Saiyuan Residence Phuket

I stayed for a week while training at Sinbi and Cookie, and it was a wonderful, easygoing hotel. Cookie Muay Thai is a short ride by motorbike taxi, and Sinbi is a walk through the neighborhood. The pool is really great, and they have a drop-and-fold laundry service. My room had a lovely ocean-facing balcony and provided coffee. The TV had channels in lots of languages and on different topics. There are plenty of places to eat nearby. Fantastic.

This place is really noisy all day. Calling it a hotel feels like a stretch, it’s a dump.

I didn’t feel welcome here, and the owner’s attitude made the whole check-in experience awful. It was late, pouring rain, and I had no cash for the deposit. I offered other valuables instead, something other hotels in Phuket and other Thai cities had accepted, but she refused to help or speak politely. She just kept talking about money and said I couldn’t check in without cash. She seemed to assume guests would damage the room, too. This wasn’t really about the deposit, but about how she treated me. The owner only seemed to care about money, not how guests felt. The reply below talks about “Thailand rules,” but that doesn’t address what happened, and we aren’t naive. I’d choose somewhere with more considerate service.

The view from the little balcony was lovely. They left water and coffee each day.