It was almost eleven in the evening and we’re on our third round of Chang beer when my buddy felt the urge to take a quick dip at the pool. We’re on the second level of Chayadol Boutique Resort and our private veranda provided an unobstructed view of the very inviting swimming pool. And so he did.
Our lovely home in Chiang Rai was located around two kilometers away from downtown. After haggling with a cabbie driver for 60 Baht (US$ 1.67), we were brought to a private village where our resort was.
The open style
of Chayadol Boutique Resort was very welcoming. The swimming pool greeted us as
we entered the grounds. We proceeded to the reception area and arranged our
booking which we made beforehand. The lovely front desk officer assisted us
immediately and handed the key to our room.
Billeted on a Deluxe
King Room (check rates), we were ushered to the second level and were
directed on our home for three days.
Our spacious room was equipped with a king-sized bed, flat
screen TV, individually-controlled air conditioning, working desk, in-room
safe, coffee and tea-making facilities, mini fridge, and private veranda with
pool view.
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| They've got a huge bed! |
The en suite toilet and bath had a hot and cold
shower, bath towels, shampoo and shower gel, and hairdryer.
Me and my buddy went to the private veranda and lazed
a bit. We’re continuously planning on this quick side trip and we used the complimentary
fast internet connection from the resort. We actually wanted to check out what’s
happening in town at night but decided to just chill after our weeklong Chiang
Mai and Pai adventures.
We then checked out the resort’s café for our food
options.
Lounge chairs and coffee tables were set up outside
the café. We entered the glass doors and a young guy greeted us from the
counter. The cozy space was filled with books, magazines, board games, lounge
chairs, and funky light fixtures.
A selection of crafted coffee, tea, and smoothies were
on the menu list. Cakes and pastries were all settled on a refrigerated clear
glass counter. Candies, crisps, and other snacks were stacked on another shelf.
It’s a quaint li’l coffee shop that was frequented with the resort’s guests and
residents from the village.
We walked further and went out of the property. We’re
looking a place for our nightly beer sesh before we end the day. We scored from
a store nearby and bought Chang beers in can at 35 Baht each (US$ 0.97). We brought
it to the resort and settled on our private veranda where we continued our
endless plotting of our itineraries in Chiang Rai and Laos.
My buddy was enticed by the very tempting pool. He
asked me if I wanna join him for a quick dip and while I was thinking about it,
he stripped off and went down the outdoor shower area and then the pool. He did
a couple or more laps while I watched from the balcony.
I had an amazing sleep that night. I slowly climbed
down from our huge bed and went to the glass doors leading to our veranda. I
slowly parted the drapes and sat on the lounge chair for a while. A coffee would just be perfect – my thoughts
while I watched the sky changed from deep blue to fiery orange to clear blue. It was a perfect day to explore the town,
my musings went on.
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| My favorite spot |
We had a quick breakfast with compliments of the
resort. It had a little buffet spread of breads, eggs, sausages, hams, veggies,
noodles and fried rice. Orange juice, coffee and tea were the drink options. We
stuffed ourselves and headed to the front desk to inquire about their
motorbikes and bikes for hire.
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| Complimentary breakfast buffet |
Luckily, there were two bikes that were available that
day. We were given the keys to the padlocks and acquainted ourselves with the
bikes (the last time went on a bike tour was in Bagan, Myanmar, roughly a month
before our Chiang Rai trip).
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| Our buddies around Chiang Rai courtesy of Chayadol Boutique Resort |
We woke up feeling enliven on our last day. We packed
our bags, hired a tuk tuk going to
the bus station and bid our goodbyes to the lovely staff of the resort. It was
a short but sweet stay. Chayadol Boutique Resort might be far from downtown
Chiang Rai but the serenity of waking up each morning with a nice sunrise and a
quiet community were truly noteworthy.
Post Script
During our two-month backpacking trip around SoutheastAsia, I left my iPod at Novotel Platinum Pratunam in Bangkok (my fault) which they sent to our next destination
in Chiang Mai at Yaang Come Village Resort. And for whatever reason the parcel
went back to Bangkok in which they sent again to our home in Chiang Rai, the Chayadol
Boutique Resort. The parcel arrived the same day we left for Laos. Again, I
missed it. The manager of Chayadol Boutique Resort managed to send it to our
hotel in Kuala Lumpur, but due to some technical reasons the parcel was sent
back to them. I then asked them to just ship it to a friend who’s based in
Chiang Mai. All the incurred costs were shouldered by the hotels we stayed in which I appreciated very much. All this great acts of kindness were some of the
things I cherished the most from this trip. The extra effort of meeting their
guests’ needs were remarkable. With this kind of story I truly, and still,
believe in the goodness of humanity. Thank you Chayadol Boutique Resort for the
amazing experience.
Chayadol Boutique
Resort (book online)
699 Kornrat Village, Moo 24 Soi
Sunkhong 6 Robwieng,
Chiang Rai, 57000, Thailand
Contact Number: (+66) 537.56997
Email Address: chayadolresort@gmail.com
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