Astra Condo

The rooftop is a lovely spot for sunrise and sunset, and it has a pool and gym. There are also 24-hour security guards. Inside the building you can find a coffee shop, salon, restaurant, tour agency, and small convenience store. The rooms are comfortable and accurately described, though they get a little expensive in peak season.

Chiang Mai is a fun city, but I wouldn’t stay here again and would look elsewhere. I booked through Airbnb and wasn’t very impressed: both the bed and couch were rock hard, the rooftop pool was always crowded, and the elevators took a while to arrive.

The building itself is clean and feels safe, and I liked the pool and gym. The unit was clean too, and once the AC got going, the temperature was okay. But those positives couldn’t make up for how the stay started and how many practical problems followed. We were in building B, unit 419. Some issues may have been specific to that condo, and I find it telling and suspicious that I couldn’t leave a review for only this property on Booking.com. We arrived at 12:30 pm, before the room was ready, and were charged 80 baht per bag to leave our luggage. Later, buried in messages from the owner, I found out we could have stored the bags for free with the building security guard. A clear instruction to use the guard and not leave bags at check-in would have prevented the confusion. The luggage fee was refunded, to their credit. We came back from lunch and groceries at 2:05 pm, after the official check-in time, but were told housekeeping hadn’t “notified” the front desk, so the room still wasn’t ready. The explanation felt evasive. We said we weren’t leaving without keys, and after some back and forth, we finally got them. The room was stifling, around 95°F. The blinds were open to direct afternoon sun and all the AC units were off. From the balcony, the view was mostly large, weathered AC compressors. The AC controls were confusing, with several modes, unclear icons, and no instructions, so we couldn’t cool the room quickly. We’d come across similar systems later in the trip, but those hosts had left simple instructions. After about 15 minutes trying to manage the heat, we gave up and booked a room at the Shangri-La next door, even though our Astra reservation was non-refundable. The owner later said housekeeping usually turns off the AC and opens the curtains after cleaning. That explanation raised more questions, since a freshly cleaned room shouldn’t have had time to get so hot. Together with the late check-in, it suggested poor coordination or timing. We only had a day and a half in the city, so losing hours waiting to meet someone and troubleshoot basic things wasn’t acceptable. The next day we came back only to do laundry. Detergent was provided without a scoop or instructions, and the unit had only a drying rack, with no dryer; that wasn’t clearly disclosed. We were sent to a shared dryer, but after two cycles and 1.5 hours our clothes were still wet. It was broken and had no sign saying so, and we didn’t have time to air-dry everything. Some simple improvements would make a difference: give clear check-in and luggage storage directions, coordinate housekeeping with the front desk, cool rooms before guests arrive, and provide instructions for the AC and appliances. The microwave dial (see photo) was unreadable. The lack of an in-unit dryer should be disclosed, shared equipment should work and be labeled, and the room needed more towels. We had only two bath towels and no hand towels for the bathroom. There should also be signs showing how to reach rooms from the elevator. Our room, 419, wasn’t on the same long corridor as the other high-numbered rooms. The unit’s first impression and all the time spent dealing with these issues overshadowed the otherwise clean, safe building and its nice pool and gym.

Our host was so sweet, and the location made it easy to walk to the markets and some great places to eat. We had a really good stay and hope to come back soon.