sai thong resort

Sai Thong Resort (ทรายทอง รีสอร์ท)Trang

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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Unplanned Staycation: Rimlay Park Resort

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Rimlay Park Resort Review

If you would like to know our experience in this resort read on.

 

My husband and I work full time. Parents out there could surely empathize with us wanting to getaway and simply relax.  And in today’s busy and structured world, this does not come by easily.  Parents have busy schedules and kids’ have timetable full of classes from dusk to twilight, plus special classes here and there. With all these crazy sched in the family, finding the common time for a holiday is rare and difficult. Fortunately though, the previous week we had that rare time. And so we grabbed the opportunity and went on our unplanned staycation.

For us, a perfect staycation means staying in a new place with a nice accommodation, clean air conditioned room with wifi, fridge, and coffee maker, and most importantly a place with kids pool. So we hurriedly booked Rimlay Park Resort at Phattalung Thailand.

As soon as the booking was confirmed, we drove there the following day. Since it is unplanned, I forgot the kids’ life jackets. They love swimming but they do not know how to swim yet, thus the life jackets.  We ought to enroll them in a swimming class. And yes we will, it is important.

We got to the resort after hours of going back and forth exploring the outback. Yes it is in the countryside. It is a little haven in the middle of acres and acres of rice fields and forest.

The place is good and we rated it 4/5. But it does not have a proper kids pool unlike Haad Kaew Resort. It is actually an adult pool with a shallow area where adults could sit around and tête-à-tête while in the water.

Anyway, all’s well that ends well.  The kids had so much fun.  The accommodating lady owner lent them swimming aid noodles. Although short, but it had been a relaxing stay and an enjoyable one for the kids.

Rimlay Park Resort is a great staycation place for families or a getaway haven for group of friends. If you would like to know more about this resort, read Rimlay Park Resort Review.

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Lanta Riviera Villa Resort

Lanta Riviera Villa Resort: Koh Lanta Krabi

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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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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