Railay Beach, Ao Nang and Krabi Hotel Review

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Railay Beach has only a few hotels. This is a good thing, as it limits the number of people you have to share the beach with. However, during high season it is difficult to get a room. It is essential over the Christmas period that you book several months in advance. Because of this we've started to include hotels in Krabi and Ao Nang.

We've been living in Railay for over fifteen years, so we personally know all the owners and staff. The hotel staff are Thai, and with the language difference, things are often misunderstood or misplaced. When we make a booking, we physically go over to the hotel and make sure that everything is in order. You can be sure that what you book through us is what you get.

Our rates are the same or often below that of the "walk in price", particularly in high season when customers turn up at the last minute, and get into a bidding war for the last room. Even if every where is full, we can often find you something.

If you do have any problems, we are always on hand to sort things out.

Below is a summary of some of the hotel rooms available. We hope you find this useful!
We've just finished putting all the hotels onto an Interactive map, so you can get more of a feel where things are. You can book activities such as Thai cooking courses from the home page.

Hotel Name	Location	Price Range	Facilities
Railay Bay	Railay	1000-16200 Baht
Sand and Sea	Railay	900-4750 Baht
Railay Village	Railay	3500-9000 Baht
Railey Princess Resort	Railay	2100-5000 Baht
Diamond Cave	Railay	800-3700 Baht
Tonsai Beach Resort	Tonsai	1040-2440 Baht
Sunrise Tropical Resort	Railay	2550-5700 Baht
Laoliang Island	Laoliang	7000-9000 Baht
Beach Houses
Bridge Beach House	Railay	2500-33000 Baht
Merrys Beach House	Railay	3000-5500 Baht
Bahn Chang Beach House	Railay	4500-7800 Baht
Goldschmid's House	Railay	2300-4200 Baht
Ao Nang Hotels
Somkiet Buri resort	Ao Nang	1200-3500 Baht
Ocean garden resort	Ao Nang	1300-3400 Baht
Vogue resort	Ao Nang	2500-5300 Baht
Asia Airport Hotel	Bangkok	1200-2200 Baht

There are no hidden costs/ taxes/ surcharges etc. in our prices. The prices displayed are the prices charged. No charges will be made to your credit card until we have confirmed that we have a room available for you, and you have confirmed that you want it.

Hotel Low Down

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If you are feeling a little overwhelmed by the choice, then maybe this will help....

First off, none of the hotels rooms are absolute beach front. The hotels pools and restaurants front onto the beach. Secondly Railay is small. You can walk anywhere in about 15 minutes.

Sand Sea, Railay Bay, Sunrise, Railay Village and Railay Princess have all been developed from bamboo huts to air conditioned hotels. Each year they all try to out do each other by becoming more like a five star resort. These days they run a pretty close race, all have the standard mod cons- Pool, AC, Cable TV, Mini Bar etc, and are new and friendly. Occupying Railay's central area. This is the "top end" accommodation in Railay.
 

Sunrise
Sunrise was the first hotel to go from bamboo to luxury. They were built a few years ago now (1999?), but the people that designed and built them put in a great deal of thought, care and love into them. Because of this they have aged very well, actually becoming more attractive as the gardens have grown up, and their exteriors have mellowed. They were built at the time before the crowds, so the bungalows are generously spaced giving you the feeling of privacy, even seclusion. The pool was the first one in Railay, and is pleasant but modestly sized. The interior of these bungalows are fantastic. Fitted out in hardwood to last, it is the little details which got me- Its not flashy, but built and equipped for comfort- The sort of thing I am talking about is the bath tub- It's not a flashy spa bath, all bubbles and hard edges- it is more like the comfy sofa you've always wanted, but with water in it- The back is contoured and it even has arm rests and a place where you can put your book/ drink- They even have an incense/ oil burner to set the mood- and a very fancy retractable shower head to play with. I wish I knew where they got them from- as I want one in my house....

The only downside of these bungalows is the number of steps you need to negotiate to get to the toilet- trying to find the toilet at night in the dark is an exercise in pain. The top tip is to leave a light on in the bathroom... Other nice touches include having a variety of pillows of different thickness to choose from, a huge very comfortable bed- tastefully understated decor- Oh and the best breakfast buffet in Railay! All in all this is one very well run establishment, and at the price is a bargain.
 

Railay Village
Just rebuilt from scratch (2007) this is the newest resort on Railay, and yes they have done a fantastic job. There are 2 pools, both enormous and both with bubbles, jets and features to make you go ahhhh- impressive pools... If the pools don't grab you the bungalows will. Spaced sensibly for privacy, surrounded by individual water features and gardens they are impressive. Internally they get better- lots of hardwood and clever lighting. The bed is huge and comfortable, the shower wins the reward for the hottest most powerful shower in Railay, and there is even a very pretty spa/ whirlpool thing, which fills itself via a waterfall type feature. Although pretty to look at, the spa is not particularly practical. It's unheated water, which may make it appealing for very hot days and kids, but a toe dip was enough for me... The bungalows all come with DVD players, but no DVD's- so buy some in AoNang (all the latest movies for almost nothing) or bring your own if you are into them. The cheaper bungalows are also nice, but once you've seen the luxury ones... All in all if you are looking for brand new luxury with amazing pools, then this is for you.
 

