KimJapan

"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"

I contacted the GM before our stay when I had a major problem making a reservation directly with their reservations staff. The price kept changing and none of my questions were answered. The GM never replied to my plea for help, but John Roberts, the elephant guy, did. The reservation issues were resolved, and at the same time, the mahout training was discussed.

On the website, I read that the mahout training would be more than riding...elephant care, traditional mahout herbal medicines, mahout life. John told me that the program could be as intensive as we liked, and that it would be varied and interesting. We were told that the times of day for training could vary based on our daily schedule of including other activities. At the very least, I expected some sort of commentary about the elephants and the mahouts from the English speaking assistant who accompanied us...but as it turned out, we had to ask even the most basic things, like the names of the elephants and mahouts, and we got no further information without prodding for it. Gets old after a while.

As far as other training besides riding...we had done already the TECC course for 3 days in Lampang, and it included lots of variation and plenty of commentary and care information. There is no reason that the Anantara's course would not, as their course is based on the TECC's.

At the end of our stay, I completed the comment card in detail, including contact information. I was not contacted. There was no satisfactory conclusion other than that I feel it is a poor value and a "five star wannabe." In fact, during our entire stay, in spite of seeing the GM every day, he never once greeted us or spoke with us. One day, he used the pool lounger next to us for the afternoon and was able to observe the lack of service...the next day service was better, but that's about the only thing we noticed that was better.

Knowing that my comments were passed onto the manager a second time (after my own comment card) and that he told you I had had my issues resolved makes me dislike the place even more. He lied. Issues were not only not resolved, they were never even followed up on.

Bisbee

Kathie, yes we flew into CR. The resort did offer airport transfer service. It was very quiet when we were there, but the Pool Villa's aren't near the restaurant/lobby area, so if they were noisy, you probably wouldn't notice.

Kathie

Thanks for the additional info, Bisbee.

Bisbee

No problem. It's not as fancy as Anantara, but we really enjoyed it. Yes, the pool (only talking about our plunge pool) was a bit cool, but when it's 95F outside, it felt great!

TC

Wow! Such different experiences. While we did our elephant training at Anantara there was constant commentary regarding the program -- how the elephants were acquired and why the mahouts live on site with their families. We were introduced to all -- mahouts and ellies alike -- even the mahout's children. We were given information about elephant habits and diets. Our friend is a veternarian who had once lived and worked in Africa. He had long conversations regarding the health and the differences between Asian and African elephants. There is, of course, a huge language barrier, but we had two Anantara staff members walking along the entire day who spoke perfect English and helped us interact with the Mahouts. They also carried our cameras and took tons of photos of us riding the elephants. Its very difficult to photograph while riding.

As for "riding in a track" -- the afternoon trek we did is up over the mountain to a peak where one can see the convergence of Burma, Laos and Thailand. There is only one trail up and one trail down. I shouldn't have wanted the elephants to just burst out through the bush. I'm still confused as to where the trekking takes place with the other programs that is so much more free form than the Anantara.

As for the Anantara GM, he greeted us by name every day during breakfast and even bid us good-bye on the day we left. I felt he was quite solicitous.

All in our party felt the Anantara and its elephant program were a highlight of our 5 weeks in Thailand. I'm so sorry your experience was different, Kim.

crosscheck

TC - When were you there? Our experience was exactly the same.

Kim - It really does sound like you were unlucky enough to be there during an off week. I would email them again and see if you can get a few free weekend - New Anantaras are popping up everywhere.

We too had much interaction with ellies, mahouts and staff, not just during our mahout day, but throughout the entire stay. Kids befriended their mahout and hung out with him every afternoon - I think they played ping pong or basketball with him.

The GM participated in our cooking class, then invited us for drinks and asked for our suggestions about how to improved the cooking school. He later emailed me to tell me that Ruth Reichl of the NY Times would be visiting the school and that they had adopted one of our ideas.

