Introduction

The Hat Yai economy depends very much on tourism and therefore has a wide selection of hotels and guest houses in all price ranges. At the bottom end of the market are cheap guest houses near to the railway station that seem to be favoured by farang backpackers.

At the top end are the three hotels that form what I refer to as Hat Yai's 'Golden Triangle' - The Novotel, Regency and Lee Gardens Plaza hotels. These are more in line with the standards of luxury and comfort that are expected from many Malaysian and Singaporean visitors, after all it is visitors from these countries that make up the bulk of Hat Yai's tourist industry.

In the middle range are many budget hotels, the like of which can be found throughout Thailand. Not exactly luxurious but functional and cheap.

Busy Periods

Hat Yai is a rest and recreation resort for Malaysians mainly, but also for Singaporeans. They tend to come for the weekend and the town starts to get busy on a Thursday. Fridays and Saturdays can be manic but there is a distinct difference on Monday mornings after most of them have gone home.

Malaysian public holidays and long weekends are also another busy time. I mention this because depending when you arrive will affect how easy it is to find a decent place to stay. There are so many hotel rooms in Hat Yai that it will always possible to find somewhere to stay but what is available may not be exactly what you had in mind.

Most visitors are Chinese. Malaysians make up the bulk followed by Singaporeans but there are a growing number from Hong Kong and mainland China. Because of this, Chinese New Year can get very busy and hotels get booked up well in advance.

If you are planning to visit Hat Yai in late January or early February do an Internet search to see what date Chinese New Year falls for that year. If you are coming at any other time of year alter your search to 'public holidays Malaysia'.

If your visit coincides with either Chinese New Year or a Malaysian public holiday it might be an idea to contact one of the establishments listed in the following pages to make an advance reservation.

If not, don't worry. There are so many hotel rooms in Hat Yai that you can show up at any other time and stay where you want quite easily.

The Western New Year is also a busy time and hotels are normally busy in the week between Christmas and New Year. The local municipality close off some streets at New Year in which they organise a food fair and there is a countdown to welcome in the New Year. Thais pronounce this kow-dow.

Travel Agent Discounts

You might think that if a travel agent was selling hotel rooms they would add their commission and make it more expensive than going direct to the hotel. Right?

Not necessarily. Travel agents around Hat Yai often offer significant savings on hotel rates at hotels just a few yards away. Find a hotel you like and ask reception what the rate is; the walk-in rate. Then go to a travel agent, such as Konsortium who are located opposite Lee Gardens Plaza, and ask them what rate they can give you for the same hotel. It will probably be cheaper.

Bear in mind though that the rate quoted by the hotel may include breakfast for two whereas the travel agent price may not. Make sure you find out exactly what is included and then work out what suits you best.

If you use a travel agent to book a room you pay the agent who will give you a voucher which you then take to the hotel. It can be a simple way to save money.

Long Stay Accommodation

Most visitors to Hat Yai tend to stay just for a few days. Farang backpackers travelling up and down the peninsula stay for even less. Ideally, most would prefer to pass straight through but they are sometimes forced to stay overnight to get their onward connection.

Nonetheless, I have provided some details about long stay accommodation for people who are interested in longer stays or perhaps they will be working (or teaching) in Hat Yai.

Hat Yai has a lot of rooms for rent at the bottom end of the market for local Thais or for Thais who have gone there to work from other parts of the country and want to keep their expenses to an absolute minimum. To be frank, these aren't very pleasant at all and wouldn't suit many Westerners.

More upmarket long term accommodation can be difficult to find but a few decent places do exist. Of course, staying in hotels is one option for long stays but it gets expensive and it isn't very personal or homely.

Houses are actually very cheap to rent, especially if you are willing to live a little way out of town. They can be as cheap as Bt3,000 a month. Utility bills are extra and it will be necessary to spend money on furniture, bedding, towels and kitchenware etc.

All of these items are relatively cheap in Thailand but obviously this wouldn't be worth doing for just a few months. If living in a house you will need to take care of your own security. Bag snatching and house break-ins are a big problem in Hat Yai; just look at the number of window bars and barbed-wire fences outside Thai houses.

A Thai friend of mine was burgled about five times in one month. He ended up just leaving the door open so the thieves could get in without causing any damage. Most apartment buildings have 24-hour security guards and CCTV so you don't need to worry as much but you still need to be careful. There was a spate of break-ins at my apartment building before the thief/rapist was caught.

