Faasai Resort Chantaburi

[LazyWeekend]

Planned a trip to Oasis in Laem Sing, for the children to swim with the dolphins.

To avoid a 4 hour trip going there, decided to stay 3 days 2 nights (night before and after) in a hotel nearby. Checked some websites and decided to go for Faasai resort, near Chantaburi.

Room was ok, not as on pictures in website (hardly any amenities also, no shampoo/cotton buds/ ... the regular things) but ok. The 45 sq.m mentioned on their website must include the outside terrace (shared by 2 rooms) because inside the room was very small. Also the handwasher could not be used, they closed the water from that one because opening it would mean the water would spray all over the bathroom but not on your hands.

Food in restaurant was good.

But then, going to sleep around 11pm, 4 flies were in the room. "With the lights out, they will be out of here". 2 hours later, our youngest son woke us up because being bugged by flies: hundreds of thousands of flies in the room, as in a Hitchcock, the bed full, the floor full, bathroom and toilet full ...

Gone to reception ... closed after 10pm, tried to call 2 numbers, no answer, started knocking some windows at the restaurant, after a while some staff woke up and came to our room: with a small broom :-) Of course no options were offered (other room) but then again, I saw piles of those flies crawling against every door of every neighbouring door.

Packed our stuff (after shaking all the flies out, at home we noticed we only brought 6 of them home) and wanted to leave but ... the whole hotel ground is locked and sealed in the evening (with no office open, no guards, ... imagine having an emergency or coming from a shopping from the city). Finally someone opened the gate and we left home (>2hrs drive) with 2 children in the middle of the night.

Faasai? NEVER again!!!

On the pictures our bedroom and toilet to show that "hundreds of thousands of flies" isn't exagerated a single fly.

[MaiDong]

That's absolutely disgusting!

Sure there are rooms like this all over the world but how ridiculous is it that nobody was there to help(except for those with a broom!)

[trogers]

To my mind, only some dead carcass would have attracted and breed that many files.

[retiredusn]

Next time try the New Travel Lodge a short walk from tesco nice rooms, good free breakfast and a great pool. Around 800bt. Also there are a couple of nice hotels at Lamsing

[BigSnake]

Darn, talking about a real bad trip, why you and the wife write a letter to the Tourism Authority of Thailand with CC to this Faasai Resort(compose it in English and Thai) along with the pics you have shown us here. Los has enough problems with bad smelling public toilet who need this from the private when trying to bring tourist to the Kindgom. Sorry for your bad trip and thanks for the warning.

[LazyWeekend]

Today I received an email from Faasai with apologies, explanations and an offer for compensation. Therefore to be fair to them (apologies and offering compensation are not 'business as usual' in LOS), I would also like to share their explanation:

I would like to apologise for the unfortunate and frightening experience that you and your family had on Friday night. I did write an email of apology and explanation to you on Saturday but only found out yesterday that it hadn't gone through.

When I spoke to you on Friday evening I probably did not show sufficient concern. I am sorry for that. At the time I did not comprehend what had happened and I was astonished when I saw the room as we had certainly never experienced anything like that before.

The problem was due to flying insects that hatch out in large numbers at the beginning of the rainy season which were attracted to the lights on your terrace and in your room. We did not know there was a problem with the room because the rainy season had not yet started and it was not time for them to hatch out. Some people call them suicidal insects because of their bizarre behaviour as they have a mania for the light, fly into it, drop their wings and die in large numbers as you saw.

After you left, we inspected the room to try to find out how they could have got in and we found a small gap under the roofing where they must have entered, attracted by the lights in the bathroom. We are now fixing this and are checking all the other rooms to see if there are any other places where insects could enter the rooms.

When I saw all the insects on the balcony I was puzzled why you had not contacted us to complain of the problem when the insects began arriving. I did not realise that you had been trying to contact our staff by telephone. I am very sorry that you could not get an answer. We are addressing this problem by making sure that we have an emergency number prominently displayed in all the rooms from now on.

As for the locked gates - that is for the safety of our guests and staff. Although we would be willing to pay for an overnight security guard, you may realise, after being in Thailand for four years, that security guards themselves present a threat to safety. Our staff have said that they prefer not to have a security guard onsite and they themselves open and shut the gates as needed.

I realise that all this explanation does not compensate you for your ruined holiday but I do want to compensate you in some way.

[MaiDong]

That's an excellent outcome, the person writing is obviously a foreigner in some way judging by their referral to being in Thailand for 4 years which explains why you've received a fast and decent response

If it's true that the hotel has been checked and repaired, and if it's true that these flies ARE the flies arriving for the rainy season then nothin bad needs to be said about this hotel, however, the flies in your pics looked quite small and I know after spending many rainy seasons in Thailand that the flies arriving for this time are large, almost like flying ants.

