Content: Spicy Villa Bungalows, Spicy Villa Organic Farm, Activities and Tours at Spicy Villa, Our Mission and Vision, Why Choose Us?, Meet Our Staff, Reviews from Guests
Spicy Villa eco-lodges are simple bungalows, located high in the mountains of Mae Wang area. We have an organic farm on the premises and offer a wide range of activities for our guests.
Three core responsibilities for our company are:
- Environmental responsibility; we strive to minimize our impact on environment
- Social responsibility; we aim to help local communities
- Cultural responsibility; on one side, we wish to show our guests traditional Thai culture, and on the other, to preserve the culture and not spoil it with mass tourism
Bungalows at Spicy Villa Eco-Lodges
Mountain view from Spicy Villa Eco-Lodges
We built the first Spicy Villa bungalows in 2009. Our vision was to build bungalows the way local Karen villagers build their huts in the jungle. They use material from the jungle and build them themselves. These hill tribe lodges have close to none impact on the nature. Therefore, we worked together with Karen villagers and built very simple and basic bungalows.
In 2012, we found a better location for Spicy Villa Eco-Lodges, higher in the mountains, and started building new bungalows.
Now we have five private bungalows and two family bungalows. Private bungalows are suitable for two guests and family bungalows, with two conjoining rooms, can house four guests.
All bungalows are comfortable, in spite of their simplicity. They have a private bathroom and a veranda with a hammock, where you can leisurely enjoy the wonderful mountain views. In each room, there is a comfortable, big mattress.
Breakfast is included in the price of your accommodation and you can order lunch and dinner, which cost 7 USD per meal. Meals are prepared with organic and natural ingredients, fresh from our organic farm. Each meal consist of several traditional Thai courses and for dessert, we serve you fresh fruit from the organic farm.
If you are vegetarian, vegan or have any other dietary restrictions, please let us know before your arrival and we will gladly cater to your needs.
You have a chance to experience the pristine northern Thai nature by staying in our mountain bungalows. The fresh mountain air, lush jungle and authentic lifestyles of the local villagers offer you a new perspective of Thailand. You do not find tourist crowds here and we do not treat you as a tourist. By staying with us, we welcome you as our guest and friend.
Organic Farm at Spicy Villa Eco-Lodges
Working on Organic Farm at spicy Villa Eco-Lodges
The organic farm at Spicy Villa Eco-Lodges is constantly expanding. We grow vegetables, fruits, spices and herbs using natural farming methods. Karen villagers teach us about their traditional farming techniques and we use them to grow healthy and organic ingredients to use in the meals we prepare for you.
For us it is important to rely on what we produce. We are aware of the value of fresh, local and natural food. On the other hand, we also know how crucial it is, that we use the right techniques when growing our food. This is not only for the health benefits, but also to make sure, we do not have a negative impact on the nature.
Activities and Tours at Spicy Villa Eco-Lodges
Our guests working in rice fields
While you stay at Spicy Villa Eco-Lodges, you can simply enjoy the peace and quiet in the mountains. However, there is a lot more to do in the countryside surrounding our bungalows.
We offer a wide range of activities for you. For instance, we can take you on a trek to the rice paddies and teach you about local farming methods. We can also explore the jungle and find its hidden waterfalls. We can visit a traditional Karen village and see the daily life of its villagers. If you are adventurous, we can take you for a visit to elephant camp, bamboo rafting and river tubing.
You can visit the Activities page to see what packages we offer or you can fill out a custom itinerary form and we will prepare a personal schedule for your stay. If you would like to go on a tour to other parts of Thailand, you can visit Next Step Thailand Eco-Tourism page.
The idea behind all the activities we offer is to give you a better insight to the life in northern Thailand. You learn about the flora, fauna, farming, traditions, life, and people and have a lot of fun on the way!
Our Mission and Vision
Donation for Karen children
One of our main responsibilities is for the local environment. We make sure to use environmentally friendly building materials and farming techniques. We use solar panels for electricity; the sun heats the water for showers. You might be having cold showers, but remember that this is good for your skin and health and also for the environment. We also recycle, so keep this in mind during your stay.
Secondly, we feel responsible for local communities. All our staff is from Karen villages. We employ them and pay them fairly, and the community as a whole benefits from this. We only do business with local companies owned by locals. Share the Dream Project is a project that we started in order to help the community. By staying at our bungalows and going on our tours, you are contributing to this project. Under Share the Dream project, we build schools for local Karen children and find volunteers to teach English and show them how to be self-reliant and self-sustainable as a community. We also have medical volunteers who offer medical assistance to local Karen villagers.
Finally yet importantly, it is our responsibility to show you the real northern Thailand and its culture.
Why Choose Spicy Villa Eco-Lodges?
Spicy Villa Eco-Lodges are not suitable for all. They are not the right place for those who seek luxury and pampering. If your reason for visiting Thailand is to go to common tourist places on a tightly scheduled tour, we do not recommend you stay with us or go on our tour.
In addition, if you are looking to spend as little as possible, we will probably not meet your expectations. Our prices are fair in order to pay our staff fairly and contribute to our community projects.
On the other hand, if you are open-minded and wish to experience Thai culture, a stay at Spicy Villa can be very rewarding and memorable.
Keep in mind that your overall experience depends greatly on how willing you are to get involved. For instance, when we take you to trek over rice paddies and see villagers working there, you have an opportunity to join them and learn first-hand.
Our Staff
All our guides have a license and come from hill tribe villages. They know the area and its culture and are happy to share their knowledge with you.
Samart Srisoda, Product Assistant
Samart is a former monk and a perceptive entrepreneur, the product assistant at Spicy Villa Eco-Lodges and Next Step Thailand.
A good conversation starter: ask him why he named the bungalows Spicy Villa.
Hint: it is not because Thai people like their food spicy.
Our Customers Say
Below are excerpts from reviews on TripAdvisor, AirBnB and Google Places.
Spicy Villa is the sort of place that rewards you back for what you put in. If you are able to approach each meal and new experience with an open mind, can handle getting a little mud on your shoes, and have a flexible approach to travel, then this is the place for you.
It is a bumpy ride to Spicy Villas, and you will not find tile halls decorated with chandeliers when you get there. What you will find is peace and quiet, genuine, hard-working people, and an experience like no other.
The villas are very basic, no fans (just a breeze from the open style villa), solar powered showers, and mattress on the floor covered with mosquito net. However, the setting, views and the three fresh meals a day prepared by Samart and his team are the definite highlights.
I was in Thailand for a month and stayed at some amazing resorts in Ko Tao and Koh Samui, still Spicy Villa was the high light of our trip, and we cannot wait to go back.
We were treated like family from the minute we arrived.