We are a family of 5 traveling on a pretty tight budget (100 USD/day). Here are our reviews of the budget guesthouses we stayed at during our 4 months in Thailand.

Bangkok

Lamphu House

This guesthouse is located near Bangkok’s famous backpacker area on what I not so creatively called Khao San Road Jr. It’s quieter than the more popular road, but has a similar vibe. We stayed in a family room with 2 double beds. The large A/C room was clean and the beds were comfortable. The only problem was that the wifi didn’t reach our room on end of the third floor. My daughters kept running out to the stairwell to load web pages.

Cleanliness ****
Wifi **
Room size *****
What we paid: 1279 baht (35 USD) for a family room with 2 double beds with A/C
Recommend to others: Yes

BB House

We moved to this room because we had only booked 3 days at Lamphu House and needed two more nights, but Lamphu House was booked. The wifi worked pretty well. My daughters video chatted with their friends, but the rooms were tiny and smelled musty.

Cleanliness ***
Wifi ****
Room size ***
What we paid: 580 baht per room (16 USD x 2 = $32) for two double rooms with A/C
Recommend to others: No, although there was a 3rd floor double room for 680 baht that was bigger and smelled better that I would recommend.

Suk 11

We much prefer the Sukummvit area to Khao San Road. It is closer to the sky train and away from the party scene (although Sukummvit Soi 11 has its fair share of bars and old men with young Thai escorts – ugh!) Unfortunately the room rates tend to be higher here. SuK 11 has a family room with a double bed and 3 single beds. There is A/C, but no wifi in the rooms, only in the common areas. The halls have no A/C and can be hot and stuffy.

There are pay washer and dryers, which is convenient. If you hear scuttling feet in the laundry room in the evening, don’t worry, it’s kittens not rats. Breakfast is included, but was not as good this trip as it was when we stayed here 3 years ago

Cleanliness ****
Wifi **
Room size *****
What we paid: 1600 (45 USD) for a family room with A/C
Recommend to others: Yes

Chiang Mai

The White House

The rooms were poorly decorated and badly lit, but clean enough. At one point the hot water stopped working. But we came into Chiang Mai late afternoon with nothing booked on two different occasions and easily found rooms here. Also, the host is nice and the wifi is OK.

Cleanliness ***
Wifi ***
Room size *****
Host ****
What we paid: 500 baht per room + 50 baht for an extra bed (30 USD total) for two double rooms with A/C
Recommend to others: No, unless you need a last minute room and then it is acceptable

Baan JaJa

Well lit and more nicely decorated, Baan JaJa is a better choice than The White House, but you need to book ahead. The wifi works pretty well for Thailand. The host is super nice and helpful. There is common area with hammocks with is nice if the mosquitos aren’t out in force. We stayed in both A/C and non A/C rooms. If the high temperatures were below 30 C, A/C wasn’t needed.

Cleanliness ****
Wifi ****
Room size *****
Host ****
What we paid: 500 baht + 100 for extra bed (31 USD) for two double rooms with A/C
350 +100 for extra bed (23 USD) for two double rooms without A/C
Recommend to others: Yes

Anodard Hotel

This is an actual hotel. We have been staying mostly in guesthouses and were surprised when the room was cleaned and the beds made the each day. The wifi works well (for Thailand). It is a large hotel with lots of rooms, so it is likely to have space if you come in late with no room booked. The rooms are small, but clean.

Cleanliness ****
Wifi ****
Room size ***
Host ****

What we paid: 800 (23 USD) for one room with two small double beds with A/C
Recommend to others: Yes

Chiang Khong

Chiang Khong Riverview Hotel

We showed up without a booking and got 2 rooms on the 3rd floor. Our corner room had a double bed and two walls of windows with a beautiful view of the Mekong River. The girls had two twin beds, meaning two girls had to share one twin bed. We should have traded them, but we are greedy and didn’t want to give up our view. The wifi worked pretty well (for Thailand)

Cleanliness ****
Wifi ****
Room size *****
Host ****
What we paid: 500 baht per room (28 USD) for one double and one twin room with A/C
Recommend to others: Yes

Chiang Rai

Baan Bua

We booked ahead directly through the guesthouse. The room were decent sized, clean, and in a good location. The wifi wasn’t great, but still useable. The garden sitting area was nice. We stayed in fan rooms in November and it wasn’t too hot.

