The O Valley Hotel

Being next to a gas station could be handy for people on the road, and the online rate I checked, about 580 baht, seemed reasonable. But at the desk I was quoted 790 baht, apparently because it was high season in Thailand. That was disappointing and felt unfair. I pointed out the much lower online price, but by then I didn't want to book online or stay, so I left. It's sad to feel you're being charged more simply because you're a foreigner.

For 600 baht, you get a good-sized room, a comfortable bed, hot shower, and good air conditioning. The pool is nice for cooling off and great for kids, and breakfast includes a Thai-style buffet. The staff are friendly and helpful. It's a great hotel just outside Surat Thani city for a stop while passing through. I'd stay again without hesitation.

The worst part is how isolated it feels. There's basically a motorway around, nothing in sight, an outdoor restaurant that was only average, and the place is about 25 km from the city. They also have a taxi that charges 350 baht to the airport, and there wasn't a Grab car nearby. Like many places in Thailand, the rooms seem to be falling apart. I would avoid it.

For a single night on a long drive, it can work if all you need is somewhere to sleep. But we checked in at 7:30 pm and left by about 6:30 the next morning, the earliest checkout of our whole Thailand trip. The building is old, the room smelled terrible and felt mouldy and dated. I changed rooms twice, and neither was as clean as I expected. Online pictures don't show the whole story, and I wouldn't recommend it for families with kids. If you're heading north from Hat Yai, the location may suit you. I was travelling south from the north and deliberately turned around to get here, which wasn't worth it to me. About 25 minutes north along the highway, there's Hotel K2 at a petrol station on the southbound side. It looked much better. Maybe once this place is repaired and fixed up, it could be nice for a night.