Krabi Trip 2015 - Hotels we stayed and might stay in the future

Here's the first hotel we stayed in, 

 Pakasai Resort.

We took the Adora Room for around THB2240/night

The last room.... top floor (3 storeys).. and so close to the main road that it can get noisy during the peak seasons. I went during the low season, and I used to stay in town, so we are ok about it.

The only thing we are not too ok about it, is the heat from the walls. But it isn't all that bad because the room won't smell mouldy.

The outdoor bath that has a colony of ants in the stash of pebbles. They were black ants so, we didn't bother much about them. The view was 'rooftop' and nothing else, LOL.

A day bed on the balcony... with shaded sunlight. There is a drying rack here (not shown in picture), so if you want to dry your clothes after a day out at sea, it's not an issue.

If someone is doing his big biz here, you can 100% smell it. The glass sliding door either closes the toilet or the shower... but there is another 1ft wide corridor (at the blinds) that connects the two cubicles and will transmit the 'fragrance' into the room via the shower. Not a good thing if you are particular about it.

Soap and shampoo are refilled in pump bottles that are glued to the countertop/wall. Some don't work.

RAINSHOWER NOT WORKING. What a shame...... sad sad.

Water is hard, and highly chlorinated. After a low suds shower, we felt screechingly clean , almost like we went for a swim at the public pool. So, get your hair masques ready. We boiled some water to drink, and we found white flakes in the kettle the next day, high in minerals, haha. We don't like the water as we are used to soft water that makes everything sudsy. Not the hotel's fault.

Good thing is that, the dressing area isn't cold at all, as the aircon blows only towards the bed.

The bed.... ohhhhh............. HARD!!!
But if you like fibre beds, you should like it, not me.

Some of the lights don't work in the room, the bed side light and the balcony light.

The hotel is 'GREEN', so you will see minimal plastic in the room. Complimentary water comes in recycled glass botttles that you cannot remove from the room, or else you will be charged. The water tasted high in minerals, we didn't drink it.

Breakfast is ok. Like a 3 star hotel. With yogurt, fruits, juice, bread, cheese, pancakes, sausages, egg station.... and some local food as well. Not much but a type of curry a day with rice and some local stir fried vegetables. First day was green curry, second day was red curry. This hotel serves pork, but they put it on another table. There's pork bacon and pork porridge.

Breakie by the fish pond and there is fish feed for guests to feed fishes. If my kids were there... surely  all the fish will be fed fat

After eating we walked around......

The area isn't like too big to walk around, the horror stories we read on Trip advisor about this hotel is partially true, like hard beds, mosquitoes (bearable, just don't keep door opened), air cond is not cold enough and things not working well. But the stairs aren't that scary, unless you are in the last chalet that is quite a climb up the highest floor... the other chalets are quite ok for us. It's about 100m walk from restaurant to the last chalet.. not that far, right?

The pool is right above the restaurant and very exposed to the sun. The spa looks quiet......we saw a sauna room in there. We didn't use any of the spa facilities.

Mr and Mrs Pot... for you to take some pictures with :)

The staff at Pakasai is alright, no suspicious issues, didn't overcharge for things we didn't consume, no rudeness, helped with hotel transfer bookings promptly but that was just it.

They smile to us and say good night, good morning..... and that was it. Not very helpful if you need to ask about the area, they will just point you to the tour agents. But Aonang isn't big... just walk around and you will get to know the area.

It's the location that we kind of regretted... Next time, we know where to stay, especially if we're coming with kids.

Next hotel.... 

Just Fine in Krabi Town.

Pros: Friendly front desk who are very helpful, next to a 24 hour money changer, seriously near to 3 markets, quite near to Maharaj morning market(10mins walk?), 5 mins walk to Vogue, 200m to 7-11.
If you need to dry your laundry.. it's very quick as the drying rack in right under the air cond compressor, very hot area!

Cons: Hard bed as well... why? Krabi people don't like softer beds made with spring or latex?
Pillows are flattened.... no neck support.
Bathroom looks worn but ok. No coffee making facilities, no kettle, but didn't really need it as we ate out most of the time.

Wifi: No issues. Different router at different levels.

The hotel is in a shop lot, of which is opposite Apo Hotel, in the same row as Srisawara Casa Hotel and also River Scene Hotel, so, their room sizes should be the same. Convenience is Ichiban.

