During our recent drive up from Penang to Hua Hin, we stop by this Thai-Myanmar border town called Ranong where it is famous for its hot water spring which is highly ranked in the world and one of the rare hot water springs that does not contain sulfur.
Our drive from Krabi up through Phang Nga and then into Ranong was quite treacherous as it was raining quite heavily throughout the journey and we even come across fallen trees. However, we did managed to get into Ranong safely and check into this lovely boutique hotel right in the heart of Ranong called The Iconic Hotel.
The Iconic Hotel in Ranong which opened in mid 2017 only has 12 rooms and they get booked up fast, so if you’re planning to head out there, do make your bookings early. They have a choice of Deluxe Rooms or Suite Rooms which comes in a few different theme – Moroccan, Minimalist, King Balcony, Japanese and the Presidential. The Japanese and Presidential Suite are setup for three persons while one can add additional beds in the other three.
We took up two rooms for our stay in Ranong – which was the Deluxe Twin room as well as the Minimalist Suite Room (with an extra bed) as there are 5 of us travelling on that leg of the journey.
Check in is very simple and fast while they serve you some refreshing mocktail from The Iconic Cafe which shares the same area as the lobby. The Iconic Cafe also serves some of the best coffee and tea around and the small area is where one have their breakfast too. There is also a small are where guests are able to buy Ranong souvenirs as well as coffee beans or tea leaves to go home with.
Upon checked-in we were helped with our luggage up to our room on the second floor (The Iconic Hotel does not have a elevator, so if you are travelling with heavy luggage, do request for rooms on the lower floors.
The 25 sqm Deluxe Room is rather basic – two twin beds, a working desk with a good size bathroom with a separated standing shower, suitable for a comfortable stay for two.
The 45 sqm Minimalist Suite Room is much larger, with a similar size bathroom, a working and closet area and the sleeping area big enough easily for three twin bed to be fitted in.
All the rooms comes with a small refrigerator, HDTV and fast wifi access. We also took the opportunity to visit the other designer suites so that we are able to share them here with you starting with the Moroccan Suite followed by the King Room with Balcony, Japanese Suite and the Presidential Suite which carries a nautica theme.
The accommodation at The Iconic Hotel Ranong is clean and comfortable and with the various themes, it made this little boutique hotel an interesting place to stay in town. The Iconic Cafe also serves very good tea – and since it was raining for most part of the time there, we decided to stay in and spend our time enjoying some of the loveliest brew around which includes some nice Chinese Tea, Thai Milk Tea and their famous Myanmar Tea.
Breakfast was simple and cooked to order and even though we have to depart early the next morning, the staff were more than willing to accommodate to prepare our breakfast at 6am.
Along with breakfast they also let us sample their home-made birdnest beverage which was indeed very nice.
We regretted not having to spend more time in Ranong as there were still many things left to see there and it also serves as the gateway to Myanmar as well as a few other lovely islands. I guess this gives us an opportunity to return to Ranong again.
Overall I would say The Iconic Hotel in Ranong is a rather nice, affordable, clean hotel and with its various thematic suite rooms makes your stay each time more colorful.
The Iconic Hotel Ranong
79/32-33 Thamuang Road
Ranong City Center
Ranong, 85000 Thailand
Tel: +6677 880 866
