(September 2009)
With a limited budget and a dislike of the often cold and impersonal feel of a hotel, I opted to stay in a guesthouse during my 6 days in Chiang Mai.
After numerous online searches and reviews, I found many guesthouses with air-conditioned rooms, hot showers, cable TV, and within a radius of 1km from Tapae Gate and Night Bazaar.
One of guesthouses among the reviews caught my attention. Vanilla Place was recommended by many with the proprietors, Mr. and Mrs Jaisamran or Kem and Kat, receiving rave reviews, such as:
- Friendly, great, or amazing hosts and staff
- Kem and Kat recommend and help to plan your itinerary upon check-in
- Kem books excursions/cooking classes minus the commissions
- Kem flags down and helps you to negotiate a lower fare for tuk-tuk or taxi
- Kem and Kat always welcome you with a glass of drinking water upon your arrival or your return from a day of excursion
- Kem and Kat helped guests to get a mobile phone left in a taxi, to get medical assistance when injured, to assemble a bicycle, etc.
- and more…
I thought these reviewers must have exaggerated as I rarely came upon guesthouses or even hotels with proprietors and staff as good as they described.
You know what? The positive comments are all true!
Kem and Kat are wonderful people who really care, not just as business owners but more like a close friend or family member.
They care if I had enough information to plan my stay in Chiang Mai
They care if I enjoyed my day when I returned, and always met me with a glass of drinking water and a chat
When Kem found out that I wanted to go to Baan Tawai, which is a arts and craft village 20km from Chiang Mai city, he personally made sure I got to my intended destination as there was no direct public transportation. Kem drove me in his private car to an informal transportation hub next to a market. He provided the details to the songthaew driver and negotiated a good fare for my trip.
Kem even got me the front passenger seat (with A/C) in the truck-based taxi while the other passengers were in the back (without A/C). Before I left in the songthaew, Kem reminded me the amount to pay for the ride so that I wouldn’t pay more than the locals.
I was so thankful as I couldn’t afford a private tuk-tuk/taxi and it was raining that morning.
I really did feel like I was spending a few days with an uncle and an aunt who took very good care of me.
If you are the type of independent person who likes to stay to yourself or dislikes others asking about your activities and whereabouts, you may not enjoy the charms of Vanilla Place.
Granted there are other guesthouses which offer similar or even better amenities. However, most, if not all of them, won’t offer the hospitality of Vanilla Place.
Notes on rooms and amenities
- Standard rooms without windows
- Superior rooms with windows
- Rooms with windows facing the main road get a little traffic noise, especially in the morning with parents dropping kids off at a nearby school
- No lift or elevator
- Extra security with touch-card access after 10pm
- Complimentary wi-fi and a common PC for internet access
- Complimentary breakfast of toasts or croissants with butter/jam and coffee/tea
- Complimentary airport transfers
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