At the Train Chiang Mai Hotel

For this price, a hotel with a swimming pool is quite a surprise! The facilities are probably on par with a Hanting Inn from about 10 years ago, but given how cheap it is and how convenient it is for an early train, I really can't complain.

This hotel, located right next to the train station, truly hit the perfect spot for me. I booked it because I had an early 6 AM train to catch. There aren't many convenient food options around the hotel, but being directly opposite the train station, there's a 24-hour 7-Eleven. The hotel has a swimming pool, which my kids absolutely loved. However, I found the chlorine smell in the pool water to be a bit strong. In fact, the chlorine in both the shower water and the pool water was the strongest I've encountered in any hotel I've stayed at. On the plus side, it's really, really close to the subway station. The room was very spacious, much larger than I expected. The design is standard but neat, and it's quite bright. The only thing I found a bit odd was the absence of a kettle in the room; you have to go outside to a shared hot water dispenser. Still, there was always hot water available, so I guess it's acceptable. Having to go out to get hot water just felt a bit strange to me.