Nai Yang Beach Hotel

The beach is only a three-minute walk away, and there's a beautiful temple and the Black Ginger restaurant nearby. It's a cozy, pleasant hotel, and the polite, friendly staff are always glad to help with questions.

We had a wonderful seven-night stay as a family of four. It felt very quiet, even though the place is popular with families, especially Russian families. The night market and beach are close, and the market shuts at 10pm, so there weren't party people making noise all night. There's a lovely garden and three pools, and the property is well kept. The rooms are spacious and minimalist. They're a bit dated, but always very clean. Breakfast came with the stay and I thought it was worth it, with a standard mix of Western and Eastern food and plenty to eat. The coffee machine makes extremely weak coffee, though there's an urn with stronger coffee too. Someone told me Russian guests prefer it very mild, maybe that's true, maybe not. The breakfast area is dated as well, but has lovely covered seating in the open air. It's good value, somewhere between budget and upscale. I'd recommend it to most people. Singles or young couples wanting more seclusion might prefer the beach bungalows across the road.

I expected to stay just one night, but ended up extending. After another booking let me down, I found myself wandering around without WiFi, trying to remember where I'd seen this room advertised. The room I'd booked through that site had been given to someone else. The room here is very clean, affordable and quiet, and I was pleasantly surprised to wake up to views of the pool and tropical landscape. It's next door to the 7 11, too. Best of all was Shine at the front desk. It was late, and he showed me a couple of rooms and made me feel so welcome.

Want a non-smoking room that reeks of cigarettes and a mattress like concrete? This is the place.