Last updated on January 30th, 2020 at 02:57 pm

Centara Q Rayong Resort – Small Quiet Semi-Private Beach at an Affordable Price in Thailand

One of the best things about living in Bangkok is that you can take a road trip to some of the best beach resorts. Which is one of the main reasons why I decided to settle down in Thailand.

Case in point, the Centara Q Rayong Resort my wife researched and found while searching for reviews on four star beach hotels in Rayong. This Centara property is located on Laem Mae Phim Beach which is not exactly a well known beach in Thailand.

We’ve talked about staying over in a Rayong for a few nights many times. Because usually we pass over Rayong on our way to to Koh Samet or further to Koh Chang in Trat province. We just think the water is cleaner out on the islands and further away from the mainland.

But it was a good time as any to check out Rayong as the current smog situation in Bangkok is ridiculous.

HOW MUCH?

The Centara Q Resort is a 4 star rated hotel with only 41 guest rooms. Guest staying here will feel a lot of privacy. We booked our stay during a weekday in January inside a Double Deluxe Seaview room type for several nights.

These rooms cost more and are located closer to the swimming pool and short walking distance to the beach.

The price for a single night came out to about 4000B or $130USD including taxes and breakfast for 2 adults and 2 children under 1 years old.

IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WALKING YOU MIGHT WANT TO SKIP THE DELUXE ROOMS

Deluxe rooms are not recommended for anyone with mobility issues or for elderly travelers. There’s only one set of stairs leading down to deluxe rooms and could be an issue for anyone with walking impairments.

If there’s someone traveling in your group with a physical disability, I highly recommend booking a superior room instead, as it’s the only building with an elevator.

Not sure why I don’t see a mention of this on Centara Q Resort Rayong’s website or even on Agoda.com where we booked our room.

BEST TIME TO BOOK A ROOM FOR THE BEST RATES

Centara Q Resort Rayong is very popular with Thais. The Centara name is a Thai owned hotel chain with properties all over the major cities of Thailand.

My wife read on a Thai travel forum that this resort is often fully booked during major long holidays in Thailand. During those periods expect to pay 20% to 40% more.

For us the price is a decent bargain. But there are smaller superior rooms back only a little further away from sea view rooms that cost around 800B less. Or if you want to save even more you can leave out the breakfast option which will save you another 800B or so.

I never got a chance to see Centara Q Resort Rayong’s superior room. But judging from the building where the superior rooms are located it looked newer.

HOW WE GOT THERE

Self drive is the easiest way to get there. Besides, you’ll need your own car to get around Rayong. There are no metered taxis. Expect to pay around 2500B to 3000B for private car service from central Bangkok to the steps of Centara Q Resort.

As of writing the highways leading to Centara Q is a mess due to construction of new roadways. Despite a few U-turns and taking local roads we managed to reach the resort in just under 3 hours. From central Bangkok, Centara Q Resort is 210 kilometers away, past the city of Chonburi.

Centara Q Resort Rayong provides their guests a complimentary shuttle bus service to a couple of local markets during certain days. It’s a nice added touch if you’re staying at this resort longer.

CHECK IN TIME IS 3PM

We arrived a little after 3pm which is the standard check in time at Centara Q Resort Rayong. That’s kind of late. But from our experience most Thai owned hotels allow guests to check in a little earlier. As long as there’s a clean room available.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF OUR ROOM

We were handed our key cards to room #106 our deluxe sea view room. As mentioned already we had to walk down some steep stairs to the second floor. Porters are available to help with your bags if necessary.

The hotel design is quite interesting and it seems the property was carved out of a small hill which is where all the deluxe rooms are situated.

Room #106 is a deluxe sea view room that measures around 55 square meters. That’s a lot of space for just the two of us. It has one of the biggest bathrooms I’ve ever seen inside a Thai resort.

The size of the bathroom is typical size of most Thai hotel rooms itself. Yes, that’s one of the things that really impressed me the most about this room.

PRISON SHOWER SCENE ANYONE?

My camera is not wide enough to do this bathroom any justice. The shower stall is on one entire side of the wall. It’s large enough to shoot a prison shower scene for a movie. Okay, that might be exaggerating a bit.

Kidding aside, I wouldn’t mind having a large bathroom space at my home either.

• 

  Very large bathroom with bathtub...

• 

  Shower with way too much space...

• 

  Comfortable full sized bathtub...

• 

  Bathroom amenities...

• 

  Nice added touch. Bath salts are provided for guests...

But the setup between the bathroom and main room is a bit odd. There’s a sliding door on the wall separating both spaces. I guess the sliding door was installed so guests can quickly wash their hands without going inside the bathroom.

There’s a large bed in the main space. The mattress to me is a little too firm but the pillows are just fine. My wife complained that the air conditioning inside the room was a little too noisy. To me it was just fine.

It’s a simple designed room with one side of the wall painted in a cool turquoise color while the rest of the room is white.

A LITTLE WORN BUT I’M NOT COMPLAINING

But our room required some touch-ups. This isn’t a big complaint. I can understand that maintaining a property by the beach requires extra attention. Sea air and high humidity can seriously affect coastal properties.

However, I think if Centara used better quality materials the room could hold up better through time. Almost the entire table pictured below had a lot of wear and tear. The door concealing the mini-fridge was off hinge.

