Lanta smile inn

Loved everything about the property. Great location and Mr Yim was a fantastic host.

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The host was great, he greeted us with fresh watermelon which was a lovely gesture after our journey. He was informative about the area was always on hand. He also gave us cakes/flavoured rice each morning. The room was lovely, modern and very clean, it had everything we needed.

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The location is very convenient, only about a 5–7 minute walk to the beach, and there is a 711 right next to it. The accommodation also offers help with organizing island tours and activities, as well as an airport transfer option (for me this was 2500 baht, had to pay in cash), which was helpful. The room was small but clean and well-maintained, with regular housekeeping. I appreciated the daily bottles of water and the occasional snacks left at the door (like coconut sticky rice), which were a really nice touch. The air conditioning worked very well (which was really important for me, as it was suuuper hot outside:D), and there is also a small safe in the room for valuables (although a laptop wouldn't fit there, so keep that in mind if you have one with you that you'd like to lock away). On arrival, the host, Mr. Yim, took the time to explain how everything works, including the door lock and safe, which I found very helpful. He was also kind and proactive in assisting when my 4 island tour transfer was delayed, which I really appreciated.

The bathroom layout is not very practical, as the drain is behind the toilet, and there is no edge/barrier next to the shower area, so the bathroom mostly gets flooded when you shower. Also, the shower head holder was so high on the wall that I struggled to reach it (so it’s unfortunately not very short-person-friendly), and there was no other holder/place where it could have been put. Also there was a very small bottle of shampoo and body wash when I arrived, but they literally run out after 2 days and weren't replaced. There was only one key-set for the room, and it had the card attached that needed to be inserted into a slot for the electricity to work. So if I wanted to open the safe in the evening for any reason (after natural light was gone), I had to remove it and manage this in the dark room, which was not very practical unfortunately. In addition, I sometimes felt that my privacy could have been better respected. I was often asked where I was going when crossing paths, and felt some pressured to book tours through the accommodation. There were also a few personal questions and requests (such as asking my age or for a photo) that made me a bit uncomfortable. This might be due to cultural differences, but I think it’s worth noting, especially for solo female travellers. Related to this, I also found it unusual that photos were taken during the airport transfer without any explanation. Lastly, communication was sometimes a bit difficult due to limited English.

Clean, nice and cold with the AC. Mr Yim was very helpful and kind

Chickens waking us up early morning