CBD Hotel

A kettle was missing, but the bed was comfy and the room spacious. The early morning noise in the corridor wrecked a much needed sleep. Staff were talking loudly on walkie-talkies and woke me up. Really, who thought that was a good approach? There are phones in the rooms for staff to use more quietly. Please take noise pollution and people’s need for quiet more seriously. 😡🤬🤫🙏

I knew this was a budget hotel and wasn’t expecting luxury. I did expect to get some sleep, though, and this was the worst night’s rest of our trip. The room noise was severe. I reported it at 10:30 pm, midnight, and again at 1 am, but the banging, repeated door slams, and what sounded like furniture being moved went on until around 3 am. Then it started again at about 5:15. I slept for roughly an hour in total. The staff seemed uninterested and visibly annoyed when I reported it. Someone eventually came to our floor, but nothing really changed. We were told the hotel was fully booked and we couldn’t move rooms. The soundproofing is extremely poor, and quiet hours weren’t meaningfully enforced. It was exhausting and frustrating. If sleep matters to you, avoid staying here.

Being near the Shrine Market was convenient, with lots of food stalls and restaurants close by. We arrived around 3:00 a.m. At check-in, the staff asked how many nights we’d booked and mentioned a 300 THB key-card deposit, but gave us no room number, check-out time, or other details. We had to ask for the room number, and were told to look on the key card. The communication wasn’t very polite, which made the check-in less pleasant. The room and bathroom were both spacious. The water smelled off when we brushed our teeth, though. Snacks, bottled water, a toothbrush, and alcoholic drinks were provided, but they all cost extra. Even the water in the fridge wasn’t complimentary.

We paid about £15 GBP a night, so we can’t complain too much. It’s a very cheap, cheerful place, but don’t expect high standards. The rooms were big and clean, the Wi-Fi was good, and the location was very central to Surat Thani. CBD means Central Business District, so it’s close to everything. There’s also a lovely coffee shop about 100m down the road called The Phat Loonk, see photo.