I'm a bit divided on phals. They are lovely when they bloom but they can be such slow growers compared to a dendrobium or a cattleya or even a cymbidium, grows like a weed as I've discovered
I would never consider phals a beginner plant or even an easy orchid to start with.
The easiest to start with imo are Odontoglossums. Phals, especially supermarket phals which don't have a fragrance tend to be a bit boring but one I have has made a new record of keeping it's flowers for 8 months. They opened in November and they are still open in June! Beat that neo growers
I'm not too fond of pinks or really frilly Cattleya flowers but we all find something we like about orchids.
I think the reason they are considered a beginner orchid is not so much because they are particularly easy but the reason people that have been growing longer grow out of them is I think because they have so little potential compared to other orchids.
For example, a dendrobium will produce keikis and can be divided so grow a few dendrobiums for 10 years and if you are good at it you will have produced several new plants off the original in that time. Same with Cattleya's which can be divided and donated to a friend. If you compare that to a phal, you might be lucky if it produces a keiki in that time but part from lots of flowers there won't be much work involved potting up or diving keikis with phals.
Some people might prefer that, but me, I like the aspect of replicating my plants, it's far more interesting than "just growing a boring phal" and I am nowhere near experienced enough to be making seeds which I wish I was. But even then I'd stick to Cattleya's. My track record with them has been far better than with phals.
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