BillT

Austin is anything but the boonies- it has become quite a destination.

Gpanda

I suspected as much. It's good to know that your sense of humor is still intact.

From reading this thread it sounds like the secondary hotel recommendation might suit you better. I'm sure drivers will be much cheaper from there. Make sure you get to Doi Tung, the Queen Mother's chalet. The gardens are spectacular. Also, you can certainly skip all of the border nonsense.

offwego

Still struggling with the hotel....with textile shopping in mind, it's hard to know if we should stay in Chiang Rai and venture out on day trips or stay out of town and maybe venture into town for one day...or travel light and move from place to place, overnighting in cheap guest houses.

Still can't get over how much drivers want!

Andy why is the border nonsense? Is it worse than Laredo?

crellston

If you do decide on the Anantara try booking through www.slh.com. When I booked a couple of years ago the rates were slightly less than othe sites but they did offer a guaranteed upgrade to a suite which, although not a suite in the truest sense, were very large and very nice. Also take car if staying Apr/May time as the smoke form the forest burning can be a real problem. Sorry, but being English I have no idea what "boonies" are!

lisa

We loved Anantara, the view, riding the elephants, the pool, massages, the restaurant, the architecture, the food, the service, all terrific. We were on our honeymoon, in November 2004, and we paid $201 per night plus tax, which included breakfast. We flew into Chiang Rai and rented a car and drove ourselves, no problem -- rented the car through National for $196 for 5 days. We got a good map and it was great to have the freedom to explore the countryside.

We also loved the JW Marriott in Phuket (best massages ever) and the Shangri-La in Bangkok.

anatoleschadenfreude

Only the U.S. national debt and spending by the Bush admin compares with the insane - that is INSANE - prices people here pay for Asian accom. I stayed in a simple place in C.R. with a ceiling fan, nice bed, large room, mosquito net, shower & beautiful courtyard full of flowers & a turkey couple usu. parked in front of my door or prancing around eating bugs. I believe it was around $20 a night. I would not have traded that happy experience for the insane prices you people paid. I hired a top driver to drive all day for 25. I accidentally paid him too much and he drove back to the airport after dropping me off so he could return the overpayment. You miss the real country by staying in unreal places. Even a Four Seasons GM from KTM told me that.

offwego

Would love to have the name and contact of your driver. Everyone I've contacted so far wants $75 a day plus gas. Is it possible to pick up a driver on the street like in most other places? I get the impression you need to arrange it in advance....at least in CR.

Also I agree in general about your preference for staying "closer to the ground". But after living in a 10x12 box in Cambodia for the last several months, I'm ready for a little pampering.

A girl needs to keep balanced, after all.

LeighTravelClub

Thanks for your further input Kathie. As you know, we have disagreed occasionally in the past, but I always value your opinions and advice...particularly with regard to hotels. Until Kims' report I had only heard good things about Anantara.

We have stayed in many hotels throughout S.E.A., and usually go for top 'endish' places so we are quite prepared to pay top dollar for a quality hotel.....but it needs to be quality! There may well have been cumulative factors that affected Kims' stay.....but at the moment, I will proceed with caution. Shame really, as I had considered this to be a banker requiring little research.

KimJapan

There were definitely cumulative factors that made our stay less than stellar. There were many small problems, even more than I mentioned earlier in the thread, that added up to major disappointment in the place. The mahout training was especially poor, in that it was 2 sessions of riding only over 3 identical days...not training at all, only riding around. Not everywhere is great for everyone, and this is clearly a place that is not for us. I expect more for my money I suppose, and most places we have stayed deliver good value for us. The Anantara did not.

Over 5 nights, 4 days, we spent 100,000 baht (about $3000). Keep in mind that we were 2 people, one child age 9 and me. Our package included suite room, breakfast for two daily and 3 day mahout training for 2, 6 pieces of laundry per day, cocktail and snack hour in the bar (never materialized), complimentary internet (we were charged for it and had to ask for it to be removed from our bill) and round trip airport transfer for $1595. That price I thought was more than fair...mahout training is priced at $500 per person for 3 days, so the suite and benefits were very inexpensive if costed out after mahout training is subtracted.

The other half of what we spent was a one day custom tour to Mae Salong and Burma, a couple of drinks daily for each of us, dinner once, sandwich or satay lunches 4 days, 3 spa treatments for each of us, laundry (which was a huge expense as the 6 free items daily were the cheapest ones, and we used 3 sets of clothes each over the 3 days with ellies because they did not provide mahout clothes and we had to use our own), and an elephant knick knack thing that Teaghan bought. That is not much in my opinion for $1400.

Even with the low season pricing, the many included items, and the minimal eating and drinking, we spent a vast amount of money for what we got, and in our experience, though comparable in price to the Peninsula BKK, the Four Seasons SIN, where we also stayed during the month, the Anantara just was not anywhere near to being the same class of hotel.

CFW

We thought the Anatara was a pretty place when we visited about two years ago, but the staff and atmosphere was not nearly as warm and welcoming as every other place we stayed in Thailand. It is in a fairly isolated location, and we thought the food in the restaurant expensive and not very good. The breakfast buffet, which was included in the room rate, seemed a little "tired" as well. It was difficult to find recommendations for drivers in the area, and drivers available through the hotel were very expensive, but we ended up finding a really delightful driver through a small shop in Sop Ruak. He was friendly, nice sense of humor, spoke fairly good English, and took us all around to some interesting places, including some workshops (no stores attached) where they made decorative rice paper, and a textile workshop where they hand-dyed yarn. Also, as Andy said, don't miss the gardens at Doi Tung. I will look to see if I can find our driver's name & contact info.

