Soppong River Inn - Accommodation, Cafe, and River Deck

Please note the corrections at the bottom of the page here regarding Lonely Planet's August 2007 edition and Travelfish 12/2007 update.

Accommodation
Each of our rooms in our collection is unique in style and decoration. We currently have seven completely different room styles (click any of the links below for more information). All our rooms include:

Our rates are the same year round, and we never raise our rates to take advantage of holidays or "high season". Note: we do not recommend our rooms situated along the deck for families with small children, since our terrace is situated about 10 metres above the rocks along the river. Only the Baan, Nests or Rice Hut would be suitable for small children.

Our newest accommodations are The Nests. Located in a natural red-earth masonry structure high on our property and looking down towards the river over our gardens, The Nests offer our most comfortable and well-furnished living space - modern, and with traditional style. They are air conditioned and appointed with high-quality, custom crafted solid teak furniture that we designed ourselves, as well as modern electronic conveniences such as satellite LCD TVs, DVD player, wifi, and an iPhone docking clock radio unit. To make things more comfortable, we provide a free mini-bar stocked with beer, soft drinks and snacks and also complimentary breakfast for two at our café. The rate for each Nest is 2450 baht/night nett, or if you would like the whole building with both rooms and the roof terrace, the rate is 4800 baht/night.

The Champa Room is adjacent to our river deck and is sort of our "junior suite", with all teak furniture and a convertible sleeper sofa in a sitting area, a minibar with complimentary coffee and tea service, with LCD TV with DVD player. You can borrow as many films as you like from our large DVD lending library. There is one king size teak poster bed and of course an ensuite bathroom with gas hot water. There are also 100% cotton bathrobes and slippers for your use. Champa has air conditioning, although you will rarely need that in Soppong. The rate is 1500 baht/night.

With a treetop view over the river from its upstairs deck is the Leelawadi Cottage. Leelawadi is a cozy two-storey cottage finished on the outside with natural, local red earth stucco. Downstairs, there is a rattan and wicker sofa, table and chairs along with a refrigerator and television with DVD player, and complimentary coffee and tea service. The open-style bathroom features halogen lighting, a hand made ceramic sink set into a teak counter and an open sky gas hot water shower space. The teak spiral staircase leads upstairs to the sleeping quarters with a queen size bed and locally handcrafted teak frame. There is also a rattan wardrobe and inside you will find 100% cotton bathrobes for your use. The upstairs door opens to a small private deck with a view about 15 metres down to the river and across to the protected national forest jungle. The rate for the Leelawadi Cottage is 1200 baht/night.

The Bamboo Rooms (two of them) are located on the deck over the river. Constructed using teak and with bamboo plywood interior, these rooms are spacious and incorporate a twin-tiered roof and ceiling, inspired by the local Shan temple architecture. Along with the brass and rattan ceiling fans, the roof design allows for fresh air and good cooling. As with all our rooms, the bamboo rooms have queen-size real mattresses (a rarity in remote Thai villages like Soppong) with Thai style decorations, table and chairs. Ensuite bathrooms, constructed of ceramic tile, masonry and glass brick, have western style toilets, hand-made ceramic bowl sinks set in teak, and gas hot water showers. The Bamboo Rooms are also equipped with refrigerators/mini-bar. The Bamboo Room rate is 700 baht/night.

We also have the River Rim Cottage, constructed of teak, stone and masonry with a private 'open-sky' gas water shower bathroom, a queen size bed, refrigerator and minibar - all perched above the river. There is also a private verandah overlooking a 10 metre drop down to the river...perfect for birdwatching in the early morning. The high and open Indonesian style thatched roof, along with the ceiling fan, keeps this room nice and cool. Rate for the River Rim Cottage is 1150 baht/night.

