No more free stays at Laguna Phuket!

Exactly a year ago, I posted an article detailing how you can get a free 3D2N stay at the famous Laguna Resort in Phuket. (for that article, click here)

Earlier this week, I was back in Phuket and was passing through the JungCeylon Mall at Patong Beach. There I noticed the Laguna Holiday Club sales booth was still functioning as usual. I was on the verge of actually thinking about getting their free holiday. Paused at the booth, but then I noticed that their freebies for attending their sales pitch had changed.

The 3D2N stay at the resort is no longer available!

They had blocked out this option from their list of freebies. Watch the accompanying video and you can see a white piece of paper blocking out what was once their premier bait to get you to listen to their pitch.

The other freebies were still available though; Laguna tour certificates, 2 rounds of golf at Laguna Golf Club, dining or shopping vouchers, a 90 min spa treatment at Angsana Spa or 2 tickets to the Phuket Fantasea Show and Theme Park. Quite substantial rewards in itself actually.

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But no, I didn't stay for their sales pitch on the Laguna Holiday Club timeshare scheme..... well, maybe one day if they re-introduce the 3D2N free stay.

How to get a free resort stay in Phuket, Thailand

.Pristine sand beach at Phuket

Seriously, there is a way to get a free 3D2N stay at a 5 star resort at Phuket, Thailand. What's more, it's nothing less than the renowned Laguna Resorts at Phuket! The Laguna resort complex comprise 6 major resorts including the Banyan Tree, Dusit Laguna, Sheraton Grande, Allamanda Resort and Laguna Beach Resort.

The only catch is that you got to sit through a presentation on the Laguna Holiday Club scheme while you are already at one of the associated Laguna resorts. Yes, that scary word... Timeshare!

I first heard about this when I was in Phuket in 2005, exactly 6 months after the devastating tsunami. Rates were understandably at rock bottom. I had a suite for only S$350 at the Dusit Laguna and this included the Silkair return flight! The Dusit Laguna resort was in the direct line of fire by the tsunami but by then it had been substantially repaired, though there were still signs of the devastation in that area, but that's another story...

Dusit Laguna Resort after the tsunami 2005

Anyway, how do you get that free stay?
This is how: whenever you stay at a Laguna associated resort anywhere, you will receive a welcome call from the Holiday Club inviting you to a presentation of their timeshare scheme. This high pressure, albeit, no obligations talk lasts 2 hours but you will be rewarded for your time with an offer of a substantial lunch or dinner, or a US$100 shopping voucher, or a 3D2N stay at one of the Laguna Resorts in Phuket.

It was on the day of my departure and as I had time to spare, I agreed to listen to their talk. Truthfully, they were nice, professional, persistent but not too overbearing. In the end, I opted for the free lunch, as I was already in Phuket and had no thoughts of returning anytime soon.

So if ever you are at the Angsana Spa Resort or the Banyan Tree in Bintan, just attend the Holiday Club presentation and you will get a free 3D2N stay at a Laguna Phuket resort. You just need to make your own way there.

By the way, this is not a paid blurb for the holiday club scheme, ha ha, but I wouldn't mind another free stay at Phuket though. Click on the link here and drool.
Sawasdee.