Look at Home Lamphun — A Grey-Concrete Garden House with a Separate Pool for the Kids
Most people drive straight through Lamphun on the way up to Chiang Mai and never stop the night. But if you're travelling as a family and want somewhere with a pool, Look at Home Lamphun is a name that keeps coming up — a Lanna-style garden hotel of around 22 rooms in grey-concrete buildings, out in Pa Sak beyond the town, opened in 2018. What guests mention again and again is two swimming pools, with a separate shallow pool for children, and free parking on a wide garden plot that's hard to find among the small hotels around here. Rooms start under a thousand baht and you get the pool and garden in full.
Look at Home Lamphun sits in Pa Sak, about 6 km out from Lamphun town — past the busy streets of the centre and into a wide garden plot wrapped around the buildings. Lamphun itself is a small town many people drive past on the way to Chiang Mai without realising what they're missing: it was the capital of the Hariphunchai kingdom long before Chiang Mai existed, and the old town still runs quieter and slower than the usual northern tourist stops. The hotel is built in grey concrete with timber slats and bamboo, set around a central courtyard hung with red lanterns and a tall Lanna-style umbrella lantern — closer to a garden house than an ordinary hotel.
There are around 22 rooms across several types — Standard Queen, Superior Twin, Deluxe Suite King, and a Family room with four single beds for larger groups. Rooms run light and bright: polished tile floors, teak beds and furniture, grey curtains, a timber-slat screen marking off a seating corner, and tall windows opening to the garden. Some rooms have a balcony. Each comes with a flat-screen TV, fridge, kettle and hair dryer. Several guests describe the rooms as spacious, clean and quiet with comfortable beds — cleanliness scores 9.4 on Trip.com, the single thing reviewers praise most.
Before a first stay at Look at Home Lamphun, expectations tend to be modest. Lamphun is not a main tourist destination, and a small out-of-town hotel at under a thousand baht usually means ordinary. What several guests describe, though, is a place that surprised them. The first thing most mention is the room size. A Standard room that looks compact in online photos turns out to be more spacious in person — a teak-wood sofa, tall windows onto the garden, a timber-slat screen dividing the seating corner, and a sense that someone has thought about the layout rather than just filling the space. The cleanliness is genuine rather than cosmetic: fresh white bedlinen, no stale smells, an air conditioner that runs quietly, and a bed more comfortable than the price point would lead you to expect. The detail guests keep coming back to is the two pools. The main outdoor pool is a standard size and clean; the separate shallow pool for children is what makes the difference. Most small properties in Lamphun's old town have no pool at all — a dedicated children's pool is rarer still — and families with young children say it is the single thing that settled the choice. The pool sits in a garden with sun loungers and outdoor seating, well shaded by trees. The water is clean without a heavy chlorine smell, and the surroundings are tidy. There is no lifeguard posted, which parents note as something to be aware of, but the shallow pool gives young swimmers a manageable space. Free parking on a wide plot is another point families raise. No circling the block, no squeezing into a narrow side-street spot — you park, unload the children and luggage, and that is the end of the parking question for the stay. Breakfast is an Asian-style buffet added on for around THB 150 per person. Thai dishes, simple Western options, eggs and fruit — the spread is not large, but several reviews call it a genuine highlight and say it is well worth the small addition to the rate. For guests who are not sure where to drive for morning food in an out-of-town area they do not know, THB 150 a head is a straightforward answer. The staff communication point is worth noting: a number of team members speak Chinese, and the hotel has a steady following among Chinese guests. English-speaking travellers may find communication a little more limited, though the day-to-day check-in and service functions work without difficulty. Two honest caveats come up consistently. The first is that some bathrooms do not separate the wet and dry zones, so the floor gets wet after a shower — not a dealbreaker for most, but worth knowing if it matters to you; asking about the rooms renovated in 2023 when booking may help. The second is simply that you need a car. This is not a property you can stay at without one. At six kilometres outside the town centre, walking to the temples or the market is not realistic. If you fly into Chiang Mai and plan not to hire a car, the hotel is not the right choice — an old-town property like Norn Lamphun would serve you better. But for families driving up from Bangkok or across from Chiang Mai for a couple of nights, the distance is a short drive not a problem.
