Baan Orapin Chiang Mai review
 

hi everyone...we just spent 3 nights at the Baan orapin bed & breakfast. we arrived at the chiang mai airport...easy 140 baht taxi ride to the b&b..i printed out a map from the website so it was very easy for the taxi drivers to find it.
when we arrived, we were greeted by the owners...and quickly escorted to our units.
we had to rooms, both rooms had a sitting room with couch, tables and chairs, t.v., small kitchen without stove, bedrooms and bathrooms (showers only). the place looks like jim thompsons estate in bkk...the main house where the owners have lived forever is a large teak mansion...and the rental units resemble the main house. lots of teak, teak floors and walls, but the buildings are constructed with concrete, even between the upstairs and downstairs units. the place was very clean and comfortable. even the beds are comfortable and they have mosquito nets ( just a few bugs...not too bad).
the grounds have mature tropical foliage, little waterfalls and streams run throughout the property. the office area has many books and maps (they will loan you the nancy chandler map if you need it). they serve a breakfast every morning and you have 4 set menus to choose from. the food was acceptable, nothing fancy. the staff were wonderful and very helpful.
it is an easy walk to the main riverside restaurants...good view, riverside, gallary.
we ate at most and all had live music at nite, decent food and good prices. you can take a dinner cruise boat from the riverside.

the footbridge that crosses the river is only minutes away, and you exit at main local market...lots of food, fruits and local wares. it is a short 15 minute walk to the night market and every night we walked there and after hours of shopping, bags of goodies...we had our roti for dessert...and took a tuk tuk back to the b&b.
all we had to tell the driver was goodview and then we could find our place...no problem.
we had excellent meals at the whole earth restaurant...everything from thai, indian, vegetarian & smoothies...goodview and riverside are large restaurants on the river..live music, good food.

overall...baan orapin and chiang mai exceeded our expectations...we even had good weather.
p.s. we liked the baan orapin much more than tamarind village where we stayed last year. baan orapin is cheaper, convienient and much more friendly. they are building
additional units and a pool in the back.
if you want the quieter rooms...stay downstairs or in the new units in the back.
upstairs you can hear the street traffic.

If I'm not mistaken, I think I'm one of the first posters to have mentioned Baan Orapin on this board, I do know I first talked about it a year ago, (and the owners were wondering why I didn't show up last year, oh well...). This year will be different. I have told Anuchana that I do plan to visit and am very much looking forward to staying in this lovely, peaceful place!

divediva - thanks for the review, lovely to hear that you enjoyed Baan Orapin. I have a couple of questions - did the owners tell you when the pool might be finished and do you think there is any reason why the place would not be suitable for a 2 year old?

Thanks! Enjoy the rest of your travels

they said the pool and back units are not scheduled to be ready until end of 2006. i think the flood damage has set their plans back because now they are making areas to park, new walkways and are bricking in the driveway.

i dont think having kids there would be a problem...they are very family oriented and i heard some of the owners kids/nieces or nephews playing after school in the yard.

yes, there are safes in the room.
sorry ...forgot to answer this question.

Spygirl-- yes you were the first one to post about it. I think I was the first person to actually make a reservation (did it last Feb) although I have yet to stay there since my trip isn't until this January. But that's what is so fabulous about this site. We can find out about some of these gems.

dive, mahalo for the excellent report. i am anxiously waiting for our visit there next month.

spygirl, like i said, you do have good info.

Divediva, what type of room did you stay in? Was it a standard? A deluxe, a mini suite?

We are staying there in Feb. so I will also post my reviews.

Cheers!

Tamara

Divediva, what is the reservation policy at B.O.? We'll be there in January for 4 nights. When we reserved about 1-2 mos ago Anuchana reassured us that she didn't need any deposit/payment. I just want to make sure. Thanks!

I've booked two rooms for 11 days in Jan and she hasn't asked for a deposit.

Thanks Gloria, I won't worry then.

