the room was dirty, the staff was having a contest to see who could be the most unhelpful,
the laundry was more expensive then i paid for the clothing.
the food was uneatable
Ive never written a review before but if you stay here it in my opinion it could spoil your holiday,
We stayed here 1 night after catching the train from Bangkok and used the hotel as a base to visit hellfire pass, the bridge on the river Kwai and the Namtok waterfalls.
Beware the local taxis that are just utes with a canopy on the back- very slow and uncomfortable. Insist on an air conditioned car if travelling to the hills.
The hotel was just average but reasonable value for the price. The staff in the restaurant spoke poor English and we had several misunderstandings but they did their best to make us happy. The meals were tasty and good value with a 2 course meal for 2 with drinks costing $35 Australian dollars.
Comfortable enough for a quick stop over but wouldn't want to have an extended stay. Suggest you look for something a bit newer.
The hotel isn't in a bad position, it does have a pool but we never got around to using it. What deters us from staying here in the future:
1. The included breakfast was the worst we've ever had. The omlettes smelt like someone had thrown up, possibly off milk, but this was every day. Besides some odd cereals, the breakfast caterred only for Thais. No continental or western choices. And of the Thai selections available, the food looked like and tasted like yesterday's left overs. No sausage, bacon, unsugared bread or butters were available. We ended up eating elsewhere for breakfast
2. The beer garden/bistro was no better. My wife had a Thai pork dish and the poor was definitely past it's best before date. I had a stuffed chicken dish which was over cooked to the point of leather, or it too was a reheated dish from days old.
3. The beer garden had a choice of Heineken or Singha full stop.
4. The room was clean and tidy, but the air conditioner would not go below 25 degrees. On very hot days (everyday), the room offered little comfort taking more than 3 hours to get to a comfortable setting. We complained about this on the first evening and although a maintenance man came and had a look at it, nothing improved. He stated he would turn it down for us (he didn't) he also said someone will fix it tomorrow (they didn't). We complained a second time and noone bothered to come at all.
5. A very noisy night club outside the hotel means that you have to be careful where you park the car. If you want to go out during the evening, you have to park elsewhere otherwise your car will get parked in. This can be quite annoying.
This is a Thai standard mid range business hotel and that is what you should expect of it. I.e. pretty worn down and quite unfresh rooms compared to western standards, but all services of a business hotel available and good wifi connection. Buffet breakfast, both continental and Asian, OK but nothing to write home about. Big plus for the hotel is their big pool (clorine free, cleaned with ozon) set among many lotus trees, so you can take a dip in the evening after touring the area. (Even though it stated the pool was open until 19, it was always closed and lights out when we came down at 18. But we just pointed it out in the restaurant and they lit the lights and gave us towels. Same happened both nights when we were there…)
We stayed there with our two kids and found it ok for a couple of nights when we needed to stay close to the bus station.
It is a good starting point to explore the “the bridge over the river kwai” (some 10 minutes drive), Erawan National Park and e.g. Elephant’s World (they pick you up at the hotel), which I can really warmly recommend.
It is also about 5 minutes drive from the bus station, and from Pizza Company if you start craving western food. Not so many restaurants that we saw nearby, only food stalls. Maybe next time we’d rather choose the backpacker area of Kanchanaburi with more shops, restaurants and life in the evening. For visiting Erawan, Hellfire Pass etc we’d rather recommend staying closer to those places, somewhere in the jungle by the river Kwai. Much nicer places to relax.
We stayed 2 nights in March 2012 and enjoyed aour stay. The room was basic and after a few days travelling we needed some clothes laundered but could not speak Thai so had a LOT OF TROUBLE communicating. But eventually I just carried my laundry to the front desk and instantly smiles and understanding. The pool is the best feature of the hotel. It was wonderful to relax in the pool after a day of sightseeing.
