Our Rooms in Thailand

Stays in Thailand: August 25th 2015 to September 6th 2015

#1 GLUR Hotel Bangkok, 1 night 550 baht, double bed in dorm                                   

#2 DIVA Guesthouse Chiang Mai, 2 nights 300 & 360 baht, private room, fan, bathroom     

#3 ONG, Chiang Khan, 2 nights at 200 baht, fan, shared bathroom      

#4 KING Hotel Loei, 1 night, 450 baht, aircon, private bathroom

#5 The CUBE Hotel Bangkok, 1 night, 630 baht, aircon, double bed in dorm
#6 NETT Hotel Lopburi, 1 night, 250 baht, fan, private bathroom

#7 HAPPY Guesthouse Sukhothai, 1 night, 200 baht, fan, shared bathroom
#8 BAN NANA Hostel Chiang Mai, 1 night, 200 baht, fan, shared bathroom

#9 SABUYDEE Guesthouse Bangkok, 1 night 550 baht, fan, bathroom

#1 GLUR Hotel Bangkok

Glur deserves the top spot mainly for two reasons. First, their staff was incredibly friendly. You’d think that after preparing a trip around the world for two years that we’d be ready on day 1, but we weren’t. We were tired so we slept in, and our packs weren’t packed properly. We needed time to get sorted, even after checking out. The Glur staff allowed us to stay well past check out in their common area to pack our bags properly. They came to check on us once, but never made us feel we were overstaying our welcome even though we clearly were. Second, the Glur Hotel has paid great attention to details in making life convenient for its guests. They provide a bin for guests to pass on items they don’t need anymore to other travelers who might want them. We took an almost empty bottle of mosquito repellant, and a bit of shampoo. They’ve also got you covered in case you went shopping crazy and are wondering if your bag is over the weight limit. There’s a scale guests can use, along with a kit to help you pack (scissors, shoe cleaner…). They have eco-friendly messages in the stairwells. Their AC is on a timer to save power, but they can turn it on whenever you ask. Combine these special aspects of Glur with clean, comfortable rooms, facilities that are new and plentiful, and an unlimited all day self-serve breakfast of cereal and soymilk, and they well deserve the top spot on this list. As an added bonus, the street food around Glur is fantastic. Try the Pad Thai stall right in front of the hotel. I lost my camera during my trip, so we only have an outside shot of Glur. Sorry!

#2 DIVA Guesthouse

Diva’s staff was also very friendly and helpful. They helped us pick a different elephant sanctuary tour that better fit our needs, and they made sure we were happy with our stay. But the best part was that they offered a free hour of massage if you booked two activities through them. Booking through them is still the same price as if you’d booked by yourself, but you get a free massage out of it! Their rooms were spacious and clean, and reasonably priced. Our stay there was very enjoyable.

#3 ONG’s Chiang Khan Guesthouse

This was my personal favorite, but mostly because of circumstances. This guesthouse overlooks the Mekong river separating Thailand and Laos. We had a room with a view directly on the river, and there was a covered balcony also overlooking the river where we could read, write and have a beer while watching the sunset. Having the mystical Mekong wash away my thoughts brought me great pleasure. I was never more relaxed in Thailand than I was in Chiang Khan, sitting on that balcony.

The room was incredibly cheap, only one fifth of most other rooms with that view in Chiang Khan. And that’s why I hesitate to put it higher on the list. Although for me it was fantastic, some people might disdain the room’s cleanliness. There were cracks in the wallboards through which insects and geckoes crawled in.

There were spider webs in the corners. I didn’t mind, certainly not at the price we paid, but it does temper my recommendation.It is located opposite of Soi 20.

 




All of the other hotels, guesthouses and hostels we stayed in were nice for various reasons. We were lucky in that we never had a bad experience in Thailand, so I can say that none deserve to be avoided. At the same time, only the top 3 are worth going out of your way. Nett Hotel in Lopburi deserves perhaps an honourable mention because the monkeys seemed to enjoy hanging out around the hotel, but who knows if that is always true.