Our Thai neighbours have a resort called Kamnerdploy and, to thank us (i.e. Mrs DM) for various bits of help, invited us to spend a few days at our convenience at a substantial discount (details not specified and it seemed rude to ask...).
So off we went in company with some friends for a well-earned break. Leave Petchkasem at the Bang Saphan Noi turn-off, head for BSN then turn right. The roads south of BSN have been beautifully resurfaced quite recently with wide and clear bicycle lanes. Our resort was just south of Ban Bang Boet. The first room (a cabin, really) we were shown was 2.5k per night. Wooden, pokey, hot, ancient air con and no fan, no tv. Tolerable, but not at all impressive. We were obviously not expected. A raised eyebrow and polite word sorted things out and we were moved up a notch to the 3.5k room. Much better. Refurbished to quite a high standard - good size room and bed with separate toilet and shower room. Fridge tv, good air con and ceiling fan. Bright and welcoming. Very comfy. Hardly worth 3.5k baht of anyone's money, but since that wasn't going to be the price we paid, I wasn't too bothered.
Very quiet - if we were not the only customers, the others must have kept a very low profile indeed. Unfortunately, this did not result in the staff devoting any great attention to our needs. Anyway - evening meal was very good, with a wide range of seafood (mostly) on offer, though comparatively expensive by Thai standards without being outrageous.
We are early to bed and early to rise folk these days, which is just as well as there's naff all to do in the evenings other than eat, drink and have sex. Could have been worse, I suppose. Up at 6.30 and straight to the beach. Beautiful. About 5 kms from north to south - it reminded me of the strecth of beach from Kao Takiap to Kao Tao, although it was better for swimming and not so good for walking (deep water but little firm sand to walk on). Calm sea, a slight mist, cold enough to wake you up, but warm enough to be comfortable. Treading water about 100 metres from shore, there were little swifty/titty type birds with forked tails skimming inches above the surface of the water, presumably enjoying an insect breakfast feast. Delightful. What would have been perfect after half an hour's playful frolicking in the sea was a cup of coffee. Unfortunately there were no staff lurking anywhere and the rooms had no coffee-making facilities. Eventually managed to scrounge a cup of instant mud at about 7.30. Wasn't impressed. Breakfast was at 9...
Again left unimpressed. Cornflakes, 7/11 sliced bread and a toaster, an over-fried egg and a handful of those little frankfurter things, accompanied by a tiny side salad smothered in some sickly super-sweet salad dressing. Sausage and egg on toast, my arse! There wasn't even a Thai alternative, which was a bit odd.The coast road south of Ban Boed is lovely, all beautifully surfaced and clearly with cyclists in mind, though there was no evidence of any cyclists to be seen. It would have been very pleasant on a motorbike too, though the roads are a bit small and winding for any decent speed. Some nice views of sea and country side and plenty of decent places to stop for lunch on the beach. I was surprised at how thinly populated the area seemed to be. Hardly a soul to be seen anywhere.
A little nap in the afternoon, then a swim and a walk on the beach and a leisurely meal and drinks session from about 6 - 9. We were quite comfortable with this routine for 3 nights, but if you are a Bintabaht addict, this is probably not the life for you. I'm always quite happy if I have a good book to read.
One irritation to me was the lack of service. After 9 years in Thailand, I can accept (indeed, I normally expect) a certain lack of polish in the approach of the staff, but what irritated me was the complete indifference of the staff (all two of them) to our needs. And on the evening of day 3... the matriarch of the royally connected family who own the resort came to cast her beady and rather solemn eye over the place. When we had waited 30 minutes with no sign of our meal appearing, we were told that the cook was required to devote all her attention to the Matriarch, while ours was being cooked by one of the waitresses. Once again, I was distinctly unimpressed, but fortunately there were copious quantities of good booze and splendid company to lighten the mood. And to be fair, the Matriarch's son (our neighbour) sent over a bottle of remarkably good claret. And I mean the real thing.
The location was delightful, if you like the beach. The sea was perfect for swimming and the resort had half a dozen kayaks freely available to guests. There was a swimming pool that wasn't really big enough for a swim and needed a good clean. Three nights were enough for us, and frankly, if we'd been paying 3.5k per night, I'd have been extremely disappointed with the level of accommodation and service. So many little touches like a kettle in the room and a staff member around at 7 a.m. to provide a glass of fruit juice, together with some basic training in customer care could have improved the place a lot and at virtually no cost.
So now we come to the bill, and I'm wondering if we should have clarified exactly what this "discount" was going to be before we went. As it turned out, our accommodation was free and our friends paid 1k per night.
On that basis, I might even be tempted back for another visit. But I'll make sure I take a kettle.
