The Centris Hotel Phatthalung — Hotel in Phatthalung Province

I booked one night at this hotel without breakfast, but in the morning, my son and I decided to have breakfast. At the lobby, the staff said we could pay an extra 300 THB. They showed me a menu, and I chose the Americano set for myself and the muesli breakfast for my son.

After we entered the breakfast area, I gave my breakfast coupon to a lady staff member. She pointed and said, “Take breakfast from here.” But there was no Americano set at all—only bread and some pieces of chicken legs. I asked her again, “Where is the Americano breakfast?” She just said, “Here.” I told her I was supposed to get the Americano breakfast, and she told me to wait.

I waited and then asked about my son’s breakfast, which was supposed to be cereal. She just showed me some plain cornflakes. That was it. I was really confused and disappointed with her attitude. We conversation in thai I understand very well.

Later, I asked for a refund for the breakfast, but the receptionist said it couldn't be refunded because I paid via QR code. However, the hotel staff and manager later contacted me and refunded the money, which I really appreciate. Matter about not money refund but I couldn't understand why she did like that in end time. Still, I don’t understand why the breakfast staff behaved like that. Compared to the bellboys, it was a completely different experience. The bellboys were all very polite and kind. Big thanks to them!

The hotel itself is nice, in a good location, and has parking. The room was very good. If you want a quiet room, it’s better to stay away from rooms near the elevator.

The management is good, but they should improve the breakfast system. The coupon should clearly state what kind of breakfast is included and how to get it.

Other staff should learn from the bellboys.

Rating: 3 stars because of the manager, the bellboys, and the...

Phatthalung, despite its proximity to the Gulf of Siam, is a sleepy town, reminding one what Thailand must have been like 30 years ago. (More on this later.) As the nearest airports are in nearby provinces: Trang, Hat Yai, and Nakhon Si Thammarat, much of the long haul traffic from Bangkok comes in on the overnight train, arriving at 6:00 if on time, 7:00 if late. Four minutes by foot from the station the Centris Hotel.

Unlike the other hotels which give the unwelcome speech of: “Our check-in time is 2PM...” the young ladies at the front desk said apologetically: “Yesterday we were sold out ...” and offered to page me if I would give them my phone number, when a cleaned room opened up. Now, that’s what a 5-star hotel would do.

But a bigger surprise was awaiting, after I was given a key. The house keeper on the floor was busy cleaning other rooms when I arrived; she immediately dropped her work, came over and helped set up the air conditioner and tuned the cable TV. One would think that she had just hurriedly cleaned the room; so how did she find time to fold the towels into baby elephants? Five star hotels else where don’t do this.

In front of the railway station is a night market. After taking a nap, I got there at 7:20 PM; some of the stalls were already closing up. But didn’t it just opened at 6PM? Promptly at 8PM, the railway station stops selling tickets. And this is a Saturday night, mind you.

Phatthalung and Udon Thani at the opposite end in the northeast are similar in layout: train station, night market, and hotel are within 4-5 minutes from each other. But socially (in the form of vibrancy) and economically (in “business hustle”), they are live examples of The Tale of...

Hotel is slightly hidden from main road but has good location as it is right in town center. It's a small hotel with just 5 floors of rooms with an air well in the centre and the rooms arranged around it. It can get noisy with guests movements. One of the days, we planned early departure to Thale Noi Lake and they helped reserve our breakfast for us to have as lunch when we came back,. It was Thai porridge which the kitchen heated up for us and it was absolutely delicious. Some staff were excellent with guest service but some of the girls at reception were unhelpful; when we requested for help with translations to book train tickets to Hatyai, they said the train staff could understand English...not true. They don’t have travel desk service and we couldn’t find a tour agent in town. We finally booked our train tickets online but the reception couldn't help us print our train tickets. They directed us to a stationery shop in town but we couldn’t find tuktuk on the streets and had to request reception to call one for us to get there. Doorman was very helpful and served us welcome drinks every time we came back hot and sweaty or needed to gather in the lobby to discuss our plans to get around. Hotel is located nearby the night market where we could walk around to enjoy the local street food. We could also lug our bags to walk to the train station which is just 4...