Kasem Island Resort
View prices for your travel dates
About
Finding an ideal family-friendly hotel in Kanchanaburi does not have to be difficult. Welcome to Kasem Island Resort, a nice option for travellers like you.
Given the close proximity of popular landmarks, such as Heritage Walking Street (0.6 mi) and Chungkai War Cemetery (1.3 mi), guests of Kasem Island Resort can easily experience some of Kanchanaburi's most well known attractions.
Guest rooms offer amenities such as a refrigerator and air conditioning, and guests can go online with free internet access offered by the hotel.
The property also features a pool and free breakfast to make your visit even more pleasant.
When you’re feeling hungry, be sure to check out Library Cafe', Mangosteen Cafe and Books, and Bicycle Cafe, which are some cafes that are popular with locals and out-of-towners alike.
Plus, during your trip, don't forget to check out a park, such as Shinto Park.
Kasem Island Resort looks forward to welcoming you on your visit to Kanchanaburi.
Location
Reviews
- 36
- 47
- 17
- 8
- 4
- Filter
- English
At about £20 a night for a large air conditioned room in a beautiful garden, with its own little balcony ON the river this place is a bargain. And its absolutely gorgeous!
The restaurant is pretty and airy and we wandered over from our lovely bedroom in bare feet through the beautifully maintained garden grounds to sit overlooking the river. The young waitresses were smiling and endearingly helpful and the food was freshly prepared and it arrived swiftly, beautifully presented.
The pool is small but adequate for a refreshing dip, or a romantic moonlight swim.
The gardener is also the boatman who ferries you the few minutes back and forth to Kanchanaburi, a magical journey in itself, especially at sunset.
The atmosphere of this small bunglaw resort is laid back and utterly relaxed, so much so that we ate there every evening.
Tours from the hotel included elephant trekking, bamboo rafting, waterfalls, visits to a nearby tiger sanctuary (!!) and of course, visits to the historical sites and museums of the River Kwai.
The first class air conditioned bus back to Bangkok provided a different experience for our return to the city and I recommend both ways of travelling. You will be astounded by how cheap it is to get to Kananchaburi!
Dont be put off by the shabby looking office on the main land, or the pier where you have to pick up your boat... We were worried when we first saw these, but we were so impressed with the island and accomidation.
Only slight thing is the night discos do sometimes pass, so you can here the ocasional blast of loud music for short intervals throughout the night. also, last boat over (free) to island is 10pm. 10-12pm costs 150bt, after that in the middle of the night / early morning its 500bt.
Great resturant too - best food I have had in thailand, and reasonably priced.
All in all, we loved this place !
Stayed in a river raft fan bungalow. From other reviews I am amazed at what people complain about. Remind me never to be in the hotel business! First off, it's Thailand, second of all it's the tropics so yes there will be bugs and thirdly its 1500 baht a night! Complaints about it being basic, wooden, and there being bugs are crazy. Those people need to only stay in world class chain resorts and never leave them! Ok ok rant over, hopefully you're still here :)
So, as you've no doubt gathered, the rooms are basic. At this place and especially in the river raft bungalows you pay for the experience so expect a basic room with a cold shower (raft rooms) and a fan. It's all wooden Thai style and quite old but adequate and such a great experience.
The rafts do move a little bit when boats go past but it's not the same as being on a boat so motion sickness didn't play a part here. I felt it move twice in 2 days and it was subtle.
The walls are thin and the 15 or so raft bungalows are close together so don't expect an overwhelming amount of privacy.
One power socket only so bring a multi adapter if you need to charge more than one device.
I looked at the other rooms, there were obviously more luxurious and middle and top range had aircon but the middle range rooms faced the less beautiful side of the island.
Location:
Kasem Resort is reached from Chukadon Pier. If you're standing on the pier and looking up the street away from the water. 100 metres up on the left hand side is their 'office'. Just knock and they will call the ferry for you. It's usually about a 10 min wait.
Chukadon pier is a 60 baht tuk tuk ride from the bus terminal or a 80-100 baht ride to the main backpacker street where all the restaurants and bars are. It's 120 baht from River Kwai bridge and about 10 mins (5km away).
The location is down the quiet end of town and you may here some disco boats going past but no where near the noise closer to town.
Staff:
Other than the amazingly nice boat man (kinda felt like dad picking me up after a night out) that ferries you back and forth from Chukadon Pier the other staff are fairly non-engaging unless necessary communication is needed I.e 'would you like choose option a, b, c for breakfast sir'.
Asking for ideas on what to do or taxi prices will result in a singular pamphlet handed to you. The manager? A middle aged lady at the front is very clinical and numbers focused. No exceptional experiences gained here from the staff but like I said, the boat man is a character and so nice.
