Guest Reviews

Chakrabongse Villas: "Bangkok’s best kept secret hotel"

I only knew about this hotel due to the history of the Chakrabongse family, and therefore really wanted to stay there. Quite frankly it feels that you are staying in a private house in the epicentre of old Bangkok rather than a hotel. We stayed in the garden room, and even had friends over for dinner on the terrace for one of the nights. I wish I could afford to stay here every time I am in BKK, but think I will just have to settle for when I want to treat myself (and the wife !) to something special. absolutely brilliant place to stay.

Rachamankha: "Fantastic Stay"

This is a "late" review, as I lost the name until I found it in my old luggage. We stayed there three nights starting 01/20/2013-01/23/2013, and it was nearly the single most pleasant place we stayed in a three month trip around Thailand and Laos. All rooms face a beautiful central courtyard, and the staff and management are top-notch. The only downside is that the neighborhood outside the walls is a bit rugged, but we had no problems. Highly recommended...don't believe the Dec 2015 stay date...I had to put something....

Reverie Siam Pai: "A Truly Relaxing Paradise in Pai"

Our stay at Revere Siam was exactly what we needed. It was the perfect getaway, surrounded by nature with a mountain backdrop in a peaceful area of Pai! We went with the elegantly designed villa that had a Jacuzzi in the bathroom, and a big private garden. From the second we entered our villa we could clearly see they put some love and serious thought into designing this stunning hotel. To be honest the entire property was just breathtaking! The staff are friendly and the environment is peaceful! We spent most of our time in Pai at Revere Siam relaxing by the pool, enjoying the Jacuzzi and eating delicious meals (Lamb & Salmon dishes are top notch delicious, so is the breakfast) at their Mediterranean restaurant instead of exploring Pai. This resort is truly a paradise. We will definitely come back here again, no doubt about it!

Cheong Fatt Tze – Blue Mansion: "Excellent experience"

Overall it's a very wonderful experience. The vintage look, traditional music playing in the room, Nyonya snacks, breakfast and the service deserve good reputation. I will definitely visit it again in my next tri to Penang.

Rahai’i Pangun: "Absolutely fantastic!"

"We took the two night cruise to see the orangutans and visit the local Dayak river villages. Wow Borneo responded promptly to every question we had. Making reservations was very simple. Top deck of the boat allows a lot of space to walk about and to sit in comfortable deck chairs to enjoy the river cruise. The dining area was at the back on the top deck as well. They have a great cook who prepared wonderful, tasty, local foods. I would say it’s some of the best food we’ve had in the two years we’ve lived in Indonesia. The rooms were basic and the bed was very comfortable. We splurged on a room with air conditioning, which was well worth the added cost after an active hot day in Borneo. While there is no hot water for the showers, that’s not a real problem given that the water temperature was about 28 to 32 Celsius…It felt good to cool off a bit. The visits to the Dayak villages were enjoyable. We took motorized canoes up the tributaries to access the villages, which added to the adventure. The villagers were very welcoming and you could tell that they were proud of their communities. They had a local group of dancers and performers come right onto the ship in the afternoon. They were very proud of the dances that they performed. In fact, there are spirited competitions that the local community group had won several times. They were all wonderful. The orangutans were a blast! We went to the orangutan rehabilitation center to learn about their initiative to return orangutans back into the wild. We took small motorized canoes up the tributaries to access the islands that the orangutans live on. They would come down by the river to watch us as we passed by. It was amazing to watch them as they would swing through the trees. Truly amazing creatures. It was nice to get away from Jakarta to enjoy the beautiful scenery of this still wild area of Indonesia. It was great to stand out on the deck at night and watch all the stars. Ah, and what beautiful sunsets! We had several hours between when the cruise ended and when our flight departed. We asked the crew if they could recommend places to visit in Palangkaraya. They called ahead to their friends and relatives and spontaneously made arrangements to tour the city for a nominal fee. They brought us to the old part of the city, which was fascinating to walk through. This trip was great value for the money. It was an incredible memorable experience. One of the highlights of our stay in Indonesia."

Tugu Lombok: "Very Polite Staff and Excellence Service"

Hotel Tugu Lombok is located near Bangsal port (port from Lombok island to Gili islands). Firstly, I came to hotel just for asking their room rates since I already knew their famous unique hotel in Malang. Surprisingly, their staffs are very polite and informative giving explanation about their room types and also the rate. They also let me and my family to walk around hotel and saw several rooms. Finally we took a rest in their restaurant while enjoying some fresh juices and pizza. Although we didn't stay for this moment, but I will recommend this hotel for their excellence service, friendliness and polite staffs.