My main reason for not renting a house is that the Thai houses I have viewed for rent have been dark, dingy and depressing places. They are designed that way to stay cool in the tropical heat. I prefer light and airy accommodation, the kind I have only found in apartment buildings.

Houses for rent are normally advertised on cards stuck to the outside of the house or lampposts in the street. Naturally, these ads are normally written in Thai so you need to be able to read Thai or have a Thai friend to help you.

Buildings with rooms to rent by the month are normally called 'Mansions' in Thailand for some reason. I have listed some in the following pages that may be useful for people coming to Hat Yai for a few months on business, or to work as English teachers. Other than that it is just a matter of luck finding something that is suitable.

The best thing to do actually is talk to the locals. Local people know everything but aren't always very forthcoming with information unless specifically asked.

Short Stay Accommodation

I have included some hourly-rental places in the listings that follow. A few of Hat Yai's more classy hotels rent rooms by the hour for purposes that should be obvious.

Disclaimer

These are not reviews as such and I have not stayed in the majority of hotels listed below. I have tried to include some basic information (location, contact details, room rates, facilities, etc) and a photo just to give anyone interested a very general idea.

In addition, I have made some comments based on my initial impressions. How new is the accommodation? What state were the rooms in? What kind of people tend to stay there? How friendly - or otherwise - were the staff? Is the location convenient?

A couple of people have contacted me through this site with comments about Hat Yai hotels they have stayed in and I have added these. Guest comments remain completely unedited and their inclusion does not necessarily indicate that I agree.

Nothing here should be taken very seriously. You may love a place I detest, and vice-versa. We all have very different requirements and different ideas about what makes a place good or not.

Room rate information was provided by the individual establishments and was correct at the time of posting. You may find that there has been a price increase, or you may even be offered a lower rate. If you are aware of any changes you can always contact me so that I can amend the information here.

Feedback and requests

Do you have any comments about a Hat Yai hotel you have stayed at that can be posted here? Are you interested in somewhere I haven't listed? Have I made a mistake with any of the information below? Was I completely off the mark with any of my comments?

As a guide, this information is only useful if it is accurate. I don't have time to constantly review changing situations with Hat Yai hotels so this is where you can help me. I can be contacted using the tab at the top of the page.

Hat Yai Accommodation Listings

I have now divided this section into five pages. For more Hat Yai accommodation options see links at the bottom of each page.

Comments: The big Malaysian tour bus outside the hotel in this photo says a lot about the tourist trade in Hat Yai. When I took the photo there were three outside this hotel alone and dozens more elsewhere around town. More Malaysians than any other nationality visit Thailand as tourists - a fact that shouldn't come as a surprise given that Malaysia has a fairly healthy economy and is so close. Hat Yai is less than an hour from the Malaysian border.

The Ambassador is just one of many mid-class hotels in Hat Yai that has been built and operates almost exclusively to deal with the Malaysian tourist trade. For a very small amount of money, weekend tourists can get an adequate room and save their Ringgits for other pleasures.

In these pages you will find lots more similar hotels and maybe a few that are a little different.

The Ambassador closed temporarily some time in 2007 or 2008 while a refurbishment was carried out. Naturally, when it reopened the rooms rates had gone up. The previous rate was Bt480 but now it is Bt580. That's still not a lot of money and I'm sure the additional comfort of the refurbishment is worth the extra Bt100.

Comments: The Asian had a big refit in 2006 to spruce things up a bit and probably to justify higher room rates. It is a typical mid-class Hat Yai hotel aimed predominantly at the Malaysian and Singaporean weekend tourist trade. There's not a lot more to be said really.

It's located opposite the Diamond Plaza hotel, close to Gim Yong market and Lee Gardens, and has the usual facilities demanded by regular visitors. There is a massage shop, a barber shop, pretty Thai girls to serenade guests in the evening, and private karaoke rooms.

The rooms are completely standard for this class of Thai hotel (it's as if every hotel in Thailand uses exactly the same design).

Comments: This low cost apartment building opened in 2008 and when I looked in October there were still plenty of rooms available.

Apart from being a new place, the other benefit is the quietness of its location. The location isn't all that convenient but in Hat Yai it is difficult to get a convenient location that is also relatively quiet.

There are a variety of rooms - some with external windows, some with air-conditioning, some slightly bigger - and the people running the place seemed to be willing to make the room how you want it.

Their business card gives the location as being behind the Nissan showroom on 'Tanon 30m' which is the local nickname for Rajyindee Road.

Comments: The BP Group run some nice hotels and although I haven't stayed at any of their operations in Hat Yai, I have stayed at the BP Samila Hotel on Samila Beach in Songkhla.

