Phuket’s beach club scene is one of the busiest in Southeast Asia, and there’s no doubt that the area is home to some real hidden gems.
And our team set out to investigate Xana, Beach Club in Phuket, wondering if they could add to that list of hidden gems. This is what they learned and why, for now at least, they felt that Xana was in need of some polishing.
Introduction – Getting To Xana, Phuket
If you want to experience Xana, you’ll first need to get to Thailand and to Phuket. There are international flights to Phuket, but their frequency depends very much on the season.
You may find that at certain times of the year, it’s easier to fly via Bangkok and change planes there. There’s never a shortage of flights to Bangkok.
Once you’re on the island, you will find that Xana is very easy to get to, and it shouldn’t take more than 30-60 minutes to get there, even in the worst traffic conditions.
Unlike some beach clubs in Phuket, the club does have parking facilities as it’s part of the Angsana Laguna Phuket Resort, which provides them.
You can also easily be dropped off at the front door by a tuk-tuk or ride share. It’s also possible, in theory, to get a water taxi to the beach by Xana, but be warned, the tides in this area are dangerous, and it might be best to go by road.
Where Is Xana, Phuket? 10 ถนน ศรีสุนทร, Tambon Choeng Thale, Thalang District, Phuket 83110, Thailand
Online: Angsana
Opening Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day, happy hours from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. every day, hours may vary depending on Thai public holidays and elections. Please call the club before you travel to find out if they’re open.
What’s Available At Xana, Phuket?
Xana describes itself as a “modern beach club” with a 35-meter pool including a swim-up bar, a private rooftop terrace, dining facilities and a “state-of-the-art sound system”.
There is also a range of comfortable seating areas, most of which require a “day pass” which is a sneaky way to describe “an entrance fee”, though the club does appear to run regular offers where it waives this requirement.
Our Detailed Review Of Xana, Phuket
We implement a consistent method to review every beach club, ensuring equitable treatment for owners, management, and staff, and providing reviews in a uniform format that makes comparing venues effortless.
The review process is conducted as follows:
- A team is chosen to evaluate the venue.
- Each member must visit the beach club, with the freedom to visit independently and on separate days.
- During their visit, every reviewer completes a scorecard, assigning the club a score from 1 (least commendable) to 5 (most commendable) in designated categories, while also documenting their impressions.
- After all team members have completed their visits and scorecards, they meet to discuss their experiences and agree on final scores for each category.
- A designated team member then writes the review, incorporating the team’s consensus and scores, before it is published on our website.
Reservation and Booking Process
Xana’s web presence can only be fairly described as an utter mess. The official website is part of the Angsana Hotel site, and it has no online booking options, though you can reserve using email or the telephone.
The club’s menu is on Heyzine for some random reason, but they didn’t bother to include any pricing. Then, if you want an idea of pricing for other services, you’ll need to head to Facebook or Instagram for whatever crumbs of information they may or may not be handing out this week.
And that won’t be much; they’ve barely posted 24 times in the last 2 years. This is a beach club that prides itself on secrecy from its potential customers.
It’s a headache and one we wouldn’t mind too much if it weren’t for the fact that this beach club charges a fairly substantial entrance fee of 999 Baht per daybed. That’s not chump change, and it ought to be made very clear that this charge exists before you turn up hoping for the best.
Ambience and Atmosphere
The lack of clear direction online seems to have some impact on the overall attendance at Xana, and one thing we found was that there seemed to be a real lack of people inside this beach club.
It’s very hard to make a beach club feel vibrant and fun when there’s nobody around to share the environment with.
A big part of the good times will always be other people, and there’s a real flat feeling to this beach club most of the time.
Location And Accessibility
Phuket may not be the perfect place to end up, but it’s not that hard to get to, and we feel that this beach club is in a good location in Phuket.
However, we do need to note that in keeping with much of Phuket, you can’t swim in the ocean here, and while there are water taxi services that purport to serve this beach, we wouldn’t advise that either.
One key thing in the venue’s favour, though, is onsite parking, something that many of Phuket’s beach clubs lack. So, if you want to drive to a beach club, you might put Xana on your shortlist for the day.
Aesthetic And Design
Modern it most definitely was when this beach club first opened, but in a decade, things have moved quickly in the scene, and we don’t really feel that Xana has kept up with things.
We’ve got to hand it to their photographer for social media, who manages to create a very different look to what’s actually there in person.