The construction inside the bathroom was in much better shape as everything inside seemed to have better materials.

The main bedroom was quite spacious and I think if they shaved down the bathroom area they could fit in a small sofa and still have plenty of space.

Maybe a small work table and chair would be a nice addition. Especially for a digital nomad such as myself.

SO MUCH POTENTIAL

The balcony was just as large. And there’s a small sofa, but there’s so much space for more. They could fit larger and more comfortable deck chairs. I think if Centara Q Resort Rayong placed a jacuzzi and sun beds inside the balcony area like we found in Veranada Resort Hua Hin would make good use of the available open space.

• 

  Balcony space is a lot larger than my camera could cover...

• 

  The view from our deluxe sea view room...

IN ROOM SWAG

There’s free internet Wi-Fi throughout the hotel property. My iPhone had a connectivity issue at first, but when I logged in with my Macbook I connected. So maybe it was just a small glitch in the afternoon. Overall it worked fine and I had a good connection.

There’s an in room electronic safe, beach bag and bathrobes. Centara also provides slippers to roam around the resort, which you can purchase if you wish.

THE BREAKFAST

Breakfast is served from 6:30am to 10am. Our room rate included breakfast. I was really looking forward to see what was available. But to be honest I wasn’t expecting much because it was a small hotel. And it was a weekday so there were not a lot of guests.

But I was surprised by the variety on offer when we showed up for breakfast. There’s the usual cereal, salads, fruits, eggs to order and Thai breakfast options.

What I’m about to say next might sound a bit nutty. But I was surprised to find they have real pork sausages. Even some of the best hotels don’t serve real high quality pork sausages. Big bonus points for Centara Q Resort Rayong in my book for that.

The room serving breakfast is not spacious but adequate. There are also outdoor seating to enjoy breakfast as well near the egg and Thai noodle station.

• 

  Plenty of seating and space for guests to enjoy breakfast...

• 

  A fair amount of breakfast offerings...

• 

  Eggs cooked to order...

• 

  The egg station is located outside, a short walk from breakfast dining room...

• 

  Salads and fresh fruits available for a healthy breakfast...

• 

  Chinese donuts with hot soy milk. A classic asian breakfast...

Breakfast was nice here, there’s no large crowds or wait lines. The choices were varied and satisfying. Especially the real pork sausages. I know I should get over the sausages but seriously this not a breakfast item I see often even in the best 4 star hotels.

The Wayfaring Soul Tip #4 – If you find real pork sausages inside a hotel, cherish it…”

THE SWIMMING POOL

After a very satisfying breakfast it was time to take a dip in the pool. During my short stay here I didn’t see a lot of people by the pool.

It’s a small resort so no doubt the swimming pool is expected to be small. But it was adequate for what it is. There are sun beds and large bean bags for resort guests to spread out on. I went in for a quick dip a few times myself and I like to look out at the sea on the edge of the pool.

I think most people that hang out at the pool also alternate hanging out by the beach where there are many sun chairs to relax and stare out into the sea.

The stairs I mentioned about leading down to the deluxe rooms are the same stairs you’ll need to walk down to get to the the resort’s swimming pool and beach. So to access the swimming pool and beach you can request a shuttle ride down.

FITNESS ROOM

These days I’ve been too lazy to hit the gym. The fitness room is open to guests 24 hours. And I know there are gym rats out there reading this and like to know about Centara Q Resort Rayong’s fitness room situation. I didn’t have a chance to go inside the room because a hotel room key card is needed to access the small gym.

It was my last day and check out is 12pm. By the time I got to the resort’s gym my room key card expired. So, I only got a chance to take a picture from the outside.

From the looks of things the equipment looks new with plenty of weights and what looks like a high quality universal machine.

CONCLUSION

Centara Q Resort Rayong isn’t the easiest beach resort to travel to for foreign tourists. But there are benefits to that if you can rent a car and make your way out there. It’s a small property which means you’re not going to be crowded out by other guests at the swimming pool or competing for sun beds while getting a tan on Laem Mae Phim beach.

Look at the price point value too. You won’t end up paying a whole lot of money to stay at 4 star resort with a semi-private beach. So you can stay at the resort and enjoy spending your holiday longer in Rayong.

HOW TO GET THERE:

Address: 215/3 Moo.3, Laem Mae Phim, Klaeng, Rayong, Thailand, 21190

IF YOU HAVE A CAR

Self driving is the best way to reach Centara Q Resort Rayong. The resort is 220km from central Bangkok, about 3 hours drive by car. Punch in the name on Google maps and it’ll lead you there without a problem along major highways with tolls.

Having your own set of wheels has it’s advantages as you can check out places around Rayong.

IF YOU DON’T HAVE A CAR

The cheapest option from Bangkok is to take the bus to Rayong at Ekkamai Eastern Terminal Bus Station or Mo Chit Bus Terminal and fares start about 100B.

I can’t make any direct recommendations for private car service to Centara Q Resort Rayong but there are many companies that can get you there for around 2000B one way.

WHERE TO FIND HOTEL DISCOUNTS AND READ MORE REVIEWS:

• Agoda.com
• Booking.com

Was my Centara Q Resort Rayong review helpful to you? These are affiliate links which means if you make a booking with either company I make a small commission. With no extra cost to you. You will be supporting this blog and also help care for soi dogs (and cats) we come across in Thailand.