Finally, I have gotten around to writing a review of the Nan Boutique Hotel based on my brief stay there in late November 2009. Located in the city of Nan in Northern Thailand, this small two story boutique property is the newest hotel in the city, having opened in Spring 2009

Situated just a couple of blocks away from the heart of the downtown area, the location is ideal. The rooms are large and comfortable - the best I have seen in Nan - but there is a very serious design flaw with the rooms on the lower floor. Believe it or not, the closets of these rooms are located in the bathroom. When you take a shower, the moisture inside the bathroom will probably make your clothes damp.

For the life of me, I don’t understand why the rooms were designed like this. When I informed the manager of this situation, she said that she was aware of this odd room configuration, and was quick to point out that the closets of the rooms on the 2nd floor were located outside the bathroom.

The service at the front desk was subpar - while the employees are friendly, they are not knowledgeable about Nan. The small rooftop restaurant recently opened for breakfast only, but the breakfast buffet was very poor overall. The choice of dishes did not cater to the western tourist as there was no toast or bread and limited fruit available. Service needs to be improved here as well.

At the time of my visit (late November), there were no in-room safes or safe deposit boxes in the reception area, however I was told that management would be installing safes in all the rooms sometime this year. Hooray!

Outside of the small gift shop and the rooftop restaurant, the hotel does not have any facilities. It should be noted however that the hotel offers complimentary bicycles to all their guests. This is a real plus as cycling is the best way to get around Nan. A small swimming pool and workout room would be welcome additions - this may happen sometime in the near future.

In summary - the hotel has potential to be a first rate property, but I cannot wholeheartedly recommend Nan Boutique Hotel at this time until the service improves and the rooms on the lower floor are reconfigured. I would also like to mention that the management (the owner) seemed to be very open minded, sincere and receptive to constructive criticism.

Many new hotels have recently opened their doors in Northern Thailand during the last year or so. These new hotels range from Banilah, a budget boutique hotel in Chiang Mai to the deluxe Four Seasons Tented Camp in Chiang Rai Province, a resort modeled after the luxury tented camps in East Africa. I will be visiting three of these new properties on my upcoming trip to Thailand in November. Here’s a capsule review:

Banilah

Located in Chiang Mai, Banilah is a small hostel which caters to the budget traveler. From the images on the website, it appears to be a very stylish but simple boutique hotel. With room rates of only $9.00 including daily breakfast, it sounds too good be true. The hotel is located about 15 minute taxi ride from the center of Chiang Mai in an area very popular with the student crowd.

Nan Boutique Hotel

Heretofore, the city of NAN - an off the beaten track destination in Northern Thailand that few tourists have heard of - was lacking a legitimate first class hotel. That has all changed with the opening up of the Nan Boutique Hotel. From the look of their website, this hotel appears to be very stylish and upscale with rates starting at very reasonable $40USD.

Bo Klua View

About a 90 minute drive from the city of Nan is Bo Klua resort, a small nature lodge of about 12 rooms. Overlooking an ancient salt well village and situated not far from the Doi Phu Kha National Park, this hotel is for nature lovers. Priced at $50USD night including breakfast, the rates seem to be a little on the steep side for accommodations of this type in Thailand, but then again I have yet to visit the property.

I will be splitting my stay in Nan at Nan Boutique Hotel and Bo Klua View.

Four Seasons Tented Camp

Further afield in Chiang Rai Province is the Four Seasons Tented Camp, the first of its kind in Thailand - sort of Africa meets Thailand. According to the publicity, this resort is popular with people who’d like to see the elephants. It is rated as a luxury establishment’ with rates that start at $1370 per night/per tent including daily breakfast, the price is a little steep for most people but apparently they have found a market with “the so called jet set and celebrity types”.