Railay Princess
This is one of Railay's new resorts, and is one huge three story building. Despite that, it is surprisingly nice. The landscaping is great, and the outlook onto cliffs, jungle and the water features impressive. The rooms themselves are large, well furnished, tastefully decorated and well, very nice... Huge extremely comfortable beds. The fairly modest swimming pool is beautifully done and even has a diving board. At the price it is a pretty good deal, although the only thing that would make you pick it over Sunrise is the pool.... Also at the moment there is construction right behind it. I did not find the noise levels a problem, but if you are sensitive to noise don't stay here at the moment.
 

Railay Bay
Railay Bay has an extreme variety of rooms so it is rather difficult to review. They have recently rebuilt their central area into upper mid range "privacy" blocks. This will appeal to some and not others- The privacy cottages are a series of walled off bungalows. The bungalow and it's garden are walled off from each other by a 7 foot wall. If I were to be cynical then I would say this is a way for them to cram in as many bungalows as possible, however If you like your privacy then this may be ideal. Internally the bungalows are new and very nice.

Then there is the budget accommodation- they are relatively cheap, clean, centrally located with AC. I could say that they are generic concrete boxes which could be anywhere in the world, but that would be rude so I wont..

The Deluxe building is very much like the Railay Princess in design- the rooms are nice and spacious and look out onto the common gardens. I think these rooms are pretty good value, and would recommend them.

The Railay Bay Cottages- these are actually very nice, in fact some of the nicer accommodation on Railay, and about as close to the beach as you can get these days. They were built in response to Sunrise, but are bigger and fancier. They are a slightly older equivalent of Railay Villages new bungalows, and although expensive, I would still recommend them.

Railay bay now has 2 pools. The front pool is right on the beach, and does that infinity pool thing. The other pool is large brand new and in the middle of the resort- also very nice.
 

Sand and Sea
If Sunrise is a lesson in building quality which lasts and lasts, then Sand and Sea is what happens if you just build what the banks tell you to. It is still a nice place to stay, large lovely gardens, and decently spaced bungalows. Built after Sunrise it is already due for a rebuild. Internally however the bungalows are nice, clean, and in the up market ones, very nice. For budget accommodation in the middle of Railay this is a good choice. I would pick it over the Railay Bay cheap rooms, and the more expensive rooms are on par with Railay Bay Deluxe and Princess- just a matter of taste. The pool is nice large and at the front.
 

The Beach Houses
The Beach houses are privately owned wooden houses on a very nice and large piece of land owned by a group of private individuals. The houses, each built to the taste of their owner, range from cozy cabins to larger jungle retreats. All are extremely lush and very private. Some of these houses are for rent. However this is authentic Thai style at it's best, which means limited power, no air conditioning and no pool. Ideal for anyone who prefers nature to sanitised air conditioned hotel rooms.
 

Diamond Cave
Is on the cheaper side of Railay (Railey East side). It has some of the quality of the other resorts, but is further from the beach and more affordable. It has a modest pool with great views of the surrounding cliffs. It's surrounded by other backpacker accommodation, none of which takes reliable reservations. This is most suited to slightly up market backpackers. Family's tend to get offended by the randomly none existent levels of service.
 

Tonsai Beach Resort
Is on Tonsai Beach, a 15-20 minute hike from Railay Beach. Tonsai Beach is where all the climbers and backpackers stay in high season. It's the most reasonably priced area, with a large range of budget accommodation. Tonsai Resort is air conditioned, and the only place which takes reliable bookings on Tonsai Beach. The rooms are large, clean and functionally furnished. The power in Tonsai tends to be randomly sporadic, so you are probably not going to be sitting inside all day watching cable TV- why would you?

AoNang Hotels
No surprise that the Ao Nang hotels are all in Ao Nang, 15 minutes by boat from Railay. The hotels we have included are what we think the best options are. Ao Nang has become a busy place over the last couple of years. Although half the price of Railay, mostly people stay in Ao Nang when Railay Beach is booked out. I recently stayed at the Vogue Ao Nang hotel which was surprisingly nice. Despite being on the main road it was quite. The rooms were large, clean and very much like you would find in any well run generic modern hotel. The bed was enormous and comfortable. It had all the facilities you'd expect- pool, day spa etc, even a gym. There is was a really pleasant garden area to breakfast in, and then of course there was the buffet breakfast. This breakfast wins my reward for best buffet breakfast in Railay or Ao Nang- they even had bacon- ummmm!

Well I hope that helps. Check out our web forums for more comments from people, and feel free to post your own!

Railay Bay

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