I liked the Lord of the Rings trilogy and while Hobbits are not the race I supported most from the fictional story, I was always fascinated with the Hobbit houses as they looked so cute. When New Zealand opened the Hobbiton movie set for overnight stays, it became one of my bucket lists
I remember seeing a video about a Hobbiton lookalike in Thailand and since I was not going to New Zealand anytime soon, we decided to stay 1 night at the Thai version during our Khao Yai trip. I had expected the resort to be an exact replica of the Hobbiton set but it was not exactly what I had expected when I arrived
When our driver stopped at the entrance, I was excited and full of anticipation but once I entered, I was slightly disappointed as I realised it was a resort which is purely built on the interests of the owner as it was like a mixed mesh of different themes and concept
As the compound is extremely huge, I included the interactive map from their site to visualise how the entire resort is laid out. The area to the right of the entrance is a huge Harry Potter castle complete with replicas of Harry Potter props, pictures, quotes and types of furniture. The area beyond the Harry Potter castle was the children’s fairytale area complete with a Disney princess castle, garden and statues for photos. Beyond the children’s fairytale area is a cluster of Hobbiton replica rooms which has since been closed off. Back to the entrance is a restaurant area which only serves breakfast and some costume rental rooms for picture taking with the dressed-up rooms.
The functional Hobbit rooms available for booking were all the way to the far left from the entrance and while on the way, we also passed a small Santorini-inspired building with 2 rooms for booking. There were supposed to be 13 types of Hobbit rooms for booking but when I was there in December, only 5 types were open and since there were only 2 of us, we could only book the white cave room. The road from the entrance to the Hobbit room is not pathed and uneven so those with luggage will find it hard to roll your bags. The friendly staff will offer to help with the luggage
I liked the fact that our Hobbit house has a small yard to ourselves and we were passed an old-school iron key to open the door of our house. The moment we entered, we were overwhelmed by a sense of confusion. The exterior of the house was very similar to the Hobitton houses but the interior was like a cave in Santorini. Even though we did see the room picture on the site while booking, the feeling of mismatch was just quite comical when we were in the room
We concluded that the owners probably converted a portion of the original Santorini room to a Hobbit house after realising most customers book the Hobbit house more often. Putting aside the feeling of mismatch, the room was huge and is more like a 1 bedroom apartment with a bedroom and a living room area separated by a separator. There was a small bar fridge in the living room area complete with complimentary water, tea, coffee and snacks. The bed was a queen size but too soft for me and the pillows were quite flat as well
The bathroom is relatively smaller if compared to the rest of the room. The shower and the toilet are just next to each other with a small urinal included so the space is quite tight for you to take a shower. As the floor of the bathroom is made of small stones and pebbles, it is also quite painful to stand on while taking a shower so I was standing on the only smooth piece of rock floor to take my shower. While the design and decor of the bathroom is very unique and cute, it is not the most comfortable to be taking a shower or settling your toilet issues
Breakfast was included in the room rate and is served at the main restaurant area just next to the entrance. We tried asking if they could arrange for Mookata dinner but were told they no longer do it so we headed out for dinner last night. Breakfast was simple with a bowl of Thai pork porridge, 1 glass of apple juice and water as well as a plate of fried egg served with sausages, bread, pork crackling and a side salad
Overall, for the price of the room, the stay was ok as the bed was good for a night’s rest although too soft for my personal preference and I did find some aged stains on the bedsheets and towels. The room was still generally clean and we did not get any itch or bugs from staying there.
I feel that the concept of the resort was interesting but sadly not well maintained enough as there were a lot of overgrown plants and insects from the nearby ponds. The staff are very friendly and helpful but most do not speak English and I do think they are highly understaffed for such a big compound. As the resort was located in an isolated area, we had lots of time to walk around the other decor and exhibits which I would say was very well done up and would have been a hit with families with children or travellers who likes to cosplay with costumes. Personally, it was a 1 off experience for me and I would not return
Address: 292, Lat Bua Khao, Sikhio District, Nakhon Ratchasima 30340, Thailand
Room rates: from THB 1,500
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