Pornping Tower Hotel

26 August 2006

The Pornping Tower is one of the original Chiang Mai tourist hotels, one of a group of locally run hotels built a stone's throw from the night bazaar around 30 years ago. One of the problems typically encountered with locally run hotels is that they don't invest as much as they should in maintenance and upkeep. So, I was pleasantly surprised on a recent stay at the Pornping to find that it was still in reasonable shape. My deluxe room appeared to have been recently renovated, although this is where the difference between a locally run hotel and an international one is most obvious. The room had been renovated by spraying every wall as well as every piece of furniture with a speckled white paint. It was amusingly quirky for a short stay but might have been maddening after more than a few days.

Make no mistake, Pornping is definitely a tourist class hotel, more used to big tour buses of guests rather than individual travelers looking for a unique experience and local flavor. That said, the location is about as good as you can get in Chiang Mai, and given the price it's exceptionally good value for money.

Hotel facilities include two restaurants plus a simple large room where breakfast is served, a small swimming pool, night club, ballroom and several meeting rooms. One of the restaurants is a top floor grill room with views of the mountains and river.

Rooms feature air conditioning, mini-bar, color television with limited English language channels and in-room safe.

Green issues: Like most hotels these days, signs posted in the room instruct you on saving water by reusing towels. Most of the soft drinks in the mini-bar are in re-usable glass bottles (and cheaper than most hotels too!)

Pluses: Excellent location.

Minuses: The Pornping is oriented to large groups. Those looking for individual treatment may be disappointed. The night club and karaoke lounge are quite popular among local Thais. The scene may be disconcerting to those not used to hostesses and such.

Rooms at the Pornping Tower Hotel may be booked through Agoda or you can compare rates from several other reservation sites at Hotels Combined.