Where to Stay in Southeast Asia

During our autumn sojourn through Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia, we gathered a collection of five accommodation recommendations for travelers wondering where to stay in Southeast Asia.

FUENG FAH RIVERSIDE GARDEN RESORT
Chiang Mai, Thailand
www.ffriversideresort.com
reservation@ffriversideresort.com

Wifi: Available; signal strength stronger in lobby and restaurant than in rooms.
Breakfast: Traditional Thai breakfast available along with toast, eggs, fruit, and the like.
Our Favorite Amenities: Garden grounds, home-grown veggies, and white-fleshed dragonfruit .
Setting: Located on a rural road surrounded by agricultural fields and Thai families. Fifteen minute venture from the city of Chiang Mai.
{Fueng Fah Riverside Garden Resort feature & photo collection}

NERN CHALET
Hua Hin, Thailand
www.nernchalet.com

Wifi: Yes, with routers located on each floor and in the lobby, restaurant, and poolside terrace to ensure high signal strength anywhere on the property.
Breakfast: Lovely service on the beachfront terrace overlooking the Gulf of Thailand. Fruits and yogurts, teas and coffee, toast and jam, and a full menu with Thai and western dishes made to order.
Our Favorite Amenities: Personable, sincere staff and owners willing to offer custom recommendations to suit any whim. Easy arrangements for a motorbike to explore the city and countryside on our own. Hands-on in-house Thai cooking demonstration and moonlit dinners on the pool deck. Walking distance to the local fisherman’s market and shrines. Most of all, we were thrilled with a lovely, comfortable room that made it easy to unwind and rest after five weeks of planes, trains, buses, and tuk-tuks.
Setting: Unlike many of the imposing, brash monoliths of nearby resorts, Nern Chalet is a comfortably sized retreat, a calm treasure tucked at the end of the Hua Hin beach. The open air dining room and pool deck perched above the ocean invite sunbathing by day and moon-gazing by night, inspiring wistful dreams of Thailand for the rest of life.
{Nern Chalet feature & photo collection…}

KAVIL GUEST HOUSE
Chiang Mai, Thailand
tripadvisor.com Kavil Guest House

Wifi: Not the fastest or most consistent connection, but not the slowest, either.
Breakfast: Available for an additional charge. But, truth be told, the best breakfast is a fresh fruit smoothie from the nearby street vendors.
Our Favorite Amenities: A peachy deal at $11.30 a night for a clean room with air conditioning and third floor views of the city.
Setting: Just down one of the cutest alleyways in Chiang Mai, a few hundred steps from the bustling Sunday Market and a short walk to the Tha Pae Gate at the east side of the city.

INTERCITY HOTEL
Vientiane, Laos
www.intercity-lao.com
interhotel@laopdr.com

Wifi: Yes.
Breakfast: Included, but nothing special. Our recommendation? Eat light and save your appetite for a colorful, delicious meal at Makphet, just a short walk from the hotel, where dining dollars go toward the worthy work of rehabilitiating street kids through culinary training.
Our Favorite Amenities: After a week and a half staying in other accommodations in Laos, we were impressed with a spot offering a full-on shower curtain and high-pressure hot water. Trust us, you’ll come to appreciate the little things… Helpful desk staff offering assistance with Visas, bus tickets, and more.
Setting: Footsteps from loud and bustling night market crowds, not far from the Thai Friendship Bridge, but easily found and greatly appreciated while making a transit stop en route from Northern to Southern Laos.

{Best Tuk-Tuk Drivers Award}
GLORIA ANGKOR HOTEL
Siem Reip, Cambodia
info@gloriaangkorhotel.com
Gloria Angkor Hotel on Facebook

Wifi: Yep, it works!
Breakfast: Feel like a sleep-in? No worries. Claim your breakfast anytime during the day.
Our Favorite Amenities: From the moment the hotel’s tuk-tuk driver picked us up at the bus station to the farewell accompanied by an extra stash of water bottles when we departed a few days later, Gloria Angkor blew us away with their attentive service. Perfectly crunchy banana chips, cold water, and refreshing air conditioning each time we walked in the lobby. One hour massages included in a multi-day booking at $22.00 a night. Complimentary shuttles to the market, and helpful arrangements for visiting Angkor Wat.
Setting: Clean and calm with quiet rooms and the best of service. A bit removed from downtown Siem Reap, set back from the highway and buffered with golden statuary and green bamboo.

This feature is part of our Where to Stay Around the World series featuring quintessential and offbeat experiences, one-of-a-kind accommodations and beautiful B&Bs, traditional hotels and resorts, and a few surprises in between. As always, all opinions, photos, and stories are our own; many thanks to our kind hosts and partners along the way.