Chai Lai Orchid Reviews

Best vacation ever, amazing experience with elephants. We stayed at riverside, its a cute bamboo lodge, my son jumped into the river anytime he wants. We joined the full day jungle tour, our guide Sam was fantastic. He knows the village very well, very fun to hangout with. The elephants are definitely the star over there, my son didn't want to leave in the end of the trip. Highly recommend.

nice place can play with elephants anytime, a lot of dogs and feel like quite freedom, countryside and relaxing. facilities not really good and have to say , really worth to try this different experience, btw the stars in the night are amazing. wonderful experience

Exceptionally nice stay. The location is very idyllic, quiet and you can really relax and switch off. The highlight are the elephants. The staff is very nice and helpful, the food is delicious and sufficient. Clear recommendation!!! One Life Time Experience

Riverside cottage, a bit far from restaurants and main events, lots of bugs, but still a very special experience

This accommodation cannot be compared with normal hotels. I stayed in the room on the edge of the river. The room was very primitive. There was no air conditioner, no signal, no WiFi, no phone, no towel, toothbrush, slippers, only shower gel, bottled water and an electric fan. The mountain road is really difficult to walk, especially on rainy days. My elephant call that morning was cancelled because the water level was too high for the elephants to come over on a rainy day. The host is not very professional, so I have to take the initiative to ask. The call was cancelled early and no one notified me. I was waiting in the room stupidly because there was no phone in the room, no WiFi, and the mobile phone had no signal in the village room. If you have anything, you have to walk to the reception to ask. Long distances are dirt roads. In fact, it is much more convenient to live in the mountains. But I still think it's worth it. Although not an enjoyable experience. But it's a really special process. I chose to take a bath with an elephant for 1200 baht per person. It was fun. This is an elephant conservation purpose. There will be a chance to go again.

I've written a lot of reviews, but no more 😓😓 The hotel atmosphere is divided into a riverside room and a mountaintop room. There is a distance on both sides, and there are cars to pick up and drop off. The riverside room can encounter elephants during the day. In contrast, I prefer the quietness of the villa on the top of the mountain. Elephants are there in the morning, and they will come in the evening. Occasionally, people will come at noon, and I will stay for three days. It is beautiful, there are kittens and parrots here. 🦜 Western-style breakfast, you can also try it Thai rice, delicious

The price includes the elephant calling early, that is, there is a very large gecko on the roof at night, and it is not suitable for people who are afraid

Great stay and all the staff so hard working and lovely.

The whole experience was wonderful from start to finish. As a family of four with two teenage boys we didn't really know what to expect yet we needn't have worried. The area is beautiful, the elephants are truly majestic, gentle giants and, crucially, the care with which they are treated by the park and thier Mahouts is heart-warming to see. Our guide, Sam, was from a local village and his knowledge and love of this region and the animals that share it with the humans was touching. Our trip included a gentle bamboo raft, swimming in the river, lunch (freshly prepared and cooked using only jungle ingredients), a short hike and lots of time with a family of elephants, from grandmother to new born. Highly recommended, Chai Lai should be proud of what they've acheived as both an elephant sanctuary and a welcoming tourist attraction.

We did the 2 day 1 night jungle expedition and karen homestay. Absolutely amazing experience, thanks to our guide Lon. He was brilliant and so thoughtful the whole time. He has amazing knowledge of the jungle and wildlife around and also made the yummiest meals for us, all cooked traditionally. We both learnt so much and had the best time! The elephants were the highlight of the trip and are very well looked after. We will remember this trip forever and would recommend the trip and Lon to anyone! The best guide we’ve had in Thailand!

This was great!!! The elephants are very well taken care of and happy. Lon brought us through the jungle and made us traditional Thai food and it was extremely delicious. His knowledge of the local area, plants and animals was amazing. He convinced to eat an ant and it was great! Lon was brilliant and made the whole experience 100 times better.

We did a private tour with a group of friends which was a highlight of our trip! Our guide Lan was amazing and had so many interesting facts or things to point out as we made our way through the jungle. He was also an amazing cook and we loved the food. In regards of the jungle stay, once you come prepped (pack light, plenty of bug spray, etc) then it is an unforgettable experience. The elephants were a standout and couldn't recommend the whole thing (and Lan) enough!

This is NOT anything like what you see on instagram- We had a pretty horrible experience, and left after only one night. We would have left during the night if we had been able to have a truck pick us up from our horrible room. We would never recommend anyone stay here, especially in what was described to me as a ‘garden room’, or Lotus 4. Only positive was the interaction with the elephants. We changed from a river room to a garden room, when my husband had a serious foot injury and could no longer hike. I contacted the hotel, about 3m prior to our stay, requesting we be moved to a mountain room, but was told they were fully booked. I asked that they put me on a waitlist in case they had a cancellation. We not only saw empty rooms, with level areas to walk to, but spoke with a couple young ladies who had a mountain room, with a great location less than 50m from the cafe. Chai Lei suggested the garden room. A ‘garden’ room required a bit of a hike down stairs used by the elephants, covered in mud and elephant dung. It is located up a hill from the river, in a small village about a 5 min drive from the hotel. The room was horrific. It’s an empty bamboo & wood structure, with walls, floors & roof open to all elements, including large families of insects from the river. Other than a very saggy king bed & nightstand, there is nothing else in the room, so luggage, etc. needed to be placed on the floor. There is a private bathroom, with I can only imagine to be river water to flush the toilet and to shower with, from the bamboo stalk, cold water ‘shower’. The sink has no place to put anything around, so all of your toiletries are on the floor in the bedroom or on the lone nightstand. I also got quite ill from the food I ate at lunch, or the drink I had at dinner. I could understand that if this room was the only one available, and I had asked for a last minute change, but that wasn’t the case. I paid for the river front room, which was the same price as a mountain room, and approximately 40% more than the garden villa. I also paid for two nights, and ended up staying only one due to a horrible room and getting food poisoning. When I asked about a refund, I was offered some ginger tea for my stomach. In addition, cleanliness of the cafe area was atrocious! There is months of elephant slobber built up on the benches and floors in the cafe. Yes, there is a daily happy hour where you have the opportunity to buy baskets of bananas to feed the very demanding♥️ elephants, but even heavy rain didn’t clean the area, just brought out the smell. We chose to stay here as we were excited about the elephants roaming around so we could see them from our deck. That is not the case, as the elephant breakfast is basically a handler bringing a hungry elephant to your room, and you feeding it non-stop for 15min. Then they bring by a tower of cold eggs, a few pancakes and satay, etc. for your breakfast. Instagram photos show a completely diffe

Two day trek and overnight stay Our guides Boy and Soin were very young, but so professional, in our group of four for trekking, overnight stay in a Karen home and then rafting and elephants visit at Chai Lai the second day. The two men were practicing their english and talking to us all the way round the jungle. They wanted to make all of us happy at all times and were so kind. We stopped at waterfalls, they took photos for us, they made us soup and lunch using bamboo and an open fire! We couldn’t have asked any more of them. We never felt rushed and everything was taken at our own pace. We learnt so much about the Karen way of life and how these men are supporting their families and siblings for a better life in the future. Please if you’re booking ask for these guides!! You won’t regret it. Thank you from Jake and Lizzie from the UK 🇬🇧