Where To Stay In Ao Nang Thailand (Low & Mid-Budget Option)
If you’re looking for where to stay in Ao Nang Thailand, I share the two hotels that I stayed in duration my trip! For me, location and price were the most important factor. My first hotel was more of a low budget option. I then treated myself to a mid-budget room upgrade for my final nights! Here’s where I think it is best to stay in Ao Nang Krabi.
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I will not be including hostel recommendations in this guide. When I travel I prefer to stay in a private rooms. So my low budget option is for a ‘cheap’ hotel. I found the prices to be so reasonable in Thailand that private rooms in hotels were great value for money!
Ao Nang Viva Resort | Red Ginger Chic Resort
Where To Stay in Ao Nang
Ao Nang actually covers the main town centre, Pai Plong Beach, Railay and even the Phi Phi Islands. But for this post, I’ll be specifically looking at Ao Nang centre.
The main town is mostly split into two main areas: the part near Ao Nang Beach and then the section at Noppharat Thara Beach. For me, I wanted to stay central to both areas. Often I would spend the day around Ao Nang Beach, Monkey Trail etc, as this is where the majority of things to do are including shops and cafes.
But in the evenings I would eat at the Ao Nang Night Market. So I would come back to my hotel for a bit, relax, have a shower, before heading in the opposite direction towards Noppharat Thara Beach.
Staying central meant that Ao Nang Beach was a 20 minute walk from my hotel, and the night market was just 10 minutes away. Even though I felt safe in Ao Nang, I liked having the shorter walk when it was dark. Otherwise from the main town area to the Ao Nang Landmark Night Market, is around 30 minutes to walk to.
The Ao Nang hotels I stayed at were Ao Nang Viva Resort and the Red Ginger Chic Resort. Both were just a 4 minute walk from each other.
Ao Nang Viva Resort
💰Lower Budget
Location
The Ao Nang Viva Resort is located a little further from the beach. It is located in an area that is set back from the main road, but still has enough activity going on around it that you’re not walking down a completely empty street.
7-Eleven is just around the corner as well as a few restaurants, massage places and tour desks.
The Room
As mentioned, I booked the cheapest room. This was a private room, overlooking the main road, with a balcony (2 chairs, a table and a drying rack).
It had:
- a king sized bed that was really comfortable
- a desk
- TV (that only had Thai TV channels, so I didn’t really watch it)
- tea and coffee making facilities
- a fridge
Along with the tea and coffee, I was given 2 complimentary glass bottles of water each day. Because I didn’t want to take glass out with me, I just poured them into my own reusable water bottle.
We also had complimentary use of a beach bag with pool/beach towels, an umbrella (which was very helpful at the back end of rainy season) and flip flops. Honestly I’m not sure if the flip flops are cleaned between guests, so I didn’t use these.
The bathroom was large with a rain head shower. Shampoo was provided in a dispenser on the wall, but there was no hand/bar soap.
I did find being next to the main road to be quite loud (especially when the Muy Thai advertisement truck would park up directly outside). The hostel next door was often quite loud until around 11pm.
Most of the guests were families, but they’d often be quite loud in the corridors, even after designated ‘quiet time’. I might have just been unlucky with those that were in the rooms surrounding me during my stay.
The Hotel
One of the reasons I picked the hotel was because it had an outdoor swimming pool with a waterslide…yes I was an adult travelling solo, but I’m a big kid at heart! Be warned that the slide is SO FAST. The first time I went down it, I was caught totally off guard and ended up losing my top!
The only downfall is that there is only a handful of sun beds around the pool. So if one family happens to be swimming, they can easily take up all the loungers single handedly. There is a bar area next to it with chairs though, as well as a toilets and showers.
Ao Nang Viva Resort also have pool access rooms. They are in a second smaller pool, away from the main pool.
There was free WiFi that reached all around the hotel, and there is small free private parking area for cars or scooters.
