Phukhao Hostel in Chiang Mai City

Extremely noisy, poor cleanlyness and hardest bed ever. Had booked and pre paid for 3 nighys and checked after the first one, to move to another hotel. The staff is friendly, i must say the only positive thing i can tell.

Let's start with the location, because it's unfortunately the best thing about this place. That and the kindness of the staff is all they have going for them. If you're spending even one night in their room, I'm concerned about your health. You can smell the stuffiness of a basement. I couldn't fall asleep with the air conditioning on or off. The air felt moldy. Unless they do some renovation work on their air conditioning system, I don't think it's healthy for you to stay there. Everything is moist, even the bedding and towels.

Wanna start off by mentioning the one and only positive - their staff are amazing. Super kind and helpful. The positives end here for me. The room was really damp, constantly smelling bad, humid, the sheets and pillows smelled bad too. The fridge and aircon both super noisy and we just could not sleep due to this. We regretted booking this hotel very much and it seems many guests have had the same experience or worse and despite those reviews the hotel hasnt changed anything.

We booked a Superior Double Room and encountered several issues during our stay in July. The ceiling and upper walls had visible mould, likely due to the lack of a bathroom vent. The room had a strong mildew smell, which didn’t improve even after airing it out. Opening the windows wasn’t a solution, as mosquitoes came in and there were no mosquito nets on the windows or doors—something to keep in mind in Southeast Asia where mosquito-borne illnesses are a concern. Honestly, I was counting down the days until we left. It’s also worth noting this was the only accommodation we booked that didn’t offer free cancellation from the start, which in hindsight feels like a red flag, as most places allow cancellation up to or close to the check-in date.

Cleaning was another issue. When we arrived, the floor had dirty shoe prints, and my white socks turned brown within minutes of walking around. The bidet also looked unhygienic and needed a thorough clean.

The property itself has a quirky European-inspired design with lots of photo opportunities, and the pool area includes a bar, which is a nice touch. However, sitting outside wasn’t very enjoyable due to flies and mosquitoes—something other reviewers have also mentioned, particularly on the ground floor.

Service was OK (not up to the Thai standard we've become accustomed to): we were greeted on arrival and helped with our bags, which was appreciated, but there was no assistance with the baggage or even a goodbye when we left (the staff were present when we left), making the departure feel a little transactional.