Huarn Jana Boutique Resort

Popular with Thai tourists -- particularly on the weekends -- Huarn Jana Boutique Resort has unusual decor for a Thai resort. Set along a pleasant creek, the entrance to the building looks like a European church, with different panes of colored glass leading up to a spire. The small lobby has bright-yellow walls, a stone floor, and bundled rocks set below the few cushioned benches. Decor includes a set of hanging ornaments and some old framed newspaper reviews of the resort. The resort is set on a small creek, and there's a nice garden with lots of flowers and a rabbit pen with several cute bunnies. That being said, expectations must be managed here, as the resort has definitely seen better days. Everything from the creek to the pool are murky and not exactly pleasant -- decor ranges from tropical tacky to dated and dorm-like. Still, kitschy additions like in-creek dining at one of the restaurants (yes, we mean that picnic tables are set in the creek bed) bring a decent amount of business. Expect to see plenty of families here, though some couples and groups of friends also pass through.

Huarn Jana Boutique Resort is located on a picturesque mountain loop road to Samoeng, a 25-minute drive from central Chiang Mai. There isn't much of anything around the resort beyond a coffee/food stall or two, and guests staying here really need to have their own cars. The road outside the resort has plenty of traffic during the day, but as the resort is set back from the road, the property remains quiet. It will take about 45 minutes to an hour to reach Wat Doi Suthep -- the sacred mountaintop temple -- from here, and the Chiang Mai Airport is a 20-minute drive from the hotel.

There are 50 rooms here, all with air-conditioning and minibars. Standard Rooms will not win any awards for style, though, and the look is a cross between grandmother's house, a dorm, and a children's room. They have have worn faux-wood floors, frilly curtains with pink tassels and pastel flowers, and cheap boxy furniture. The older tube TVs don't do much to update things, and despite vessel sinks, the brown linoleum tiling in the bathrooms -- which have little counter space and bathtub/shower combos -- doesn't look pleasant. There is also a small balcony with a couple of chairs. Superior Rooms are more interesting and are built partially into man-made caves, with glass ceilings, and trees and vines growing right into the rooms. These rooms do have their problems -- leaks in the glass ceilings and the occasional critter have been reported. The canopied beds, elephant-pattern textiles, and bamboo furniture all come together to create a jungle-safari look that's either tacky or quaint depending on the guest. These rooms do include kettles for coffee or tea and the spacious bathrooms with separate walk-in showers and stone bathtubs. Bungalow-style Deluxe Rooms have rustic decks with chairs crafted from reclaimed tree roots. Inside, the interiors are far nicer than the other two categories, with wooden floors and furnishings. There is northern Thai Lanna decor throughout, with lacquered serving tables, bamboo fan light covers, and even decorative traditional musical instruments. Still, the datedness comes through in tube TVs and silk flower arrangements, as well as a bit of wear on everything. These rooms have large windows looking out on the creek, and also have stone bathtubs and separate showers.

Huarn Jana Boutique Resort has little in the way of facilities, and the pool, while pretty thanks to rock siding, has murky water and limited lounge chairs. There's also a restaurant where a free breakfast is served, but it looks like it has seen better days. The hotel is home to another privately owned restaurant, Baan Katai, with a collection of small thatched huts and tables set alongside the creek that runs through the property. An atmospheric bamboo bridge leading to more tables under umbrellas on the other side, and some of the tables are even set right in the creek. The hotel's rabbit pen is popular with kids. Wi-Fi is free throughout the property and there's plenty of free parking on-site. The lobby also has a few mountain bikes for rent, a computer for guest use, a guitar, a brochure rack, and some clothing and umbrellas for sale.