Can you confirm that these flies are the large flying ants or are they more like the kind of flies that a dead carcass attracts/creates?

Edited May 5, 2009 by MaiDong

[LazyWeekend]

There were some kind of wings all over the place and the flies without their wings looked as if being ants so I guess that's what you are referring to. Not such a local fauna specialist myself I'm afraid. And I'm aware that the pics are not the clearest so I will also win no photographer award.

Anyway also respected the good reply with decent explanation which is why I posted it.

The lady owner is from New Zealand, your guess was correct ;-)

[cloghead]

Koh Chang has had invasions of these insects (the locals say they are 'termites') for the past 10 days so don't feel alone. I've been here for 5 rainy seasons but don't remember them arriving in such numbers as this past week.

They are indeed attracted to lights and last night I killed at least 200-300 that came in thru a small gap under a door. A few good blasts with a spray can decimated 'em . A strip of duct tape blocks their entrance now.

At least the hotel owners are willing to reimburse you...

[steve73]

You should have collected them up, deep fried them and opened a roadside stall......

But a satisfactory outcome in the end and goes to show that complaining in T/L does work sometimes.

Be interested to hear of a follow-up from any other visitors.

I get the same problems in my thai kitchen a couple of times every year, and have to retire inside to eat when it occurs, but at least the cats enjoy themselves snacking all night on the gecko's they attract.

Edited May 7, 2009 by steve73

[Jonny B]

i also get these same insects occasionly at my place, only vary rarely though so i dont know when or why they come but in the morning there will be the wings lying everywhere and the ants come to eat their bodies. I would give the hotel the benifit of the doubt on this one and at least you got a nice apology for something that they had no real control over, i could have imagined a thai person blaming you instead for leaving lights on inside!

[TVmonitor]

Can't view the pictures - but I'm assuming that they are a termite/ant-like creature and this is a perfectly normal occurrence - get them inn my house every now and then - these insects swarm in huge numbers - I guess it's part of their breeding cycle - nothing to do with carrion - except they keep the geckos fat too.

it does of course, as mentioned by others show a marked contrast to the usual standard of post-sales customer service in Thailand. If this had happened at somewhere like "Travel Lodge" would you have got the same apology?

Edited May 11, 2009 by TVmonitor

[Asianrider]

an actual apology is a big step forward in Thai customer services.

I have stayed a couple of times in Maneechan Resort, Chanthaburi on eastern side of town on Sukhumvit road which was very pleasant.

[hanno]

It has to be said in all fairness that these Termites are common in Asia and Africa and there is not much the resort can do. They often hatch in large numbers after the onset of the rains and they will get everywhere. We had them here last week in the hotel I run in Vietnam.

Excellent reply from the resort; many 5-star hotels should take note as guest complaints often go unanswered.

[steve73]

It has to be said in all fairness that these Termites are common in Asia and Africa and there is not much the resort can do. They often hatch in large numbers after the onset of the rains and they will get everywhere. We had them here last week in the hotel I run in Vietnam.

Excellent reply from the resort; many 5-star hotels should take note as guest complaints often go unanswered.

where are you in VN hanno? Hanoi I suspect by your name! how big is your place?

[TVmonitor]

As said you were probably just witnessing a normal natural event - pretty much out of the control of the proprietors - especially in a rural environment.

If it had happened in my youth, my father would have woken us up to witness the event.

Edited May 14, 2009 by TVmonitor

[bronwen]

I am the owner of Faasai Resort and these insects are not "flies" but "maleng mao" or flying termites which hatch out at the beginning of the rainy season in the Thai countryside. The room was very clean - I met them at dinner and specifically asked them how they liked the room and Francis said it was "nice." Danny and his wife Francis seem to be heavy smokers to judge from the large number of cigarette butts they left outside the room on the terrace and I can only assume they left the door open by accident and the insects poured in, attracted by the lights which were blazing on the terrace and in the room. By the way some people nickname these insects suicide bugs because of the way they are impelled towards self destruction in the light. Thai people and long term residents of Thailand know about this phenonomen and sensibly turn off their outdoor lights and close the doors when they see them arriving. The resort was almost full that night but no one else who stayed that night had any problem.

They were offered another room but turned it down. However they did accept an offer of accommodation at another resort in Chanthaburi whwere they stayed last weekend plus free tickets to the dolphin show which I gave them in compensation for their disturbed night. We have also prepared prominent signs for the rooms with an emergency number and warnings about leaving doors and lights open in the countryside. Obviously we have also inspected all of our rooms thoroughly but beyond some tiny holes (now stopped up) in the air conditioning unit off the bathroom where small numbers of insects might have got in, there was no possible entry point for the insects apart from the front door. Regarding the lack of "cotton bugs" they complained about - no we won't be providing them - we are an eco resort and so don't want to generate unnecessary trash. I am attaching a photo showing the room next to theirs on the same night.

