Russian language site

A Russian language version of this site is currently under translation and construction, making this the first of the other languages we plan to make available. The Russian couple who are handling this development, Karim Khamzin (Kim) and Elena Volkova, are long-time residents of Phuket, Thailand. They are very familiar with the tourism and travel industries in a tropical beach resort, and the needs of Russian beach-lovers.

Kim (also a Canadian citizen) is a talented photographer, surely the best-known and most creative on Phuket. Elena is both an outstanding model and photographer.

They can be contacted at kim@thebeachfrontclub.com and elena@thebeachfrontclub.com

restaurant members

The Beachfront Club has a full membership class for restaurants - for those that qualify as true beachfront. Restaurant Members will be seen on our maps quite soon, and will be given a fully interactive page to which they can upload their details and photos.

Once a holidaymaker has found the right hotel, finding good places to eat is a serious concern - especially places by the beach and ocean. We will service this need of users while giving true beachfront restaurants the same marketing advantages that we give our member hotels.

ratings & reviews - beaches

Ratings & reviews are now everyday on travel-related websites, but few have been as carefully thought-out as those coming to The Beachfront Club. Here you will find the first dedicated ratings for beaches that include innovative concepts to help users discover those beaches that best match their personal preferences.

why isolated & remote resorts are still to come

Some hotels and resorts that are far from all others, sitting alone on a beach or island, have not yet been mapped into our system. We have identified a few hundred like this around the world, but they do not fit the format of our current maps. Over the coming weeks we will thus introduce a new system for mapping these hotels - which we also consider important - in a way that shows their true beachfront locations clearly. It is just one of many planned improvements of this, our introductory beta version of the site.

ratings & reviews - hotels

The hotel and restaurant ratings in The Beachfront Club have a 'beach' focus, and are carefully thought-out by people who have long worked within the industry. The hotel ratings display a high level of even-handedness, allowing hotels the opportunity to reply easily and quickly to critical reviews of their establishments. We will not allow unfair 'hotel bashing' for the sake of sensationalism.

worldwide & regional hotel chains

We are developing a set of functions that will bring benefit to hotel chains in unique and innovative ways.... for their true beachfront members, of course.

comparisons

Everyone compares before making decisions: compares standards and prices, compares quality, value and other considerations. We will provide a range of comparisons for the convenience of users: compare all hotels on a beach, compare all restaurants in an area; compare the sand on beaches in a destination, and more.

'wish-list' & minor functions

Our 'Wish-List' is a convenient little box in which you can store names and details of any hotels, restaurants, attractions or pages you find and like here. You can set up one or more trip names and store your finds for later perusal and comparison, or to create an itinerary.

A number of user-friendly functions will be introduced in the coming weeks and months to enhance the user experience on the site.

large & full screen photo viewing

We have a strong focus on fine photography, and will work to keep a high standard of imagery in our site. We do, after all, have member hotels and beaches in many of the world's most beautiful locations. A large, 900 pixel viewer will be introduced for all beach and destination images, followed by full-screen viewing for the most spectacular shots from our Photographer Members.

attractions & travel information

Most visitors to a beach destination venture away from their hotel and beach to take in the local attractions. While we have few such attractions in the site at the beginning, our user-friendly wiki text functions allow users to add text and photos about all attractions and activities that they like. This is interactivity at its fullest. In addition, other users can add information at a later date, or suggest corrections using the wiki feature. An editor will check all such entries before posting.

travel blogs & forums

Travel forums and blogs are a good means for travellers to help each other. We will introduce ours - with a beach and travel focus, of course - in the near future. Some will be run by local experts living in beach destinations.

community & profiles

Built into the site is the foundation for sophisticated community functions and profiling. We will develop this over time as we create a community of like-minded beach-lovers around the world. We hope to see The Club become a centre for interaction for people with a love of beaches and ocean environments and an eagerness to exchange information and ideas for the preservation of those beaches.