July 2012
The front of the Inthira Sikothabong hotel in Tha Kaek
The Inthira Sikothabong (Inthira Thakhek) hotel is the newest and as of this writing probably the best place to stay in Tha Kaek. The hotel has been built into an old shop-house and preserves the teak floors, windows, and other elements of the old structure. There are just a dozen (well, 13 actually) rooms in this place. None of them are especially large, but they're comfortable enough for a night or two, which is all most people spend in Tha Kaek.
My room at the Inthira Sikothabong hotel in Tha Kaek
Most of the rooms are on the second floor, and it's worth noting that you're asked to remove your shoes before climbing the stairs, which are rather steep as well. The room had teak floors and one wall was also teak. There was a ceiling fan as well as air conditioning, but only one small window, which looked out into the stairwell, and across to another room. People going up and down the stairs couldn't see into the room, and fortunately the other room was unoccupied during my stay, so privacy wasn't a big issue. The television didn't seem to have any English language stations. The hotel had free wi-fi throughout, but the room didn't have any desk or other place to work, so I ended up doing most of my work at the bar in the lobby. The bathroom was a little odd. In reality there wasn't one. There was a sink in the corner, a shower in its own little cupboard in one corner, and the toilet in another cabinet in the other corner.
The hotel has one restaurant on the ground floor where breakfast is served. For breakfast, you get a choice of several different meals, from American Breakfast to fruit and yogurt. It's all quite good and the restaurant attracts people from other hotels and guest-houses around town.
Hotel facilities include a restaurant, bar, tour service
Rooms feature air conditioning, fan, hot and cold water, television (few channels), telephone, mini-bar, and wi-fi Internet access.
Pluses: Center of town
Minuses: Rooms can be noisy, and are not accessible for people with disabilities.
Rooms at the Inthira Thakhek Hotel may be booked through Agoda, or you can use Hotels Combined to compare rates for the hotel from dozens of booking sites.