TC

We were at Anantara in November of 2007.

crosscheck

We were there in Dec '06.

rhkkmk

this hotel is owned by the same group that owns the marriott resort in bkk, manages the four seasons in bkk and chiang mai, all the anantaras and many other things...

it is the minor group....i might contact them...,

CFW

We were at the Anantara Golden Triangle in Feb 06. The GM was a she, not a he, and she was a cold fish. We had booked through SLH (Small Luxury Hotels) & as SHL members were eligible for an upgrade if available. When we checked in there was a lovely Thai receptionist who upgraded us to a suite -- until the GM who was nearby came over to say "no, no, no." There was space available but she gave us some long convoluted reason why the upgrade was not possible. She also reprimanded the receptionist in front of us for offering the upgrade. We defended the receptionist ("It wasn't her fault. She was just being gracious" etc.)and let it go. Not worth making a fuss about -- want to relax on vacation not haggle about stuff that doesn't really matter, the regular room was just fine with a nice view, and the hotel is really very pretty. But, the GM clearly seemed to set the tone for the hotel when we were there. From the other posters, it seems that this GM was replaced by someone else. We also had some issues with water pressure in the shower/tub, which they were never able to fix.

I did find the e-mail info for the driver we used from Golden Shan Travel, a store front in in Sop Ruak. His name was Jamrat. I think it was his brother's e-mail: [email protected]

FromDC

This is good information, both for the driver contact and also your non-upgrade experience. I am trying to decide whether to book on asiarooms for a regular room or thru SLH or Virtuoso for $100+ more and the "possibility" of an upgrade. But my upgrade experience at the 4 seasons Chiang Mai wasn't good either which makes me doubt I would get the suite. CFW, anyone else, what were your regular room numbers, with great views, which ones to avoid....the point of going there for us is to have a room with a great view so we can sit on the balcony and relax,

crosscheck

The rooms in the spa building (Burma side) on the second floor had amazing views. That building is also in the best position within the resort - near the lobby, and a good distance from the pool. The third floor would also be great but would require walking up and down an extra flight of steps. We originally were in the farthest building on the Laos side, and changed because it was too dark.

FromDC

Thanks. How many buildings are there? Is there a downside to being in the spa building?

TC

We were also in what I guess one could call the spa building -- as you face the entrance it would be to the left. We were in a suite on the second floor toward the end of that wing. The view was amazing! The hotel is rather like a vee shape with two wings spanning out from the central lobby, restaurant, etc. The one to the left houses the spa, while the one to the right overlooks the pool. The whole is built on a steep slope, so the second level on the spa side was actually "ground level" as you enter. The third level is up one set of wooden steps and the first level is actually down one set of steps from the garden. You would want to be on either the second or third levels for the best views. I can't recall any downside to the spa building. The spa itself is on the lower level and very quiet and peaceful. The gardens are lovely and we enjoyed walking to our room through the flowering trees. They were always filled with birds and butterflies.

The GM is now (or was in Nov 07) a gentleman, so that could be the reason the whole operation is better. He was quite personable. When I booked our rooms, the price was the same on SLH and Asiarooms. We had no resistance with the upgrade. The only exception (and this was explained ahead) is with the upgraded suite you do not get the "extras", such as free transport from the airport. We did pay for the Anantara transport and the greeting was spectacular. We felt like royalty. The concierge, a beautiful tranditionally dressed lady, greeted us with flowers and cold drinks at the airport. Then she and the driver in cooled van gave us a tour on the way to the hotel.

crosscheck

Agree - No downside to spa building.

Just found my old trip report (you can get there by searching for "Boy Falls Off Elephant&quot It turns out that we were on the third floor in Room 331, a suite. Suites and regular rooms are right next to each other.

CFW

We were also in the spa wing - ground floor.

Kathie

We were in the building overlooking the pool - wonderful view.

rhkkmk

we also were in the upper building overlooking the pool and i think i prefer that one...