Tag: affordable accommodation

sai thong resort

Sai Thong Resort (ทรายทอง รีสอร์ท)Trang

Posted on by Ms. Elle

On our way to Krabi we decided to have a stopover in TRANG. We immediately started thinking of an accommodation that would not break the bank as we already have booked a nice resort in Krabi, Green View Village Resort. While we were discussing the plans for the day we remembered a resort our university booked us in during our annual university sports meet held in Trang a few years back.  Sai Thong Resort is located at 8WJ+64H, Mai Fat, Sikao District, Trang 92150.

Sai Thong Resort (ทรายทอง รีสอร์ท) was a good experience the first time we stayed so we decided to spend our stopover night there.  We walked in and booked for a night. The family room that we got costs 800Thb (23.8USD) per night. We opted for the cheapest family room thinking that it’s only for a night. Not really the best decision. ^_^

Room

The cheapest room is part of a quadruplex bungalow, one of the older structures the resort has. Inside the room is like a time machine that brings you back to the late 90s to early 2000s with the dated items you can find inside. A picture tube TV attached to a TV Box, old switches and electrical outlets, a vintage shower head, and the room itself is showing its years. The good thing is that they retrofitted an Air conditioner which seems to have been added recently. With all that being said, for us, as long as it works we don’t really mind. ^_^

Bathroom

The bathroom was clean. Old but clean. The bowl and sink are either new or just well-maintained. As for the shower set, the bidet, the mirror and the rack beneath it have seen better years.

Amenities/Complimentary 

We had at least 3 water bottles when we got in the room and presumably will be replenished daily.   A roll of toilet paper and a bottle of body shampoo. There’s a mini ref to store your drinks and food.

Wifi:  The room has free WiFi, but connecting our mobile phones was a struggle. Two out of four phones could connect and get decent feed. The moment a third and fourth phone logs in the feed starts to lag. This is something the management needs to look into. At this day and age we all know that having a good wifi signal is akin to having air to breathe. ^_^

Swimming Pool

This resort does not have a pool but is very very near Pak Meng beach. We also did not mind this aspect since it’s only a stopover for a night. ^_^

Food

They did not offer breakfast during our stay but we clearly remember a buffet breakfast was available during our first stay. I think they only offer breakfast to big group deals or something like that. But it does not matter though since it is surrounded with restaurants with affordable prices and with actually good food. ^_^

Recommendation

Do we recommend Sai Thong Resort??? ABSOLUTELY!!! You have options to either save money or be comfortable in your stay.  We opted to save money and we got what we paid for but they do have better rooms for a higher price. This resort is not only near Pak Meng Beach and restaurants… it is also near Rajamangala Trang Aquarium, an affordable place where you can have a bit of an educational fun with the kids. It’s a very convenient resort to be in with your family. A good place for a short getaway from the hustle and bustle of the city.

Affordable Family-Friendly Hotel/Resort

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Rimlay Park Resort Review: Hotel in the Middle of Nowhere

Posted on by Ryan

Accomodation: Rimlay Park Resort

Location: Chang wat Phattalung, Amphoe Muang Phattalung, Tambon Lam Pam, Prak Pra, 93000, Thailand
If you are driving  by private car and type in the resort’s name in English in your GPS, it is going to take you at the middle of nowhere, which is like 1 or 2 kilometers away from where it actually is. So type in its Thai name instead  (copy paste this) ริมเล ปาร์ค รีสอร์ท.

Basically Rimlay Park Resort is situated in a very secluded area with only nature around.  There are no public commutes,  you could either go by private car or through a travel agency.

Room (all air conditioned)

Their Deluxe suite is pretty large in fact it is the most spacious of all the accommodations we have stayed in so far. It has a romantic feel due to its yellow lighting, chandelier, and a soft four-post bed.  There is no white light option though, which others might prefer. And oh,  the bathroom is quite large too.

Here’s a short video clip og Rimlay Park Resort, take a glimpse.

Sockets

Plenty.  Super plenty! The only resort to meet the standards of today’s generation of gadgetry. We did not run short of sockets even with the number of electronics we brought along with us and needed to charge all of them at the same time in the evening.

Wifi

The Wifi is pretty good. We rank it second among the hotel connectivity we have encountered. All of us were able to satisfy all our usual internet cravings like FB, web browsing, blogging and yes even movie streaming was hitch free.

Amenities

They have got the usual complimentary bottled water, towels,  toiletries, flat-screen TV,  fridge, coffee and electric kettle, however, slippers,  hairdryer,  and shower caps are missing. But oh,  they provide different towels for the pool.

children swimming in the pool at rimlay park resort
Family Staycation: Rimlay Park Resort

Pool

Perhaps the weakest link in this resort is the pool. It is not child friendly infact it is even borderline dangerous. The kids pool is actually not designed for kids as it is not enclosed for safety and going beyond it is a 6 foot drop into the adult’s pool. It is not even friendly to adults who are casual swimmers or those who just want to hang out in the shallow part of the pool because there is non. Aside from the kids area the entirety of the pool is 6 feet deep.

Resort ground

Bungalows surround the pool. It is paved around this area.  However, the driveway that leads from the entrance to the information area is not.   And at the opposite end,  the lake is only a few walks away with grasses, trees,  a pond,  a few herons and other birds around.

Food 

The strongest point of this resort is their food. Food servings are hefty. It is cooked fresh, and is delicious. Fruits are fresh.  There are plenty of drink choices. And it is reasonably priced as well.

