Aurora House

We selected Phayao as a several-day stopover because the description of the lake setting attracted us, and we reserved the Aurora House knowing only that it was close to the lake. This small boutique hotel was a delightful surprise... beautiful modern design on three floors with attractive seating on the first and second floors; only seven rooms, each with a small balcony. The hotel is new and beautifully furnished in light colors with attractive bedding and curtains, mini-fridge and spacious desk, excellent lighting, and an elegant bathroom with enclosed shower - everything immaculately clean, and everything was completely cleaned and changed every day. The hotel is affiliated with the Aurora House Restaurant on the lakeshore, just a few steps away, which offers elegant, open-air dining overlooking the lake and surrounding mountains. It's a beautiful setting: small birds and bats in flight overhead, extraordinary sunsets over the mountains across the lake, attentive wait staff and live music (soft romantic ballads). The restaurant is also where hotel guests take their breakfast, included with the room. The hotel provides free loaner bikes, which is a good thing, because it's a kilometer or so into Phayao City proper, so rather than try to flag down a tuktuk going and coming, a bike offers guests without their own vehicle flexibility and independence. We used bikes for three days during our stay and were able to explore the town, enjoyed the lakeside drive with its coffee shops and beautiful landscaped garden park. Many examples of vernacular teak architecture abound in Phayao City, and many temples, including the shrine built on an island over the submerged temple: Wat Tilok Aram. One can hire a boat to travel over the lake to the small island shrine, and the price of the boatride includes offering fresh flower garlands, incense and candles. There is an excellent morning market in downtown Phayao with fresh produce, seafood and meats, textiles, clothing, and amulet dealers. Beside the Aurora House hotel is Wat Si Khom Kham, a huge Buddhist complex with temples and a college for monks, also the best viewing place for sunsets. This temple also offers a sculpture park with images of Buddhist heaven and hell. Kitschy, yes, but really worth visiting! We loved the hotel and we very much enjoyed our stay there and our daily trips into Phayao. What was most impressive though, was the superb staff at the hotel who did everything possible to make us comfortable and welcome. Very little English spoken at the hotel and in the town, so be prepared. The effort made to understand our requests and anticipate our needs was truly remarkable. At the risk of some embarrassment, I must use a personal example: I experienced a fall from the bike I was riding on our last day and sustained an injury. The hotel manager drove us to the Phayao Ram hospital ER; the hotel owner came to the hospital to inquire about my condition; and the staff back at the hotel provided a laptop in our room for us to arrange rebookings. They brought us our breakfast from the restaurant the next morning, and, because I couldn't travel by bus, the manager arranged a private taxi to take us to Chiang Mai the next day. Altogether, they demonstrated a level of care and attention to guests that is rarely experienced, especially at a small, relatively inexpensive hotel. I highly recommend a visit to Phayao and the Aurora House hotel.