howser

What about the Summer spring http://www.summerspringhotel.com Which is right next door to the Markland you are used to staying at, but I do not know how good the sea view in their sea view rooms is, as it is only 8 storey compared to the Markland. edit:Remember that there is a premium of 500bht per night between 25th December and 15th Jan, so that would be an extra 5000 baht on top of your bill, unless you can get them to waive it.

I was looking at flights today with Etihad as well, and there were flights for £380 out of Manchester in middle of October with no more than a couple of hour transfer times.