The first question that the girls will ask when a Customer comes into the office looking for accommodation is: “What is your budget ?” followed directly by: “What is your threshold of comfort ?” or words to that effect.
Depending on the season… rooms are to be had in Chiang Mai for as little as 50 Baht per night. Not that they would necessarily appeal to you or I….but they are out there.
At the more Cheap and Cheerful Guest houses, the price is usually determined by Fan or Air-conditioning. Perhaps a 100 or 200 baht difference. Other factors, depending on your own needs, are fridge in the room, Cable or Satellite TV, if there is a swimming pool and location.
The following are a few of the Guest Houses in the ‘Old City’ close to our office;
Full House - Good value budget accommodation with Air Con.
Smile 1 - Air Con rooms. Small swimming Pool.
Top North Guest House - Two-tier pricing depending on your room and the facilities. Nicely located with swimming pool and coffee shop
Same Same Guest House - Fan rooms and clean On the other side of the Klong in Tapae Road
Chiang Mai Thai House - Air Con, fan and a swimming pool and Room access for Internet facility for Laptops. Hotels start out pretty basic and work their way up from there.
Top North Hotel
Down Town Hotel
Pornping Tower
The Empress
Duantwan Hotel
Rydges Amara
Imperial Mae Ping
Amari Rincombe
My daughter and her Mother recently came to Chiang Mai on holiday and for various reasons initially stayed in the Rydges Amara. It was good…too good in fact. Location – excellent..impeccably clean…every facility in the rooms..extremely courteous staff..nice swimming pool and coffee shop.
The problem was ..that it was…well …self-contained and sterilized. You could have been in any good hotel anywhere in the world. For the second week of their holiday, they relocated to The KarinThip Resort. One of those places..that if you didn’t know it was there..you wouldn’t know it was there.
The Karin Thip is tucked away in a little Soi (lane) – Chiang Moi Road, close to Tapae gate. It has hotel standards but is designed to have plenty of exposure to the gardens and swimming pool. They run a mini-bus shuttle twice and evening to the Night Bazaar.
A final consideration if you are considering an all-in rate, including breakfast..is - if you are an Owl or a Lark. At most locations the breakfast is served up until 1030. If you have been out ‘on the tiles’ the night before you may need a ‘Hammer Drill’ as a wake-up call. There are plenty of little café’s and restaurants around who do breakfast well into the day at inexpensive rates.