KimJapan

CFW, while I'm not glad that your stay at the Anantara was not great, I am glad to know there is someone else who had a less than great experience there. It makes me feel less insane for not thinking it was wonderful.

offwego

It's starting to sound like maybe the hotel has a time of year when everything is running well and a time when it isn't? Most people seem to love it; others not so much. I'm really torn.

Thanks CFW for the info. I was hoping we could just go down to Sop Ruak and ask around for a driver.

For anyone who picks up this thread later, the price on asiarooms was 85$ less per night than slh. At least they are during my travel days in early october.

rhkkmk

we found it pretty issolated....we ate one nite down the road at thai kitchen on the river which was ok at best....but lots of local color...lots of benz and bmw's in the parking lot---drug $$ is still available i guess...

rhkkmk

lori---hire a car and drive yourself....no traffic and it is very easy....

Bisbee

Here's a brief report on Phu Chaisai.

Went there with my wife for 6 nights. Stayed in Pool Villa #2. It was located a few hundred yards from the restaurant/lobby area, so nice a secluded. Has it's own gated area, so to enter, people have to come through that way. Very large Thai style room with peaked ceiling. Very large bathroom. Indoor and outdoor shower set up. Very large outdoor bath with TV (so yes, they have TV, but I don't remember watching it). Very nice separate sitting area and a separate little dining table area. Outside pation has several different places to lounge. And the plunge pool was great. Great view of the countryside from their as well. Food at the restaurant was quite good and service was friendly. They also have a nice pool area there. I was there in September and there were hardly any guests. We had rain for 10 minutes one day, then no rain again. It is isolated, but that's what I wanted. Very relaxing place. I'll try and post a link with some pictures.

http://groups.msn.com/TheMonkpackisE...iland2005.msnw

Kathie

Bisbee, many thanks for your review. It sounds great. I assume you flew into Chiang Rai... do they do airport transfers or do you have to arrange that yourself?

TC

We stayed at both Anantara GT and Phu Chasai last November. I could not rave enough about Anantara. The rooms are gorgeous. We were upgraded to a suite as (free) members of Small Luxury Hotels. The food was outstanding and the staff is wonderful. Of course, we went for the elephants and were not disappointed. Worth every penny. Yes, you are out in the boonies, but we didn't mind a bit. I actually felt much more isolated at Phu Chasai. It is really out in the boonies and there is nothing to do there. While the web site lists all kinds of activities -- cooking classes, pottery, umbrella painting, etc. -- <u>there were no classes available during our stay.</u> The pool was very cold in November, so we spent long days on our veranda reading and long nights eating pizza in the bar whilst playing cards. If you stay there, do ask for a room near the top of the hill or you are in for steep hikes to everything. Also, Phu Chasai is a very popular destination for locals on the weekends and became very, very noisy into the night as large work and family groups settled in taking over the restaurant, pool and spa. The rooms are only bamboo, so there is no soundproofing. I thought it quite expensive for what they offered.

TC

I would also like to add regarding the mahout training at Anantara that we did the one day session. In my research prior to the trip (emails with the elephant camp manager) I learned that 3 days would be a simple tripling of the 1 day program. I'm not sure what &quot;training&quot; Kim expected. We were taught the basics of riding the elephants, but one isn't going to take them off alone, so what is the point of more training? The elephants, like horses on a trial ride, know exactly what they are to do and where they are to do it. I doubt one could coax them off the beaten path. I would agree that any more than one day's session is a waste of money. Any guest of the hotel is welcome to hang out in the elephant camp and play with the elephants (and babies) at no addtional cost, so the one day paid session is truly sufficent.

We did not partake of the spa as it is very, very expensive. However, we had had quite a bit of spas in other locales so didn't mind and, again, we knew this in advance.

During our visit, the breakfast buffet was lavish and beautifully cared for. We could barely choose from the many, many offerings. We would often take our breakfast quite late and it would serve as brunch, making a lunch un-needed.

Things must have changed, as we were offered snacks in the bar each evening. Finding the drinks on the expensive side (as in any 5 star hotel), we made our own gin and tonics on the suite veranda with fixings from town. The staff was wonderful in offering ice, limes, glasses, etc. for our own happy hour. This kept the bar bill to a miniumum and the view over the river of flocks of white herons coming in each evening while we listened to the elephants call was amazing.

Kim, did the Anantara GM contact you? I had emailed him prior to booking about your postings and problems and he remembered your stay. I was sure he told me that you had come to a satisfactory conclusion. I must say, we found none of the same problems during our stay so it might be fair to say they have fixed all the problems except your concept of price vs value.

Scotters

offwego - It might suite you better if you stayed in Chiang Rai and took day trips from there. Downtown hotels to look at are The Mantrini at around $74 for a deluxe room or the Laluna Resort, Wiang Inn and Wangcome Hotel for less expensive rooms. Just outside the city are some up market hotels such as The River House and The Legend, both under $130. Rates are net with breakfast through Asia Rooms.

A car/driver you will find more expensive than in Siem Reap. Last year it was around $50-60 for a full day including gas. But that may have changed due to gas prices.

Bella_Bluebell

Am falling over at the prices being discussed until I realised I had forgotten to translate them into pounds - still pricey though.

TC - we were looking at Anantara mahout training but it sounds a bit of a sham - even for one day - if all you do is ride an elephant up a track that it follows as if on auto pilot. I can't see what the USP is compared to any other elephant ride that you can do around Thailand and it costs a lot more!

From what I have read, the mahout training at the Elephant Conservation Center is much more thorough than this. Kim - I think you have done both - would you say that is the case?

Hi Lori! Hope you are enjoying Cambodia

BB