Tried Centara karon after staying in much quieter Bangtao beach, looking for a more vibrant town. Karon certainly is, but it’s still just a small tourist town. Patong is where you need to go to get a full scale city, luckily only 20 minutes taxi ride away.
In general Centara is a very nice resort with great and updated facilities (reception, pool areas, restaurants, fitness center, kids club)
Rooms and buildings however are ready for a major update. Bathroom fixtures loose, water slow and extremely hard to regulate and mold around sink and bathtub. Stairs to rooms (no elevators) are narrow and dark.
Sleep was fine though, main party area around kids pool go quiet at 8pm so no noise issues having a room facing this.
Think price matches quality.
Except for SPA which is priced very high compared to alternatives. Yes i’ts nice but a massage cost 4x what you pay at the beach or one of the places just outside the hotel. This discouraged us from using these facilities even if they look very nice.