Phuket

We decided to book a short last-minute trip to Phuket at the end of a busy summer, before Boy started school. I expected it to be very much like Krabi. We didn't do so much - just relaxed. One of the benefits of staying in SG is the proximity to many nice beach destinations.
We stayed at the Surin Beach Doubletree, which had two waterslides into the pool to keep the kids busy. We paid for a pool access room which turned out to be just a ground floor room close to the pool. It was a nice pool, almost lazy river-like (the water park attraction). We ate breakfasts and some dinners at the restaurant - quite ok.
The hotel location was actually quite remote. There were a couple other hotels close to it, and a few other restaurants. The beach was a short walk away, across a small street and park. A large beach club dominated the beach, expensive as it charged only full-day, all-inclusive (chair, towel, food and drink) rates. Too fancy for our family of four. Luckily there were a couple smaller outfits/restaurants along the stretch from which we rented beach chairs at a reasonable rate. We also had a nice sunset dinner at the Diamond Beach Club.
One of our favorite finds was Laem Singh Beach. It was a difficult hike down as I think we missed the easy path. It was worth it though - so pretty and relaxed. We left a little before sunset as the place didn't seem well-lighted - the easier path had welcoming mosquitoes. Caught a tuk tuk on the way back to hotel - another highlight for the kids.

Laem Singh Beach

 Other than one light shopping trip to Patong, a couple of massages and a mani/pedi for the adults, we didn't do much. The tours were a little expensive. Did manage to see an elephant on the roadside - that was our cultural experience.