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Reviews of recent stays |
Comment on the hotel |
M.A. Zegers
2008-05-24 until 2008-05-26 |
Phu
Chaisai Mountain Resort & Spa, Mae Chan
Great resort, lovely service, great rooms and superb views everybody
should go there! |
John Letaw
2008-02-25 until 2008-02-27 |
Phu Chaisai Mountain Resort & Spa, Mae Chan
Nice place, but not the premiere service they aspire to. Room is comfortable
and large enough; wonderful mountain/jungle views. Plenty of hot water
in the shower (which many resorts can claim.) Peaceful except for
construction on neighboring hotel about 300 meters away with much
noise from about 9 AM till 5 PM. They are just laying the foundation
of the new place, so expect construction noise for another year. Not
too intrusive, but still not pristine mountain sounds. Restaurant
menu is limited and expensive. I had a good beef stew for 400 THB;
my wife had a Thai dish which was fish that you wrap in lettuce leaves.
This can be fixed in traditional Thai style, but they didn t warn
it would be in northern Thai style which is a noticeably different
recipe. She didn t really enjoy it (she is Thai.) The restaurant staff
is rough around the edges. One was playing with the resident dog and
pond fish in between bringing food. The other gave us some backtalk
about moving the mosquito incense closer to our table to keep away
the insects. She wouldn t do it for my wife, but when I insisted,
then she did it. She got no tip. Pool is attractive, but small. Two
people can comfortably swim laps. If any children are playing, no
one can swim laps. Most disturbing to me, I ordered coffee in the
lounge after dinner. They brought what tasted exactly like instant
freeze-dried coffee. It was horrible, and cost around 100 baht. In
a land of fresh-grown mountain coffee, this is inexcusable. I had
better fresh-ground coffee for 20 baht in local cafes. Since we had
a rental car, we ate the rest of our meals in town (except breakfast,
which was included in our package.) I ordered a virgin fruit drink
for my wife (alcoholic drink, but leave out the liquor) and they charged
full price. Any other place would discount for leaving out the liquor.
Thus, we essentially paid 180 baht for pineapple juice with grenadine.
grrrrrrr!!!!! Note: The drive from the local highway on their private
driveway is long (nearly 1 km) and confusing. Most of the road is
dirt, with plenty of potholes. Heavy construction ongoing which led
me to believe we were lost on the wrong dirt road. It branched in
many places with unclear markings of which way to go. Do not attempt
this the first time in the dark. My 2nd time up was much more comfortable,
being assured I wasn t lost in the wilderness. In summary, I would
stay there again IF the price were about 30% cheaper. I wouldn t plan
on eating many meals there. |
Mr Adrian R Wilson
2007-02-07 until 2007-02-15 |
Phu Chaisai Mountain Resort & Spa, Mae Chan
We have nothing but praise for this resort. The staff-from Management
to gardeners and drivers- were charming and so caring. The gardens
were a delight and the atmosphere so peaceful and calming; it was
a tonic just to wander around the resort. Room facilities were very
good with regular linen changes; the verandahs had superb views. Food
was good- we only had Thai dishes- breakfast buffet (outside) was
particularly good. The Spa was great; in a secluded spot with excellent
staff- most therapeutic. |
Chris USA
2006-07-02 until 2006-07-06 |
Phu Chaisai Moutain Resort & Spa, Mae Chan
The setting is wonderful w/ impressive mtn top vistas. The open air
main dining area is comfortable for both cocktail hour and meals.
The grounds have impressive gardens that are a delight to explore.
Our accomodation was a Japan-style w/ small doorways which I kept
hitting my head on. Our private pool, however, was a real treat. The
open air spa is a dream in a peaceful setting though make sure a fan
is on to keep the odd mosquitoe from you. I recommend lunch poolside
adjacent to the spa. Criticism: food service is inconsistent. |
Amratlal
2006-01-20 until 2006-01-22 |
Phu Chaisai Moutain Resort & Spa, Mae Chan
Absolutely beautiful resort in stunning setting. We had a deluxe cottage,
which was extremely pleasant. The room was spacious, the bed comfortable,
and awakening to the sight of a beautiful sunrise was magical. We
enjoyed the private balcony, although we didn t use the open air shower.
