This is a good place to stay for those who like a guesthouse with a relaxed, casual feel. We were staying three nights in Sukhothai and I emailed Luc, the owner, about reserving two rooms for the three of us, and enquiring about organising a trip to Si Satchanalai Historical Park. Unlike other places we'd booked, there was no request for a deposit or any other details forthcoming, just a short email confirming our request and saying we'd sort out the tour and payment when we got there. So far, so good. The hotel is in a quiet back street in New Sukhothai, away from, but walking distance to, the main drag. When you visit Sukhothai you have the choice of staying in the new city or near the old historical park; we were happy with our choice of the new part as it was cheap and easy to get a songthaew to the historical park for the day, and there was more choice of things to do in the evening where we were.
We arrived by minivan from Sukhothai Airport, but despite having emailed ahead with our arrival time, there was nobody on hand to greet us. There's no reception as such either. We wandered about looking confused until some other guests who were out by the pool told us that Luc had gone off on his motorbike about 5 minutes earlier. Anyway, we made ourselves at home and relaxed by the pool. The pool and grounds are pleasantly constructed but could have used a little maintenance; there were some loose tiles around the pool, some scaffolding lying around for no obvious reason and the grass was overgrown in places. I think the pool area will be more pleasant once the garden around it becomes better established.
Luc appeared about 20 minutes later. Despite the fact that I'd emailed all our details, he thought we were staying two nights, not three. We'd been put into two of the family suites since there were no more double rooms available, but when he realised that there would only be one person in one of the rooms, he said he would have to move my friend the next day. She was fine with this.
The rooms themselves were large, clean and well appointed. They were comfortably furnished and equipped in a somewhat eclectic style (think pink satin rather than white linen). Our bathroom was shiny and glamourous, although the effect was somewhat marred by a foul smell coming from the drain. Probably not much can be done about this due to the poor sewerage system in Thailand, but if we kept the bathroom door closed and the fan on when we were using it, it wasn't generally a problem.
Breakfast the next morning was good, and as others have mentioned, the roof terrace is a great place for it. Most of the other guests seemed to be French, and Luc, who is Belgian, was chatting away with them. We asked Luc about going to Si Satchanalai the next day, and he said he might be able to take us, depending on his schedule. Knowing she would have to move rooms, our friend packed up her stuff and left it in our room while we went out for the day. Once again, Luc wasn't there when we got back, but we'd been told my friend would be moved to room 7, and the key was in the door, so she moved her stuff in there, we got changed and went for a swim. While we were swimming, deja vu, two guys arrived and there was nobody about to check them in. We told them the same thing had happened to us, gave them the wi-fi password and advised them to relax and wait. When Luc turned up a while later, there was another problem: the guys had asked for a twin room and had been given a double. Luc, all apologies, asked if my friend would mind moving rooms again. She didn't mind, but had to get out of the pool to pack up her stuff. Luc said he would be able to take us to Si Satchanalai the next day, and offered us a total price of 1000THB (normally 500THB each) to make up for the inconvenience of changing rooms.
The next day Luc drove us to Si Satchanalai and we had the choice of him driving us around the ruins, or waiting while we explored them on bicycles (we opted for the latter). While we were driving he chatted to us about life in Thailand, the trials and tribulations of running a guesthouse, and the difficulties of making sure things ran smoothly and the pool didn't turn green when he was away for any length of time. Sure enough, when we arrived back at the guesthouse, the pool had taken on a noticeable greenish tinge, and Luc, muttering to himself, set about doing some more maintenance on it. The next day we paid him in cash and he drove us to the bus station to get the bus to Chiang Mai.
All in all, we found Baan Georges to be friendly, relaxed, good value and a good place to stay despite some minor inconveniences and quirks. Though if you are the sort of person who likes everything to be polished, well organised and go according to plan, this may not be the ideal place for you.
