We are big fans of the Pullman Hotel brand, so we were very excited to discover that there’s a beach club at the Pullman Phuket Karon Beach, and it’s called the Ocean Beach Club.
Our review team was hastily convened to get to the club before it closed for a bit of a facelift (it will reopen again later in 2025) and to find out whether the club could match up to the hotel’s reputation.
Sunscreen, sunglasses, sunhats, and scribbling pads were stuffed into tote pads along with the review forms and off they went to explore Ocean Beach Club, Phuket, and this is what they learned while they were there.
Introduction – Getting To Ocean Beach Club, Phuket
Getting to the Ocean Beach Club is all about getting to Phuket, Thailand first, and fortunately, that’s easier than it used to be.
There is an international airport in Phuket, though in the off-season it’s not always well served from airports outside of the region, but even if you can’t get a direct flight, it’s easy to get a connecting flight in Bangkok.
It’s only an hour’s flight from the Thai capital, so you won’t be spending too much time hanging around at Suvarnabhumi before you arrive in the resort destination of Phuket.
Once you’re in Phuket, assuming you’re not staying at the Pullman Karon Beach (if you are, you won’t need to do anything more than go downstairs to find the beach club), you can easily get a ride share or tuk-tuk to the beach club.
It won’t take much more than an hour, even in the worst traffic conditions from anywhere else in the area.
Where Is Ocean Beach Club, Phuket? 333 Patak Rd, Tambon Karon, Muang Phuket 83100, Thailand
Online: Pullman
Opening Hours: 11 a.m. – 12 a.m. (after 31st October, 2025), every day, though this club may be closed on public holidays and/or election days as required by law.
What’s Available At Ocean Beach Club, Phuket?
There is a large pool with a pool deck and daybeds, as well as access to the restaurant and bar facilities of the Pullman Beach Club. It’s worth noting that this is not a party beach club, it’s a hotel facility, and that means no live DJs or entertainers.
Our Detailed Review Of Ocean Beach Club, Phuket
We utilise a uniform process to assess every beach club, ensuring fair evaluation for owners, management, and staff, and delivering reviews in a standardised format that makes comparing venues straightforward.
The evaluation process is structured as follows:
- A team is selected to review the venue.
- Each member must visit the beach club, with the option to visit independently and on varying days.
- During their visit, every reviewer completes a scorecard, rating the club from 1 (least impressive) to 5 (most impressive) in specified categories, while also recording 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, incorporating the team’s discussions and final scores, before it is shared on our website.
Reservation and Booking Process
We hope that when this beach club reopens, they’ve got a better system for booking a spot in place.
For now, it’s basically an email contact form where you can specify a time and date and the number of people coming, and that’s it.
There are no guarantees of a seat, no way to choose where you sit, no way to pay a deposit to secure your seat, and so on…
Really, given that this is a very big hotel chain, we don’t see that there’s any excuse for this kind of nonsensical booking process in 2025.
They can and frankly, should be offering something much better than this. When independent beach clubs like FINNS in Bali can manage a fully interactive booking system, so can these global giants.
Ambience and Atmosphere
The emphasis at Ocean Beach Club, Phuket, is very much on 5-star luxury chill-out space, and we think they’ve pulled this off very well, indeed.
You feel special when you walk through the door of this beach club. We think that it’s the amazing circular pool design and the fact that it’s flanked by elegant daybeds that don’t scream “corporation” but still have a consistent ethos that helps to set the mood.
The resort attracts mainly well-heeled families, and if you bring your children, then you’re likely to find that meeting other people and making some holiday friendships is very easy here.
Location And Accessibility
Phuket is a decent location for beach clubs, and this beach club is in a good part of the area. It’s easy enough to drive to this beach club or to catch a ride in a tuk-tuk or ride share.
Unlike most beach clubs in Phuket, this is a resort beach club, and that means there is some parking available. However, the priority for that parking is for resort guests, and if there’s no room, you will need to park nearby.
The majority of this beach club is wheelchair accessible, though it’s not set up for disabled pool access.
Aesthetic And Design
This is very much a hotel beach club, and that means you’re looking at somewhere that is aesthetically pleasing but also has a touch of the corporate vibe to it.
It’s not as screamingly obvious as it is in some of the resorts, but it still feels like a big business production line to some extent rather than a fresh individual creation.
That’s fine, it looks good in your Instagram photos, and it’s certainly better than being somewhere in a ramshackle state of disrepair, too. Corporations tend to have high standards, and that’s a positive.