It's close to everything but - then again - most Hat Yai hotels are close to everything because Hat Yai is only a small town. They have a massage facility and the Rose restaurant also serves as a coffee shop and snack bar.

The rates are quite high for Hat Yai but every room is a suite, either a junior or a grand suite, so the standard of accommodation is higher than the average Hat Yai hotel room. They didn't appear to be offering any discounted rates when I enquired, which is unusual. If the town is quiet you should be able to get a discount.

Comments: Another hotel run by the BP Group located opposite its sister hotel, the BP Grand Suite. There are 204 deluxe rooms, 12 junior suites, 26 executive suites, four honeymoon suites and one presidential suite.

Along with conference rooms, the facilities include a cocktail lounge, karaoke restaurant, Chinese restaurant, snooker club, Thai massage and barber saloon, swimming pool and fitness centre.

The published room rates are:

• Single Deluxe Room Bt1,600
• Double (Twin) Deluxe Room Bt1,600
• Junior Suite Bt2,400
• Executive Suite Bt2,400
• Honeymoon Suite Bt4,500
• Presidential Suite Bt15,000
• Extra bed Bt300

I was immediately offered a discount without any prompting. The Bt1,600 rooms were available for Bt960 and the Bt2,400 rooms were available for Bt1,320. Rates are inclusive of service charge and government tax. Check out time is 12:00 noon.

There is no charge for children under 12 when sharing accommodation with adults, and baby cots are available on request free of charge.

Meal Rates:

• American Breakfast Bt90
• Continental Breakfast Bt90
• Oriental Breakfast Bt90
• Lunch Table D'Hote Bt150
• Dinner Table D'Hote Bt200

All meals are subject to a 10% service charge.

Comments: Located on the most expensive street in Hat Yai, this smallish guest house is an easy walk from Lee Gardens Plaza and everything else in the downtown area. It is very close to the two BP hotels listed above (next door to BP Grand Suite), and also several massage shops.

It's fairly new, clean, comfortable, convenient and represents good value for the location. Some of the older Hat Yai hotels and guest houses are looking really tatty these days and I think newer places like this offer much better value for money.

Guest Comments:

• "450 Baht is a very attractive price for a room with 3 stars standard in Be My Guest guesthouse. I give it 9 out of 10, since rooms are not the same size, better to choose the rooms at the front, facing the street."

Comments: Cathay is one of those places that backpackers absolutely love, as do Lonely Planet (same thing really). I took a look, out of interest, and found it to be quite depressing but I am not a diehard backpacker. The rooms and bathrooms are grotty but for travellers coming from the Khao Sarn Road they will be used to this standard of accommodation.

The staff are friendly both in the guest house and at the travel agents downstairs. I can understand why backpackers like it. The location is near the station, which always seems to be a big thing with backpackers, and if they are just mindlessly following the backpacker trail it will have a familiar feel to many other places they've already stayed at.

There will be other people like them and they can discuss backpacker-type subjects such as the appropriate degree of bagginess when buying their baggy fisherman pants. The staff speak fairly good English so there is no need to bother with the Thai language and no doubt cheap beer is served while the same old movies are played on TV every night.

The whole 'backpacker' thing just seems so passé these days, especially in Thailand.

Comments: This is a typical Hat Yai hotel geared towards the weekly Malaysian tourist trade. It's near the centre of town, not too expensive and has what Malaysians want when they come to Hat Yai, including a snooker hall.

It is a large hotel with 250 rooms. Facilities include the 'Broadway Karaoke Lounge' and 'Tum Rub Thai' massage shop where you can get your tummy rubbed or, in the words of the hotel, "... is a fantastic place for relax and release your tensions ... each room is equipped with air-conditioner and color TV."

The massage rooms are very pleasant - decorated in a Japanese style. The massage girls vary. Some just do the kneading action thing on each limb but a few really know what they are doing. Here is a tip: One of the massage girls called Dtik used to work at Garabunning Spa and she is a great masseuse. If you can get her you won't go wrong. For photos of Dtik being massaged, she was my model for the photos of Preuksa Spa.

Comments: Located close to Baan Tidtaa, this place is similar in that it is in a quiet location just behind Sri Nakorn school.

It's fairly small with just 32 rooms, some of which are air-conditioned. Baan Tidtaa and this place might appeal to someone who favours tranquility over convenience.

One word of warning. Although it is quiet in the daytime, there is a bar located nearby and I'm not sure how noisy it might get at night as I have never actually stayed there overnight.