The 121-room resort is being refurbished as a family resort destination and is scheduled to open in time for the upcoming holiday season.

The property, formerly the Felix Hotel, will become Phuket's new family-oriented four-star resort.

The main restaurant, Joe Kool's, will be a 1960s-style rock 'n' roll diner serving hamburgers, French fries and pizza. The Kidz Club will include a Movie Time Theatre, Playstation Zone, Climbing Wall, Science Lab, and a Cooking Centre for youngsters.

The outdoor Magical Castle will feature a huge waterslide and Castle Restaurant & Grill. The resort's "bottomless" ice-cream machine will offer free soft ice-cream cones to kids all day long, as well as healthy fruit juices.

Fourteen rooms are fitted out in adventure themes, including the Spaceship room, the Underwater Submarine room and the Castle room.

All rooms have been renovated and feature 25-inch televisions. Most also feature a Toy Box for kids. Other hotel features include spa treatment beds, the Siam Adventure Club and World News Coffee, a coffee shop where guests can buy newspapers from all over the world.

"Ramada Resort Karon Beach is ideally suited for families with kids," said Gary Murray, CEO of Destination Properties. "For the first time in Phuket, there will be a resort destination where kids can have a great time, offering endless fun while mum and dad can relax as well.

Destination Properties is committed to creating Great Places to Be and this resort is truly a great place for families."

HotelCorp president and CEO Roy Olsson said his team was very excited to be a part of a unique family resort that will be a first for Phuket.

Destination Properties owns the Hilton Hua Hin Resort and Spa, Doubletree by Hilton Golf Resort and Spa, Shambala Villas Samui, Alila Phuket (formerly Kamala Bay Terrace Resort Phuket), and Destination Air, Thailand's seaplane shuttle service flying from Phuket Airport to Krabi, Phi Phi, Koh Lanta and other destinations throughout the Andaman Sea.

HotelCorp is a private company that provides professional hospitality management services, ranging from financial feasibility analysis, planning, design and technical services, pre-opening operations and marketing, and the operation of hotels and resorts.