The Baan Purr was completely renovated in August 2009, and has been refurbished to a surprisingly high standard, considering the modest prices it charges. The owner is an architect, and her professional influence is in evidence in the attractive layout of the guest house.
The corridors are external to the building and sheltered from the weather by a roof. This means that the guest, instead of walking to his room along the usual dark and dinghy hotel corridor, approaches his room by walking along a terrace with a fantastic view of the karst ramparts that separate Ao Nang from Railay.
All the bathrooms have been completely gutted and rebuilt. The air-conditioning units (all rooms have a/c) aren't new, but are in good condition and don't wheeze and clank like so many economy guest house air-con units.
Whilst there is nothing fancy about the rooms and the light shades of paint used are so light and bright that some guests will want to keep their sun-glasses on indoors, the rooms are clean, comfortable and airy, and show none of the signs of mould and damp that bedevil most budget rooms.
The Baan Purr really has a lot going for it, including it's oddly attractive conundrum of a name, which this writer has been unable to find out the meaning of. Anybody who manages to find out why the hotel has this odd name should pop over the road to our office, to claim a free prize!
Besides the trivial attraction of the odd name, the hotel has further draws which currently make it into one of Ao Nang's very best budget options.
As at Nov 2009 we can think of nowhere better, for the following reasons:
1)
The guest house is only 500 metres from the beach, restaurant and nightlife centre
2)
It has unusually high quality rooms for the price charged
3)
If the visitor walks a further kilometre away from the beach, he or she will reach the local village, where Thai people and savvy visitors eat authentic food at ridiculously low prices.
Note, as of Oct 2010, the Haleeva has now taken over as the best budget place in Ao Nang.
In addition to the prodigious charms above, this guest house has an ace up its sleeve: it has real bakery bread available, which transforms the breakfast into something very similar to what Western visitor is used to back home. Almost all budget places in Thailand (and most mid-range resorts too) serve the vile, sweet white tuff that masquerades as bread but is actually a chemically-concocted poison which will ruin the health as well as the breakfast. This reviewer has written hotels on dozens of hotels (no, make that over a hundred now) and this is the first non-luxury hotel I have ever come across that serves decent breakfast bread.
The guest house is built on 3 floors. The ground floor has only the 'Standard' twin rooms, whilst the first floor has rooms with better views, the 'Scenery View' rooms, which come with both double or twin beds.
For all the above rooms, the best ones are the ones furthest from the road, as they are the quietest. If you contact us one of us will pop up there (it's only a minute's walk, but we'll probably ride the bike there, as most of us are allergic to exercise) and we'll get you the best room available for your dates.
The guest house also has 'Economy' rooms in the basement. These are just as spotless as are all the rest of the rooms in the resort, but lack any natural light, so are only recommended for visitors who will be put and about and intend to use their room purely as a place to sleep.
Prices
Minimum stay 3 nights
The above rates are net per room per night and inclusive of service charge. In high season the rate includes breakfast for 2 people, in low season only tea or coffee is included.
If you book on this site, we offer the following free benefits:
Airport transfers at only THB 500 for a taxi or THB 1,000 for a minivan.
If you book your transfer to the airport with us, we will take you to the Tiger Cave Temple, for free, en route. If adults want to climb to the top and need child-minding help while they do so, contact us.
We’ll personally inspect the available rooms at the resort for the dates you require, then report back to you with details of the available rooms that best meet your requirements.
You will be able to take advantage of unlimited travel advice before arrival – we know southern Thailand intimately and so can organize all your accommodation, travel, sports and activities. This personalized and customized service comes at no extra cost to you – we get our commissions from hotels and activity/transport providers, not from you.