I wasn't asked for a deposit either for our stay in Feb.

we stayed in rooms one and two...ground floor units on the left when you arrive on the property. room one was the larger more deluxe but all the rooms are very nice.

i called baan orapin directly...talked to the owner...he did not require a credit card and i was initially alittle skeptical without a paper confirmation.
he will email you a confirmation if you really need one.
they really treat you like ohana (family) and take your word that you will arrive as planned.
if you look on their website...you can see the different categories of rooms.
i believe my room was deluxe, my daughters standard but not that much difference...just alittle larger.

kurasoke...please say hi from hawaii...

dive, will do. you blazed the way for us hawaiians, i'm next, then hawaiiantravler.

maybe one beeg luau should be planned at baan orapin as part of a thailand gtg.

we did it once in penang a long time ago, and i'm sure we can do it in cm.

Another Hawaiian here at Baan Orapin for 3 days in Dec. In between the sets of Kuranosuke and HawaiianTraveler.

Thanks for the report on Baan Orapin.
I booked through their website and was advised they would request a deposit in October and would let me know; but in late October had not heard from them so I e-mailed and asked that they let me know how much deposit to pay as I wanted to confirm the booking before we departed to Thailand.

howzit isis, forgot about you. anuchana never mentioned a deposit to secure my reservation. i just confirm by res. last week, and after reading dives report, really looking forward to the visit.

We won't make it to Baan Orapin this time around...we opted for the Anantara Golden Triangle this trip. Decided to slum it lol. Maybe next trip though.
Aloha!

hawaiian traveller...have you seen anantara?//it is very beautiful...kinda like slumming it at the moana surfrider...

enjoy your stay ....we loved the golden triangle area...is this your first trip there??

dive:
this will be our first trip up north, any suggestions? really looking forward to unwinding at anantara.
Aloha!

there are lots of little villages with tribesfolk working the fields...we like mae salong and mae sai....the mekong is unbelievably large...and we did a boat trip to laos...the stopover at lao was not exciting but it was cool to be on the mekong.
the opium museum is right across the road from the anantara... definately hire a car & driver to see the sites in the area.

we also went to the burmese border town of taechilak (sp). that was interesting...i coulda shoulda woulda bought this incredible jade buddha there...it was $75 US and weighted about 25 lbs...i didnt buy it and have always wished i had but it was just too heavy to carry home.
we also visited coffee and tea farms...no invitation...just went there (with poon) and they showed us the processing.
chiang rai was interesting...not as big or busy as chiang mai...
you will love it

Aloha all,

It seems Baan Orapin is a favorite with Hawaiians. I stayed there a few weeks ago, after breakfast I ran into someone who lives just 20 minutes away from me. Opas introduced us, he was amused that he had two different guests from Maui.
Nice place, we'll definitley go back, good folks, informative, helpful, nice rooms, convenient location. Hopefully by next year the pool will be ready.

Happy Trails!

kai wahine...too funny...my name is kai and i am a wahine...
are you one of the two mermaids???
opas told us about the other hawaiian guest that were there right before us.

i love it that we have found a home away from home...even lots of the same plants in the yard...

we loved baan orapin

Eh Kai, it is too funny. Yes, one of the mermaids (we are divers), we have a B&B here on Maui so we try to stay at B&B's wherever we go. We gave him some ideas and he passed along some of his. All good. Yes, the foliage/vegetation much the same, plumeria, heliconias, ti, even the noni. That along with the climate, I felt very much at home.

Baan Orapin will be my home away from home, it was just far enough away from the busy area. Just a short walk across the footbridge and you could be right in the middle of it.

Right on, good to hear from another travel wahine! Aloha

Thanks for that review! Seven of us are staying there in a few weeks. I can't wait!!