Staff Friendliness and Professionalism (Service Standard)
The staff at Ocean Beach Club are exceptionally friendly, even for the Land of Smiles, and there’s no doubt that the Pullman’s training team has ensured that this translates into first-rate service too.
The team knows the local area like the back of their hands, and they can help you work through the menu, too.
If you need something extra, such as an allergy check, it will be carried out courteously and effectively.
Service Speed and Efficiency
We found the service in this beach club to be both speedy and efficient. We never felt like we had to wait to have an order taken or for one to arrive after it had been taken.
Even the final bill was quickly forthcoming, along with any change that was needed. That’s something we really like, and it’s all too often neglected at beach clubs around the world.
Food Quality and Variety
We found the food menu to be very good. It was relatively straightforward, and there was more than enough variety to make a couple of trips here during a vacation and not be bored.
The quality is also first-rate, and we really enjoyed eating at the Ocean Beach Club, and the food is also very much Instagram-friendly.
Overall, there’s no doubt that Ocean Beach Club can ensure you have a great day by the pool with some seriously good nibbles to chow down on.
Beverage Selection and Creativity
The drink selection isn’t huge at this beach club, but it is well curated, and if you’re looking for elegant and well-presented options that have been made with expertise, you’ll certainly find that.
There’s no doubt that they will all look good in your Instagram feed. However, as with everywhere in Thailand, wine is very expensive, and there’s a beach club and 5-star hotel premium on top of that expense.
It’s not a rip-off, it’s the way that it is. But we do feel that there are better places in Southeast Asia to go drinking.
Cleanliness and Hygiene
The Pullman has an amazing international reputation as a hotel brand, and it won’t come as a surprise that they work super hard to ensure that everything is shipshape and polished.
The pool is clean and well-maintained, and it really has to be as it’s the central feature of the beach club.
Similarly, the toilets and changing rooms are sparkling clean, and we felt very confident that hygiene matters at this beach club.
Comfort of Seating and Lounging Areas
We liked the seating at this beach club a lot, and it’s one of the most comfortable spots that we’ve found in Phuket.
The club seems to understand that if you’re going to lounge by the pool all day long, it needs to be comfortable.
We did feel that the seating in some of the other areas wasn’t quite as comfortable, but there was nothing in this beach club that made us sorry that we’d sat down, either.
Music and Entertainment
This is a hotel beach club, and that means the music is piped in, and frankly, it’s a bit on the bland and dull side.
It’s serviceable as a backdrop for conversation, but you certainly won’t remember any of it ten minutes after you’ve left the beach club.
However, there is a fire show at this beach club (and at almost every other beach club in Phuket, for that matter), and it’s pretty good.
If you’ve never seen one before, you’re likely to be pretty impressed, but they do lose their shine after a dozen or so performances.
Seasonality
They say Phuket has no real seasonality as the tropical climate means that it’s pretty warm all year round, and that would be fine if it weren’t for the rainy season.
The rains in this part of Thailand can be seriously brutal, and it’s not unknown for it to rain for days or even weeks, practically non-stop.
We tend to avoid Phuket at this time of year for that reason. It’s better to go to Bali, instead, where they still have a rainy season, but it only rains for a couple of hours in a day, and it never rains for days on end.
Plus, Bali offers better value than Phuket all year round, which is another incentive to head to the paradise island of Indonesia.
Pricing and Value for Money
You are required to purchase a “Day Pass” to use the facilities at Ocean Beach Club, Phuket, but we like the fact that the cost of these passes is converted into a food and beverage credit of equal value.
That means, unlike many beach clubs in the area, you’re not paying to sit down, so much as you are agreeing to a minimum spend.
We think that’s fair enough. Beach clubs need to make money, and a facility like this one would not have been cheap to open or to maintain.
However, it is a 5-star hotel, and that means the food and drink prices are higher than they are on average in the Phuket Beach Clubs scene, though the quality ensures that they are never bad value for money.
Beach Access and Quality
The beach here is attractive, and of course, the staff at the resort ensure that it’s clean and well-maintained. If you want to go for a walk along the sand or make sandcastles with your kids, this is a good place for it.
Unfortunately, the water is heavily polluted, and it’s not safe to swim in and we would strongly advise you not to let your children anywhere near it.
In addition, riptides are a problem in the waters around Phuket, and they can snatch even the strongest swimmers and pull them out into the deep ocean.
So, it’s best to stick to swimming in the pool and to be fair, this isn’t a hardship at Ocean Beach Club; the pool is its best feature.
Sustainability Practices
They don’t offer sustainability reporting at The Ocean Beach Club, but they have made a public commitment to a fair number of issues.
