From US$83 including breakfast
– First-rate service; when I was taken ill staff twice re-booked my bus ticket, provided medication from on-site supplies and fetched other medicines from the pharmacy at my request
– While the hotel is to be commended for using 100% natural toiletries, they weren’t effective and I’d bring my own if I stayed again
Step back in time to the heady days of the 1920s, when well-to-do and adventurous Westerners set out for the Orient in search of exotic decadence. This unique 20-roomed boutique property is filled throughout with period pieces – in guest rooms and public areas you will find gramophones, old fashioned telephones, books, and musical instruments, such as the saxophone adorning the wall of our villa room.
All rooms are comfortably furnished with just the right level of ‘distressed’ furnishings to fit the vintage theme but with all the comforts you would expect of the top rated hotel in Pai: TV, DVD player, free wifi, tea/coffee making facilities, small mini bar and beautiful bathrooms. The villa rooms open on to a private garden and have outdoor seating but the highlight is the stone Jacuzzi bath tub for two where you can open the aged shutters and, through the huge picture window, feel as though you are bathing in the garden itself.
Upstairs mountain view rooms afford the best views with stunning vistas of the lush hills around the city and the giant white Buddha that overlooks the valley.
Amenities include two pools, one beautiful freeform stone pool and an infinity pool looking out towards the hills. There is also a riverside pavilion, in a quiet spot away from the main hotel buildings. It’s an ideal spot for yoga, meditation or quiet contemplation as you sit on a bean bag and gaze at the fast-flowing, muddy waters of the River Pai.
The hotel is a few hundred metres from the centre of Pai and offers an on-demand shuttle service from various points around town. You will, however, want to eat in at least once, for lunch or an evening meal, to sample the Silhouette restaurant’s fine menu. To the sounds of soft jazz playing in the library area, you can feast on good quality tapas or Mediterranean fare, accompanied by a bottle or two from the carefully curated wine collection.
