House of Garden

It was good value, but the payment situation made the stay awful. I’d booked and paid through Agoda, and showed the host the receipts, but she thought Agoda was a scam and insisted on cash. She got angry, then spoke abusively about me in Thai to my partner. We just wanted to leave. A horrible German/Thai hostess.

Rice fields all around the lovely homes make this a peaceful place to stay in Chiang Rai. It’s a great break from the city’s noise and bustle, and somewhere you can really rest and relax. You might not want to leave.

The rooms, bed, and bathroom were all marvelous, and the little fridge and hotpot cart came in handy. The place is basically one big garden with three houses, a pool, and a garage. We stayed in the “double room with park view,” in the house where the owners live, alongside the reception and shared area. The owners are a Thai woman, her German husband, and their youngest son. The other two houses are rented as whole houses, and the pool is behind one of them. There was fresh fruit from the orchard every day, including bananas, pomelo, and mango. It’s out in the countryside, so it suited us for walks by rice fields and along country lanes, or just sitting in the garden with a book or laptop. We didn’t have a car, which was inconvenient at times, but Noina arranged a taxi driver on his day off to take us around the Golden Triangle and tea plantations. We booked him directly for the following day, and when he wasn’t available later, he connected us with another driver. That kept happening, with each driver finding someone else when needed. We often relied on Google Translate, and everyone was kind and helpful. On our first evening, Noina took us to the nearby village, less than 2 km away, where there’s a 7-11 and a night market so we could get dinner and snacks. A few times she let us use her microwave to heat up 7-11 meals, and she invited us to eat with her family a couple of times. I’d be happy to come back.

When our friends come to visit, they stay here. We always recommend it, and everyone loves the place.