Bansuan Thanormpat Resort

I only stayed for a few hours before deciding to leave. The experience felt uncomfortable and manipulative, and I wouldn’t recommend it to solo travelers. The house is just steps from a busy road outside the resort. During my four hours there, I counted cars and motorbikes passing right by the unit at least 20 times. Sitting on the terrace means dealing with constant traffic noise. There’s also a private airstrip about 15 minutes away, and low-flying planes make noise like you’d hear in Nimman, only worse because they linger and last longer. It didn’t feel like the quiet countryside retreat I’d imagined. A Chinese couple with a long-term contract lives right next to the house and told me they’d have 10+ online drum courses a week. They were away while I was there, so I don’t know how loud it gets, but there could be 10+ hours of drum noise weekly, mostly on weekends. I also didn’t feel I had much privacy. The male gardener stood outside my glass door for a long time, supposedly picking fruit. He left just after I closed the curtain, and it felt more like watching than working. A single man lives directly behind the unit, and walked past the terrace area at least five times in a short period while I was sitting there. That may be nothing wrong in itself, but it’s not a place for much peace or privacy. As a solo woman, I had safety concerns. The female host commented on my appearance several times, saying things like “You look sexy today” and “You wear different now.” She said this at least 5 times, which made me very uncomfortable. Later, when I asked to borrow a bicycle, she suggested I should “cover up” first. It didn’t feel like being in Thailand, more like in Iran. The host pressured me to pay a deposit before signing the contract, and never blocked the listing on Airbnb or Agoda, so the deposit only bound me, not the listing. I insisted on adding a clause allowing me to cancel with a full refund if the noise was unbearable. The host tried to slip in a Thai-only phrase that changed “refund of full deposit” into something else. With translation help, I caught it in time and made sure the full-refund clause was written properly. A few hours after paying the full rental amount, I decided to leave. They then tried to charge me 1,000 THB for “changing the bed” from two singles to a king, which seemed irrelevant since the new setup wouldn’t stop future guests from staying. They also mentioned cleaning costs, although their own check-out cleaning fee is only 500 THB. I’d used one towel and nothing else. On the second day after I paid the deposit, their listings were still openly bookable on all platforms, which made the deposit seem to mean nothing to them and only bind me. So the complaints about not getting what they booked or being mistreated on Airbnb may be true, depending on your luck. If I hadn’t insisted on the full-refund clause, I think they would’ve kept my money. Be very careful if you choose this place.

We booked this place because the reviews were good. We knew it was at least 20 minutes from the city and a taxi cost 250 baht one way, but expected a pleasant farm stay and a nice experience. Instead, we were given a different room from the one we’d booked. The Airbnb photo showed a separate house with a nicer, more glass-enclosed room, but it seemed they’d occupied it more than once and gave it to someone else. Our room was less nice and joined to another by a thin wall. We could hear EVERYTHING from the people next door, including talking and snoring, so it was nowhere near peaceful. The toilet was clean, but the bathroom mirror, shelf, and shower tiles looked as though they hadn’t been cleaned for weeks. We wanted to be kind to the owners, who seemed very nice, so we said we’d shorten our stay by 2 nights and planned not to write a review. The owner agreed, and I sent a request through Airbnb that she only needed to approve. At check-out we paid for the food, left a tip, and she said she would approve the change. After we left, she rejected it, so we had to handle it through Airbnb. We were unpleasantly surprised, since the owners had seemed nice during our stay. There were some good things: window nets, a pleasant terrace for sitting or lying down, and a nice view of rice fields at the far end of the property if you walk there. The owners and the boy working there were nice while we were staying. But it’s very far from everything, and I wouldn’t recommend it if you’re visiting Chiang Mai for the first time. The walls are thin, you might get a different room from the one you booked and paid for, cleanliness may be insufficient, and our room had no mosquito net. If you go, write first to check you’ll get the room you booked, and ask for any improvements you need if there’s a problem. If they do your laundry, check that they return all your clothes. I wouldn’t stay in a room connected to another one, only in a separate house.

We were caught without a room during the Yi Peng rush in Chiang Mai, and were really pleased with this booking even though it was a 30 minute drive from the city. The host was amazing and so accommodating, greeting us with banana cake and tea. She gave Ali’s a true authentic experience of what Thai people are like ❤️. The villas were comfortable, clean, and lovely. They had a kettle, refrigerator, and toaster, plus free coffee and water. There’s also a beautiful garden with lotus flowers and lots of other plants, a peaceful spot to explore or just relax in. We’ll definitely come back.

The owners made this feel like a special place and treated us like family. They were incredibly kind and focused on looking after us. The food was excellent, especially the delicious authentic Thai cooking, and they even brought tasty desert to our room without us asking. Our room was very clean and roomy, with cold air for anyone who needs it. It’s quiet and tucked away from the busy tourist center. We made homemade Loy Krathong floats and paper lanterns here. We’ll stay here every time we come back to Chiang Mai.