Golden Fort Guesthouse

The two women running the place were so sweet and amazing. Their presence made the stay much more enjoyable, and I’d stay again. I also loved the sticky rice at breakfast, and there was a little orange cat that became our cat during the week we were there. It has what a traveler needs, especially if you’ll be out in Chiangmai instead of spending much time in your room. Light sleepers may struggle: most rooms are close to the common space, and you can hear people talking late into the night. Some guests also seemed to forget that the windows are basically open, so sound carries easily. They were shouting around 7 a.m.

The place had a nice vibe, and the owners were really friendly. It’s also good value, but I’m giving it three stars because we expected AC. Booking advertised AC in every room, but apparently ours only had a fan. The outside lights stayed on all night, the blinds didn’t keep the light out, and the pillows smelled a bit. If you ask, you can use the pool at Le Charcoa hotel just around the corner. They also have great pizzas.

We were so disappointed with the bottom-floor room at Golden Fort Guesthouse that we left late at night and found somewhere else. There was no refund, no other room available, and no apology when we spoke to a woman there. It was a sad start to my first guesthouse stay in Thailand, though thankfully the next place made us feel welcome and comfortable. The room shown online looked nothing like this one. It was small and basic, which I could have accepted, but it was dim, unhealthy, and prison-like. The room was concrete rather than the teak wood in the photos, with lots of mosquitoes and disgusting mattresses and bedding. The toilet was in one concrete room and a small sink in another. There were no windows, just a large hole with chain-link fencing and a concrete wall right beyond it. I didn’t feel secure because the door could easily have been pushed open. It wasn’t suitable for tourists paying for a guesthouse.

We had a basement room with no windows, and every footstep and word from other people in the house came through. The beds were very hard and uncomfortable, and they gave us towels instead of bedsheets. The staff were quite nice, though, and the washing machine came in handy. The room was ugly and not very clean, although at least there were no insects. I loved our golden curtain! 😂 The location was okay, but the house itself wasn’t very nice. For this price, or even less, I think you can find better accommodation.