I am about to pull the trigger on booking at the Anantara in the Golden Triangle. The hotel options in Chiang Rai proper don't seem anywhere near as appealing.

Will want to do lots of day trips and will probably hire a driver for 3 of the 4 days...is that going to add a lot of cost....I guess I can't get a handle on how far out it is...

And are you pretty much captive there as far as eating? I read something on trip adviser about there being some "mediocre thai food down the hill" ...

comments from those who have stayed there would be appreciated!

You are pretty isolated. There is a little line of open air places to eat down the hill. Someone here reported that an Anantara employee wrote down what they should order at one of those places.

When we were there (just as they opened) the hotel was pretty much the only place around. At that time, the food was very good and not that expensive. It seems to get mixed reviews now -whether that's because the food has changed or whether we just have different tastes, I don't know. The food was fairly spicy when we were there, but they may have toned it down if people complained.

Hiring a driver in that part of Thailand is expensive. Someone at the hotel recommended someone to us, and we used him. If I remember correctly, it was about US$100 for a full day with lots of driving.

Do spend some time relaxing at this beautiful resort. We loved sitting on our balcony in the evening, overlooking the river and Burma and Laos (and being eaten alive by the mosquitos!).

Not exactly in the boonies, but not exactly near everything either.

We loved the area that the Anantara is in, loved the view. We liked the little town nearby of Sop Ruak...it is a strip of tourist souvenir stands, with a few restaurants and tour shops here and there. Venders are nice and not pushy.

Last August, the Anantara had a free shuttle to Sop Ruak during the day but not at night. At night, you had to pay or walk. Another poster here who was there recently said they saw other transport options, but we did not encounter taxis or tuk tuks that were looking for fares the way we have in other places.

There are some pretty good looking simple restaurants overlooking the river, but we did not try any as we seldom ate dinner last trip (heat, Malarone side effect of low appetite for all of us). We did have one simple dinner at the Anantara, pad thai and sweet and sour chicken and spring rolls, that was expensive and very poor in quality...gluey, flavorless pad thai, very little chicken in the chicken dish, and spring rolls that were super oily and seemed twice fried. We did not eat again there for dinner, but had some lunch a couple of times that was OK, not great but OK. Drinks are more expensive than at the Peninsula, as is food. I had big issues with the breakfast at the Anantara...ants in the breads every day, flies all over the fruit (covered with wicker but not sufficient), hot cold that was cool and cold food that was warm, overall poor quality. I was expecting much better for the price and the hype this place gets.

We got a driver and a guide through the agency the Anantara works with that turned out to be very good, and pricewise was cheaper than the tours they offer and we did more in our day. I'm quite sure that you can do much better in price by visiting one of the tour stands in Sop Ruak.

Rooms was fine, though not special except for the view. Water temperature control was an issue in the room as well as the spa...continually varied. We also had a problem with cockroaches in both the room and the spa...and I'm sure they knew about it as the person who escorted us to our room made sure to point out the spray in the closet to us...we used it both on the cockroaches and the ants that were eating the cocktail garnish tray (which housekeeping then had to be asked twice to take away...as if anyone wants to use bar fruit that has been sitting out for days and is covered with dead ants).

Overall, we were very disappointed with the Anantara and found it to be a very poor value. Somehow, T and I spent the most money there of the whole trip...even more than 3 of us at the Four Seasons in Singapore and more than the 3 of us at the Peninsula in a suite. I could have overlooked many issues at the Anantara were it not such an expensive place.

Maybe we were unlucky, maybe I was expecting too much, maybe my tolerance for problems was waning thin...but I would not go back to find out. Many people love the Anantara, but we did not.

Wow Kim, you were clearly unimpressed. We too were about to make a booking for Anantara, but I am having second thoughts now.

Can you tell me when it was that you visited please.

We were there for five nights August 25 - 30, 2007.

I wouldn't have been so critical had there not been so much hype both here and on tripadvisor, and had it been a better value. The two disappointments of our trip last year were the Jw Marriott Phuket and the Anantara, which are both Minor International Group hotels. I felt both places were exceptionally good at gouging guests with higher prices than we pay for things in Japan, and also higher than prices at the Peninsula BKK but without the polish and quality of the Peninsula.

I don't think either the Anantara or the JW Marriott Phuket are bad places...I think they both want to be 5 star hotels, but succeed only in that they charge 5 star prices and higher even for 4 star quality and service.

I have read many reports of great experiences at both places, and really wonder sometimes if we stayed at the same place. I guess I just don't like the feeling that I am overpaying by a huge margin and the staff and I both know it. I also did not like that every food/drink check had a blank line for you to write in the tip at the Anantara...but they add 10% service to every charge...double service charge? I felt nickeled and dimed and ripped off at almost every turn.

We loved the Anantara, and although it was pricey for Thailand, it was a very good value compared to many other places we have traveled (we had been to Europe several times that same year), so we didn't feel ripped off.

Maybe I was one of the posters who added to the hype, but our experience was stellar and we all have great memories of exotic relaxation with great cultural activities. I wish I could be back on our balcony overlooking the Mehkong right now.

I think we spent around $3000 for four days for four people. That included our junior suite (much nicer than the standard rooms), all meals, all-day mini-mahout lessons for two, elephant rides for the other two, 3-country tour, cooking school for three, opium museum and several spa treatments.

Not super cheap, but certainly not outrageous. (I'm looking into Africa now, and the prices there make the Anantara seem like a steal.)

You can easily walk into town and there was one cute restaurant worth checking out. Although taxis were plentiful when we were there, we got lazy and stayed at the hotel.