[LazyWeekend]

Not the smartest thing to do, re-opening the topic (a complaint which I later updated by positively commenting on what had been done, as I similarly did with the reviews that I made on the hotel review websites) by mixing a number of correct statements with a bunch of let's say "not so true" things.

First what was correct:

"The room was very clean": when we came there yes the room was clean, even when I went to sleep (see my first posting, 3 or 4 of those flies at that time). Our comment "nice" during dinner was a politeness form, it was nice without being great (as I also mentioned in my first posting "Room was ok"). At least you are not arguing the fact that the 45m2 includes the terrace and that the handwasher could not be used. The cotton buds comment I can understand if you give Ecology as argument (although they do exist in wood) but this was just an example, also shampoo etc was not there (I know also shampoo may not be "eco" but not washing your hair is not an option I'm afraid) while you did have a (1) individual bar of soap.

"However they did accept an offer of accommodation at another resort in Chanthaburi whwere they stayed last weekend plus free tickets to the dolphin show which I gave them in compensation for their disturbed night.": Yes, and we enjoyed it. Thank you for that.

"We have also prepared prominent signs for the rooms with an emergency number and warnings about leaving doors and lights open in the countryside.": Good, it means that you learn from mistakes.

But then:

"I can only assume they left the door open by accident and the insects poured in, attracted by the lights which were blazing on the terrace and in the room." Our air-conditioning was on so we would never leave any door open. Also none of us smoke outside while sleeping inside so if they would have been coming in during smoking, then why would I have written "But then, going to sleep around 11pm, 4 flies were in the room. "With the lights out, they will be out of here"."

"They were offered another room but turned it down.": This is not true, as you wrote in your email to me on 7th May "We did have another room in another part of the resort that we would have given you. But when I saw you in your car at the gate all packed up it was obviously too late and I didn't want to hold you up while I checked out the room." (try to remember: When trying to defend yourself by putting the blame on a customer, NEVER write lies, especially when you have put opposite things on paper before!)

"there was no possible entry point for the insects apart from the front door" for which you blame us but as earlier said, when going to sleep (lights out except bathroom for children, airco on and doors and windows closed and locked), there were 3 or 4 flies. Being woken up 2 hours later the room was filled with them. Under the door? Through this "tiny holes (now stopped up) in the air conditioning unit" that you mention here (in your email these were called "we found a small gap under the roofing where they must have entered").

"I am attaching a photo showing the room next to theirs on the same night": Amazing that you had the clarity of mind that same night to start taking pictures from other rooms. Probably because then you already knew that I would write my first complaint and almost one month later you would reply on that so you would be weaponed with proof he Also my congratulations that you could make this picture so clear during night time with (as we see on the picture) no lights on. My skills a photographer are, I admit, much more limited.

As you wrote to me about your staff "I have begun giving them training on problem solving but obviously need to do more - and will do.", maybe join them.

- The evening of the event your response was inadequate (as you agreed upon "When I spoke to you on Friday evening I probably did not show sufficient concern. I am sorry for that. At the time I did not comprehend what had happened and I was astonished when I saw the room as we had certainly never experienced anything like that before.")

- The next thing was good: Write an email, apologise, admit your mistake and even offer compensation.

- Then you loose it again, going back to what other posters described as "the usual standard of post-sales customer service in Thailand": blame it on the customer, where necessary twist the truth (or in emergency cases completely rape the truth), focus on things you can counter (with truths or untruths) and forget those that you cannot counter, ...

Sad Sad Sad

There was a complaint. It was rectified. After that none of the posters wrote anything negative about the hotel, only positive comments about the response from the hotel.

You could have just gotten away with it in a positive way. (I read >5 posters commenting positively on your first email that I posted, posted to be fair to you by the way)

And still you cannot resist the urge of showing your small side here.

Sad Sad Sad (and utterly dumb but that would be insulting so I'll just keep it to "sad")

Anyway enough now, I'm gonna get ready for court. When my wife finds out I spent the night (or a part of it) there with someone named "Francis", a divorce will be heading my way.

[bronwen]

That is a good point Danny about reopening the subject - I agree it was dumb. :-) I hadn't realised you had sent the follow up explanation but I just got the google alert this week with the first posting. Obviously I had to reply. I didn't want to stir up bad feelings after the event.

To answer your points, my staff insist they did offer you a room. To give everyone the benefit of the doubt, they must not have communicated this very well. They weren't our regular staff (our house manager had been on leave) so were not so skilful at handling such situations. I didn't offer a room later when I saw you as you were leaving - as you were all packed up with the kids in the car, very angry. It seemed at the time it would just make things worse.

