The Thailand expat forum for Travel, Lifestyle and Fun.

Bangyai

Having just done a Ban Laem visa run we decided not to head back to Bangkok but to spend the night on a beach somewhere near Chantaburi. Chao Lao has been mentioned on Teak Door so we headed that way.
It was about 4.30 when we drove into the place and unfortunately we found the road was being widened and regraded :



This lasted about 7 kilometres on and off so if you are going that way don't bother washing your car beforehand.
There is no beach road as such in Chao Lao, the main drag being set back from the road about 150 metres so its a while before you catch a small glimpse of the sea which tells you nothing. This was midweek and the place looked like a ghost town.....very quiet indeed.
To check out the beach we drove into a place called the Ocean Beach Resort. Here they wanted 1600 for a night for a room with sea view. This included breakfast.
Back on the main drag some places were advertised for as little as 350 but they were not on the beach which is what we were looking for. As the gf is wont to say...." If you want to save money, stay at home "

Time was getting on so the next place we called at was the ' Sand and Sea Resort ' ( which is on Laem Sadet beach next to Chao Lao ) Here they wanted 1200 a night ( breakfast NOT included ) and as it was late and it looked better than the first place I went for it. The bungalow we had was quite o.k. but nothing special.










O.k so this had cable T.V. , fridge , and hot water and was very clean as was the bathroom.
The place also had its own swimming pool for the 28 bungalows in the complex.



Where the place really scored was in having its own private beach with a nice terrace directly fronting onto it with lots of shaded seating.




As there was only one other couple staying at the place we more or less had it all to ourselves. Very romantic and not a bad beach either.







The hotel does have a restaurant but we managed to find an open seafood place on the main drag that was not too expensive but nothing special compared to our locals in Bangkok.
Breakfast at the hotel was 120 baht for 2 eggs , ham , sausage, toast and coffee which we enjoyed on the beach terrace.
All in all a nice enough place, busy on the weekends and holidays with Thais but dead mid week. No bars at all so not the sort of place for those looking for Mrs Right for the Night. Might take my mum there though when she arrives in a fortnight.

MeMock

Mate, that has just been what I have been looking for. Was there any other places to eat within walking distance? Also did you happen to notice if there were any larger bungalows (ie 2 bedrooms)?

Bangyai

Sorry MeMock, as we didn't get there until late in the afternoon , I didn't really have the time or energy to do my usual ' check out half a dozen ' thing , so I don't profess to any deep knowledge of the place. Taking the road in from the Sukhumvit highway you have a choice of 3 beaches to head for: Chao Lao, Laem Sadet and one other with the word 'goong ' in it. ( DD has been there and posted pictures ) . All the resorts are on the first 2 so the 3rd is not an option .
This site might help :

Chanthaburi Hotels and All Hotels in Chanthaburi

I'm sure that if you searched around you'd be able to find a larger place as it caters mostly to Thais who like to stick together in crowds. As I said, if we are talking ' sand quality ' or trees then IMO it was similar to Chom Tien beach at Pattaya except that I never saw the tide out. What made the place ' interesting ' was the total lack of visitors. Of the 28 bungalowss I stayed at , only 2 were occupied. Great if you want a nice beach all to yourself.
One strange thing happened though. As we sat at the only restaurant open along the entire 3-4 kilometres ,at about 7.00 p.m. , not 1 but 5 double decker coaches passed full of Thai passengers obviously heading to one of the resorts en masse ?

Go for it. If its too quiet or dead you can always drive one hour up the coast to Rayong !

MeMock

according to this

http://www.sandandsearesort.com/

there is one family room with 3 bedrooms but it is from 6,500 - 7,500 a night.

navynine

Try this one 03936-9201, very nice rooms and clean several eating places right on the beach with menu's in English and Thai the price runs around 600bt for a one bedroom to 1200 for a two bedroom bungalow may be a bit more but well worth the money. The owners are two sisters who are great and helpful as stated during the week is the best.......Talay Deaw Resort Chao Lao Beach

panama hat

Ah, my old stomping ground - a few minutes drive from our house . . . a great place to chill after work

There are several nice places within a few kms of each other either way . . . including one nice one owned by a Brit and his son - very good western food - though the name of it escapes me.

Thankfully no knock-shops nor beer-bars and just right for a family outing . . .

__________________
Plus ça change plus ça reste la même chose.

pescator

We`ve stayed at this place on the Chao Lao beach the last couple of years, in the same bungalow as a matter of fact.

1200 baht. AC, hot water, TV, minibar.
We slept 4 persons (2 adults, 2 kids) in the bungalow on the 2 spacious beds.

Very nice thai couple running the "resort" consisting of some 8-9 rooms. We found particularly the seafood here to be topnotch.

bobbysan124

Seems like a nice, reasonable place to stay. Thanks.