Laem Din Hotel Chaweng

We’d been dreading the stay after reading the reviews, but ours turned out really good. The rooms were spacious and lovely, with air con, a balcony and hot showers, and the bedding was fresh and clean. There’s a free gym, the location is good and the staff were lovely. Our only gripe was that the shower felt a little minty and needed a proper scrub.

It looked nothing like the photos. Where was the pool? The room was disgusting, with a foul smell and strange stains all down the walls, plus dried noodles left on the floor when we checked in. The bathroom was worse, ants covered the toilet seat and the shower looked as if it hadn’t been cleaned in years. There was a balcony, but the next door room could see straight in when the curtains were open, so there was no privacy. The walls were paper thin and we could hear other guests all night. When I turned on the gym air con, it blew dust and mosquitoes out. I wouldn’t stay here even for free.

The location is handy, close to Chaweng main street, and there’s an escape road to the lake that avoids the intense massage places and girly bars nearby, where people grab at you and try to pull you in on the way to 7/11. It’s a big, old hotel with big rooms. They’re dated, but clean, and the free gym is better than some I’ve seen.

The rooftop pool is nice, though there aren’t many tanning beds, and you can walk to the main drag and beach. Rooms have recently been redone and look nice, but the open-concept bathroom may feel awkward if you want full privacy. There’s free access to a decent gym in the building across the road, which is also a D Varee building. The really annoying part is the constant Muay Thai announcements from a stadium speaker around the corner. You can hear them in your room and by the pool.