Rimlay Park Resort — A Garden Chalet on Songkhla Lake Where Mornings Are Just Birdsong
If you want a Phatthalung stay that isn't a town hotel but a quiet spot by the water where you can actually breathe, Rimlay Park Resort is a name that keeps coming up among people who travel for peace and quiet. The name "Rimlay" literally means lakeside, and the place sits right on the Songkhla Lake side in the Lam Pam area. It's a small resort — just 7 rooms — that opened as a family-run place back in 2016. What guests mention again and again is a deep saltwater pool you can genuinely swim laps in and the standalone garden chalets where you wake to birdsong. Set expectations up front: this is a simple 3-star, not a luxury resort, but from around ฿900 you get real quiet and space that's hard to beat at the price.
Rimlay Park Resort opened as a small family-run place in 2016. The accommodation is a set of standalone chalets spread through a garden — some are masonry cottages with the tall pitched roofs common in southern Thailand, others are raised wooden bungalows with thatched roofs that feel warmer and more characterful. With only 7 rooms in total, the whole site stays almost free of noise. Rooms are simple but roomy, with air-con, a fridge, a tea and coffee maker, and a private bathroom. Past guests agree the rooms are clean, the beds comfortable, and the open space around each chalet more generous than many resorts at the same price.
The star here is the saltwater swimming pool in the garden. The thing to flag is that it runs fairly deep — about 2 metres — which lap swimmers love, because you can stretch out a full stroke without worrying about the bottom. But if you're travelling with small children, you'll need to watch them closely or bring your own floats, because this isn't a shallow graduated pool. Around the pool there are loungers and umbrellas for an easy afternoon. Early morning and late afternoon, when the sun is soft, are when guests tend to get in the water.
"We went during a long weekend, just the two of us, genuinely wanting to switch off rather than tick attractions off a list — and this place delivered exactly that. The chalet we got was one of the thatched wooden ones raised off the ground, sitting well back in the garden with a decent gap between us and the next bungalow. It felt genuinely private, not the wall-to-wall layout you get in most resort corridors. There were only seven rooms across the whole property, and in two nights we barely saw the other guests at all. The first night we fell asleep to crickets and wind through the trees — no traffic noise, no neighbours' TV, no noise at all. In the morning we opened the chalet door to nothing but birdsong. The grass still had dew on it, the sky was just starting to lighten, and there was a faint breeze coming off the lake. It sounds like a small thing, but breathing felt easier than it does in any town hotel we've stayed in. Sometimes that's exactly what a trip is supposed to be. The pool caught us by surprise. We hadn't expected it to be that deep — around two metres throughout — but once we were in it was genuinely good to be able to swim a proper stroke without constantly worrying about scraping the bottom. The water has a slight saltiness to it, which makes floating noticeably easier than a standard freshwater pool. The light coming down through the trees onto the water at six in the morning was really something; just the two of us in there, no queue, no rush. We stayed in longer than planned. Breakfast was more thoughtful than we expected. It wasn't just a generic toast-and-fried-egg arrangement — it came out on a lace-covered table, with a bowl of fresh fruit, orange juice, hot coffee, and the eggs shaped into hearts on the plate. A small detail, but you could tell the owner had thought about it rather than just going through the motions. We appreciated that. In the evenings we drove a few minutes down the road to eat seafood at one of the lakeside restaurants. The setting was the open-air platform style right over the water, with lift-net fishing rigs visible across the lake in the fading light. Fresh prawns, crab, and grilled fish at genuinely local prices — a meal that would have cost several times more in a tourist town. It made the whole trip feel like exceptional value. To be straight with anyone considering this: it is not a luxury property. There is no grand lobby, no spa, no concierge, no convenience store next door, and no shuttle to town. The rooms are simple and the on-site menu is small. You really do need a car or a scooter to make the stay work properly. But if you come here because you want to genuinely rest — to slow down, recharge, and wake up somewhere that doesn't feel like everywhere else — it does exactly what it promises, and it does it well for the money."
Location is the main reason people pick this place. The resort sits on the Songkhla Lake side in the Lam Pam area, a quiet pocket a little way out from Phatthalung town. A short walk takes you to the lake shore, where you can see rows of yor yok pla — traditional lift-net fishing rigs — standing out across the water, an image that defines Lam Pam and is hard to find elsewhere. A few minutes by car gets you to Sansuk Lam Pam beach and a string of lakeside seafood restaurants, while Khuha Sawan temple and the town centre are about 12 kilometres away.
On food, there's a small on-site restaurant and a made-to-order breakfast (charged separately). The dish guests photograph most is heart-shaped fried eggs with fruit and hot coffee, served on a lace-covered table — a small detail that shows the owner cares. That said, the in-resort menu is limited. The upside is that the lakeside seafood restaurants in Lam Pam are only a few minutes' drive away, serving fresh prawns, shellfish, crab and fish at local prices — an evening meal you shouldn't skip when you're in Phatthalung.
Platform scores are strong — Trip.com gives it 9.1 and TripAdvisor 4.5 stars, near the top of the small-hotel rankings for Phatthalung town. But to be straight with you, the review count is still low (single to low double digits), because it's a small property in a town that doesn't yet see heavy tourism. What guests consistently praise is cleanliness, the quiet, and a friendly owner. What you should know before going is that the resort is fairly remote, with no convenience store next door, so a car or a rental makes the stay much easier.
Rates start around ฿900/night for a studio, while the larger suites that sleep several people run a bit higher. For a standalone garden chalet, a shared pool and genuine lakeside quiet, that's strong value at this budget. Long weekends and holidays fill quickly given there are only 7 rooms, so book at least 2–3 weeks ahead.
The bottom line: Rimlay Park Resort suits people who want a quiet lakeside base for a slow break rather than a town hotel for sightseeing. It works for couples after a private corner and for families who want the kids running around a garden and using the pool (just mind the depth). If you want a town hotel within walking distance of everything, this isn't quite it — but if you want to wake to birdsong and lake breeze, this place genuinely delivers.
Summary from Booking & Agoda
- ✓ Very quiet — mornings are nothing but birdsong
- ✓ Good pool, deep enough to actually swim
- ✓ Clean rooms with more space than the price suggests
- ✓ Friendly, hands-on owner
- ! Fairly remote — a car helps a lot
- ! Deep pool — small children need close supervision
- ! Limited on-site menu
- ✓ Standalone garden chalets feel private, never crowded
- ✓ Songkhla Lake-side setting in a quiet corner of Lam Pam
- ✓ Made for a slow break away from the bustle
- ✓ Made-to-order breakfast with thoughtful touches
- ! No convenience store next to the resort
- ! Still few reviews — it's a small property
- ! A simple 3-star, not a luxury resort
- 💡If you're travelling with small children — the pool is around 2 m deep, not a shallow graduated one → supervise closely the whole time or bring floats / life vests, and never let kids in the water alone
- 💡If you don't have a car — the resort is in Lam Pam, out from town, with no convenience store nearby → rent a car or scooter so you can reach the lakeside restaurants and get around easily
- 💡If you want town-hotel convenience — this is a small 7-room resort with a limited menu → it suits a quiet break far more than travellers who want a full set of on-site amenities