Loved watching the different birds and butterflies in the foliage
around our room. The walls were a bit thin, but fortunately there
was no karaoke weekend to bother us! The shower was excellent -- the
best we d had in Thailand. We enjoyed lovely spa treatments at the
spa -- and they were very reasonably priced. The pool was lovely as
well, although a bit cool. A couple of negative comments pertaining
service. Servers were very friendly, but overall service was inefficient,
as if the staff needed direction and/or more training. Not one of
our food orders was accurate. At one dinner, my husband s food came
right away -- he d finished his before we finally tracked someone
down to ask about mine, which was practically cold. If they improve
the quality of their restaurant and the delivery of service, this
could be a top notch place. One more comment: it is quite out of the
way -- we didn t realize how much until we arrived at the bus station
in Chiang Rai. We should have booked the pickup service before we
arrived. |
Marilyn Perlman
2005-05-05 until 2005-05-06 |
Phu Chaisai Moutain Resort & Spa, Mae Chan
We have traveled a lot and have booked both luxurious accommodations
and less expensive places. This was one of the best places we have
stayed, but we love wildlife, so it was okay with us to share our
bedroom with a fat, foot-long gecko. We rented the pool villa just
after the high season ended, so we felt that we really had a good
deal. The pool was pretty big for a private pool, and the villa was
great. Lying out by the pool and listening to the birds and insects
and looking at the stars was great. We were pressed for time on our
trip and only had one night here, but wished we had more. The staff
were very nice and allowed us a very late checkout so that we could
enjoy our stay for as long as possible. |
Thomas Mannion
2005-02-01 until 2005-02-04 |
Phu Chaisai Moutain Resort & Spa, Mae Chan
The setting of the hotel is beautiful: very green, high up in the
mountains, with plenty of nice decorative touches throughout. Just
walking around the resort is enjoyable in itself. The mountain views
are impressive. The health spa is very pleasant and reasonably priced
compared to some luxury resorts. The pool is OK, though a little cold
at this time of year. It is well located to catch the sun. We booked
the resort s transfer service from the airport which was very efficient.
Note that it takes about 35-40 minutes. We also booked a one day tour
of the region through reception, which was good value and stress-free.
My wife & I stayed in a bamboo hut which was full of character, but
also had no soundproofing & the gaps in the walls mean that you have
to be prepared to share with some of nature s uninvited guests (ants,
etc). The food was quite nice, though not as good as many other resorts
we have visited. One chicken dish we ordered was not properly cooked,
i.e. the meat was still bloody, which not acceptable. There was no
TV in the room: admittedly, one doesn t come here just to watch the
box, but long evenings can be a bit dull with no entertainment. Except,
that is, for the last night, when a coach party of guests arrived
for a corporate event, which led to the other guests being shunted
from the main dining area to the bar (with no advance warning). We
were then treated to a very long & tuneless evening of karaoke, etc.
All of this took place just a few metres from our non-soundproofed
bungalow. The intrusive noise didn t stop until 23:00 and really spoiled
the last night of our honeymoon. It s nothing short of digraceful
that the staff hadn t thought to put us in a quieter part of the resort
to avoid this inconvenience. The offer to move us elsewhere during
the evening was too little, too late. Phu Chaisai charges premium
rates and needs to provide a correspondingly high standard of service,
which was sadly not evident. |
Wouter Vervaat
2005-01-20 until 2005-01-23 |
Phu Chaisai Moutain Resort & Spa, Mae Chan
After 4 days in crazy Bangkok, Phu Chaisai came as a shock: we actually
had to get used to the quiet, serene, lovely surroundings in Northern
Thailand. Lovely hotel with beautiful pool area. However, the rooms
are a bit basic inside. I know this is the philosophy of the resort,
but there is a difference between upscale-basic and basic-basic. They
are leaning towards the latter, though prices are quite high for Thailand.
The worst part was karaoke night for a business group. How can you
do this in a quiet, natural resort like this! Some strategy decisions
should be made here. Overall a nice stay and good to unwind after
Bangkok. |
Amala Menon
2004-12-22 until 2004-12-23 |
Phu Chaisai Moutain Resort & Spa, Mae Chan
This is a beautiful resort. I would recommend it v.highly. It is a
back to nature feeling yet with all modern conveniences with lovely
cottages and views. Would recommend driving though since there is
nothing nearby and going anyplace from here would probably be hard.
Or use the place to just stay there alone. Would love to go back. |
Florence Quinn
2004-08-06 until 2004-08-10 |
Phu Chaisai Moutain Resort & Spa, Mae Chan
Would not recommend it. The food was horrible, how can you be in Thailand
and eat the worst Thai food ever? With the resort being so remote
from anything you either starve or eat rice and vegetables, which
were ok. Another very disappointing aspect was that there was a karaoke
room (yes!), not quite what your expect from a tranquil retreat away
from it all. It was extremely quiet otherwise, until they let out
the karaoke die hards which you could hear from anywere in the resort.
And it was not good singing, more like the sound of dying cows......apart
from that beautiful views, very nice gardens and bungalows which naturally
blend with nature. |
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