Chiang Mai Thai House

Read Chiang Mai Thai House reviews

Rated 3.5 out of 5

Based on 22 ratings and 22 reviews

• Great value and location

  We stayed here on our honeymoon in November 2010 for 5 nights. Our opinion of it is different than the views of many others on this post, perhaps given that it is 2010 and things have changed, or that we are more laid back travellers. The place is immaculate and beautiful. We stayed for 400 baht a night, which is less than $15 USD. Keep this in mind when reading the comments on this blog. The value is incredible. First, the pool area rocks and the restaurant is fine. Because you can walk all over the old market area and the night market (great shopping and people watching), you will save money on tuk tuks and cabs. The room is clean and of a decent size (we stayed in the fan-cooled room). There are plenty of cafes and restaurants around if you want options for dining. We had no pressure to book tours through them, although they offered the service when you check in. We booked some but not all things through them. At least one of the owners (Moon) is a former tour guide, and both him and Udi have a wealth of knowledge and contacts if you take the time to ask. For what we did book through them, we enjoyed. Particularly the private trek through the jungle they arranged for us with a guide and porter. We booked our train ticket and transportation to the rail station through them (and pick up after a long night on the train was free and fabulous - all you have to do is let them know). Yes, the place has its rules and they run a tight ship. The copying of passports is something we ran into at almost every place in Thailand and Cambodia we stayed in. The no food in rooms rule is true, but is likely one of the reasons why they rates are so cheap - less clean up and odour due to potentially careless people. Restaurants bars, markets and street food, and even a 7 eleven are nearby. The rules likely have been put into place as a result of people's errors in the past, and respecting them isn't a big deal. They keep a close eye on who comes and goes, and this is of benefit to the safety of you and your belongings on your trip. It's not a five star north American resort with room service - if that is what you want, stay in a Western chain hotel. If you are on a budget and looking for decent, clean accommodation that is close to everything, with knowledgeable staff, it is a great place to stay. Highly recommended.

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  Chiang Mai Thai House reviewed by KarenSteveCalgary (Total reviews: 3) on 5th December, 2010
  Rated 5 out of 5. after a stay here in 11/2010

• Excellent

  We stayed in Chiang Mai Thai House for 6 days. Every thing is perfect : clean hotel, friendly and helpful staff (Moon and Udie), relaxing pool after a day of trekking or visiting the town, good food. It is really a very good choice, situated 200 meter from Tapae Gate (enter of old town), in a quiet ''soi''. Never they did insist to sell us one of their tours, and the staff was always cool. Excellent value for families !

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  Chiang Mai Thai House reviewed by hk2010 (Total reviews: 1) on 17th July, 2010
  Rated 5 out of 5. after a stay here in 7/2010

• Staff very rude and inflexible

  I have stayed at Chiang Mai Thai House twice - well, once if you count today, when I was kicked out for eating in the room. Yes, kicked out. My last stay was pretty good. 700baht for a nice double with air/con, nice swimming pool (but be aware, it gets extremely little sun, and impossible to move chairs around). My shower heater didn't work, and instead of giving me a different room, I had to sit and wait for 2 hrs before being able to take a shower. The staff claimed the hotel was full, which makes me wonder how they were not alerted to the falty water heater by the previous occupant. Also, the check-out time is way too early (10am) and they are totally inflexible about giving extensions. But, it seemed like good value so I went back. Today I moved from Mae Hong Son, where I've been living for the last year, and have a night in Chiang Mai before flying back to my home country. It was an exhausting day, I hadn't eaten anything by the time I checked in around 4pm. All I wanted to do was laze on the bed and eat, so I ordered delivery. The food came, and as I was paying, two men (one the owner) started barking at me that no food is allowed in the rooms. I was stunned, because a) what hotel doesn't allow food?! and b) I had ordered delivery, in this hotel, two times during my last stay, with the knowledge of the staff, and no one had ever mentioned anything. I explained to the owner that I wasn't aware of the rule because his staff had allowed me to eat in the room on prior occasions. He said ''now you know'' and walked away; I figured I would be getting a pass in this case. Five minutes later, a knock came on my door, and I was asked to leave the hotel. I explained that I had had a rough day and that I would follow the policy from then on, but I got yelled at and called ''stupid''! So I grabbed my bag and walked right around the corner to a guesthouse I know, 250 baht less per night. No pool, but extremely kind staff, and more English channels. Oh, and I'm eating the delivery as we speak ;) It was the ugliest experience I have had in the service industry in Thailand. If you don't want to deal with cold to outrageously rude staff, I would not recommend this hotel.