It’s not the worst place that we’ve ever seen, and you can get a few nice shots for the Gram, but overall, we think “modern” is pushing it and “tired” is closer to the mark.
Staff Friendliness and Professionalism (Service Standard)
One thing we noticed is that in several areas of this club, there’s no actual service available; you’re expected to rock up to the bar and fetch your own drinks.
If they were charging the kind of prices found in a Thai pub, that would be just fine, but they charge a big premium in comparison to the local pubs, and they have the cheek to add a service charge to the bill! It’s not service when you have to do the work.
In the areas that they did have service, we found that some of the staff were very reluctant to do much of anything and that only a couple seemed motivated to actually get things done.
Service Speed and Efficiency
You would think that by going to fetch your own drinks, that this would speed up the process of getting served, but sadly, at Xana, you’d be wrong.
The amount of dawdling by the staff at the bar was quite incredible, and it was one of the most frustrating experiences that we’ve had at a beach club in Phuket.
Similarly, the food takes a long while to arrive from the kitchen and given that this place is not particularly busy most of the time, we can’t understand why.
Food Quality and Variety
The food menu is also quite limited when compared to many other beach clubs in Phuket and further afield. It’s almost like Xana is expecting you not to come back, so they didn’t bother to try and entice you to.
We think that’s a strange way to run a business, but it’s their business to run. When it came to the quality of the food, most of it was actually very good, and while we wouldn’t rush back, we’d be happy to eat it again.
Though one dish did arrive stone cold and had to be sent back to the kitchen for remedial work.
Beverage Selection and Creativity
Similarly, the drinks menu is very much on the short side for a beach club. We suspect that’s to encourage you to make up your mind and order quickly at the bar.
Without any table service, they won’t want you hanging around blocking any other customers from placing their orders.
The drinks are OK, not the worst we’ve had, and at least they are strong enough to justify the price tags. But they aren’t all that inspiring either. Xana often falls flat where a little effort could see it soar, instead, and this is one of those times.
Cleanliness and Hygiene
We had no issues with the cleanliness of this beach club at all. We found the pool area to be very pleasant, and there was no trace of cloudiness in the water.
The toilets and changing rooms were likewise clean and well presented. We assume that the kitchens are in a similar condition and wouldn’t hesitate to eat or drink at this beach club if we were to find ourselves here in the future.
Comfort of Seating and Lounging Areas
We heard one customer describe Xana as a bit of a dive, and while we think that’s a bit harsh, we’d have to agree that nobody will be writing home ecstatically about the furniture at this beach club.
It’s alright. It supports you by the pool or while you dine, but it’s not fantastically comfortable nor is it terribly uncomfortable. It’s just alright.
We also thought it looked OK in photographs, but we don’t think we’d be rushing to grace our Instagram account with shots from Xana either.
Music and Entertainment
There’s some piped music at this beach club during the day, but at night they bring in a live DJ and occasionally offer a fire dancing show too (as do most other beach clubs in Phuket, to be fair).
We wouldn’t describe the atmosphere as “electric” because not only is that clichéd, but there’s no doubt that it’s never really busy enough at Xana to feel that way, but it is upbeat and good-natured.
It’s the sort of place where music is more the backdrop for your experience rather than the primary reason for going.
Seasonality
Officially, Phuket has no real seasonality; unofficially, when the rainy season comes, it can be vicious, and it’s not unknown for it to rain for weeks at a time with barely a break in the clouds.
Given that Xana’s not all that busy in peak season, it’s going to suffer terribly when the cloud bursts.
We would skip Phuket entirely during the rainy season and go to Bali, instead, where the rain only lasts for an hour or two each day.
Pricing and Value for Money
While on a global scale, we don’t think Xana is that expensive on a Southeast Asia scale, it is pricey and worse, it’s not great value for money.
Xana offers a middling beach club experience, but at the price of a premium experience, and worse, they try to hide their prices so that you don’t learn how much it all costs until after you’ve arrived and feel obliged to pay for stuff.
We are big believers in transparent pricing, and Xana ought to try a little harder to deliver on that.
Beach Access and Quality
There is direct beach access at Xana, but it’s not the prettiest stretch of beach in this part of Thailand, and it could use more regular cleaning than it gets, too.
It’s also worth noting that the sea in this area is quite polluted, but even if that weren’t the case, the water here is downright dangerous, and it’s not recommended for even strong swimmers to go anywhere near the sea here.
