Hi! My family is planning to go to Phuket in January the 1st time, however don’t know whick hotel to book? ?
We have 3 children aged 17, 15 & 12. I would like to book a hotel which is near to a nice beach, shopping areas (town side) and places of interest. I have no idea which places of interest I have to visit during our vacation in Phuket. Anyone can guide us? Thanks 
There are lots of hotels in various price ranges – how much per night do you want to spend? When you say we – that means 2 adults plus 3 kids – you may have to specify that in your communications with the hotel. That’s a full load of laundry and house cleaning for the hotel. The hotels will have to have a roll out for the kids. Some suites may be better for your bunch.
Mention how much you want to spend per night, don’t say cheap or middle – use a baht figure.
Here is a list of hotels you can look over.
http://www.asiahotels.com/location-listby-starrating/Phuket-Thailand.asp&sr=3
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g293920-Phuket-Hotels.html
http://www.phuket.com/hotel/family-resort.htm
Stop in Bangkok for a few days at the beginning of your trip. See the city, take some tours and then go to Phuket. Spend the last night in Bangkok again so you can set yourself up for you ride back home. When you schedule your flights to Phuket keep in mind that there are 2 airports in Bangkok. Don Muang (on the other side of Bangkok from Suvarnabhumi) also has flights to Phuket. Some tourists want to hop off the plane from home and immediately fly out to somewhere else – except sometimes they don’t have enough time to make the transfers! Bangkok is worth a look too!
Bangkok is warm enough to get a tan just walking around – all of Thailand is warm. Try not to waste all of your time at a beach, Chiang Mai is a nice place to visit too (sunny enough to get a tan there too!)
Good luck.
Phuket Shopping