Bang Thao Beach is on the west side of Phuket, south of Nai Thon Beach.
Bang Thao has nice luxury resorts, but not much else. There weren’t restaurants near the beach, so if you stayed here you would probably have to eat at your resort. The laguna resorts are connected by a lake, and there is a shuttle boat that takes people across the lake to the beach or to the other resorts. I had thought that Bang Thao would be nicer than Kata, since the high-end resorts are there, but I actually prefer Kata, since it has shopping, restaurants and even though the beach here was less crowded it’s not nearly as nice as Kata.