........

seeksocean...you will love it there...easy access to chiang mai but far enough away over the river to feel like your visiting friends.

kaiwahine...we live on maui too and i am a former dive instructor (retired) i love to travel and asia is our favorite place...b&b's are the way to go .we have stayed in many b&b's and so far never a bad experience, especially in thailand.

ok, call me lazy, because i am using dives thread to add to all the accolades of baan orapin. it was just a great place to stay. we had the second floor room close to their residence.

the new 6 unit addition in the back of the property is nearly complete, but it will be close for a dec. opening.

i think gloria will be staying in the new bldg, lucky you, away from the busy street.

dive, i passed on your greeting, and he said hi to you. he remembers all of you, including the two mermaids.

i don't know if anyone mentioned it, but the street fronting bo is a very busy narrow two way street. you must exercise caution and diligence when walking on this road. hardly any sidewalks along the way.

the weather was pleasant during the day, and cool at nite, so those of you visiting within the next few months should bring a jacket.

if you have a chance, go to the simon chiangmai cabaret. its a ladyboy show and well worth it. i went out of curiosity, but was completely mesmorized after the first five minutes, and forgot why i went to the review in the first place. they prsent a fabulous production, first rate. the sets, costumes, choreagraphy, staging was just superb.

thanks to tangata, had a few beers at red lion, and next door at the hofbrauhaus.

chiangmai was just a great trip.

kuranosuke...are you home? where is your trip report??? we cant wait to hear your adventures. i knew you would like baan orapin ...
we found that even tho the street out front is narrow and busy, the chiang mai drivers were quite considerate and we never felt
like we were targets...or in danger...just had to be cautious.

tell us more...

hi dive, yes, home now. i have been posting under on the road with kurault-no suke. i'm not too good at details, so my tr are rather spotty. gomen.

The seven of us are back from our Thailand vacation and I have nothing but good to say about the Baan Orapin.

The staff and owners were wonderful. Opas even helped one of us get to the hospital when he was hurt on an extreme (didn't know that in advance and is an experienced rider) mountain biking adventure...... I don't recommend that journey as the oufit that ran were not profesional enough to run a safe biz, and to know when someone is really hurt.

I would recommend Baan Orapin to anyone. I personally could care less about a swimming pool. I would rather have a more expanded gathering area with some nice gardens, and maybe a water feature to hang out at, since their only hang out area was the breakfast area. But then I can only handle either really warm pools, or pools in really hot weather.

seeksocean...thanks for the report on baan orapin... i am with you...dont really need a pool but i have found if there is one and its hot enough...its a great mid day diverson.

how was the hospital experience? was the outcome ok??

Pools are the last thing I ever look for in a hotel. Have yet to go into one in thailand. When I get hot I like air conditioning and a shower to cool off. But I should add that I'm highly allergic and the chemicals they put in pools bother me which is one of the reasons I don't go in.

I feel that way about pools as well. That is why I personally suggested to Opas and his wife to spare the huge cost and upkeep of a pool, and just make an inviting garden area that the guests can just sit and relax after a long day. They have them everywhere in Bali. Maybe with a water feature and soft lighting at night.

The hospital experience turned out okay. The hospital in Chiang Mai couldn't really get out enough of the wood from his wrist. But, the hospital in Phuket was great...like a 5 star hotel! They got everything under control and my friend had to do daily visits until they could stitch it. It wasn't a bad experience....at least not for me!

The Baan Orapin locks their front gate at 9 p.m. Insist on getting another front gate key if there are more than one in your party if you plan on coming back at different times at night after 9 p.m.

Chaing Mai is having a Mardi Gra festival from 12/9/05 for 4 nights.
First night was a beautiful, georgous parade, Thai women being carried on pedestals, dancing.

Add me to the list of Baan Orapin fans. It's one of the friendliest, most charming places I've ever stayed at, in a very cute part of Chiang Mai. If I ever make it back there, I wouldn't stay anywhere else.

I think you have a point about the gate key. My husband, a musician, liked to stay out late and watch 'Took' play his amazing guitar in the smoke filled bar down the street. Because of said smoke, I could never make it too long there and would come home. That left a bit of a problem about the key. Maybe someone can mention the importance of extra gate keys for guests to the owners.