice with added alcohol, and it’s the only wine in Thailand that doesn’t attract very high levels of import duties.
Cleanliness and Hygiene
We thought that the standards of hygiene throughout the beach club were excellent. The pool area was clean and attractive, and well-maintained.
The toilets, showers, and changing rooms were also positively gleaming, and you feel confident that if you were to check out the kitchens that they would be similarly lovely.
Comfort of Seating and Lounging Areas
We thought that the seating was very much OK, we weren’t struck by it being super comfortable, but nor was it uncomfortable.
We did change seats every now and then, which probably helped to break things up during the course of the day at Carpe Diem.
Music and Entertainment
They do have live DJs in the evenings at Carpe Diem who are in-house talent and who know their crowd pretty well.
However, during the day, you’re looking at piped music which is fairly bland and seems to have been picked for being inoffensive rather than for its quality.
Seasonality
While this club is open all year round, you can see from the high season vs low season pricing that there is a substantial amount of seasonality in play.
The monsoon season can last for weeks at a time in Thailand, with the rains barely letting up during this period. A day at a beach club is no fun in this part of the rainy season, and we’d avoid Thailand and head to Bali if you’re looking for a great time in Southeast Asia at this time of year.
However, the clubs rarely shut down entirely, though they may occasionally be required to for local holidays or elections, so make sure to contact the club in advance before you visit to make sure they’re open.
Pricing and Value for Money
This is the worst aspect of Carpe Diem. It feels like a money grab when it could be so much better value.
The fee to sit down, the mandatory bottle in the best seating area, the minimum spend and high menu prices add up to an experience that costs more than it’s worth.
Beach Access and Quality
The beach is beautiful and the sand is soft beneath your feet. It’s also kept very clean by the beach club.
But once again, we have to deduct points for the awful ocean quality, though again we stress this is outside of the beach club’s control.
Sustainability Practices
The club has no formal commitment to sustainability and does no sustainability reporting of any kind.
That’s a huge black mark in our review, and they really should do better. Thailand deserves it, and Phuket is in desperate need of a business community actively seeking to undo the damage to the local environment.
Exclusive Perks for Guests
When they’re charging fairly large sums of money (for Southeast Asia) just for the privilege of sitting down, we can’t get too enthusiastic about a daybed and a towel.
There really ought to be a much bigger roster of perks to justify these entrance fees.
Safety and Security
They did a brief bag check when we entered the premises, and we thought that was a positive thing. It helps to keep all the beach clubs in an area safe when individual clubs take responsibility for their guests’ safety.
We also felt that there were enough security present on the day to ensure that if there was any trouble (and we didn’t witness any on our visits) that it would be swiftly dealt with and not allowed to disturb other guests.
Event Hosting Capabilities
It is possible to book the entire beach club for a private event, but the venue doesn’t seem to encourage this kind of booking, and there is no sign of an events team actively seeking business.
That means we’d be cautious about entrusting them with big corporate events or events where perfection is vital, such as for a wedding.
However, they probably do a great job of hosting private parties where you’re just looking to have a great time with a large group of people.
Consistency of Experience
We’ve had the chance to visit Carpe Diem a few times, spoken to some of their regular customers and read many of the customer reviews online.
I think we’d all agree that the customer experience at this beach club is very consistent, even if there is no real effort to reinvent and improve on that experience.
It also seems churlish to bring it up again, but we have to – it’s also consistently overpriced for this part of the world.
Additional Amenities and Facilities
This beach club has all the basic amenities that you’d expect from a premium beach club, and if you need anything else, it ought to be within walking distance or a short drive from the venue.
Phuket is one of Thailand’s top destinations, and the area is very much suited to catering to the needs of all kinds of visitors.
We would like to see a beach club that considers itself to be family-friendly, with some child-friendly facilities, though, rather than a list of places that kids are banned from and when.
Summary
This could be a great beach club, but it’s not because of the exorbitant fee structure, which makes it bad value for both Phuket and for Southeast Asia in general.
