Names in Patong that come to mind include Club Lime, Climax, BYD Lofts or White Box. Now there’s another to put on your list and in the back of your mind: Beat Club at the new 123-room B-Lay Tong Resort, at the north end of Patong Beach. It’s just opposite the Novotel, close to the junction of the beach road and Phra Barami Rd.

Three new resorts in Phuket or close by have been selected by Condé Nast Traveler magazine for inclusion in its 2010 Hot List.

The new Renaissance Phuket Resort & Spa, which held its soft opening recently, is the second resort on the 11km-long beach to be managed by Marriott International. The first was the well-established JW Marriot Phuket Resort & Spa, which opened eight years ago.

Phuket Observer was invited to join the Dusit Laguna Resort’s Earth Hour Candle Light Dinner. The idea was simple: turn off the power at home and dine by candle light at the Dusit’s Trattoria restaurant, with 20% of the proceeds going to the WWF.

The grand Andara Resort has now opened on Millionaires’ Mile in Kamala, following a well-established model whereby developers build villas and apartments, sell them, and then – when the owners are not in residence – rent them out by the night to tourists.

The latest Absolute property is the Nakalay Beach Resort in Phuket, which opened officially on January 27. Halfway between Patong and Kamala, on the west coast.

Three resorts in Phuket appear is this year’s Condé Nast Traveler magazine Gold List, which lists the “best places to stay in the world, selected by the readers”.

This is a great place to watch the sun dive into the sea. On the evening the Observer was there, a gleaming gin palace to slide across the face of the bay as the sun sank behind it. Sitting in comfort on the classy restaurant terrace with a good cold Mojito to hand, it’s possible to image that this is something the management arranges every night just to add to the sunset experience.

Cape Sienna, the chic cliff-top resort on Millionaires’ Mile, Kamala, is the most romantic hotel in Asia, and the fourth-most romantic in the world, according to the 2010 Tripadvisor Travelers’ Choice survey.

On January 29, the Splash Jungle water park at the West Sands property development, next to the airport, will be opened by Thailand’s Minister of Health, Jurin Laksanavisith.