Chrismate: Hotel des Artists, Khao Yai

Sunday, November 30, 2014

Hotel des Artists, Khao Yai

Road view of Café des Artists

During a recent trip to Khao Yai, I discovered this outstanding boutique hotel where I decided to stay overnight.

Café des Artists

Actually, I first came there because I was looking for a place to have coffee for breakfast. 'Le Café des Artists' stands alone in a lawn near the road to Khao Yai National Park, which is only a

Serving cappuccino

short distance away. This modern looking café is already a very pleasant place to sit & relax. They have a pleasant terrace outside and their coffee is great and delightfully served in a large pottery cup.

It prompted me to visit the property. This is when I literally fell in love with this place. It was on a weekend and it was currently full. No worries, I came back the following day when it was nearly empty.

Reception lounge

There are many features that make this property unique. First, it is its simple but charming architecture. The main building looks like a modern version of an old colonial style. All doors and windows are open on an exquisite environment: a lawn with a fountain, at the front, an amazing swimming-pool and a garden, at the back, and a total scenery of mountains and wooded areas. The rooms are in the back on two levels. The

Door to room

ground level opens directly on a long eternity pool, whereas the top floor rooms have their own delightful balconies and a great mountain view. The rooms are bright and pleasantly decorated. They provide pool robes and sandals, a kettle for tea and a real coffee-maker with a selected brand of coffee. As tiny as the bathroom can be, it is not deprived of charm & decoration. Actually, the shower is quite large. They provide their own dispensers of shampoo, conditioner & shower cream as well as liquid soap. It seems that a particular care has been brought to everything.

There is also another more private section with bungalows at the back. They all have direct access to a large pool, as if it were a small marina.

View from terrace

There is a wooden terrace on the side next to a lovely garden and even a pétanque ground, which is quite unusual.

The reception area is truly inviting, having a lawn, a water fountain and a rose garden in view. Next they also have a large reading room provided with magazines and books. On the upper floor, they also have a large open lounge.

In their rate, they do include breakfast and also afternoon tea. I seldom rave about a hotel. But when I saw this one, I decided to simply stay, relax and enjoy being there.

PS: My only regret is that their French name is not spelt correctly. 'Hotel des Artists' ought to be spelt this way: Hôtel des Artistes & Café des Artistes. Then everything would be perfect!

Christian Sorand