Riverside Bamboo Resort

A riverside property about 2.5km from the old town that trades buzz for space – rooms here are genuinely large, with bathrooms that would embarrass most city hotels. The grounds are quiet to the point where you might wonder if anyone else is staying (they probably aren’t, which is either a selling point or a warning sign depending on your mood).

Breakfast is a set-menu situation where you pick one dish from around six options the night before. That sounds limiting, but the food actually lands well – and frankly beats a sad buffet of lukewarm eggs.

The catch is consistency. Some guests rave about the staff; others report no one at reception after dark and bedding that hadn’t been changed. It’s the kind of place where your experience depends heavily on which version of the hotel shows up that week.