M2 Hotel Waterside — a lakeside boutique on Kwan Phayao where you sleep to the lake and dine on the rooftop at sunset
If you want a Phayao stay with a modern room whose big windows open straight onto the lake, plus a rooftop to sit, eat and drink as the sun sets over the water, M2 Hotel Waterside is the name newer travellers to Phayao keep mentioning. It's a lakeside boutique hotel on Kwan Phayao in the Ban Tom area, opened in 2021, with a clean modern design that has guests saying it feels almost European. Room types run from Standard up to a Family Room, many facing the lake, with an outdoor pool, a cafe, and the Atmosphere Sky Bar & Restaurant rooftop looking over the lake and the hills. Rooms start from around ฿1,200/night — sharp for a lake-view hotel in Phayao.
Kwan Phayao is the largest freshwater lake in northern Thailand and the heart of Phayao town. The Ban Tom side is the quieter shore — an easygoing, semi-rural stretch with rice fields, temples and lakeside eateries along the water. Modern places that genuinely face the lake here are few, and M2 Hotel Waterside, opened in 2021, is one where many rooms look straight out over the water — open the curtains and there's the lake with the distant Phu Pan hills. That's the main reason guests choose it.
The hotel is a boutique building of around 40 rooms with a clean, modern design. There are several types to suit your budget and group: from Standard Double and Standard Twin rooms for couples up to a Family Room of around 35 sqm with a queen plus a single bed, good for families. Every room has air-con, a TV, a private bathroom and large windows for the view, with many facing the lake. Most reviews praise the rooms as spacious and clean, modern in style, with comfortable beds and genuinely lovely views.
"Very modern and clean, the Kwan Phayao views are amazing — wake up and the lake fills the window. We went up to the rooftop for dinner and the sunset over the water; it felt like being in Europe, and the staff were friendly."
What sets M2 Waterside apart from the usual lakeside stays is the Atmosphere Sky Bar & Restaurant rooftop — an upstairs spot to eat and drink looking out over Kwan Phayao and the sunset on the water, the romantic touch guests praise most. Downstairs there's an outdoor pool, a cafe and a garden. Breakfast is a buffet included with the room, and at times there's a promotion that throws in a Starbucks drink per night. It suits couples, slow-travel guests after a lakeside break, and small families who want a modern, good-looking room with a view at a reachable price.
The hotel is in Ban Tom, right on Kwan Phayao — a one-minute walk to the lakeshore and about an 8-minute walk to Wat Si Khom Kham (home of the great Buddha image). Nearby lakeside sights include Wat Tilok Aram (the temple in the middle of the lake), the Phaya Ngam Mueang monument and the lakeside walking street, all an easy drive away. It suits self-drivers who want to base themselves around the lake. There's parking on site; for those without a car it's less convenient, as the town's main restaurant and shopping strip is a fair way off and not walkable.
On the numbers, M2 Waterside reviews well. Averaged across real guest reviews it sits around 8.3 out of 10 — Trip.com around 8.2 from roughly 36 guests, and it ranks near the top of Phayao town's hotels on TripAdvisor. The repeat praise is the lake view, clean and modern rooms, the rooftop atmosphere, good breakfast and restaurant, easy parking and attentive staff. The honest gripes: some rooms get ants coming in from the balcony, and the location is outside the town's main dining area, so you can't walk to food in town — you need a car.
To be straight with you, M2 Waterside positions itself as a lakeside boutique focused on view and design, not a full-service luxury resort. Its selling point is modern rooms with full lake views and a rooftop to watch the sunset over the water, at a reachable price. If your trip is about unwinding by Kwan Phayao, waking to the lake and heading up to the rooftop for an evening drink — rather than walking out to dinner in town — it lands just right. But if you don't have a car and want to walk to restaurants in town, adjust your expectations or have a ride-hailing app ready.
A tip from following the reviews here closely: specify a room that faces the lake directly if you want the full water view, as not every room sees it. In the evening, don't miss heading up to the Atmosphere Sky Bar rooftop at sunset — it's the lakeside at its prettiest. If ants worry you, keep the balcony door firmly shut and food sealed away. And since the location is outside town, drive yourself or have a ride-hailing app ready for getting into town to eat.
Summary from Booking & Agoda
- ✓ Lovely Kwan Phayao views — wake up to the full lake
- ✓ Clean, modern rooms with comfortable beds
- ✓ Atmosphere Sky Bar rooftop with sunset views
- ✓ Good breakfast and restaurant, easy parking
- ! Some rooms get ants coming in from the balcony
- ! Outside the town's main dining area — can't walk to food in town
- ! Not convenient without your own car
- ✓ Lakeside setting on Kwan Phayao, a one-minute walk to the water
- ✓ Modern rooms with large lake-view windows
- ✓ Rooftop bar, outdoor pool and an on-site cafe
- ✓ Great for couples and slow-travel lakeside stays
- ! A fair way from the town's restaurants and food
- ! Best with a car
- ! Pool and rooftop can get busy at peak times
- 💡If you don't have your own car — it's in Ban Tom on the lake, a fair way from the town's main dining area, and you can't walk to food in town → it suits self-drivers; without a car, keep a ride-hailing app ready or consider a stay in town.
- 💡If you want a full lake view — not every room faces the water → specify a lake-view room when booking to open the curtains to the lake in the morning.
- 💡If insects bother you — some rooms get ants coming in from the balcony → keep the balcony door firmly shut, seal food away, and let staff know if you hit a problem.