THE IDEA came while cleaning the bathroom. The Phuket heat was bouncing off an upright fan, our only source of cool air. The sheets on the mattress on the floor needed changing.
Life on Phuket can, we know, fall a long way short of five stars. So the concept of Phuket 7x7 formed.
While Phuketwan reports the island's news as it breaks and has toured plenty of newly opened resorts, taking photo album pictures as we go, we've never actually seen Phuket the way a well-heeled tourist sees Phuket.
We've been inside Phuket Prison but we've never savored the pleasure of a Jacuzzi with a view. We've seen a mass circumcision yet we cannot tell the difference between kapok and a Japanese buckwheat pillow.
As for Egyptian long-stem cotton sheets with a 360-thread count . . . well, our sheets needed changing.
A lot of what we see and hear as Phuketwan journalists is, inevitably, on the practical side of the Phuket ledger. Crime, social change, corruption and other stuff, much of it tinged with desperation and sometimes despair.
So, to broaden our knowledge base, we decided to visit seven leading resorts in seven days. And seven leading resorts generously allowed us to fulfill that dream.
How did the adventure go, and what did we find out? Well, you will be able to read about it shortly when Phuket 7x7 begins this week.
We wanted a good spread of resorts, from the north of the island to the south, from the east to the west. We wanted a mix of familiar names and new names, some well-known and some less well known.
Phuketwan prefers to pay its way but at this high-flying level, the only way we could do Phuket 7x7 was with the help of the resorts. We didn't pay a single baht.
The asking price was affordable, but all was not perfect.
There was the staffer who took us to a room in the wrong building. There was the electric plug in a bathroom that did not work. And there was one air-conditioning unit that was much louder than our fan at home.
But that's about it, really. Hard to complain. Not enough to spoil a holiday or even mention to management.
You could say we spent the week in the lap of luxury, but it wouldn't be true. The non-working part of the week was beyond the lap of luxury, more like being immersed deep in an ample bosom, or at times, even being squeezed gently between a pair of ample bosoms.
Between soft squeezes, Phuketwan continued with 5am starts and full working days.
However, being freeloaders, we managed to enjoy both laps and bosoms, yet escape connecting with those other frightening body parts, the arm and the leg.
Internet connections, a vital factor for us, linked extremely well in five of the seven resorts, but less well in the two at the top of the tree. But then, what fools would go on holidays to work?
Most resorts now have card keys, although the two resorts where real keys remain in use retain real charm and grace.
And pillows. We learned a lot about kapok and Japanese buckwheat. At some resorts, the pillows have been multiplying.
And the choice is hard, even when the options are soft. At some resorts, the choice could even keep you awake at night, tossing and turning. Not.
We certainly learned a lot about checking out and checking in, and were pleased to discover that at almost all resorts these days, the guests usually only have to sign: somebody else does all the paperwork for you.
On behalf of readers, we've sacrificed ourselves to a week of five-star pampering, Phuket-style. And what a great style it is.
You can read about it later this week in Phuketwan's Phuket 7x7. Meanwhile, we have a bathroom to clean.
Life on Phuket can, we know, fall a long way short of five stars. So the concept of Phuket 7x7 formed.
While Phuketwan reports the island's news as it breaks and has toured plenty of newly opened resorts, taking photo album pictures as we go, we've never actually seen Phuket the way a well-heeled tourist sees Phuket.
We've been inside Phuket Prison but we've never savored the pleasure of a Jacuzzi with a view. We've seen a mass circumcision yet we cannot tell the difference between kapok and a Japanese buckwheat pillow.
As for Egyptian long-stem cotton sheets with a 360-thread count . . . well, our sheets needed changing.
A lot of what we see and hear as Phuketwan journalists is, inevitably, on the practical side of the Phuket ledger. Crime, social change, corruption and other stuff, much of it tinged with desperation and sometimes despair.
So, to broaden our knowledge base, we decided to visit seven leading resorts in seven days. And seven leading resorts generously allowed us to fulfill that dream.
How did the adventure go, and what did we find out? Well, you will be able to read about it shortly when Phuket 7x7 begins this week.
We wanted a good spread of resorts, from the north of the island to the south, from the east to the west. We wanted a mix of familiar names and new names, some well-known and some less well known.
Phuketwan prefers to pay its way but at this high-flying level, the only way we could do Phuket 7x7 was with the help of the resorts. We didn't pay a single baht.
The asking price was affordable, but all was not perfect.
There was the staffer who took us to a room in the wrong building. There was the electric plug in a bathroom that did not work. And there was one air-conditioning unit that was much louder than our fan at home.
But that's about it, really. Hard to complain. Not enough to spoil a holiday or even mention to management.
You could say we spent the week in the lap of luxury, but it wouldn't be true. The non-working part of the week was beyond the lap of luxury, more like being immersed deep in an ample bosom, or at times, even being squeezed gently between a pair of ample bosoms.
Between soft squeezes, Phuketwan continued with 5am starts and full working days.
However, being freeloaders, we managed to enjoy both laps and bosoms, yet escape connecting with those other frightening body parts, the arm and the leg.
Internet connections, a vital factor for us, linked extremely well in five of the seven resorts, but less well in the two at the top of the tree. But then, what fools would go on holidays to work?
Most resorts now have card keys, although the two resorts where real keys remain in use retain real charm and grace.
And pillows. We learned a lot about kapok and Japanese buckwheat. At some resorts, the pillows have been multiplying.
And the choice is hard, even when the options are soft. At some resorts, the choice could even keep you awake at night, tossing and turning. Not.
We certainly learned a lot about checking out and checking in, and were pleased to discover that at almost all resorts these days, the guests usually only have to sign: somebody else does all the paperwork for you.
On behalf of readers, we've sacrificed ourselves to a week of five-star pampering, Phuket-style. And what a great style it is.
You can read about it later this week in Phuketwan's Phuket 7x7. Meanwhile, we have a bathroom to clean.