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  Chiang Mai Thai House reviewed by mp413 (Total reviews: 1) on 17th December, 2009
  Rated 1 out of 5. after a stay here in 12/2009

• Good value

  We stayed at this place for 2 nights - the first night in the most expensive room, then in a basic fan room. Both rooms were very clean, the bathrooms worked fine with hot water. The more expensive rooms (with what they call a garden) are not really better value then the cheap ones, although they do have a fridge. The swimming pool area was nice to relax. The breakfast was nothing special, but there are plenty of cafes nearby that offer good deals. Nobody asked us to book a tour, but then we were only staying 2 nights. Internet was free but slow - there's a better place around the corner. I would recommend this hotel for short stays.

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  Chiang Mai Thai House reviewed by epfa (Total reviews: 5) on 11th December, 2009
  Rated 3 out of 5. after a stay here in 11/2009

• Great Spot

  This was a great spot to stay in Chiang Mai. The room was very clean, large and air conditioned. We stayed there for 2 nights and paid 700 Baht a night. The pool was gorgeous, the staff friendly and the location ideal. I would definitely recommend this hotel!

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  Chiang Mai Thai House reviewed by hcowan (Total reviews: 1) on 18th October, 2009
  Rated 5 out of 5. after a stay here in 9/2009

• Good value!

  I stayed at the double room with fan and private bathroom with hot shower. I paid B550,- per night. LIKES: 1) The room was beautiful, very clean, nicely decorated, TV worked fine as did the fan, spacious (with a huge wardrobe), very nice and clean bathroom with a showerhead located on a good height for 'farang' people, enough wallsockets for charging electronic devices. 2) staff very friendly... unlike some of the previous posts, I found the staff to be very very helpfull and friendly (friendly and funny chats)... no hustling for booking tours. I did not see the manageress, mentioned in other posts, perhaps CMTH is under new management now. 3) Great pool 4) free internet (you get a coupon each day for 1 hour of free internet in their internetroom) 5) laundry service good (fast, clothes really clean and choice of ironed or not ironed) 6) Clean room every day (and clean towels every day) 7) toilet didn't flush properly but after mentioning this to the staff, they immediately contact the plumber to fix it. 8) In-house facilities also include: agency for booking tours, restaurant, internet, pool, laundry service, international phone (you can buy a phonecard at the Seven Eleven around the corner) 9) Location is good: less than a minute walk from Thapae Road, very close to Thapae gate (just 2-3 min. walk from the Sunday Walking Street Market), close to Warorot Market (approx. 5 min. walk), close to Night Bazar (5-10 min. walk). DISLIKES: 1) the bed was a bit lumpy, since the matress is very tick but soft, it feels like your laying in the matress instead of on top. EXTRA INFO: 1) There's a clinic next door for people with problems concerning drugs, sexual matters and psychological issues. Actually it seems to be more of an agency that advices them. This can put off possible guests, but I didn't encounter any problems what so ever (if that billboard wasn't up, I wouldn't even know) 2) The food is okay and reasonably priced, but you can get far better food on Thapae Road or at other places in the area (I do however note that Arun-Rai used to be a great place with fantastic Northern Thai dishes, but this time that restaurant seemed run-down and the food wasn't good anymore... but cheer-up: lots of other fine dinings) All-in-all CMTH is a great place to stay: clean and nice rooms, good service, friendly staff and a very nice swimming pool. P.S. The staff told me that the doubleroom with fan and private bathroom will be on a special promotion in october, just B400,- per night!