The teakwood Rice Hut, is a cozy cottage modeled after the storage houses used in Northern Thailand. It's located away from the river, by itself, at the top of our property, with an adjacent parking space. The en-suite bathroom is constructed of Thai style ceramic tile and glass brick, with a western toilet and gas hot water shower. There are also wicker table, chairs, lamps, TV with DVD player, refrigerator and a mini-bar with complimentary coffee/tea service. There is a brass and rattan ceiling fan to keep things cool. The Rice Hut rate is 700 baht/night.

If you would like to experience staying in a traditional Northern Thai teak house, The Baan is available. Our largest accommodation in terms of space, it includes a queen and single size bed, wicker sofa and chairs in the living space, refrigerator, coffee/tea service, television and DVD. There is a modern western bathroom in the back with a gas hot water shower and an "open-sky" shower. While The Baan is not directly on the river, it has privacy and is set back away from all the other rooms, thus creating an authentic northern Thai living experience, but with a touch of luxury. The nightly rate for The Baan is 1200 baht/night. We also have special monthly rates since some guests have rented The Baan for long term stays.

And with any of our rooms, if you stay with us for a week, the last night is free.

Western or Thai breakfast is served each morning in our Seven Elephants Café. All breakfasts come with a fresh in-season tropical fruit salad, your choice of American (eggs with bacon or homemade patty sausage, tomatoes & whole wheat toast), European (muesli with milk or yoghurt and fruit), or Thai (breakfast noodle soup or hot rice porridge). All set breakfasts come with your choice of fresh ground espresso, coffee, or a pot of western, Japanese or local, organically grown oolong tea. The price is 100 baht, and breakfast is available any time.

Seven Elephants in the Garden Café
Set at the top of our property, our cafe offers indoor or outdoor dining in our tropical garden amongst the palms and heliconias. The menu includes dishes from all over SE Asia, including some local Shan dishes (for a PDF file sample of our menu, click here), plus some western selections should you desire a break from rice. We have some nice music, including satellite radio, during the day and at dinner. After dinner you can select from our extensive selection of DVDs should you wish to take in a movie. We have a coffee bar and an espresso machine if you would enjoy a fresh ground real coffee, cappuccino, latte or even a Thai iced coffee made with a shot of espresso instead of the usual upcountry instant Nescafé. We also have an interesting menu of house cocktails, including our own Bloody Mali and the Thaijito - a Mojito made with Thai rum. You can also choose from a selection of imported wines.

The Deck
Our large teak river terrace is constructed on three levels, perched on the rocks above our mini-canyon on the Lang River, and it includes many different seating areas. There are lots of local orchids and views of the river, the jungle, and the birds. In the evening, just relax and listen to the river rapids and the frogs. Take all the time you want to take in the view and relax.

Internet
We were the first, and at one time the only place in Soppong to offer internet, and we have an Apple iMac, free for use by our guests. A webcam is available if you wish to have a video chat with friends back home. We have a high-speed fibre internet connection, with a WiFi network covering our entire property and rooms. Access is complimentary for all our resident guests and café customers.

Thai traditional massage is available at our sala overlooking the river. Relax, enjoy the sounds from the river below, and enjoy a professional two hour massage for 250 baht.

Other Services
We can help you arrange for activities in the Soppong area, including some very authentic trekking to the hilltribe villages. Since Soppong is relatively remote, the area has some villages that are not frequented by many of the Chiang Mai, Pai or Mae Hong Son tourist groups. We like to specialise in good food and accommodation and do not push or sell tours or treks ourselves, nor do we profit from commissions on them, but we can refer you to a guide if you wish. Treks can be tailored to your individual interests and fitness. Treks generally last for three days and two nights, with all meals and spartan accommodation (in the hilltribe villages) included. Day treks, including hilltribe villages, bamboo rafting (when the river is high enough) and caving are also possible. In fact, there are many Lisu and Lahu villages within an hour's walk of the Inn. Day trekking makes for a long day, but a hot shower and comfortable beds await you back at the Inn at the end of the day.

Should you wish to travel on to Mae Hong Son in a different way, we can also help you arrange an overnight rafting trip down jungle rivers into Mae Hong Son town. This is real river rafting, down a river with some nice rapids. All safety equipment, floatation, and camping gear is provided by the rafting company.