We love spicy food, and ordered the same noodle dish every night (a northern specialty - I can't remember the name, but I think it's in my trip report - "Boy Falls Off Elephant&quot.

No bugs at all in December 2007. No problems with water in the rooms. (Tub was divine.) Biggest issue with nature then was that it was FREEZING on two nights (and, sadly, the hot tub was not hot). People wore fleece, and even scarves and down vests, to dinner and breakfast.

The day trips were comparatively expensive, but really fun, and I highly recommend the guide Toy, who we hired through the hotel. On our non-excursion days, the boys hung out in the gym and with the elephants, and my husband and I hiked around on the premises (and went to the road to meet the monks at sunrise). I also walked into town quite often, and got to know a tea vendor. There were many activities offered that we didn't have time for, and I'm still sorry I didn't do the hilltribe trek.

My take on Kim's experience is that the place was just too hot and buggy in August. It's also possible that the chef was away for the low season. I can also understand how everything seemed costly, especially because she paid for the full-on mahout experience.

Just looked on tripadvisor, and people still love the place. I would return in a heartbeat.

I really enjoyed my stay at Phu Chaisai resort. Stayed in Pool Villa #2 with our own private pool. Great views from the outside patio. It's isolated as well, but that's what I was looking for.

http://www.phu-chaisai.com/www/home.php

For our Oct/Nov trip, the Anantara is planned for early Nov, but it is still the only hotel I haven't booked. We are going there to relax for a few days in between HongKong/Hanoi and Bangkok. I have been reading every single post and TA review over and over - - so this thread is very timely. It is really impt for us to have a room with a gorgeous view, don't care as much about the size, but this is the first time I've read that (crosschk)about such a difference between the regular rooms and the suites. I can book on asiarooms for $250 incl bkfst, tax and serivce OR $350 plus tax and svc thru Virtuoso with an upgrade IF AVAILABLE.
Was also thinking about Phu-Chaisi resort, Bisbee, but from what I can tell, there is no TV, and we will be there during the election so that is a must!
Advice??

I got some replies from drivers this morning and am taken aback by the day rate of 2500B per day PLUS GAS.

Based on that, I will have to stay somewhere much cheaper...

For Leigh and FromDC,

Clearly, Kim had a bad experience at the Anantara. She is, however, the only person I know of who had a bad experience there. Good friends of mine stayed there a year or two ago and had "the best resort experience ever" there - and these are well-traveled people.

There are now lots of reviews here on the Anantara Golden Triangle, Read a good assortment of them before you decide. I did a quick search and turned up dozens of reports.

I believe every hotel has times when they have problems. I've read of such "disasters" at the Pen and the Oriental for instance. Kim had some hypotheses as to what may have gone wrong (lowest of low season, staff preoccupied with the wedding of a staff member, Kim not being assertive about things she thought were included in the room). I don't know what went awry, only that it did (and it must have been the "perfect storm" as her stay was so abysmal.

From my experience there, and the experiences of many others, I would still recommend the Anantara. We had a wonderful time there and wouldn't hesitate to return.

By the way, From DC, remember that Crosscheck had two teenagers in tow, so the difference between a regular room and a suite would have been much more important to her family than to a couple. I'm a person who usually books suites, but did not at the Anantara, and I thought the regular room was fine for two people.

Bisbee, I remember looking at this place's website once before and wondered how it would be to stay there. Would you be so kind as to give us a review of your stay at the PhuChasai?

$4000 for 4 days! Holy smokes.

For future readers of this thread, I just want to say that we had a fabulous stay at the Anantara for 4 nights in March. We were traveling with our kids so also stayed in suite.

We found the service fabulous - even had someone offer to clean our shoes after our mahout training - hubby said his Keen's hadn't looked that clean since the day he bought them!

We enjoyed all the food and ate all our dinners at the resort. We had a great time doing the cooking class with chef Nan and walked to the small town of Sop Ruak and enjoyed an afternoon there.

I will say that the excursions set up by the hotel are fairly expensive but we had hired a guide through Sgt. Kai before we had left the US for a daytrip through the region.

We found the Anantara a fabulous place to relax and have a slower pace in between stays in busy BKK and Siem Reap.

Kathie - We usually prefer getting two rooms with the boys, but in the case of the Anantara, we got a much better deal on the suite. The standard rooms we saw did not seem as exotic. The art and fabrics in the suite seemed to be higher end, and the suites had hardwoord floors and giant tubs - the whole feel was very loftlike.

BTW, The figure I mentioned above also included round trip private van transportation to the Chiang Rai airport.

PhuChasai looks wonderful. I love that that have a class in umbrella painting.

You might take a look at the Imperial Golden Triangle Resort which while not as lux as the Anantara is very good. And the price on Asia Rooms is only $69 net with breakfast for a deluxe room during the summer months and goes to 104 in high season. Located not that far from Anantara, on the edge of Sop Ruak village, which means that you can wander into the village in the evening and not be so confined to the hotel.

KimJapan, did the $4000 you spent include the manhout training?

Good tip Scotters. Thanks.

Am I mistaken or did someone from Austin express a worry about being in the "boonies"?

I think I was the one who said I spent 4K. That figure included the one-day mahout training for the two boys (not the full three-day program).

Mr. Crosscheck just said that the Anantara bill was more like $3200. The $4000, he says, included our internal flights - Siem Reap-BKK-Chiang Rai-BKK (We flew one leg on the very cheap now-defunct 1-2-Go).

Andy after all these months in Cambodia, the "boonies" has taken on a whole new meaning.