The facility holds a Green Key certification and the Verified Bamboo Badge, which is a data-based certificate of recognition for its efforts in this field.
They are single-use plastic-free, committed to zero food waste, work with turtle conservation and soi dog foundation charities, and they are signed up to help ensure local children are not trafficked within the local tourism communities.
We’d like more direct reporting, but this is a major better start than at most beach clubs in Phuket and good work from the Pullman Group in general.
Exclusive Perks for Guests
Assuming you’re paying for the day pass, then they will provide you with a daybed and a towel as part of the process.
That’s very much the standard in beach clubs around the world, and it’s fine as far as it goes.
But we can’t understand why a luxury resort hotel beach club isn’t offering VIP packages of inclusions for a bit more cash.
This should be a no-brainer, and it’s a bit disappointing that it’s not available here.
Safety and Security
This is a resort beach club, which means that any vehicle that arrives at the resort will be searched by the security team.
They may also do random bag checks before you enter the beach club premises themselves which is a good thing as it shows they take the security of their guests seriously.
There are also enough security staff on duty to ensure that if any trouble should start (and it seems unlikely that it will at this kind of facility), it will be dealt with professionally long before it has the opportunity to impact on other guests.
Event Hosting Capabilities
It’s not the biggest beach club, and it is a hotel facility, which means they have to prioritise their guests before events.
However, they do offer event hosting and as long as you have a fairly small group, you’re bound to have a good time of things at Ocean Beach Club.
If you have a larger group, the hotel will have other facilities that you can use, and there are certainly plenty of other options in the area if you need them.
Consistency of Experience
It’s a 5-star resort facility, and that means you can be sure that you’re going to get a very consistent experience.
However, it also means that you won’t find the experience evolving very much over time; they tend towards delivering the same standard over and over again.
Additional Amenities and Facilities
All the general facilities that you could expect at a hotel beach club are available at Ocean Beach Club, Phuket, and if you need anything else, it shouldn’t be too hard to find it in the area around the resort.
It’s Phuket, and there is always something within a short drive at the most.
Summary
If you enjoy spending a day by the pool in relative luxury and being brought tasty food and drinks by polite, helpful serving staff, this is a good place to end up.
Ocean Beach Club doesn’t break the mould or redefine what it means to be in a hotel beach club, but it provides a polished, pleasant experience that anyone can enjoy.
However, if you want to party and have a wild day out with friends, this is not the right beach club for you. It’s very much a sedate, family-friendly kind of place.
FAQs
Can You Go Swimming At Ocean Beach Club, Phuket?
Yes, in fact, the swimming pool at Ocean Beach Club is its best asset, and it’s very much a central feature of the beach club.
The water is clean, and the area is well-maintained, and you will enjoy daybeds and hotel-provided towels when you use the facilities.
You could also, in theory, opt to swim in the sea as there is direct access to the beach from this beach club, but we’d note that Phuket has horrible pollution in the seawater and that riptides can drag you out to sea here.
It’s best to stick to the pool, and frankly, at Ocean Beach Club, Phuket, that’s not a hardship.
What Is There To Do At Ocean Beach Club, Phuket?
This is a hotel beach club, which means the emphasis is on chilling by the pool and enjoying food and drinks.
There’s very little in the way of entertainment or anything other than piped music. It’s the sort of place you go for a day with friends and family for conversation and relaxation rather than to dance the night away.
Is Ocean Beach Club, Phuket, A Child-Friendly Venue?
Yes, as you would expect in a 5-star resort facility, the Ocean Beach Club, Phuket, is a family-friendly venue and children are welcome throughout the facilities.
However, we would note that there is no specific children’s play area in this beach club, and your kids will need to make their own entertainment as they spend their time here.
They are welcome in the pool and there is a lifeguard on duty, but parents in Southeast Asia are always advised to watch their children and ensure their safety and that they don’t annoy any of the other guests.
Who Is The Owner Of Ocean Beach Club, Phuket?
The Ocean Beach Club, Phuket, is part of the Pullman Karon Beach Resort, which is part of the larger Pullman chain of hotels, which in turn is part of the Hilton Group of Hotels. So, the ownership is a selection of internationally based shareholders.
Final Thoughts On The Review Of Ocean Beach Club, Phuket
We enjoyed our day at Ocean Beach Club and would happily go back again, the next time we’re in Phuket and looking for a relaxing day by the pool.
Sure, this isn’t a high-energy party place but it is well put together and enjoyable and we’ve no doubt that most visitors will appreciate the environment at this place.