Still I have had endless discussions with staff as to how we could have handled this better and we all accept that we must be more skilful at solving problems. Our intention is to do everything we can to make customers happy - including helping them go somewhere else if our place is not what they expected.

We have stopped up any cracks or tiny holes we could find where insects might enter and we have put new draft stoppers on all the doors. I have also reminded our housekeepers that they must tell me if anything needs fixing in the room - I don't want to hear of a problem first from a guest. So I am hoping that such a problem won't happen again. But as anyone in the hotel industry knows - however much you plan and try to make things perfect - there is always something unexpected - and this was one such case.

I also wanted to clarify the point about how the bugs got in - as I personally inspected the room again the next weekend (I work in Bangkok during the week) and asked my staff to show me where they might have got in - the hole was so tiny it seemed impossible to me that they could have got in in such large numbers through it. But maybe an experience I had last week may shed some light on it - I was staying in Ubon Rathathani. It was raining and I was sitting outside with the light on and these maleng mao bugs started flying in large numbers to our terrace. I quickly turned the light off as I could see if they built up in large numbers they could easily have have flown/crawled inside when I opened the door. By the way there are more than one kind - the ones on that night were smaller than the usual big ones that most peopel know.

No we don't provide shampoo either but we do provide it on request. I have copied below the sign I have made for the rooms.

Anyway glad you enjoyed your last weekend.

Welcome to Faasai Resort and Spa!

We are an eco-resort. This means we try to protect the environment and support the local community.

We encourage our guests to enjoy the experience of nature and to learn about the authentic Thai way of life. In your room you will find a book with information about the local area, sightseeing and our spa and cafe menu.

You can call 101 for room service or to book the spa.

To help the environment this is what we do

· Heat water with solar energy

· Insulate our rooms to conserve energy

· Use energy conserving lights in outdoor areas and dimmers inside the rooms

· Protect wildlife by not using pesticides or herbicides in the garden

· Buy local produce and grow vegetables and herbs in our own kitchen gardens

· Recycle bath and shower water using a grey water tank

· Encourage eco-diversity by conserving indigenous trees and plants

· Plant trees, herbs and plants to encourage wildlife

· Conserve nature and water resources at our nearby sanctuary White Water lake (you may visit it – please ask at reception)

· Plant trees to help fight against global warming (about 2000 so far)

· Minimize our production of garbage by composting our food waste and recycling other waste

· Dry our sheets and towels in the fresh air not in a clothes drier

· Provide natural ventilation and fans in the rooms and breezy terraces as an alternative way to keep cool

What you can do to help

· Turn off lights and air conditioning when you don’t need them

· Separate your rubbish – eg take away toxic items such as batteries, put food scraps aside for our staff to compost.To avoid creating unnecessary garbage we do not provide shampoo or conditioner in the room but we will buy it for you on request

· Be sensitive to local customs – if female guests wear revealing clothing outside the resort they are likely to attract unwelcome attention from the local men as there are not many tourists here

Please be aware that living amidst nature in the tropics is different from city life

· If you leave open your doors wildlife may enter the room

· Lights attract bugs

· During the rainy season there will be some tropical downpours which means there may be blackouts as trees fall on power lines. Usually these only last for about one hour.

· During heavy downpours or on windy days our internet connection may not work as it is provided via satellite

· Lightening is dangerous – in a tropical storm you should keep under cover and, if you are caught outside, you should take off metal objects

· If it rains for three consecutive days the water, which is solar powered will not be hot

If you need anything or want advice please phone our staff on 101.

In the event of a power failure the phones will not work which means you will have to walk down to reception to seek assistance

We lock our doors at night for the protection of our guests and staff. The staff sleep on the premises and you can alert them by knocking on the door or ringing the bell

If there is an emergency and it is late at night please call 119 for assistance

[TVmonitor]

Ironic really - someone books into an "eco" resort and is frightened off by nature.

[Plus]

These "flies" appear out of nowhere on some days, they are not small but have thin bodies and get through the window/door mesh very easily, once inside they can be rpetty annoying, and there could be thousands of them. Next morning they are all dead and don't appear for another year or so.

The only way to keep them out is to shut all doors and windows and turn on the air for the night.

Unfortunate natural phenomenon that got out of hand.

[SNGLIFE]

I was watching Thai TV just last week and they had a story about these insects. They showed a town center where they were literally ankle deep in them and flying all over like some possessed swarm. I didn't catch the town, but your experience fits.

[roamer]

My wife couldn't stop laughing when she read this post, this was her response:

"those are not a problem, we eat them, trap them on trays of water and then fry until crispy, delicious"

I think you can guess which part of LOS she hails from...

Edited July 16, 2009 by roamer