Nana Resort Kaeng Krachan — A Riverside Resort Among the Mountains of Phetchaburi
If you're after a riverside stay near Bangkok that the kids will love, Nana Resort Kaeng Krachan comes up again and again with families. It's a 4-star riverside resort on the Phetchaburi River in Kaeng Krachan District, ringed by mountains and green hills. There are 84 rooms of several types — Premier, Deluxe, a Suite with Jacuzzi and roomy Family rooms. The thing children love most is the two outdoor pools with a water slide, set in grounds landscaped with pretty ornamental rock waterfalls. It's about a 2-hour drive from Bangkok and starts at roughly THB 1,500/night. This review is distilled from real guest reviews — the praise and the honest gripes alike.
Nana Resort Kaeng Krachan sits right on the Phetchaburi River in Kaeng Krachan District. The thing guests mention most in reviews is the lush, shaded grounds and the ornamental rock-waterfall landscaping that give the place a charm you don't find everywhere. The resort is low-rise and spread across a wide plot, with trees and little waterfall corners dotted throughout — a pleasant place to wander and take photos. With the Kaeng Krachan mountains as a backdrop and a quiet, restful feel, it suits anyone wanting to bring the family close to nature without a long drive.
There's plenty of choice across the 84 rooms. They start with the Premier Room and the 28 sqm Deluxe Room for two, and run up to a Suite with a Jacuzzi at 32 sqm and a 36 sqm Family Room with several beds that sleeps the whole group. Every room has a private balcony, and many guests note that the rooms are spacious, clean and have everything in good working order. The look is simple and warm — comfort over bold design — which fits a relaxed family stay nicely.
"The kids spent all day on the pool slide, the gardens are lovely with little rock waterfalls to walk through, and the staff were so kind right from check-in. The riverside is cool and breezy — close to Bangkok but it feels like you've gone far away."
What children love most is the two outdoor pools with a water slide — the main reason many families pick this place, since the kids can splash about while the grown-ups relax by the water. Beyond the pools there's a gym, a massage room and riverside corners for a stroll and a photo. On Trip.com the location and service categories both sit around 8.9, which reflects attentive staff and a riverside setting guests genuinely like. There are also conference rooms for company trips or small seminars.
On the food side there's a riverside restaurant serving mostly Thai dishes, plus breakfast for guests. Several reviews praise the local Thai flavours and the lovely setting by the water, but some also note that the menu variety is a little limited and the café service can be slow at times, with drinks taking longer than expected. Over a longer stay you might want to head out for a change of scene, but there aren't many shops or eateries right around the resort — packing a few snacks ahead of time makes life easier.
By the numbers, Nana Resort scores around 8.7 from 33 reviews on Trip.com. Its strongest categories are location and service (about 8.9), with cleanliness and amenities around 8.5–8.6. It's roughly a 2-hour drive from Bangkok and close to both Kaeng Krachan Dam and Kaeng Krachan National Park, making it a handy base for days out in nature before coming back to sleep by the river. The trade-off is that, being out of town, the area around the resort has few shops or dining options, so a little planning goes a long way.
As for the gripes that show up in reviews — beyond the food variety and café service, some guests found the air-conditioning in a few rooms noisy enough to disturb their sleep, and a couple of reviews mention a faint muddy smell in the bathroom water, which is down to the local groundwater. These are understandable for a nature resort out of town, but knowing them in advance helps you prepare and pick the right room. If you're sensitive to noise, it's worth flagging it when you book so the resort can move you in time.
The bottom line for anyone planning a Phetchaburi–Kaeng Krachan family trip: Nana Resort Kaeng Krachan is a strong pick for families with children and anyone after an affordable riverside escape close to Bangkok. Its strengths are the pretty rock-waterfall gardens, the water-slide pools the kids adore, the well-rated service and the riverside setting among the mountains. Prices start at roughly THB 1,500/night for a standard room, rising to the mid-to-upper thousands for the Jacuzzi suite and family rooms. If you want a good-value nature resort near Bangkok that's easy with kids, this is a reliable choice.
Summary from Booking & Agoda
- ✓ Pretty grounds with ornamental rock waterfalls, shaded and peaceful
- ✓ Pools with a water slide that kids love — great for families
- ✓ Spacious, clean rooms with everything in working order
- ✓ Friendly, attentive staff right from check-in
- ! Limited menu variety; café service can be slow at times
- ! Air-conditioning in some rooms is noisy and may disturb sleep
- ! Few shops around the resort — bring your own snacks
- ✓ Riverside setting among the mountains, close to nature
- ✓ Two pools with a water slide, great for families with kids
- ✓ Only about 2 hours from Bangkok — easy to reach
- ✓ Friendly staff, good service and a well-liked location
- ! Faint muddy smell in some bathroom water (local groundwater)
- ! Out of town, with few shops nearby
- ! Busy on long weekends — book ahead
- 💡If you're a light sleeper sensitive to noise — some rooms have noisy air-conditioning → flag it at booking or check-in to request a quieter room, or pack earplugs just in case.
- 💡If you like eating out at several places — Kaeng Krachan has few shops around → plan to take main meals at the resort restaurant and bring your own snacks and drinks.
- 💡If you're mainly here for the kids to swim — the water-slide pools are the draw → book a room near the pools and check the opening hours ahead so you get the most pool time.