We don’t mind paying a premium for the spectacular, but in this scene, there are plenty of great clubs that aren’t charging you to sit down or forcing you to buy a bottle when you arrive.
We recognise the hallmarks of Nikki Beach in this structure, but Carpe Diem isn’t Nikki Beach, and Nikki Beach Phuket didn’t last a year until it went out of business.
So, we tentatively recommend Carpe Diem on the grounds that you can have an enjoyable day out by the sea here, as long as you don’t mind paying through the nose for it.
FAQs
Can You Go Swimming At Carpe Diem Beach Club, Phuket?
Yes, this beach club has a pleasant pool area, and while the minimum spend to sit around the pool is very high for Southeast Asia, you will get a towel and the use of a daybed when you agree to it.
The water is clean, and the pool area is well-maintained, which is important. We don’t think you will have any concerns about swimming in the pool at this beach club. Though there’s no lifeguard at the pool here, so it’s a bit of a buyer-beware situation.
But we must stress – in the pool. The water in Phuket’s seas is currently so polluted that we strongly recommend that you don’t swim in the sea, no matter how tempting it is.
You are likely risking ill health if you do. This is a real shame, but it’s an ongoing issue that dates back over a decade now and is not being properly addressed. And if you have children, under no circumstances should they be anywhere near the ocean here.
What Is There To Do At Carpe Diem Beach Club, Phuket?
You can eat, drink, relax on a sunbed, and enjoy conversation during the day. As the sun goes down, there is a resident DJ who helps to crank up the atmosphere to a more party-oriented vibe.
They have regular special guest DJs too, and there’s a tendency towards house and techno in the styles.
This beach club also holds one-off events for Christmas, New Year and other special occasions. These require a ticket and much higher levels of spending than the already high minimum spend.
Is Carpe Diem Beach Club, Phuket, A Child-Friendly Venue?
This beach club is officially child-friendly, but while we’d agree that in the day this is a suitable place for kids to hang out with their parents, it’s much less suitable when the party starts.
We’d also note that they have no special facilities for children, and they may get bored in what is essentially a bar with a swimming pool by the ocean. Particularly as most children are not allowed to use the pool.
Parents are required to keep an eye on their children for their own safety and to ensure that they don’t get on the nerves of any other guests.
This is very much a standard for Southeast Asia. There is no lifeguard at the pool at this beach club, an egregious oversight in our book, and there are no lifeguards on the beach. Once again, we stress that the water is not safe to swim in, particularly for children.
Carpe Diem also reserves the right to impose an age limit after sunset. Whereas during the day, it is an all-ages club, all the time, with the following exceptions: no children under 15 are allowed by the pool or on the beach, and no children under 12 are allowed in the restaurant.
Who Is The Owner Of Carpe Diem Beach Club, Phuket?
The Carpe Diem Beach Club in Phuket, Thailand, is owned by Bruce Hanrahan and Benny De Bellis. Bruce has a lot of experience in the industry and has worked with Nikki Beach, the world’s first beach club brand, for over 22 years before breaking out on his own. Benny has previously worked at Catch Beach Club, Siam Supper Club and Opus One.
Final Thoughts On The Review Of Carpe Diem Beach Club, Phuket
We find ourselves puzzled by Carpe Diem Beach Club. It’s not a bad beach club by any means, and you can have a great day out here without doubt.
But why the extraordinary levels of greed around minimum spend? It is not customary in Thailand or, indeed, Southeast Asia to be charged to sit down. This feels like something the owner brought from Nikki Beach.
Then, there are the special event prices. 15,000 Baht per guest for a dinner and half a bottle of wine on New Year’s Eve? That’s a huge amount of money in Thailand and doesn’t even guarantee any kind of decent DJ, etc.
So, while we can recommend Carpe Diem based on the overall experience, we struggle badly to rate it under any circumstances as value for money. And when you throw in the toxic water of Phuket’s beaches, we think we’d go to Bali, instead.
