Ahhh - how much do I love Phuket..... well I too used to be a Bali traveller until I found Phuket. I believe that Phuket today is Bali 20 years ago but with mod cons. Money changing will not be an issue as there are plenty of money changers everywhere and yes, the rate is far better in Phuket than here so really, don't bother changing any before you get there.
Shopping wise, man, it is everywhere! Literally! We stayed at a relatively small place called Baan Sukhothai which is the main drag of Bangla Road where all the nightly entertainment happens. Believe it or not by day it is shopping, you go back to your room to shower, swim or get ready for dinner and walk outside to the same road and it's like walking into the middle of the Royal Melbourne Show. Surprisingly though, you cannot hear any of the noise from your room.
I would not hesitate to stay there again at all. The place although smallish had great staff, brilliant location, smallish pool but given the size of the place it really is big enough and lets face it, it is cold and wet.
You walked out the front of the place and the beach was like 50 metres to your left and more shops 50 metres to your right. Manicures and Massages are a bargain on the beach as it is with Bali so we headed down there for that type of stuff although we also checked into a day spa on our last day for some mega pampering and that was like 2 doors down to the right for memory and - it was airconditioned!
I have included the link to their website for you to take a look and believe it or not, it really does look like it says it does.
Shopping - oh wow - there is shopping all over the place. One of the best places that we found though was the night market. We found that the only people that really hassled you there were the tailors and once they knew that you didn't want anything they pretty much left you alone. Even you will like this market - at the end of each row there is a bar!!! Yep - a place to sit, cool down and drink. We left the men there and went back to them with our parcels to drop off. They give you cool face towels to chill you down so that you are ready to tackle it all again in the next row. They barter well and all in all, a great experience.
Beer - yes, they have them all and the local stuff is lovely. This coming from a CUB employee has to be a good recommendation!
You will have a ball there.
Laundry places are all over the shop as well and I think for memory it was like maybe $5 a kilo and it comes back the next day all neat, clean and smelling gorgeous.
Food is sensational and again, our location meant that we were near some fab places including the Aussie Bar just down the road which made great sambos and has the footy!!
I think I have rambled on long enough now but any more questions feel free to ask.
Cheers
to Baan Sukhothai, Phuket Patong Beach, Thailand