Accommodations, Part 2: Baan Dok Mai

Reception Manager Bon (left), with Waiters Tim and Aek

[This has been a popular post - so just to let you know, there's an update HERE , posted February 2001, after my second stay in January.]

Tucked quietly away in the shadow of the big Tukcom electronics mall in Pattaya sits Baan Dok Mai, a small, homey eight room guest house. Those of you familiar with the Day-Night area may remember it as the old Martini House restaurant. Owned by a friendly New Zealander named Warwick and his partner Ken it began its third year a couple of months ago, having opened in January 2008.

Although the lobby area is open on both sides of the corner location there are a number of food carts out front, and the signage, while clear, isn’t large – so you need to keep an eye out for it. My driver tried to come in from a different direction than Pattaya Tai /South Pattaya Road and had to stop a few times to ask directions before I finally called their number myself and handed him my cell phone.

Facing South Pattaya Road, Tukcom high on the far left

The folks there are a considerate and friendly bunch of guys and made me feel at home from the moment my ride pulled in and they came to grab my luggage from the car. Actually, even before that: I was a good 45 minutes later than I said I’d be arriving and Warwick called to see if my ride had picked me up and if I was OK, just as we were pulling into Pattaya from Sukhumvit Road.

Baan Dok Mai is a guest house, not a hotel. It doesn’t have a swimming pool, work-out room, breakfast buffet or a uniformed doorman. What my room did have, though, was a large, comfortable bed with four proper pillows (not the flat excuses for pillows you find in some places), a nearly full-sized refrigerator, a safe, a good sized television with a VCD/DVD player and additional sub-woofer sound system attached, two wardrobes, a wicker chair, a five-drawer dresser, a six-foot sofa to sit and watch TV on and plenty of space to spare.


As someone who doesn’t drink alcohol and prefers to buy my own sodas, water and snacks I appreciated that the refrigerator wasn’t full of “pay” items when I arrived. There’s a Family Mart three doors down the street and Royal House massage is just out the side door, but that’s another story.

The bathroom itself was basic, but had all the necessary fixtures – clean and in good repair. It was stocked with proper pump bottles of shampoo, conditioner and liquid body soap, much as you might have at home. There was an exhaust fan to the outside that kept condensation down and helped cool the room when I came home after a warm afternoon.

The aircon unit was quiet but seemed just a tad small for the generous size of the room, but I don’t set the aircon cooler than 24C when I’m in Thailand; it helps avoid that hot/cold/hot/cold thing that’s often triggered a cold on past trips when I’ve had the thing blasting arctic air – usually to the dismay of my Thai friends who would bundle themselves up in blankets while visiting.

My schedule out didn’t allow time to be there to try the food at the lobby café, but the meals I saw served looked good. There were often a few farang sitting at the tables having a meal or a cool drink while making use of the WiFi. Housekeeping was consistent and I didn’t ever have to ask them to return for anything they’d overlooked; something I usually have to do at most hotels at least once per stay.

When you’re issued your room key you’re also given a key to the side door of the building. Just like a small town in the US where they “roll up the sidewalks” at 9:00, they roll down the metal doors of the lobby at Baan Dok Mai somewhere earlier than that, and you let yourself in when you come in at night. I suppose for those who want some privacy that’s a good thing, and I thought it was rather like staying in a friend’s home and having your own key. In my earlier post about night rides on motorcycles you can see us pulling up to the night entrance at the end of the video clip.

The room rates are more than reasonable, as are the distances to most areas by foot or baht bus. I’d certainly stay there again.

Their website is: http://www.baandm.com/