Clientele 

Rimlay Park Resort is a great getaway from the hustle and bustle of city life.  It is a great place to go to for,

a quiet holiday amongst fresh  greenery,  just you and your read 
family reunions
Group getaways with friends or family
Intimate moment with your special someone
Photographers who would want to take photos of sunrise in Thalenoi 

Services

Superb!  The lady owner/manager and her staff are among the friendliest and most accommodating people we have come across in the hotels we have been in.  They attended to our needs without invading our privacy.

Price

Affordable and reasonable!
Two nights cost us 3200 baht ($97)including breakfast of four.  They also offer group packages.

Overall

We give Rimlay Park Resort 4/5 rating.  Although it does not have a proper kids pool,  our kids enjoyed it nonetheless. The rooms and toilet are squeaky clean,  air is fresh,  and they are tolerant of kids.
So for sure, we will be back on our next long weekend.

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Lanta Riviera Villa Resort

Lanta Riviera Villa Resort: Koh Lanta Krabi

Posted on by Ryan

Lanta Riviera Villa Resort is a mix-bag of extreme positive and negative points.

We found this resort just a week before the Songkran festival here in Thailand. Every experienced traveler knows that this would spell high prices for every tourist destinations around here. Koh Lanta is no exception as this is one of the most sought out places by tourists during the summer.

Lanta Riviera Villa Resort as advertised online caught our attention as it was one of the cheapest family friendly resort. 

Here are the reasons why we booked it.

The price 

The family bungalow cost us a little over 4,000.00 THB which is approximately a bit over 133 USD for three nights during the peak season. This is definitely a great deal.

Family-friendly

Kids as they are, are synonymous to shouting, shrieking, jumping, crying, and boisterous laughs. And we have got two active, super excited kids who could not contain their emotions despite being told to do so and we don’t want to overdo the scolding and rule implementations as it might spoil their holiday but as much as we have all the rights to be there, we also want to be considerate with the other guests. So detached accommodations like bungalows are really suitable.

Kid’s pool:   For our kids a holiday is not a holiday without a pool.  So it is a must.
Bunk bed:   This was a special request from our kids. It has been their long time wish to have a bunk bed or at least to experience sleeping on one (blame it on Peppa Pig) and luckily, Lanta Riviera Villa Resort has it.

 

So how was it?

The bungalow is great. It is big enough that it does not feel like you are all cramped inside. As a matter of fact, even with a queen-sized bed, a bunk bed and a big couch, it is still spacious.  It was clean. There were no dust and or dirt under the furniture.  The bathroom was clean and is fairly spacious. All amenities that come with it like the fridge, kettle, flat-screen TV, Wi-Fi, hairdryer, and air-con all work perfectly. There are the usual freebies like coffee, 4 bottled water, and toiletries. It has a veranda and a garden in front with plants that give the bungalow a private feel to it.

 

Did I mention they have Free Wi-Fi? Oh I’d like to emphasize that their internet services is by far the best among all the hotels we have had the experience of staying. Even the pricier ones can’t hold a candle to this resort in terms of internet services. All three gadgets we brought along logged in without any hitch and the internet speed felt premium.

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by Ajarn Mitch (@mitchryansblog)

Parking: There is an open space for parking right in front of the property. Even though it’s unguarded it felt safe as the Information’s office is right beside it and open 24 hours a day. There are no proper parking demarcations so cars are parked however people preferred it.  So it was quite messy. And if you are a bit fuzzy about your fancy car it might be a deal breaker for you since it is a bit muddy when the parking area is wet or very dusty when dry.

The kid’s pool is neither big nor tiny.  Our kids had a great time hanging around there. It has a heater, which is really great, so the water is warm which is ideal especially for kids during an evening swim and it’s something we think every pool must have

But of course nothing is ever perfect and so is this resort… which brings me to its possible deal breaker down sides.

The bungalow was very clean as we have mentioned but it however had a faint cigarette smoke odor when we went inside which means that they allow smoking in their bungalows.  We find this very disappointing. They should have a smoking and a non-smoking bungalow as non-smokers would be pretty sensitive to this odor.

The pool is not well maintained as evident by the somewhat murky look of the water. Rules and guidelines for pool use are not enforced.

Getting to the resort was like finding Nemo. Looking for it was just utterly frustrating to the point of disgust. For one the address provided in the website is incorrect, the GPS took us in the middle of the forest, and this is like quite a few kilometers away from where it actually is.  Second, there is not a tiniest signage of some sort visible from the roadside. An hour later after driving back and forth and after asking for directions from people who were also a bit confused as there is another resort with a similar name, one directed us here (see photo please).

Yes, that’s right.  It does not say Lanta Riviera Villa Resort. But right into the alley you will see the resort’s name under another hotel’s name (see photo, in red ink). We later found out that Lanta Riviera Villa Resort is under the management of Hatzanda Lanta Resort. And the name visible on the roadside is Hatzanda (HZD) Lanta Resort. This inconsistency however is not mentioned on their website. Not a slightest hint at all.

If Lanta Riviera Villa Resort is your next travel accommodation, ask the driver to drop you off at Hatzanda Lanta Resort.  If you are driving, type in your GPS: Hatzanda Lanta Resort.

Overall…

Lanta Riviera Villa Resort is a great place for a staycation whether with your family, friends, or by yourself. The villas are in secluded places surrounded by vegetation giving you the privacy you need.  Plus, affordable Thai-Malaysian Eateries and a Seven Eleven are just around the block.
If you can take all the downsides with a smile and if it is not a deal breaker for you Lanta Riviera Villa Resort is a great place to stay.

 

Family Friendly Hotels in Krabi

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