If you really have to stay in touch, we offer international phone and fax service. Also, be sure to have a look at Joy's Seven Elephants Shop at the cafe in the front, with some local handicrafts and textiles, along with a nice selection of silks that she has sourced on her trips to Laos.

Same day, in-house laundry service is available, including wash, dry, fold, and pressing services, including four hour express service. And yes, we do have a real dryer, so clothes and towels get dry even during rainy season. We hate funky towels too!

For more information or bookings, you can phone us on: +66 53 617 107 or +66 81 250 8425. If calling from inside Thailand, (053) 617 107 or (081) 250 8425. Or,

If you are traveling from Pai towards Mae Hong Son: we are on the right, about 500 metres after you pass the market, bus stop and police box in Soppong village. Look for the sign (pictured above) from the main road.

If you are traveling from Mae Hong Son towards Pai: we are on the left, just as you begin to enter Soppong. You will see a phone box, sala, and small road on the right (to several Lisu hilltribe villages) just before you get to our Inn. Look for our sign and entrance gate on your left.

Or, just phone us and we can meet you at the Soppong bus stop in the market area.

Corrections to Lonely Planet's August 2007 edition:
We were grateful for Lonely Planet's (LP) nice review of our Inn and their "Our Choice" rating they provided for our listing, but there were a few inaccuracies that might cause for some confusion. Please note the following corrections:

LP describes our property as "basic huts or stylish rooms in a river-facing two storey house". Actually, a "two storey house" is not part of our accommodations at all, and we do not have any rooms located inside a two storey house. Two of our cottages (Leelawadi and River Rim Cottages) are located over the river, and two (Rice Hut and The Baan) are located at opposite corners at the top of our property. Our three rooms are located adjacent to our river deck. Our "huts" may or may not be considered "basic", but they do have teak furnishings, modern en-suite bathrooms with glass bricked gas hot water showers, queen-size beds with 100% cotton sheets, refrigerators and coffee service, textile and wooden decorations, and even cotton bathrobes in the closets. Most of them also have televisions with satellite service and DVD players.

The listing goes on to say that "its four rooms have open-air showers, heaps of character and are all different". We do appreciate the compliments, but apart from our four cottages, our three "rooms" (two Bamboo Rooms and Champa) do not have open-air showers. Please consider this if you are are thinking of booking one of our rooms and you really want an open-air shower.

One other quick correction: in the Soppong and Around section, the text states that "a Bangkok Bank was being built at the time of writing" next to Border Bar. Actually, that is a government savings bank, and a Bangkok Bank branch is not planned for Soppong. The government savings bank does not offer currency exchange, cash advances or other services that you might expect at a consumer bank branch.

Corrections to Travelfish update as of July 2010:
Since many people refer to travelfish.org for travel advice, we thought we should also provide some corrections to their listing to prevent any confusion.

Firstly, the photo featured in our listing is of a simple bamboo bungalow that we once offered mostly for drivers and we removed it in October of 2007, so it's not here any more.

Our Bamboo Rooms are described as "individual chalets, but they are actually adjoining rooms situation adjacent to our river terrace. Our Leelawadi Cottage is descrived as an "awsome and large two-storey wooden cottage; however, it is actually constructed of masonry and natural red earth stucco, with teak stairs amd trim throughout, and a teak terrace and floors upstairs. The listing reads "Rice Huts are similar and of equal quality, but mostly made of teak". Actually, there is only one Rice Hut and it is entirely constructed of teak.

Also, "a great cafe and bar area has been set up on top of the low cliff above the Lang". Actually, the cafe is located at the top of our property, and our river terrace has no cafe or bar so as to create a peaceful place for you to relax and listen to the river below. Thr rates given are also out of date, so please check with our website for the most up to date information.

Our café manager, Aom, with one of our resident cats.

Soppong River Inn Staff

And last but of course not least...your smiling Soppong River Inn staff on a cool evening.