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  Chiang Mai Thai House reviewed by Jimboichi (Total reviews: 6) on 6th October, 2009
  Rated 4 out of 5. after a stay here in 9/2009

• yeah. its a winner

  Clean, modern, Swimming pool, queit location, very affordable. I admit that the staff does seem a little inclined to try and suck out a little extra profit with it's tour desk and, if this is a big problem for you, you might consider staying away. However! Chiang Mai is a cultural mecca for Thailand, so you might as well take a tour! I mean you were probably planning to anyways and this place can make that happen for the same price as every other place so this shouldnt be that big a deal for most. The walk to/from the night bazaar is on the long side, especially if you are too drunk to navigate the back roads. However, a tuk tuk is only 50baht each way unless you look like a sucker. The food isnt great, but its fine for a hotel. Besides, Aroon Rai (sp?) is a 2 min walk away and is one of the best restaurants for local stuff in the city in my educated opinion. best curry in the world, dont miss is.

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  Chiang Mai Thai House reviewed by mithamo (Total reviews: 5) on 29th September, 2008
  Rated 4 out of 5. after a stay here in /

• Clean and Great Location

  The location of the Guest House (which is very hotel like) is perfect, close to the night markets, bazaars and shopping. Rooms were very clean and adequate. They are intent on booking a tour, but the tour we took through them turned out to be fantastic. Would highly recommend for the price and quality.

  Chiang Mai Thai House reviewed by carynmarks (Total reviews: 2) on 8th January, 2008
  Rated 4 out of 5. after a stay here in 1/2008

• Excellent value

  We have stayed here a few times and have stayed in every type of room available. We have been impressed every time with the cleanliness and presentation of the rooms. You will be struggling to find somewhere else with that level of cleanliness and facilities in this price range. We also stayed there last xmas and they had a free bbq for guests including presents!! They also took guests onto the street to light lanterns. We had the best night of our holiday and met a lot of people who return to the guesthouse again and again. I do admit that they are pushy with the tours and can come accross as a bit rude (especially Poi)but the quality of the place far outweighs any little gripes. I will definately return!!

  Chiang Mai Thai House reviewed by Mars (Total reviews: 6) on 28th November, 2007
  Rated 5 out of 5. after a stay here in 11/2007

• Oh yeah, it's great....

  If you like being hassled to go on one tour or another every waking moment, then you should definitely stay here. It's not that this is a bad hotel, its rooms are clean and pleasant enough and the pool is nice. But none of that matters when you're constantly pursued to go on a trek or a tour. It's especially painful when the staff go from being super-friendly (too bloody friendly, if you ask me) to sour, unhelpful, rude and downright aggressive when they realise you're not interested. Ruins the place. Oh and don't eat in the restaurant, the food is awful.

  Chiang Mai Thai House reviewed by stilltravelling2007 (Total reviews: 11) on 5th November, 2007
  Rated 1 out of 5. after a stay here in 8/2007

• Oh yeah, it's great....

  If you like being hassled to go on one tour or another every waking moment, then you should definitely stay here. It's not that this is a bad hotel, its rooms are clean and pleasant enough and the pool is nice. But none of that matters when you're constantly pursued to go on a trek or a tour. It's especially painful when the staff go from being super-friendly (too bloody friendly, if you ask me) to sour, unhelpful, rude and downright aggressive when they realise you're not interested. Ruins the place. Oh and don't eat in the restaurant, the food is awful.

  Chiang Mai Thai House reviewed by stilltravelling2007 (Total reviews: 11) on 5th November, 2007
  Rated 0 out of 5. after a stay here in 8/2007

• What do you expect?

  I agree that maybe people's expectations are way out of line. The hotel, pool, rooms, cleanliness, and service were all more than adequate. Maybe not the best in all of Thailand, but for 550 Baht, what do you expect? (By the way, we did book a cooking course and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves)

  Chiang Mai Thai House reviewed by transki (Total reviews: 13) on 17th March, 2007
  Rated 4 out of 5. after a stay here in 1/2007

• Rude owner......

