Sunrise Villa in Thong Nai Pan Noi

Prices for Thong Nai Pan Noi Accommodation

The prices for accommodation in Thong Nai Pan Noi are getting very high. This is stopping many people who want to come and experience the beauty of the beach and the surrounding area from visiting. The cheapest villa in Rasananda in the low season is over 8,000 THB, Santhiya it is over 5,000 THB and at Panviman it is also over 5,000 THB. These places offer luxury but at a high price.

For old Thailand hands they are frankly not worth it. The villas and rooms at the resorts are all close together, and the prices for food and drink are outrageous compared to the real cost in the shops.

Private Villa Hire

The solution is private villa hire. Recently Sunrise Villa was completed. It is located in the hills behind Thongtapan Resort, about 800 meters from the beach. The villa is 2 storey. The upstairs has a master bedroom with floor to ceiling windows and en-suite bathroom with hot water.

Downstairs there are 2 more en-suite double bedrooms with air-con. There is also a fully fitted kitchen, a comfortable lounge with access to a large balcony. From the balcony and the master bedroom an amazing view of the Thong Nai Pan bay area and the surrounding jungle can be enjoyed. You can see several varieties of eagle and other birds of prey gliding in the thermals while sitting on the balcony furniture. 

Sunrise Villa is set in over 1,000 sq meters of garden that features a number of beautiful tropical plants. It also has banana, coconut and cashew trees. You can also pick wild pineapples. It is a tropical paradise setting removed from the noise of the beach.

Best Part

The best part of Sunrise Villa is the rental price: outside of the Christmas and New Year period it is a bargain 5,000 THB a night. The rent can be shared by 3 couples making the price per person only 833 THB ($27). That is cheaper than Thongtapan Resort!

Update

Sunrise Villa is currently closed.

Better than Sex and the Baan Panburi

Changes are a foot again on Thong Nai Pan Noi. Restaurants and accommodation changes on the beach.

Firstly, Pong's new restaurant has finally opened in the place that used to be Pong's Republic near the bridge. The failed night club looks set to succeed as a restaurant. It is an imposing glass and steel construction. with decking and water feature. Pong is a great cook. His Burmese dishes are particularly good. Being positioned at the higher end of the market and considering the position of the restaurant just opposite Luna Lounge, it is a big challenge to the popularity of the Luna Lounge. The battle of the posh restaurants is on.

Accommodation Changes on Thong Nai Pan Noi

Big changes are in progress on Thong Nai Pan Noi beach. As you can see from the photograph above the Baan Panburi has been pulled down. It seems that Rasananda has got the land and plans to expand their row of luxury beach villas with small plunge pools.

For the time being the Star Huts is still standing, but these bungalows are also destined to vanish. The owners of Rasananda have bought this land too and plan to build mid range accommodation under the moniker of Buri Rasa.

Star Huts, a long time favourite with backpackers, will be sorely missed. Some of the people from Star Huts have been given the land next to Tanaporn Massage House. They will build a restaurant.

The Bigger Picture

Much of the road from Ban Tai to Thong Nai Pan has now been completed. It is a high quality road that will last longer than previous parts of the road. The Thong Nai Pan area is destined for preeminence on the island.

There are only 3 outfits that are now beachfront on Thong Nai Pan Noi: Thong Tapan (and Tapan Noi which is owned by the same family), Phuwadee and Rasananda. Since Phuwadee is only leased land this is destined to get swallowed up by Rasananda too. They are the newest business on the beach and yet they are destined to dominate the accommodation on Thong Nai Pan Noi. It is only the locally owned Thong Tapan that is between them and owning it all.

H20 Scuba in Thong Nai Pan Noi has new website

Lee and Johnny eventually get a new website for H20 Scuba. It's a stylish site that does justice to a great dive school. If you look at the site you will see that H20 Scuba are offering free trial dives to anyone over 12 years old. This is your opportunity to see if diving is for you. H20 Scuba is in Thong Nai Pan Noi, next to Handsome Sandwiches. They do open water, advanced open water, dive master courses and fun dives to Sail Rock, Chumphon Pinnacle and Ang Thong National Marine Park. There is even a VIP service for those who want a personalized service.

UPDATE: H2O Scuba is now H2O Original. They have stopped their website, but have Facebook page that they often update. Other scuba schools in Thong Nai Pan are Dreamland Divers and Tropical Dive Club.

Hideaway Bar Pulled Down

Things are really changing quickly on Thong Nai Pan Noi and Thong Nai Pan Yai. The latest victim of progress is the Hideaway Bar in Thong Nai Pan Noi. Not the original nightclub in Thong Nai Pan but still a very popular place while it lasted. They had epic Friday night parties. Fun for those attending and a pain in the butt for those trying to sleep in Sandee Bungalow. The times are a-changing.