We didn't take the breakfast option as we planned to go for true blue local food at the Wet Market

Price: around THB1100/night

We got this room on the 3rd level on the first day.... the aircon was not cold and the other available room is on level 4.. so we just bear with it for one night. No lifts...

No shoes in the hotel... shoes are left at the entrance. So, the hotel stays clean... 

The next room we stayed in on level 2

The staff here is seriously nice. I forgot to ask for their names, but I know the guy is Ball and the girl with short hair... They all helped us a lot. If we needed to go anywhere, they will help us call and inquire in Thai and then tell us the reply in English. No extra charges for all those calls made on behalf of us.

The girl even rented her motorbike to us on a personal basis, at THB100 (market rate is at least THB250/day), and we can ride on it as long as we want, until she needs to go home. And she let us keep the key for convenience and there was no suspicion or hanky panky after we returned her bike. When her shift was over, she also helped us rent a motorbike from the shop next door without passing over our passport. She nego with the shop that we will keep one passport at the hotel, so that we can check on it anytime we want. Forms were signed to proof that we handed over one passport to the hotel reception and we kept a copy of that form. We seriously won't want to hand over passports to other people, and she understood. When it was time to check out, we just passed her the bike key, and she gave us back our passport. No issue, no trouble at all. No triple checking the bike or framing issues.

Ball, the male reception... helped us book a group tour to Emerald pool, but got mixed up and we didn't get to go. After he returned us the money, we tried to ask the other tour agents if there will be any tours to Emerald pool as it was already pass the usual tour group time, and there was none, all that was left was chartered taxi tours that cost double of group tours. He offered us a trip to Emerald pool by taxi, and he will pay for us (it's THB1800!). Our hearts sank when we heard that. He said, he felt bad as it was his fault. We couldn't let him pay for us, and offered to share the fare.

The room and toilet may not be the nicest at this hotel, but the hearts of the staff are, and it made the stay 'sweet'.

Click to enlarge my sketch, hopefully you can understand my handwriting :)

Now... from our first trip,we made a few observations about the hotels in Aonang.

If you like

Two beaches, Nopparat Thara and Aonang..... Stay at Red Ginger or Deevana or any hotel along that road. It's quite convenient there with juice stations, hot cooked food, a big 7-11 and restaurants. But it's quite far to walk to Moo2 for the better rated massages and McD.

Just Aonang beach is enough for u....The hotels before Amari Vogue towards the beach. Lots to choose.Totally near to Aonang beach,the nicer stretch (Breakfast cafe just meters from the beach)... Aonang Villa, Phra Nang or Golden Beach

If you love street food at night... The hotels after Amari Vogue, like Sugar Marina, Ibis or Phu Pi Maan, as the true local stalls are nearby, further up towards Tesco Lotus Mart

Convenience....Moo 2, that means hotels along the road where McDonalds is. It's where there are the most 7-11 and Family Marts, food and life and people. Read the hotel's address and you will know.

Noise from pubs... Aonang beachfront hotels like Princeville, or Aonang Beach Resort. Some like it, as you can dance in your room.

To walk a lot just to get a cold drink.. stay where I stayed, along Klong Hang Road.
Klong Hang Road is my not so preferred area to stay. 6ft wide winding road that is dark at night, with nothing..... luckily Pakasai is right at begining of the road, any further in is quite scary to walk at night.


As for Krabi town.... anywhere near Vogue supermarket is great convenience.  Just select 'hotels near walking street' on Tripadvisor and you will have your choice. Watch out for some who claim to be near but I tell you, walk like siao. See the map, compare with Agoda to verify the location. At least, not to the point, but roughly.

click to enlarge

If I'm coming back again with kids... it'll be either Aonang Villa Resort or Golden Beach Resort, all for the beach and convenience with children.

Krabi Trip 2015 Compilation

General
1. Hotels We Stayed and might stay in the future
2. Itinerary
3. How We Got Around- Transportation information

Food
4. Food We Ate--- a long list of food
5. Eateries We Went To

Things to Do
6. Attractions We Went To
7. Massage We Went to
8. Island Hopping
9. Shopping
10. Visit Markets - Night Market, Fruit Market, Morning Market