Cleanliness ****
Wifi ***
Room size ****
Host ***
What we paid: 400 for a double and 500 for a triple (extra bed on the floor) (25 USD) for the two rooms with fan
Recommend to others: Yes

Pai

Romantic Time Mountain Resort

We booked ahead on Agoda since November is high season in northern Thailand. When we arrived the family room we had reserved was not available, so they put us in two double bungalows. The next day we moved to the family cabin with 3 double beds. The double bungalows were nicer, but the family room was fine. The wifi worked OK, considering how spread out the cabins are.

The problem with Romantic Time Mountain Resort is that is it several kilometers up the hill from the town of Pai. Since we don’t ride motor bikes, we had to rely on the guesthouse to shuttle us up and down the hill (for some reason Pai doesn’t have taxis or tuk tuks). This was especially a problem the night we all got food poisoning and didn’t have enough water.

Cleanliness ****
Wifi ***
Room size *****
Host ****
What we paid: 1279 (35 USD) for a family room with fan
Recommend to others: Maybe, if you don’t mind being away from the town

Sopong

Cave Lodge

These cabins in the woods are the perfect base for exploring Tham Lod and the surrounding caves. We stayed in the family cabin with a double bed and two single beds on the first floor and two twin beds in the loft. Hot water was available some times. The wifi only worked in the common area. The food in the lodge’s restaurant was good, but overpriced. We found a local place up the road to eat at for some meals. The host is very friendly and you can book kayaking and other adventures through him.

Cleanliness ****
Wifi **
Room size *****
Host ****
What we paid: 1200 baht (34 USD) for a family cabin that sleeps 6.
Recommend to others: Yes

Koh Lanta

Khlong Jark Bungalows

Khlong Jark Beach is at the far south end of the island of Koh Lanta. We worried that there would not be many food options or convenience stores. It turned out OK because the food at the Khlong Jark Bungalow restaurant was very good and we managed not to need any toiletries or what not while we were there. The family bungalow was basic. No towels or hot water, but it was clean (until we got sand everywhere). And with only a 10 meter walk to the beach, it was perfect. We spend 5 days there without ever leaving the beach except when a speed boat picked us up from the bay for the 4 Island Tour. Wifi only worked in the common area.

The beach was wonderful. Never crowded with beautiful sunsets every night. Twice during our stay the staff put on a fire dancing show.

Cleanliness ****
Wifi **
Room size *****
Host ****
What we paid: 1300 baht (35 USD) for for family bungalow with 2 double beds
Recommend to others: Yes

Krabi

Good Dreams

Rand booked rooms here after a friendly email exchange with the owner. When we arrived we were given a small windowless double (OK, there was a window to the hall) and a large triple. Rand and my room was pretty hot and stuffy. It was only tolerable if we ran the fan on high all day, even while we were gone. We often left the door open when we were in the room to get more air. The wifi was good (for Thailand). The shared bathroom down the hall was clean and we rarely had to wait to use it.

Cleanliness ****
Wifi ****
Room size *** for ours **** for the girls’
Host ***
What we paid: 350 baht (10 USD) for the double and 525 baht (15 USD) for the triple with fan
Recommend to others: No for the double. Maybe for the triple.

*I have added links to guesthouse websites and Agoda for convenience. You can often get a better rate if you just show up , but booking ahead offers piece of mind.

**Disclosure: I have an affliate account with Agoda and may get a few pennies, if you click on the Agoda links.