We stayed at the “Reverie Siam”:http://reveriesiam.com/ on the outskirts of Pai for four nights. It was one of the longest stays during our two-month tour of Thailand and, after two nights in a relatively basic hotel, we were hoping for some luxury from the 20-roomed, four-star boutique hotel.
The formalities were quickly dispensed with and we were being shown to our ground-floor garden room (112). The rooms are scattered around the grounds in two-storied blocks of four with some overlooking the pool. Our large room had a squeaky brass bed, wardrobe, robes, slippers, and safe. There was a desk, chair, chaise lounge, TV and mini bar stocked with beer, soft drinks and a half bottle of Johnny Walker Black Label whisky. Tea and coffee making facilities were provided as well as bottled water. Excellent Wi-Fi was available throughout the hotel and although the room lighting was dim, plug points in sensible places abounded. There was air conditioning, but evenings were cool as although we were at sea level, Pai is surrounded by mountains.
The large bathroom had shower, basin and loo. There was plenty of space for toiletries and lots of small bottles of complimentary products. The water was hot and there was an old-fashioned clothes dryer which was great for our washing.
French doors led onto a small terrace overlooking a lawn, and although it had chairs and a table, it only caught the early morning sun.
There were two swimming pools. The first was a large free form pool with submerged stones around the edge. Along with steep wooden steps, it made getting in and out difficult and we rarely used it. We preferred the rectangular infinity pool with easier entry although by mid-afternoon it was in the shade. The water in both was rather cold but ideal for cooling off whilst sunbathing. Each had very heavy metal loungers that couldn’t be moved to chase the sun, but they had well-padded cushions and towels were constantly refreshed.
The hotel is owned by an English/Thai couple and this was reflected in the décor which had lots of antiques from the UK – framed old envelopes with a Sheffield address, gramophones and cameras etc. The more you looked, the more you saw. In the bar, light bulbs hung from the ceiling were encased in old cut glass decanters of various shapes.
On our first night, we decided to eat in, but were told there would be a delay for food due to an unexpected group booking. So instead we headed into town in their complimentary shuttle tuk tuk. The five-minute trip ran every 30-minutes and dropped you off in the centre.
We thought we’d try again on our second night and were warmly greeted by the restaurant manager who called us by our first names and led us to a reserved table. He was full of apologies for the previous night and offered complimentary aperitifs of prosecco and dessert. Complimentary crisps and a garlic mayonnaise were provided and a bread basket with more garlic mayo, oil and a tomato chutney. The mains of spaghetti, one with lamb ragu and the other with sea bass were excellent and for dessert we were served a chocolate mousse praline with ice cream and peach jam.
Breakfast, starting at 7.30am, was a similarly splendid affair, but we were warned that there could be a 20-minute wait as everything was freshly cooked to order. Initially, it was cold as the restaurant was open air, but a few minutes later, the sun came over the mountain and we basked in our fleeces with the sun on our face. There was a selection of juices and tea and coffee to help yourself to although a speciality hot drink was included. From the a la carte menu, we could choose what they described as one main course and one dessert. Mains were things like Pai scramble, full English, eggs benedict, omelette with avocado and feta cheese, and my favourite, a meat and cheese platter. Roy tried the Asian-style porridge which came in a bowl and looked a bit gloopy with things floating on top like prawns, shredded ginger, chillies and spring onions etc. and a side of fish sauce. Desserts were a bread basket of home-baked ciabatta with excellent raspberry jam and orange marmalade, a large fruit platter with two small impractical bowls of seeds and yoghurt or cappuccino toast with cream and mango.
As well as the pool, we found a lovely quiet area overlooking the river running through the grounds. There was a raised, shaded platform with lots of antiques and comfortable seating which was ideal for whiling away an hour with a book or a snooze.
This was one of our favourite hotels on our trip.