  The current price for aircon room is 950 Baht. The staff was friendly upon arrival on 5 January 2007 but the next morning at breakfast the owner was scolding his staff in front of all the guests...we all felt mightly unpleasant and he would go on for almost one hour, nearly screaming to all our faces...He then caused one of the guests to get very upset as well...So this ruined our experience....

  Chiang Mai Thai House reviewed by uffe (Total reviews: 5) on 30th November, 1999
  Rated 1 out of 5. after a stay here in 1/2006

• Mediocre

  Ok, so check it out... I stayed here last month and was not impressed. First the good: The guesthouse is super clean. During our 3 week trip through out SEA, it was by far the cleanest place we stayed at. The guesthouse staff clean all day and are super friendly, well the workers who do the laborous tasks are (see bad section). The location is perfect. One thing that is great about Chiang Mai is everything, for the most part, is easily accessible. This guesthouse is centrally located. 10 minutes to the Night Bazaar and to the new city. There's even a 7-11 around the corner. Other good things about this place are Tom and the girls who clean the rooms. They are super nice and I did feel they were genuine! Ok now with the bad: Poi - chances are, if you are going to be staying here, she'll be the one to check you in. Don't be fooled because at first, she comes off as being very accomadating, sincere and not pushy at all; however, after a day or so, you notice a different side of her. Don't get me wrong, I think she's a nice person but I strongly doubt how genuine she is. Previous people who have defended her in their review say that she wasn't pushy but I totally disagree. She's not noticeably pushy but rather sneaky. She wouldn't be obviously pushy but rather give hints that we should eat at the guesthouse and book tours with them. An example would be like if we dropped laundry off to be washed, she would hand us a menu of the restaurant to tell us to have breakfast when we had no intentions of eating there or never mentioned anything about being hungry. This was a serious turn off to me and my travel mate. Another bad about this place is the restaurant. The food isn't that great. We had breakfast there and were not that impressed. In a way, it's a little over priced for what you get. Ultimately, it's all about preference. We preferred a welcoming, friendly environment and didn't feel that we got this there. If all you are after is a nice room to stay at then this is your place. If you demand a little more, then I wouldn't recommend staying here. I don't enjoy people who start out as being nice when they are after your money but after collecting all they can get out of you, their attitude changes.

  Chiang Mai Thai House reviewed by yellowfellow (Total reviews: 4) on 30th November, 1999
  Rated 3 out of 5. after a stay here in 8/2006

• Very clean and staff was ok

  Was surprised to read negative comments about the staff at Chiang Mai Thai House. True, it is not all smiles but they were competent and helpful. The rooms are spotless and the hotel is very conveniently located.

  Chiang Mai Thai House reviewed by karibu (Total reviews: 5) on 7th August, 2006
  Rated 4 out of 5. after a stay here in 7/2006

• Butlins attitude, bang on pool

  Having read the reviews, I think it might be a case of 'if your face fits' with this place. It is undoubtedly in a great location, the pool is great and the rooms are spotless. But as we all know, over bearing intrusive service is almost as bad as none at all. Perhaps it's that all-pervasive Asian charm that doesn't go past the smile, or perhaps it's just the full-on attitude of the management that wears a little thin after the 3rd day. Either way, read what other's have to say and then take a view. For some it will be water off a ducks back, but for the travel weary, sensitive tourist you might be better taking your custom elsewhere.

