Suanmaithara Resort
by the TopOfHotel team
A garden resort where the build-your-own BBQ pit and a herb patch you can pick from turn a one-night stay into a friend's-country-house weekend.
A garden resort where the build-your-own BBQ pit and a herb patch you can pick from turn a one-night stay into a friend's-country-house weekend.
In-Depth Review
Rooms and decor
The villas are the loft type, and they punch above a typical provincial hotel room. Each runs about 28 sqm at roughly $43 a night, with a high ceiling that opens up to show the wooden roof frame and one full wall of glass looking straight onto the garden. The king bed is soft, the linen is clean and smells fresh, and there is a small wooden porch out front for morning coffee. The high ceiling is what stops the room feeling tight despite the modest floor area. Reviewers also note that each villa sits about 10 metres from the next with trees between them, so this is real separation, not two doors on a shared wall.
Food and amenities
The BBQ pit is the thing you came for. A big set is about $34, and staff lay out the grill, charcoal and all the gear at the stone pit behind the resort. It comes loaded with marinated pork, chicken, river prawns, squid and grilled veg, three nam jim jaew dipping sauces and hot sticky rice. One review describes sitting and grilling with a Bluetooth speaker going from dusk until around 10pm. The 9.0 service score showed its hand when a kid in the group knocked over a drink: staff ran over to wipe it up without complaint and brought fresh towels and free refills. That is resort-grade service at a country-cottage price.
Location and getting there
Suanmaithara sits in Bang Tin Pet, about 7km from Chachoengsao town and roughly 1 hour 5 minutes from Bangkok by car. That is close enough for a spontaneous weekend but far enough from town lights to feel genuinely quiet. There is no public transit out here, so a car is non-negotiable - factor that in if you were hoping to train it from Bangkok. The trade-off is the calm: you are on a rural lane, not a main road, which is exactly why the garden works for kids and older guests alike.
Things to know before booking
Three honest caveats. First, the 7km gap to town plus no transit means you are car-dependent for food runs, the temple or anything else. Second, there is no swimming pool, which can sting with kids in the hot season. Third, Wi-Fi drops in some corners of the garden - solid in the villas, patchy out by the far lawn or the BBQ pit. None of these are dealbreakers for the intended trip, but go in knowing them.
Our take
This is a weekend escape for families and groups who want a green garden and a BBQ on a budget of roughly $34-71 a night. The 9.2 atmosphere score is earned by the real thing: decades-old rain trees, a lawn kids can actually run on, a koi pond, and a herb patch where staff let guests pick basil, holy basil and chili to cook with in the shared kitchen. It feels less like a hotel and more like a weekend at a friend's country house an hour from the city - which is the whole point.
Score Breakdown
Assessed by our editorial team from data and real guest reviews
The Honest Verdict — pros & what to know
- Loft-style villas look better than a standard provincial hotel room: high ceilings with exposed wood beams and a full-height glass wall onto the garden keep them feeling open despite the modest 28 sqm footprint.
- The garden is the real product here. Decades-old rain trees shade a wide lawn kids can run on safely away from the road, plus a small koi pond and a herb patch guests pick from for free.
- Service scores 9.0, the highest line on the spec sheet, and guests back it up - one review describes staff mopping up a child's spilled drink without a word of complaint and bringing fresh towels and free refills.
- The BBQ pit is a proper set-up, not an afterthought. Staff lay out the grill, charcoal and gear, marinated pork, chicken, river prawns, squid and grilled veg arrive with three dipping sauces and hot sticky rice, and you grill until about 10pm.
- Villas sit roughly 10 metres apart with trees in between, so you get real privacy rather than the thin-wall, door-next-to-door feel of a budget motel. Free parking on site too.
- It is 7km from Chachoengsao town and there is no public transit out here, so you genuinely need a car for anything beyond the resort gate.
- There is no swimming pool, which matters if you are travelling with kids in the hot season and expect somewhere to cool off.
- Wi-Fi drops out in some corners of the garden - fine in the villas, patchy if you wander to the far lawn or the BBQ pit.
Who It’s For
Match Score by travel style
Amenities
Location & Nearby Spots
Insider Tips
- Pre-order the big BBQ set (around $34) - staff set up the pit, charcoal and gear at the stone pit behind the resort so you just turn up and grill.
- Book the larger loft villa if you are travelling as a family; it has more room than the standard cottage.
- Walk the garden loop in the morning - about 15 minutes past the koi pond - and pick basil and chili from the herb patch for an evening cook in the shared kitchen.