Na BaanYa Chiang Mai — Hotel in Chiang Mai Province

I stayed here from 13 - 24 July 2023. I initially wanted to hotel-hop since I was in Chiang Mai for 11 nights, and also wanted to spend some time in Pai. This place was so perfect I extended for my entire stay, except for one night when I was sleeping at a Hmong homestay up Doi Suthep. I was intending to book via Agoda like I do for SEA, but I was browsing their website, and decided to send them a message on Line to ask if it's cheaper to book directly, and lo and behold, it was. I went ahead and made my booking. My Singaporean bank could transfer to PromptPay account so the only obstacle was that there was a hard limit and the staff I was talking to on Line was friendly, nice, and allowed me to pay the total price over 2 days (to overcome the limit).

Where do I start? The staff was great. Dream, the receptionist, was super, always greeting me and asking about my day, and being ready to give some tips and suggestions. She also got me a take away breakfast the day I had an early day tour. The security, I didn't manage to get his name because he didn't speak much English nor do I much Thai, but he was always super cheery, we always greet each other in Thai whenever we see each other in the mornings for breakfast, or when I get back at night. Housekeeping, I only saw once or twice, but were very friendly as well. I declined housekeeping service for 1 day and they left a set of all amenities/mini bar items for me, which I was really grateful for. Also, the mini-bar was entirely free, which was great! It's not a lot, but sometimes you just want a small snack, so the small bag of Lay's or packet of Oreos do come in super clutch.

Breakfast was super good. There's western and Thai fare, with 2-4 hot dishes for each cuisine. The Thai dishes rotate semi-regularly, the Western ones not so much. There's also a rotation of pastries/baked goods which are pretty good. There's this very crispy slightly sweet wafer roll with sesame seeds that I loved. There's also cereal. Juices, milk, coffee, fruits, etc help make the buffet breakfast feel like a super complete meal, which I enjoyed.

The room was also perfect -- bed was super comfy, I loved that there was a lot of hangers to hang clothes, there's storage for bags/shoes, there's a small balcony and a portable clothes rack for hang drying clothes. I think the decor was a little bare but then I think that was also kind of the theme of the room? Kind of a stylized industrial room theme going on? I am not sure, but the room was definitely aesthetic and functional. Perhaps my only complaint is maybe a little more sound proofing would be better?

Location was also perfect, outside of the old city, but walkable. Near a couple of (night) markets. Near massage places (of all price ranges), many food places (local and catering to Westerners), co-working places, easy to grab a Grab, yet quiet and tranquil at night. There's 3 adorable dogs that the hotel owns, so maybe make your presence known to them your first day, because my first night they were a little bark-y but after I sort of made friends with them, they were like furry guardian angels every night I returned haha.

Oh, and the price was more than perfect, too. I 100% recommend and if I ever return to Chiang Mai, I think this would be my...

Possibly one of the worst stays in all of my travels!!

Firstly, this property does not advertise that there is no elevator and as such is not accessible friendly. Please take heed!

When I was given a room key to check in, the reception staff had given me the key to someone else’s room! Not safe at all, someone could’ve gotten their belongings stolen from their room or had their privacy invaded in a mishap like this!!

I came to the hotel extremely exhausted from traveling and needed rest, as such I had the do not disturb sign up on my door. The second day of my stay, the reception staff ATTEMPTED TO ENTER MY ROOM MULTIPLE TIMES DESPITE THE DO NOT DISTURB SIGN, woke me up out of my sleep by continuing to call my name for all to hear. This was INCREDIBLY DISTURBING AND UNSAFE!!! Who knows what would have occurred if I didn’t have the door latch up!! If a guest has do not disturb on their room up for one day leave them be!!

I absolutely cannot recommend this hotel! It’s more like a psych ward where reception attempts wellness checks (or who knows what else!) after less than 24hr and enters your room even if you don’t desire that! I was a SOLO FEMALE traveler too! I had to sternly yell to the male receptionist Andy to STOP trying to enter my room once I woke up for him to finally stop!

Always use the door latch but please BEWARE!! This hotel’s practices are NOT conducive to creating a safe environment for solo female travelers!!!

Edit: I see the hotel responded. What does when I arrived at the hotel and wanting to look over my baggage have to do with my review. I waited in the hotel lobby while staff turned over my room. Once I was given the okay to go to my room they GAVE ME THE KEY TO SOMEONE ELSE’S ROOM ALREADY IN USE. Not a safe practice (they glossed over this point).

The only sign available to hang up on the door says please do not disturb in English. Anyone who has stayed here can confirm this. The reception response is trying for another narrative.

Also, why is your male receptionist contacting me personally outside of official hotel communications channels admitting to trying to enter my room (screenshot already provided)? Again not safe at all please prioritize your safety and well being and patronize...

So we just got here, and I may submit another review at the end of our 3 day stay...but I did want to let others know asap that this was not what we expected. Partially our fault- there is NO pool. :( I guess we missed that. But the reviews were quite glowing. In fact, it is somewhat old fashioned, and the decor is really depressing. Grey really ugly walls with exposed (not in a dangerous way) electrical wires everywhere...sort of a fashion statement that doesn't work. The room is small, and has one hard chair besides the bed, which is the equivalent of a US double bed, not a queen size. The so called porch is teeny with not even a chair. It does have a small laundry rack. Also, no safe in the room, and you only get one key. And the weirdest thing- the key has your room number right on it. So if you drop it and someone else finds it, you will be in big trouble...so weird... No elevator...On the plus side, the sheets are high quality, the bathroom is newly remodeled, the AC is great, the internet is great, and the lovely young woman at the front desk tried really hard to help me get a refund from booking.com. They were only willing to give me half my money back, which I suppose was better than nothing. We made another mistake- we arrived without having paid, and we should have checked out the rooms before handing over that magic piece of plastic. LEARN FROM US EVERYONE...the good news is we are only here for 3 nites, so no really big deal. Just wanted everyone to know the full story...BTW, we are paying the place next door 100 baht per day to use the pool, with new payment required if you...