Mae Sot is a fascinating town on the Burmese border. Much of the local population is Burmese, so be prepard to see lots of ladies in traditional Burmese dress, and faces daubed with "thanaka/tanaka". The erroneously named (where is the hill? where is the resort?) Centara Mae Sot Hill Resort used to be one of the few places for tourists to stay in Mae Sot. It is quite a way outside the town center, and is now showing its age, being a bit frayed around the edges. The resort rooms are very basic, but quite spacious and adequate.The tiny lifts shudder and shake but eventually deliver you to your floor.The swimming pool is great for the kids. Avoid the hotel restaurant and food, and get out and sample the local food, such as the huge bbq shrimp. There is a very interesting market down by the river, which forms the border with Myanmar/Burma. The "resort" is reasonable value for money, compared with others in the Centara chain, but there is more competition nowadays, and it no longer has a virtual monopoly. Hopefully it will be refurbished and recast, or dropped from Centara branding altogether. It feels a bit like a neglected outpost in the "wild west" of Thailand at present.