Slow Villas and Spa: "Amazing"

We spent an amazing honeymoon designed by Gilita (the travel agency of the owner of Slow private pool villas) and it was perfect! We spent 6 nights at Slow and we didn t want to leave. Breakfast is delicious, the new spa for the massages and Pilates courses is top! The villas are perfectly clean, very calm and beautiful. Thanks a lot at the staff for the lovely stay at Slow...

Sanak Retreat Bali: "No shopping, no need to go out to eat, just stay here and relax"

"We were so happy with our time here - five nights in such a remote location might not appeal to all, but we loved it. After a long drive from the airport (unfortunately on a holiday Sunday which extended the time), we were charmed by our greeting. Although we'd booked a one bedroom villa, we were delighted to be given a two bedroom with a choice of a king size bed both upstairs and downstairs - or we could pick and choose! We also had a choice of three balconies to sit on - to watch the sunrise or sunset if we wished. The rooms are very comfortable - deliberately not with every 5 star inclusion - but we found out that if we lacked something we could request it and it was willingly provided. All rooms are furnished with Balinese art and objects and most are available for purchase (good if you miss the shops!). The spa also has a great range of desirable objects for purchase. Talking of the spa, I managed to fit in 4 treatments and was lucky enough to find Wayan for my first and then book In with him again. He is a wonderful intuitive masseur and had a good insight into the treatment that was best for me and also gave me some practical advice. In fact, I enjoyed my treatments in Sanak so much (this included a facial on my last day), that I cancelled the massage I'd booked in Ubud and don't feel the need for any more at the moment. Maybe I'll change when we move to Seminyak later this week! We took two of the tours offered by Sanak - one was a trek with a local guide - around the nearby village and then down to the waterfall for a swim. If I'd realized this involved hundreds of steps down a steep path (my husband tells me I'm exaggerating), I probably wouldn't have done it! However, our guide, Arca, constantly helped me down stony steps and across streams patiently holding my hand tightly. It is a beautiful waterfall and refreshing, unfortunately there had been a lot of rain the previous night, so the climb was a bit slippery too, and also the rocks around the waterfall were still wet so there was nowhere to sit and difficult to change in and out of our costumes on such rocky ground. Arca carried towels and water for us, which was great. We also took a tour with Giusti - very knowledgeable and personable - we chose to visit the hot springs ((public baths), the Buddhist temple and then Lovina beach. We bought delicious fish & chips from the Buda Bakery at Lovina and sat with Giusti on the black sand to watch the sunset and the full moon come out. The food at Sanak was excellent and well priced, and we didn't mind at all that we couldn't visit a different restaurant every night. There are a few dishes you need to order 24 hours in advance and we can particularly recommend them - the Balinese duck and another chicken dish - they were both excellent. Breakfast is generous although the service could be a little more leisurely in such a tranquil setting. Sebastian, ably helped by Neni, heads up a great team and all the staff are charming and extremely helpful including purchasing some local goods on our behalf. Our farewell was as warm as our welcome and we do hope to return there one day."

Samuay & Sons: "Great meal well worth a visit"

We were meeting friends in Nong Khai and they asked us to go to their favourite restaurant in the area. We were not disappointed and can fully understand why they enjoy it so much. It's a narrow restaurant with a sort of mezzanine that allows you to overlook the restaurant and see the food being prepared and cooked from upstairs. It does not hold too many customers. The staff were very friendly, but the food is the real star of the show. It is fresh, tasty and well presented. A real surprise was the lovely desserts. I look forward to going back again for our next visit.

David’s Kitchen: "A Highlight of Our Trip"

Food: Delicious! I ordered an Asian dish (seared tuna with lemon grass) and my friend ordered a European dish (braised meat on potato mash with heavenly gravy), and both were SCRUMMY! We also got the flight of soups -- YUM! The squash soup and the pea soup were especially bright and flavorful -- I say this as someone who usually won't order either on a normal night. The lobster bisque was full of lobster (which is oddly not a given in my experience). David is an expat Brit and a charmer. Lovely man! He stopped by our table throughout the night, extolling stories about the family recipes behind his signature dishes, as well as his own mind-blowing travel experiences. The reservation page is a breeze, and best of all it asks if you'd like transportation to take you to and from the restaurant, which in a click brought a car to our hotel lobby at reservation time and made travel to the restaurant effortless. (We all agree the travel option on the reservation page is brilliant.) We will be back!!