At Lampoon Hotel — A 9-Room Lanna Teak House You Can Walk From Straight to the Temple
Picture a hotel with just nine rooms, sitting in old-town Lamphun a few minutes' walk from Wat Phra That Hariphunchai. At Lampoon Hotel is a two-storey teak house with laterite-brick walls, built in the Lanna style and open since 2013. Past guests keep mentioning two things: the free coffee-and-tea corner in the lobby that runs all day, and the quiet of Lamphun that you simply don't get in nearby Chiang Mai. This isn't a big hotel — it's a warm wooden house of the kind a smaller Thai town does particularly well.
At Lampoon Hotel has been open since 2013, built as a two-storey teak house with the ground-floor walls laid in laterite brick — the reddish-brown stone that Lanna builders used for centuries and that gives the property its grounded, unhurried feel from the moment you arrive. The whole hotel has just nine rooms, divided into two types: Superior and Deluxe. Both are available as a twin (two single beds) or a double (one larger bed), so couples and solo travellers are equally catered for. Every room has a genuine teak floor — not laminate, not tile — which adds warmth underfoot and carries a faint scent of aged timber that no modern material replicates. Standard fittings in each room include air conditioning, a small fridge, a flat-screen television and a fully private bathroom; everything you need is present and in good working order. The windows are traditional timber-framed, opening onto either the upper-floor walkway or the inner garden, letting morning light filter through at a gentle angle. Upper-floor rooms catch the most natural light, while ground-floor rooms open more directly onto the garden and feel slightly cooler in the afternoon. The Deluxe rooms are meaningfully larger than the Superiors — roughly one-third more floor area — which matters if you are arriving with full-size luggage or simply want room to move around comfortably during a longer stay. Superior rooms work well for solo guests or couples travelling light; the layout is compact but logically arranged, so the space never feels wasted. The detail most consistently mentioned in guest reviews is the hill-tribe woven cushions placed on the beds — dark geometric textile patterns set against white linen — alongside the warm-toned bedside lamp that changes the whole mood of the room at night. These choices are not accidental. The owner has selected every piece of decor deliberately: the full carved-teak sofa set in the lobby, the glass cabinets displaying Benjarong porcelain collected over many years, the folk-art prints on the corridor walls, the clay water jars by the entrance. The result is a property that reads as a personal collection rather than a catalogue buy. Practically, an elevator is fitted — uncommon for a nine-room teak-house hotel — and laundry service plus a 24-hour front desk mean the basics are covered without fuss. The overall impression is of a private house that has been quietly opened to guests without losing any of its domestic character, and that is precisely the quality that keeps the guest score above 9.0 year after year. If your expectation is a resort with a pool and a full dining room, At Lampoon is not the right match; if you want a well-kept Lanna wooden house at the centre of an old Thai town where you can walk out the door and reach a millennium-old temple in eight minutes, it is difficult to find better value at this price point in the region. Wi-Fi is free throughout the building and reaches every room without difficulty, and the connection is reliable enough for ordinary work use during a quiet midweek stay.
The lobby is an open sitting room furnished with a full set of carved teak furniture, glass cabinets displaying Benjarong porcelain, and old curios the owner has collected over the years. This is where you'll find the free coffee-and-tea corner that refills all day — the single thing reviews mention most often. Mornings here mean a coffee, a view of the green garden, and birdsong in a town with very little traffic — a rhythm Lamphun gives you that Chiang Mai cannot.
One guest describes "walking to the temple before the crowds, then coming back for coffee in the lobby — the town so quiet you can hear the temple bells."
Location is the real draw. The hotel sits on Charoen Rat Road inside the old town, and Wat Phra That Hariphunchai is about an 8-minute walk away — the thousand-year-old golden chedi that anchors the city. The Hariphunchai National Museum and the Ku Chang-Ku Ma ruins are an easy bicycle ride, and the hotel lends bicycles for exactly that. From Chiang Mai it's only around 30 km, under an hour by car.
On facilities, it's worth being straight: this is a small boutique. There is free parking out front, free Wi-Fi in the rooms and public areas, an elevator, laundry service and a 24-hour front desk. What it does not have is a pool or a full restaurant. When you're hungry you walk out for khao soi, noodles or a cafe in town, all close by. Set expectations accordingly — At Lampoon sells quiet and location, not resort facilities.
Guest scores sit around 9.0/10 on Trip.com and 4.3/5 on TripAdvisor. The praise is consistent: cleanliness, the attractive Lanna decoration, and staff who look after you like the owners they are. The honest complaints from lower reviews flag some rooms being on the small side, rain sounding louder on a timber roof than on a concrete building, and hot water arriving slowly on busy mornings when several rooms draw at once. These are real limitations worth knowing before booking.
The bottom line: At Lampoon works best for travellers who want a quiet old-town base near the temple and prefer the character of a wooden house to a chain hotel. At around ฿1,050/night it's strong value for a well-decorated teak house this central. Couples wanting more room should step up to a Deluxe. If you like old timber houses more than uniform hotel rooms, this one delivers exactly that.
Summary from Booking & Agoda
- ✓ Old-town location, walkable to Wat Phra That Hariphunchai
- ✓ Attractive, clean Lanna teak house with a quiet atmosphere
- ✓ Free coffee and tea corner in the lobby, refilled all day
- ✓ Attentive, owner-style hospitality
- ! Some rooms are on the small side
- ! No pool and no in-house restaurant
- ! Rain is louder on the timber roof than in a concrete building
- ✓ Strong value for a well-decorated teak house this central
- ✓ Bicycles to borrow for exploring the old town
- ✓ Free parking out front, handy if you drive in
- ✓ Genuinely quiet — a calm break from busy Chiang Mai
- ! Hot water can be slow on busy mornings
- ! Only nine rooms — fills fast during festivals
- ! No full breakfast service (coffee and tea only)
- 💡If you want the largest room — choose Deluxe over Superior, as some Superior rooms run compact → two people with big bags will be more comfortable in a Deluxe
- 💡If breakfast matters — the hotel only has a free coffee-and-tea corner, no buffet → khao soi and noodle shops in town are a short walk, or ask staff for nearby morning spots
- 💡If you visit during a festival — with only nine rooms, Songkran, Loy Krathong and New Year sell out fast → book at least 4-6 weeks ahead