The Amari Coral Beach, Phuket has seen many changes in Patong since its opening in 1985, but the one thing that has remained consistent to the beachside-resort are the incredible views and complete and utterly luxurious feeling of seclusion.

There are five dining venues around the grounds of Amari, Coral Beach that attracts an even split between outside and inside guests with many drawn to the exquisite food and views of La Gritta: The ?Rim Talay? is an international restaurant that serves a wide variety of international cuisine and is home the hugely popular buffets. Coral Beach also has a pool bar that serves light snacks while guests are lazing around and enjoying a paddle. For those wishing to sample the finest in Thai foods, there is also the Kinaree Thai restaurant.

The Amari, Coral Beach even has a pier that stretches out into the sea, enables its guests a level of peace, tranquility and cool breeze one would think unavailable in Patong. It hosts starlight BBQs there and a few light snacks at other times.

?La Griita,? Alexander Mack, the Executive Assistant Manager explains, ?is for when you want to spoil yourself.? Easily the most popular venue, La Gritta is an Italian restaurant with unrivalled views of the sea and a luxury of peacefully viewing Patong Bay in the distance.

The Executive Chef, Thomas Vanderlieb has been at Amari, Phuket for three years but before that was at Amari Trang and is speciality is luckily something he is quite passionate about, ?The focus of my cuisine is on homemade pasta, I love pasta,? said Chef Thomas.

The Amari, Phuket has changed and revised its menu over the last few years, mainly as a response to what the customers want, explained Chef Thomas. ?Many of our guests have a firm idea of what Italian food should be. They are also on holiday, so we are not here to educate them. He added that there was still plenty of room to express himself in the kitchen.

?Considering our great location, many of the dishes have great selections of fish. Many have what I like to call ?mama cooking,? said Chef Thomas.

Sounds delightful but the Post is not a 100% sure what ?mama cooking? is. Once pressed Chef Thomas explained that this was real good food, like-a mama used to make-a, (Is that still acceptable to do? ? Ed) Hearty meals with the main priority on flavourful ingredients.

A great example of the different dishes available to diners at LaGritta is the set menu, ?Arrivederci from paradise?, which is a selection of handpicked dishes typically served to guests on the final night of their stay.

All of the fine dishes are of course available at Amari, Coral Beach, La Gritta to be savoured on their own.

To begin with is the Antipasto misto LaGritta. This is a mouth-wateringly fresh and sumptuous house selection of assorted antipasti. Mozzarella and sundried tomatoes, parma ham and cantaloupe and salami- wrapped breadsticks.

LaGritta has many soups on offer, including ?Minestrone di verdure con parmigiano?, a minestrone soup with fresh vegetables a-plenty and served with grated parmesan bread.

For the main dish, I was treated to ?Pollo Brasato in crosta di nocciale?. A spring chicken tenderly rolled in hazelnut with honey and balsamic. The sweetness of both sauces adds to the overall flavoursome package.

The Amari, Coral Beach also hosts a variety of themed nights, social gatherings and soon-to-be live music events that make full use of the exquisite location and wonderful setting.

For more information, visit www.amari.com or call 07634 0106