Phuket

Phuket is a tropical paradise in Southwestern Thailand.  You won't find too many high end restaurants, but the local food is fresh and there is LOTS of fresh, wonderful seafood because there is lots of beautiful ocean (see pics).  The airport is quite small and easy to navigate.  Direct flights to and from Hong Kong took about 4 hours and were affordable, but the times were odd (very late at night).

The resorts are fairly spread out, so if you are going with a group you should coordinate to stay at the same place or in the same vicinity.  Prices are really not bad... 

In terms of things to do, we did elephant rides one day.  We were told the elephant sanctuary we used was not cruel to the animals... I hope that's true, but wish I had done some better research.  The Patong Beach area is classic Wild & Crazy Thailand with ping pong ball shows, other smut, and plenty of crime... but there are also some normal bars with karaoke, dancing, and live music, so with a group it's lots of fun.

There are a few other "activities" - you can tour some Wots, etc.  but the Island Boat tours are the way to go.  If money is no object, I'd do a private charter, just because you can spend more time on the open water, and you don't get herded to lots of different spots if you're really enjoying one of the less crowded ones where you are.

I stayed at Le Meridien.  Really loved the resort.  Got Platinum upgrade to a junior suite room with a full terrace, pool and ocean view.  Really wish I had thought to use Starwood's Your 24 benefit to cut out a day, as I checked in 4am Thursday night and checked out 4am Monday morning.  Could have made that 3 nights instead of 4. There's a shuttle to Patong, and it's about a $5 USD cab ride if you want to go immediately.  Teppan and Thai restaurants on the premises were both very good, and the drinks were fantastic.