Renting in Thailand: The Best Places We've Stayed & Everything You Need to Know
We've lived in Thailand for 3 years now, and have rented a variety of different accommodations, from simple apartments at £500 a month, to luxury condominiums at £1,200 a month and £3,000 a month, and even villas at £6k+ a month.
Read below for the best websites to book your accommodation, tips on renting, and the exact places we've booked and love, I saved the best till last!
Apartment No.1 - Chiang Mai, Palm Springs Nimman
We actually rented our first apartment in Chiang Mai for 3 months, from a listing on Facebook Marketplace! Which sounds a little shady, and we were a little skeptical at first, but when we went to view the apartment, the entire process was really straightforward and professional.
The apartment was called Palm Springs Nimman. I literally searched 'Chiang Mai short-term rent' in a Facebook group, found a place I liked the look of, and booked a viewing via WhatsApp.
When we arrived we were met with an estate agent, who showed us around the apartment and gave us a contract to look over. We paid £500 a month for a one bedroom, one bathroom apartment with a kitchen and balcony with a view of the mountains! We were also in the best location, Nimmanahaeminda Road, and our apartment was a 2 minute walk to One Nimman, our absolute favourite shopping centre and food court.
We paid one month's rent plus one month's deposit, which we got back after we checked out. Our water and electric was on a meter, we received a slip of our usage in our mailroom box each month and paid the estate agents directly for what we used. Our bills, including using our air conditioning 24/7, came to around an additional £150 per month for two people.
Total cost per person: £325 a month including all bills + use of gym/pool
Top tip: Always take photos of any property on the day you move in, including any existing damage or marks. We've never needed them, but it's great peace of mind and protects your deposit if any disputes come up!
You can also book this apartment directly with Booking.com here: https://www.booking.com/hotel/th/palm-springs-nimman.html
Apartment No.2 - Bangkok, Conner Ratchathewi
We rented our second apartment for 2 months through Airbnb, and fell in love with it straight away. The staff are so friendly and always happy to help, which comes in handy with food and parcel deliveries. They even have a hot and cold food storage section, so if your food is delivered and you don't collect it straight away, they'll store it in the appropriate box for you, this is Thai hospitality for you!
Our luxury condominium came with a huge infinity sky pool with gorgeous views of the city, a sky gym, separate yoga room, sky garden, co-working spaces, meeting rooms and even a cigar bar! Plus 24-hour security, and you can only access the apartments with face recognition.
The apartment itself is a loft-style duplex, with a living area on the first floor with a sofa bed and the bedroom up on the second floor with a built-in closet. Everything inside is really high quality, with a great kitchen and appliances, and even a smart Japanese toilet in the bathroom!
Location-wise, BTS Ratchathewi station is literally a 3-minute walk, which means Siam, Central World, and Pratunam Market are just one or two stops away. The neighbourhood has loads of Thai restaurants, coffee shops, food streets, and a 7-Eleven all within a 2-3 minute walk.
We loved this apartment and with the BTS so nearby it's incredibly easy to get around, but I would say the location itself wasn't our favourite. There was a mosque nearby which very loudly had a call to prayer multiple times a day, and at one point it happened at 3am and 5am, which we weren't too impressed to be woken up to. Whilst I absolutely don't mind a call to prayer, it's just worth knowing before you book!
That said, I would still highly recommend staying here, we were really sad to leave and had such a pleasant experience overall!
Total cost per person: £600 a month including all bills + use of gym/pool
You can book our exact apartment at Conner Ratchathewi here: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1075942914422511160?check_in=2026-09-01&check_out=2026-09-30&guests=1&adults=1&s=67&unique_share_id=92295b70-9fae-4e72-9827-14479a5be41e
Apartment No.3 - Bangkok, Anil Sathon 12
We viewed Anil Sathorn 12 with our estate agent AJ, who we found through Facebook Marketplace! As soon as we walked into the building we knew it was the one for us.
Anil Sathorn 12 is an award-winning luxury condominium right in the heart of Sathorn, with BTS Saint Louis station literally outside the front door, making it super easy and cheap to get around the city.