  Chiang Mai Thai House reviewed by looklively (Total reviews: 4) on 30th November, 1999
  Rated 3 out of 5. after a stay here in 7/2006

• Fear and Loathing in Chiang Mai

  After staying here for one night, it is easy to see why the previous reviews range from one to ten stars. Our room was impressive and ultra-clean, and the pool a real find. But the staff was absolutely joyless, and the uptight management bothered us, including how both of our passports were photocopied when we checked in, how we were handed a list of rules with our room key, and how we had to sign for our pool towels in a ledger book. We were particularly offended at the tactless way we were instructed to wait while our room was inspected at check out. I normally vacation in Thailand because I want to get away from people with over-tight sphyncters. The 550 baht we paid for our room was an okay deal, but not as good as the value we got at CM Blue House. What makes it worth the money is the sparkling pool. I can't exactly recommend a stay here, but if you are looking for a day of relaxing around a fantastic blue-tiled pool, this might be your place. Then again, there is always the Top North Guest House .... appendix. I see that thaiyaikit suggested that I was being too harsh on the owners for their draconian tactics. I wasn't. I'm completely sympathetic to any business owner wanting to protect their investment. But there is a difference between that and being hostile towards customers. These folks were rude. I've stayed in hundreds of different places throughout Thailand, and the people at CMTH stand out as the most aggressive and inhospitable I've encountered. Having said that, this was long ago, and perhaps things are different now.

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  Chiang Mai Thai House reviewed by exacto (Total reviews: 34) on 30th November, 1999
  Rated 1 out of 5. after a stay here in 6/2006

• Loved it!

  We stayed here for a week in Feb 2006. The rooms are really nice, super clean, and comfortable. I would recommend it to anyone. The staff was very helpful and provided good recommendations. We booked a trek through them and they spent time finding a trip that matched our interests. We were never pressured to buy any tours.

  Chiang Mai Thai House reviewed by cecily (Total reviews: 3) on 30th November, 1999
  Rated 5 out of 5. after a stay here in 2/2006

• Five Nights in February,4th to 10th

  We stayed at the CMTH for six days, actually extended the stay when we decided against an over night in the Golden Triangle. The staff was great, the rooms and hotel were extremely clean room. We also asked for the Elephant Conservation Camp Tour and were imformed they didnt sell that tour, however the tour desk staff (front desk staff) explained how we could book this ourself. We also booked a Golden Triangle Day Tour through CMTH which went off without a hitch. We booked CMTH several months before arrival and upon finally getting to Chaing Mai we presented our email, confirmations and check in went very smooth.The pool was fantastic but not heated but who cares after a hot day walking around the old city. And you dont need an alarm clock because the neighbourhood dogs do have you up early barking, but this is Thailand where there are as many stray dogs as tuk tuks. We would definitely stay here again. As far as negative experiences go, people keep in mind the staff deal with hundred of farang a month and we all have bad days!!!!

  Chiang Mai Thai House reviewed by niko (Total reviews: 3) on 30th November, 1999
  Rated 5 out of 5. after a stay here in 2/2006

• So nice i took my in-laws

  I've stayed here twice, and I now recommend it to my boss when she's in town. Spotless, well-decorated without being over the top. The staff are brilliant, we've never been pressured into anything and they are more than happy for me to watch rugby on their big screen in the middle of the night. they need to get the dogs across the road silenced.... apart from that, brilliant.

  Chiang Mai Thai House reviewed by mikey0909 (Total reviews: 3) on 21st February, 2006
  Rated 5 out of 5. after a stay here in 2/2006

• Comfortable, friendly and spotless

  We spent six nights there and felt really at home. The staff were generally very friendly and the rooms were immaculate, with very comfortable beds and tastefully decorated. (For some reason they made the beds with blankets under the top sheets, but we're being picky!) The location is excellent, close to the main action but in a quiet soi. The swimming pool was welcome, but quite cold. Breakfasts were average. All in all, an excellent choice!

  Chiang Mai Thai House reviewed by mari1210 (Total reviews: 5) on 3rd January, 2006
  Rated 5 out of 5. after a stay here in 12/2005

• Highly recommended

  Paid 550 baht for a double room with fan but this was well worth it. Rooms are spacious and clean with comfortable beds and hot showers. Excellent location - 5 minute walk from Moon Muang road and 10 minutes walk from the riverside. Staff are really helpful and organise numerous trips and tours. Be sure to try the Khao Soi for lunch.

  Chiang Mai Thai House reviewed by mattyvlem (Total reviews: 10) on 28th November, 2005
  Rated 4 out of 5. after a stay here in 11/2005