Stay Thapae Hostel — Hotel in Chiang Mai Province

Stay Thapae is a cute hostel located in the heart of Chaing Mai and in short walking distance to Old City night markets, live music, bookstores, and places to eat.

The location is easy to find and navigate once you’re in the area and you can’t go wrong with the quaint atmosphere this place offers.

Here are some pros and cons from my stay!

Pros: Great location (you can walk to/from anywhere from this place, or catch a grab moto for places across town for cheap) Great atmosphere (rooms are quiet (a bit cold for the weather outside, but nevertheless well conditioned), community space downstairs is vibrant with colors, natural light and co-working opportunities, and the staff is welcoming and smiling) Cheap (I booked this place on Agoda and got a great deal $55 for 7/nights which was worth the price I paid for what I got in return) Good Sleep (although near a noisy street, you hardly hear the noise. You can definitely catch some good z’s here)

Cons: Cleanliness is not top priority here. While downstairs looks immaculate, the rooms and shared bathroom facilities are not. The staff comes in twice a day and changes the sheets for new guests (and that’s about it), and they say they clean the bathrooms twice a day but I’ve tried morning, afternoon and evening shower times and things are left just as they were before. In addition, there is no soap dispensers or anything of that natural for properly washing your hands (and there are plenty of people who opt of of washing their hands), however, I manage to carry my own soap when using the restroom here). Check your sheets upon arrival, mine were not clean but they quickly changed them upon my request.

Again, you get what you pay for. This would be a recommendation if...

Definitely the hostel was supposed to be of the highest quality when it was built. You can tell they invested in best quality products, from the toilets to the beds. The beds are very comfy, the bedsheets are new and of great quality. They give us 2 comfy pillows for each bed. Despite the big mold problem, the hostel is clean overall. However, I don't know exactly what happened to this hostel, but it is totally musty. By the time you enter the lobby you feel a weird mold smell, which gets even stronger when you enter the first floor room. You can see stains om the walls everywhere. I guess this property was closed for a while and reopened recently, since the last reviews are from months ago. I considered moving somewhere else after my first day in this hostel, but the city was full and I had to stay there 4 nights. I also met other travellers who were unhappy with the smell. The second night I was there I started having respiratory alergy, and on the third night I had skin alergy. The towels can be changed every day, but even so they get a really weird mold smell. I am soferring from this till now that I have left the place. My pijama also smells mold after leaving the hostel. The room is also very tiny and the room door very loud. I did not manage to sleep properly there the last time of my stay since people entered and left the room...

Good hostel very close to night market. I stayed in the eight bedroom female dorm and was the only one there for two nights. Beds and bedding were comfortable. Curtains need som repair but generally work. Lockers were big enough to hold my big backpack. Bathrooms were alright, I think due to COVID they have not been deep cleaned in a while so lots of cobwebs in the ceilings. The waterfall shower heads spray randomly everywhere, they need to wiped often so the water goes through the jets properly. No breakfast served as they don’t have enough people to justify it with COVID. Fridge was not working when I was there due to broken plug. Also no water which was a bit disappointing. Staff were very friendly when I saw them at check in but didn’t see anyone for the remainder of my stay. It was pretty much like I had the hostel to myself 🤣 good value for...