The building genuinely goes above and beyond on air and water quality, as every unit has a Mitsubishi air ventilation system with MERV 16 filters to block PM2.5 and allergens, and all drinking water is filtered through 3M technology. There is a lot of pollution in Bangkok so this really was a highlight for us.
Security is next level too, cars have to check in with a guard and are photographed upon entering, and you use face recognition to access the apartments. The staff add you on Line, Thailand's WhatsApp, and message you updates like parcel deliveries and building events, which is such a nice touch.
The gym has incredible views, high-quality equipment, and a separate yoga and pilates studio. There's also a sauna and steam room in both the men's and women's changing rooms, plus co-working spaces and an outdoor dining area.
The surrounding area has 7-Elevens, cafes, restaurants, and St. Louis Hospital all within a 5-10 minute walk. Our favourite French-style cafe, Pref, is just 5 minutes away, find more recommendations in my Bangkok food guide here: Coming soon!
We chose a 2-bedroom apartment because my boyfriend really wanted a home office! Our monthly rent is 83,000 baht plus bills, which usually comes to around 3,000-5,000 baht for us both, so around 86,000 baht in total, which is roughly £1,900-2,000 or $2,600 USD per month.
Total cost per person: Around£1,000 a month including all bills + use of gym/pool/sauna etc
If you need a reliable and trustworthy estate agent, you can WhatsApp AJ on +66971348409, just let him know Kashima recommended you!
Villa No.1 - Koh Samui, Aryia Residences
Ariya Residences is honestly the most luxurious place I have ever stayed, and the view from our living room literally took our breath away.
Tucked into a tropical mountainside on the southeast peninsula of Koh Samui, the villa has a breathtaking 210° panoramic view stretching from Lamai Bay all the way to Koh Matsum and the Gulf of Thailand.
The colours of the water and mountains genuinely look photoshopped, it's truly indescribable unless you've seen it yourself. So much so, that when my family visited, they were almost brought to tears! No, I'm not joking!
The villa itself is 448sqm of stunning, open-plan living, with sand-coloured tiles flowing throughout, sliding glass walls opening onto a large covered terrace, and a 12 metre infinity pool looking straight out over the sea, which was perfect for doing full lengths, which is such a luxury in your own private pool!
There are 4 bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms, each bedroom with its own private balcony and luxurious en-suite. One of my favourite parts of the villa was the outdoor seating area, complete with a full BBQ where we enjoyed some amazing family time watching the sunset.
When we arrived at the villa, we were greeted by a full staff, Nam, our villa manager, and 4 staff members who were on hand for anything you needed and cleaned the villa twice a week, plus a pool cleaner who came once a week.
Nam is my favourite person ever, she's funny, warm, incredibly helpful, and just so kind and dedicated to her job. She works so hard to make sure every guest has the best stay possible, and helped us with any requests, including very kindly driving my partner to a pharmacy when we needed emergency medication after getting food poisoning (nothing to do with the villa)
One practical thing worth knowing, you'll need a bike or a car that can handle a steep hill to get to the villa. It's quite the climb and some taxi drivers actually refuse to come all the way up, so bear that in mind when you're planning airport transfers or nights out! On-site there's 24-hour security, and Lamai Beach is just a 5-minute drive away.
Just a pre-warning: If you stay here, just be prepared for every other place you ever visit to fall completely flat, because Ariya Residences really is an absolute dream come true.
We were very lucky to get an incredibly good rate because there was construction work happening nearby (which didn’t actually effect us at all) but you can rent this villa for around £10k per month, the price varies between time of year and villas and you’ll need to speak with them directly for an actual quote!
I know this sounds like a lot (that’s because it is) but you can book this villa daily/weekly! There’s 4 bedrooms, so if you come with 4 couples (8 people) it’ll cost around £2,500 a week, which is only £312.50pp for the week! Perfect for special occasions or just treating yourself.
If you’re interested in booking this villa, send me an email at: kashimadohertyugc@gmail.com with the subject line ‘Aryia Residences Booking Enquiry’ and I will put you in contact to book.