Jon the Traveller

One of the best budget places I have stayed in. Period.

The best rooms here are those floating on the River Kwai itself, these range from 300 – 450 baht, the remaining bungalows on the riverside by its restaurant – that does great Thai food at street prices – range from 150 to 250 baht per night and from a look are just as nice as those on the river, but for me it was staying right on the river that was the big sell here. They also have a good tour desk attached to the operation that offers very good local tours and onward national travel at stunning prices.

Location wise it is in the heart of Thanon Maenamkwai, the main guest-house strip in town, so is very handy for everywhere.

All in all stay here if you come to Kanchanaburi.

Got into VV very late – too late to originally stay here on my booking. However after spending the night in a cheap flop-house of a place, I popped down to see if they would be able to honour the aforementioned booking. Lo and behold the reception staff said they could. They gave me a gorgeous bungalow overlooking a well stocked fish pond on the grounds, yes it cost $32 a night, but I wanted to relax and pamper myself somewhat, given that I would be spending some time in a place I have come to loathe.

The room was very large with a king size double bed, aircon, hot water showers and a veranda right over the pond, facing towards the restaurant and the river.

For a bit of a splurge the place is very much worth it and the attached restaurant is such a change from the rest of the riverside places in VV, it has a wonderful “piazza” feel to it and does some amazing food, from Laos staples right though to good Provençal and even some Malaysian dishes.

Check their website for more information.