They call this a “homestay,” which almost deterred me from staying here. It’s actually a pleasant hotel that just lacks a 24 hour front desk — I think it’s staffed during daylight hours — and relies on an electronic kiosk for check in and check out. There’s no cafe or restaurant, but there are food vending machines in the lobby and restaurants nearby. You’ll want to come with your own transportation. That said, we had a very pleasant stay there, and if you don’t require hotel services, you will too. The hotel is located in one of the many concrete, box-like structures that you’ll see in the padi fields around Sekinchan. These used to be commercial nesting houses for the swiftlets whose saliva nests are used to make birds’ nest soup. Normally the swiftlets nest in caves in remote areas, which makes harvesting the nests difficult. But if you have plenty of swiftlets and no caves, as in Sekinchan, you can build an artificial cave and have a business. I guess that business didn’t thrive, and many of these bird nest houses have been repurposed into alternative uses like this one. The hotel is constructed entirely of concrete (floors, walls, ceilings). The rooms are adequate in size with a huge window providing an excellent view over the rice fields. The rooms are immaculate; air conditioning is good; and a station providing filtered drinking water is available next to the elevator on each floor to refill your water bottles. The kiosk-based check in and check out works well, but is inflexible. If you want to extend your stay you still have to use the kiosk to check out on your original date of departure and check in again. Even though you’re paying for the next day, the kiosk still will charge you a significant penalty if you don’t complete the check out by 12 o’clock check out time. This is weird and inconvenient (and the front desk staff don’t tell you these details), but if you know the rule you can easily manage it. The limited front desk staff speak only Chinese, with the exception of one older lady who frequently isn’t there but is reachable by phone. The hotel has a few set ups in the back (swing, heart-shaped seat and staircase to nowhere) to help you get Instagram-worthy photos on the spot. These seemed to be very popular with young couples staying there. There are several casual restaurants nearby, including a good Vietnamese restaurant just a couple of blocks away, plus lots of Chinese restaurants. (The population of Sekinchan is 80% Chinese.) I came here to photograph the abundant kingfishers that nest in the banks of the irrigation canals running through the rice fields. Padi Sentral was perfect for my needs — comfortable room, perfect location, inexpensive).
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