Le Erawan Hotel

The room was roomy, clean and nice, though a little old. It may have had a recent renovation or redecoration. There was no balcony, which didn’t matter much to me. I paid 1,200THB a night, and the service was acceptable, neither good nor bad. The GSA kindly offered early check-in, even though I hadn’t asked. But when I arrived around 11 a.m. to register and leave my things in the lobby or storeroom, they seemed unhappy that I was there before 2 p.m. and made me feel at fault for showing up early. I knew check-in was at 2; I wasn’t asking for early access, and I appreciated the offer. The next morning I planned to sleep until about 9, but woke around 6.45 or 7 to footsteps and furniture scraping overhead. I was on the top floor, and there may have been a meeting or banquet room above me. They had an event and started working before 7; the noise continued all morning, so I couldn’t get back to sleep between about 7.15 and 9. I asked reception what was above my room and explained how loud it was. They confirmed there was an event but didn’t apologize. That didn’t feel like the service standard for a four-star hotel. There wasn’t a buffet at breakfast because occupancy was low, so they served set meals. Since I was alone, I ordered one and asked if it could be put in a container because the restaurant AC was off. They refused. The bacon and egg in my ABF were good, but the ham was too soft and tasteless. The restaurant staff were nice and friendly.

We came to Le Erawan in Phang Nga for a wedding and were very pleased with the stay. Although every room was occupied, the staff found one that had been vacated early and kindly granted our early check-in request. The room was exceptionally clean and everything was well maintained. The island tour arranged through the hotel was a few hours long and excellent value at 2,800 thb for two. We visited James Bond island, Tham Lod Island and the fisherman village at Koh Panyee, and the trip was well organized and enjoyable. In the evening there was karaoke with a live musician at 8 pm, which was a lot of fun. We ordered champagne and were also given free cocktails. Breakfast was ordinary, with limited choice, but acceptable. I’d recommend staying here when visiting Phang Nga.

We booked through booking.com, where it looked like we could choose between a double and twin room. Once booked, there was no option to cancel, and we were assigned twin beds. It felt deceptive, as if the choice was shown just to sell the rooms they had available. They pushed the beds together, which was appreciated, but it still wasn’t comfortable like a double. The room had just one chair for two people, even though the desk had room for another. The balcony was tiny, really only somewhere to stand, and looked down onto other guests’ balconies in a way that felt intrusive. For a supposedly more luxurious 4* hotel, I expected English TV channels or a smart TV, but there was neither, so I couldn’t use the TV at all. We could hear everything. People chatting and laughing outside, the neighbors’ personal business well past midnight, their switches and plugs as if they were in our room, and loud repetitive bass music until 11pm. I complained and learned there was a banquet on floor 7, while we were on floor 4. With no real soundproofing, events shouldn’t run late into the evening. The neighbors kept making noise, so after midnight we asked to move rooms. The receptionist called upstairs, but his English was very limited and he didn’t get the message across. At 7am there were people on walkie talkies in the corridors and stomping upstairs. If you need peace and sleep, this place is a risk. I didn’t get either, and it wasn’t worth it. The shower took 10 minutes to warm up, then swung from scalding to freezing with no way to adjust it because the handle didn’t work properly. The bath’s hot tap only gave lukewarm water. Breakfast was surprisingly disappointing too: the eggs supposedly came out fresh but were stone cold, and the milk and juice were empty. It looks pretty and is well decorated, but the quality is poor for anyone hoping for a restful night. I’m badly sleep deprived and travelling again today.

The hotel sits by mangroves and striking limestone karsts, and has a beautiful, very clean, luxurious feel. I liked its authentic Thai style; it doesn’t try too hard to feel Western. The room was really comfortable, and the pool was a lovely place to relax. Breakfast had plenty of options, with more Thai than Western food, but enough for everyone. It’s quite remote, so walking out to restaurants, sights or just for a stroll isn’t easy. The soundproofing may be lacking too. I didn’t hear my neighbor talking, though they may have been traveling alone, but I could hear their light switches clicking. I’d recommend it if you want a peaceful, luxurious break with traditional Thai charm.