Why Chommuang Guest House Ayutthaya Hotel Is The Best Choice For Budget Travel

Ayutthaya has been on my bucket list ever since I did my six-week trip to Asia years ago. I met some awesome travel friends who travelled throughout all of Thailand. They posted gorgeous photos of temples that gave me so much wanderlust that I told myself one day, I will do the same. That day finally came during my year of travelling where I had the time to stay in Ayutthaya for four days.

Most people do a day trip via train from Bangkok to Ayutthaya thanks to its proximity to the big city. That was not how we wanted to see Ayutthaya since we knew one day is not enough to explore this beautiful place. Given that we were spending almost two months in Thailand during our year of slow travelling, we had more time to spend in this city.

Side note: Two months turned into five months because we love Thailand so much!

Why we chose Chommuang Guest House Ayutthaya Hotel

We booked our accommodations a bit last minute, to be honest. At some point, while we were in Malaysia, we were like crap… We gotta book our accommodations in Thailand fast, or else we’ll be homeless and went to booking.com to search for a place to stay.

Our main deciding factor was proximity to the temples within a reasonable budget. When we saw that Chommuang Ayutthaya Guest House met that requirement and had almost a 9.0 rating from over 400 guests, we figured we couldn’t go wrong.

Coming from a not so great hostel stay in Bangkok during a short stopover, I had little expectations about our stay. Considering how room rates were between $20-$30 CAD a night, I wasn’t expecting much. And even though the reviews said that the room was clean, I’ve become very skeptical about what I read online.

But no, I was in a complete shock at how much I loved our stay at Chommuang Guest House Ayutthaya. When we first arrived at the guesthouse, Mary checked us in and showed us around the area.

The second we had a quiet time to our room, I turned to Gary and said: “Let’s stay in Ayutthaya longer!” Had we not booked our transportation and hotel for the next duration of our trip, I would have wanted to stay a few more days in Ayutthaya.

The room at Chommuang Guest House Ayutthaya Hotel

The room was exceptionally clean. Gary and I are big-time clean freaks, and this place met our expectations. There was a simple lock at the door and a deadbolt in the room for extra security.

The room was simple, basic but met all the criteria that I had for the place. The things I pay attention to in budget accommodations are the following:

• Is there clean and running hot water?
• Do I feel safe?
• Does the air conditioning work?
• Are there any strange smells?
• Does the toilet work (NO JOKE)!
• Are there any bugs?
• Is it noisy?

The shower at Chommuang Guest House Ayutthaya Hotel

The shower worked and had warm water. More on the cooler side, but you’ll come to see that Ayutthaya is SO hot that having a cold shower is refreshing. For those who haven’t stayed in bathrooms in Asia, it is quite common for you to shower over the toilet in budget accommodations so make sure to keep the toilet seat down. Also, don’t put toilet paper in the toilet because you will clog the toilet! This problem is prevalent in Asia.

The air conditioning worked well in our room

Fortunately, it did not emit any strange smells. In cheaper accommodations, the air from the air conditioning is not the same and sometimes release a stinky moldy smell.

This room did not smell at all, thank goodness! We stayed in a place that smelled like mold once and there were no windows, so it was suffocating. Imagine being in a car with the windows rolled up on the hottest day in the summer with a moldy sandwich. That’s the smell we experienced once in one of our hotel rooms.

Because we had more stuff than the usual traveller, we had a lot more to carry. Trust me; it is a pain to drag that damn suitcase up a flight of stairs! Because this place is like a house, we were relieved to know that the rooms are on the second floor of the building.

Bugs were another issue we experienced in cheaper accommodations, but nope, not here! While there were bugs outside of our room, we did not have to worry about ants or other strange animals in our room. Mind you, I made it a rule that we don’t eat in our room, and we stored our fruits in the common area.

Your friendly companions at Chommuang Guest House Ayutthaya Hotel

There are two cats and a dog on site. The cats are Mekk and Momo while the dog’s name is Maddy. Maddy is so adorable and SO SO friendly! The first time I met her, she let out this strange howl and picked up her leash. Mary says that’s her way of asking to be walked. They say animals are a reflection of their owners, and I have to say, that is true.

Sometimes, Maddy is kept in a room underneath the stairs. You can peek through the grates and see her within the small spaces between the crevices. In the evenings, I would come and talk to Maddy, and all you hear is her tail wagging and thumping really loud on the ground. SO CUTE! I wish I had a photo of Maddy but didn’t catch one on our last day there.

Is it noisy at Chommuang Guest House Ayutthaya Hotel?

It is noisy at night and all day since the guesthouse is near the main road. I didn’t have issues taking a nap during the day though (in fact, we passed out for two hours on our first day!) and I drowned out the nighttime noise by putting on an instrumental song on our laptop. Stray dogs are an issue in Ayutthaya, and you will sometimes hear them howling at night. In any case, the noise level was manageable, and we both slept well.

The service at Chommuang Guest House Ayutthaya Hotel

Mary is such an incredible host who gives you honest recommendations. She is very graceful and very thoughtful. As we settled into our room, she came by one point and said: “You must be hungry, here are some bananas.” Indeed I was starving like Marvin and was running low on snacks – I wanted to hug her for those two bananas.

Mary was always around to help us; all we needed to do was ring a bell, and she’d be coming from wherever she would be at. She and her husband live onsite, so there is almost always someone around to help.

While breakfast is not included in the room, the couple would sometimes come by and offer us snacks These gestures were friendly and very unexpected.

Prices here are very reasonable. Laundry, bikes, and booking a tuk-tuk are all very moderately priced. What I liked most about this guest house is that they work with honest and reliable tuk-tuk drivers. The man that she hired to drive us around Ayutthaya was very kind and professional.

Having a really good experience when it comes to tuk-tuk drivers is so important because there are a lot of tuk-tuk scams, not just in Thailand but most of Asia. When my friends complain to me how much they hate Bangkok, for example, it’s likely because they got scammed by a driver.

The location at Chommuang Guest House Ayutthaya Hotel

This guesthouse couldn’t have been more perfect. It was close enough to walk to some of the temples if you wanted to, although biking is the way to go in Ayutthaya!

The Facilities at Chommuang Guest House Ayutthaya

The guest house had some useful features. There is a fridge, some cups, and cutlery to use for eating.

There was also a hammock (I LOVE HAMMOCKS!), lots of seating area and fans to cool you down in the common areas.

You can have your clothes washed on site. Laundry is charged by the kilo and is in line with what you’d pay throughout the rest of Thailand.

I could see how this guest house is a great place to meet other travellers if there were more people. The main area had tons of seating arrangements and even darts for guests.

There are nine rooms at the guesthouse. We had the whole place to ourselves throughout most of our trip. We did meet a Japanese tourist at one point, who was doing a weekend trip from Bangkok.

Did we feel safe at Chommuang Guest House Ayutthaya Hotel?

Safety is another significant factor that I worry about, especially in cheaper accommodations. I always felt safe staying in Chommuang Guest House. While Ayutthaya is a safe city, we felt assured knowing that they locked their gates every night and also because they live on the premises.

I really loved my stay at Chommuang Guest House in Ayutthaya and would recommend it to anyone who is staying in Ayutthaya. Mary and her husband made us feel very welcomed, and our stay couldn’t have been a more authentic experience than this.

PIN FOR LATER