At check out I was able to leave my bag. However there is no luggage storage room, it is just left behind the reception desk.
Breakfast
Breakfast was included within my room rate. There were tea, coffee and juices. A liked the live cooking station where you could choose variations of egg. Plus they often made pancakes or french toast.
The majority of the hot options were things like rice and meat dishes. You could also get cakes, danish pastries, bread, cereal and fruit.
Red Ginger Chic Resort
💰Mid budget – pool access room
Location
My second hotel was the Red Ginger Chic Resort by Tolani. This was just around the corner from the Ao Nang Viva Resort, in the direction closer to the main road.
The Room (pool access upgrade)
As it was my birthday a few days after I got home from Thailand, my parents paid for difference from a standard room to a pool access room. I LOVED this room. It had a slight Japanese style theming and it spelt like a spa!
The Red Ginger Chic Resort is good for those that are looking for a more eco friendly stay too. There is no single use plastic in the room and they have made several switches to become more sustainable.
There was a tea tray with tea bags and really tasty sugared nuts (that were restocked daily). Coffee was available on request as it’s harder to provide and avoid single use wastage. Each day I received 2 glass bottles of water, plus on arrival you get a ‘welcome pack’ of 2 cans of sparkling water.
The bed was king sized and had sockets next to the bed that are universal to any plug, plus USB outlets. I thought this was a great idea even though I always travel with a universal power adapter.
Again, there was a TV but in all honesty I never switched it on. You’ll also find a fridge, a beach bag and an umbrella. The shower had shampoo and body wash in dispensers and there is a bottle of hand soap next to the sink.
The best part of the room is obviously the pool access. There is a large day bed, a table and chair and a clothes drying rack. Each pool access room gets a walled off ‘private’ section with an in-water seat and then steps into the main pool. It also has a cover over the top as you can be in the water, in the shade.
The Hotel
As well as the pool access rooms, they have Duplex Suites with an upstairs level and the Ginger Suites have bath tubs on the balcony!
During my stay, the reception area of the hotel was being renovated and an alternative entrance was being used. This did mean that is was sometimes noisy during the day (guests (during my stay) received a ฿300 food and drink voucher as a sorry, which was unexpected!).
It didn’t ruin my stay though, the hotel is lovely. The swimming pool is large with plenty of sun loungers and there is a swim up pool bar. This is where I used my meal voucher. They have a really good selection of smoothies! There’s also a gym and free WiFi throughout the hotel.
Red Ginger Chic Resort is also SHA Plus (SHA+) rated. This is the certification used in Thailand awarded to hotels that meet a criteria of health, safety and hygiene standards.
At night the hotel guests were much quieter compared to those at the Ao Nang Viva Resort and I couldn’t hear any road or external noise.
Breakfast
A really good breakfast was also included in the room rate. There were a variety of Western and Asian hot food options. As well as an egg cooking station, breads, pastries, fruit, juices and a really nice tea and coffee machine.
Final Words
Personally I think the two hotels I picked were in the best area to stay in Ao Nang. I liked that they were centrally located between the two main areas.
For me, the best hotel in Ao Nang was the Red Ginger Chic Resort. I really enjoyed my stay there even though it was at a higher price point. (The standard Superior Rooms’, were ฿1000pn LESS than the pool access rooms).
Of course there are cheaper options that are either hostels, or hotels that located further away from the beaches. On the other hand, there are resorts that are closer to the beaches, but they do come with a higher price tag.
Other Krabi Thailand Posts You May Enjoy
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About the Author – Kylie
My travels have taken me to over 40 countries worldwide (& I lived in USA for 4yrs). I hold a BTEC National Diploma in Travel & Tourism (triple distinction) and have been writing on Between England & Everywhere since 2015.
Expert in: Adventure travel🎢, beach destinations🏖️, and packing light (mid-budget backpacker)🎒
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Last Updated on April 22, 2024