Sustainability Practices
The Angsana Laguna Phuket Resort has one of the best sustainability approaches in Phuket. They have made a series of public commitments to specific sustainability targets, including helping to repopulate the local turtle population.
In addition, they have published sustainability reports (though not as frequently as we’d like) and they have even won awards for their efforts, including in 2023 at the Luxury Lifestyle Awards.
Overall, there’s room for improvement, but it’s clear that the power behind Xana, Phuket, takes sustainability seriously.
Exclusive Perks for Guests
They are super stingy with towels at this beach club. And given that all you get here is a lounger and a towel, you’d think they could do better than that.
We don’t mind that the staff whisk away wet towels; we do mind that they then refuse to replace them. You can’t even pay for more towels, which is frankly ridiculous.
We don’t expect much in terms of perks at beach clubs in general, but given you can’t bring in a towel from outside the beach club, they ought to make towels freely available to paying guests inside.
Safety and Security
We had no concerns regarding safety and security at Xana. They do a cursory inspection of your bags on the way in, and there are enough security personnel on hand to deal with any trouble that might break out in the rare event of Xana being busy enough to have any kind of trouble.
Event Hosting Capabilities
The club does offer event hosting, but given its size and overall quality, this is very much aimed at smaller events, and you shouldn’t expect to host large corporate events here.
Consistency of Experience
The experience at Xana appears to be somewhat variable, both based on our reviewers’ experiences and on online customer reviews.
While there are certainly some happy customers, there are also many who don’t seem to be anywhere near as happy.
Additional Amenities and Facilities
Xana has the basic amenities that we’d expect from a beach club, and this being Phuket, there are plenty of places nearby where you can access anything you need that they don’t have at Xana.
Summary
Xana feels like a missed opportunity to us. A beach club that has had its heyday and instead of trying to reinvent itself to be more than it once was, it’s going into the sunset without much in the way of grace.
We can see that there might once have been a better experience at this place, but today? We’d struggle to justify the price tag, and there are many other beach clubs in Phuket that will offer a more elevated day out.
Overall, it’s not that it’s a bad day out (as you can tell by their overall score), it’s just that it’s not quite good enough, either. There’s too much choice in Phuket to accommodate this standard for too long.
FAQs
Can You Go Swimming At Xana, Phuket?
Yes, there’s a swimming pool at Xana, Phuket. However, the pool area is definitely a lot shabbier than it appears in the photographs on Instagram and Facebook.
There’s no lifeguard on duty at the pool, which means that you will need to be super careful of any children who are playing in the water.
We would also note that you can’t swim on the beach at Xana, the local currents are simply too strong to allow any kind of access to the water.
As with most beaches in this region, there is no lifeguard on the sands, either, so make sure that your children are fully aware that swimming in the sea is off limits here.
What Is There To Do At Xana, Phuket?
You can eat, drink, swim in the pool and enjoy some piped music at Xana. This beach club is sort of trapped at the level of a restaurant with a pool rather than a fully-fledged beach club, and the experience overall is a little limited when compared to other beach club options in Phuket.
Is Xana, Phuket, A Child-Friendly Venue?
Yes, Xana, Phuket is family-friendly, and children are welcome throughout the venue as long as they are accompanied by a parent or guardian.
However, in keeping with nearly all beach clubs in Southeast Asia, you are expected to take responsibility for their safety when they are on the club grounds and to ensure that they don’t annoy any of the other guests.
There are also no child-specific facilities available at Xana, which means that your children might get bored more quickly at this beach club than those with more amenities.
They are also a bit mean with the towels, so if your kids are likely to need towels on multiple occasions, make sure you hang the ones you have out to dry in the sun immediately after use. You can’t get any more.
Who Is The Owner Of Xana, Phuket?
Xana Beach Club is part of the Angsana Laguna Phuket Resort, which in turn is owned by Banyan Group, which bills itself as “an independent, global hospitality company with purpose.”
Final Thoughts On The Review Of Xana, Phuket
Xana, Phuket is a really mixed bag. We can see that in its heyday, this beach club would have been quite an impressive place to spend some time.
However, it feels like it’s more than a decade old, and it is more than a decade old. We would be more prepared to forgive this if they weren’t charging such an incredible premium for their services and trying to hide that premium from guests trying to do their research online.
Overall, it’s not the worst beach club in Phuket, but we felt that it was far from the best, too. An excellent commitment to sustainability doesn’t offset the bad website, mixed service and high prices.