What gives Look at Home an edge over other small hotels in Lamphun is two swimming pools — a larger outdoor pool and a separate shallow one for children. Most small properties in the old town have no pool at all, and a dedicated kids' pool is rarer still, which makes this a place families with young children rate highly. The pools sit in the garden with seating corners around them, and there's wide free parking on the grounds that takes several cars — handy if you're driving yourself.
Breakfast is an Asian-style buffet charged at around THB 150 per person, mixing Thai dishes with simple Western options and fruit. Several reviews single out the breakfast as a highlight even though the spread isn't large the way a big hotel's would be. There's an on-site restaurant and an airy lobby lounge hung with rattan lamps, with sofas catching the breeze off the garden. A number of staff speak Chinese, and the hotel is fairly popular with Chinese guests; English-speaking travellers may find communication a little more limited.
The Trip.com score sits at 9.3/10 from 26 reviews — cleanliness 9.4 and amenities 9.3, with location and service at 9.2 and 9.1. The review count is still modest, as this is an out-of-town hotel that has only been open a few years. The recurring suggestion from guests is that some bathrooms don't separate the wet and dry zones, so the floor gets wet after a shower. And because it's outside town, you'll need a car — you can't walk to the temples or the centre from here. Worth knowing before you book.
On price, Look at Home Lamphun starts at around ฿900/night for a Standard Queen, with the Superior Twin and Deluxe Suite climbing with size and bed type, and the four-bed Family room suited to larger groups. At this rate it isn't competing with luxury resorts but with the ordinary small hotels around Lamphun, most of which have no pool. Lamphun has no high season as pronounced as Chiang Mai's, but rooms fill quickly around the Wat Phra That Hariphunchai bathing festival (May), Loi Krathong and New Year. Book ahead and compare Agoda, Booking and Trip.com before committing.
The bottom line: Look at Home Lamphun works best for families driving themselves who want a hotel with a pool — especially a kids' pool — in a quiet garden outside Lamphun, for under a thousand baht. You get two pools, wide free parking, clean quiet rooms and a breakfast people like. If you don't have a car, want to walk to the temples and restaurants, or need clearly separated wet-and-dry bathrooms, an old-town option like Norn Lamphun may suit you better.
Summary from Booking & Agoda
- ✓ Rooms spacious, clean and quiet, with comfortable beds
- ✓ Swimming pool and a separate kids' pool — good for families
- ✓ Wide free parking in the garden
- ✓ Breakfast tasty and reasonably priced
- ! Some bathrooms don't separate the wet and dry zones
- ! Out of town — you can't walk anywhere, a car is needed
- ! Breakfast spread smaller than a big hotel's
- ✓ Lanna-style garden house, quiet and shaded
- ✓ Friendly staff who can communicate in Chinese
- ✓ Clean pool with clear water, garden all around
- ✓ Starts under a thousand baht — good value for a hotel with a pool
- ! About 6 km outside town, so you have to drive
- ! Review count still modest as the hotel opened only a few years ago
- ! Some corners still feel raw in the bare-concrete style
- 💡If you don't have a car — this is about 6 km outside town and you can't walk to the temples or the centre → if you fly into Chiang Mai without renting a car, ask the hotel about a taxi-booking service first, or choose an old-town stay instead
- 💡If you're travelling with young children — the separate kids' pool is a genuine draw, but there's no lifeguard around the pools → check the pool depth and opening hours with reception at check-in
- 💡If bathrooms matter to you — some reviews note the wet and dry zones aren't separated and the floor gets wet → if you want a clearly divided bathroom, ask about the rooms updated in the 2023 renovation when booking