Facilities:
Very nice gardens with benches and a gazebo are spread throughout the island. With some insect repellant on it can be a serene and relaxing environment. Great views of the mountains in the distance and of longboat fisherman plying their trade. The pool is tiny (think about ground backyard pool) but suitable to cool off if your rooms cold shower doesnt seem adequate :)
*note, the boat goes every hour from 8am to the mainlaind. Returning to the island is at anytime, just knock on the mainland officer window (really somebody's room). If you're not back by 2200 then expect to pay a 200 baht surcharge. It's more the later you want the boat overnight.
Included Breakfast:
Basic but sufficient. 2 slices of toast with marmalade, eggs and style, a piece of french toast, processed ham,orange juice, tea or cofee.
Free wifi in public foyer area and restaurant was good quality.
Stay here if:
You're after a true escape combined with quietness, serenity and basic Thai style accomodation and not overly keen on hitting up the Kanchanaburi nightlife.
You don't mind a cold shower.
You dont mind bit of boat noise and occasionally a floating Thai disco going past up until midnight.
Don't stay here if:
You are precious and like to be waited on hand and foot.
You want to go out and party late into the evening.
You don't like bugs.
You feel trapped having to wait for a boat to go to the mainland.
You like luxury and dont want to experience a basic hotel with an amazing view of the river.
I would recommend getting the 1,500 baht rooms as they have a magnificent view of the surrounding mountains and are also airconditioned. The 750 rooms are fine, except they do not protect you from the obnoxious music produced by the raft discos that run up and down the river (someone should shoot the opertators of these disco rafts)
I was surprised by the wide selection on their menu, which was affordable and fresh. The market across the river also provides an entertaining view to local life and culture (skinned toads for sale bought by locals for culinary treats.)
In Kanchanaburi I would skip the main bridge over the river Kwai, but instead visit the rail road that meanders around the cliffs - its much harder to get to but less crowded and more fun to visit. I would also recommend you visit the Tiger Temple, a sanctuary for tigers that have been saved from poachers.
I have been to South New Zealand and I can tell you that view is nothing less.
The resort has everything, though many things are abit old, and show no re-painting in the last years, but most important of all, everything was still functioning properly.
Though more than 80% was foreigners, they showed their special attention to us Thai! They asked me just before dinner whether we could handle local spicy food as they planned to showcase some extra dishes (free of charge), in addition to the buffet that was included in the package. and that's what I call a service beyond expectation. All in all, we will be their regular guest from now on.
+: great location, koh kasem is very quiet in general so it is the perfect location if you want to relax; the staff is lovely and very helpful; the view from the rooms is fantastic; there is a (small) pool if you feel like going for a swim; breakfast is generous, varied and very good.
-: The place was probably amazing when it first opened, however it needs to be refurnished big time. The aircon in our room was noisy, the shower head was broken and overall it felt like we were paying far too much for such standards. Finally it seems they just opened a restaurant karaoke opposite the resort and they are very loud. Some of the nights they played until very late and you could hear the bass from the bedroom itself...On top of that the person who runs the place is a business woman who is not always so friendly (compared to her staff or other Thai people), which is not what u need when u are on holidays
I hope that this will help u make up ur mind about this place!
The hotel is noisy due to karaoke bars located on the other sides of the river and disco rafts cruising around. The basic and standard rooms are in too bad condition to justify the high prices. Humidity stains, broken showers, rickety furniture, no safety deposit box…
As the hotel is located on an island, it can only be reached by boat, which leaves the island every hour (pick-up at land can be arranged by phone) from 8am to 10pm. Special transport can be organized at different hours but costs 200 baht. As excursions usually start at 8am you will have to book the special transport.
The pier is located far away from Kanchanaburi city and there are very few taxi, songtaew and tuktuks in the area, which means that transportation is not easy unless you rent a scooter.
There is free WiFi but it usually works only in the lobby.
Finally, I did not find the staff to be friendly with the exception of the old boatman who even organized breakfast for us the day we left early for an excursion.
This hotel has potential, but I cannot recommend it in its current state.
A special mention to the resort manager Maue, who was a great a help in arranging our transport and guiding us to visit the best attractions in Kanchanaburi. Whatever be your budget, she can help you with the right package.
Upon arriving, the staff went out of the way to accommodate to our request for more privacy by giving us the unoccupied unit on the far side as the resort was relatively quiet. I appreciate gestures like this as it makes me feel special that my requests as a guest are important.
This resort is full of rustic charm and is manned by the exceptional manager Pau whom would do well in any 5 star hotel with her friendly service attitude.
If you are looking for exciting nightlife, you would do best to stay away and Kanchanaburi is probably not the place for that anyway. However if you want to do nothing but just relax, Kasem Island is worth a stay if you are in Kanchanaburi.
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim Your Listing