When it was time to look for a place to rent in Chiang Mai, we were overwhelmed with the number of options available for short-term living. After looking through online listings, brochures, and magazines, we finally zeroed in our very first apartment in Chiang Mai: Ban Jed Yod. It is a modern serviced apartment just outside of Chiang Mai’s Old City and ended up being an excellent first choice while we settle into our new life in Chiang Mai.
In the time it used to take to complete our typical morning commute, we found an online review for the Ban Jed Yod serviced apartment (short-term furnished apartment that includes amenities for daily use), contacted the leasing office for their availability, scheduled a visit, and signed a three-month lease. Unbelievable. Thanks to Magic Travel Blog‘s very thorough and positive review, we were able to find a new apartment much quicker than we had initially expected.
Located about five minutes from the Old City on the northwest side of town, the Ban Jed Yod serviced apartments sounded appealing to us for the following reasons:
- Within our $300-$500 per month budget
- Able to accommodate month-to-month leases
- Fully furnished
- Equipped with several very nice amenities, including washer and dryer machines, a small restaurant and coffee bar, and free on site drinking water
- Conveniently located within a short driving distance of Chiang Mai University and some of the nicer shopping areas the city has to offer
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We fell in love with the modern decor, the view of Doi Suthep, the beautiful pool, and the outdoor lounge area. We were impressed with the particular unit we viewed, and being that it was the only deluxe unit available, we signed a three-month lease for 10,000 baht per month, or $330.
Pros of Ban Jed Yod
- Furnishings included a California King bed with sheets and pillows, computer desk and plush chair, dining table and chairs, vanity, TV, shoe storage, and wardrobe
- Great decor lighting, seven generously sized windows, nice window treatments, and AC
- Clothes drying rack on balcony
- Excellent storage space
- Small indoor kitchen with a single stove top, fridge, microwave, and hot pot
- Bathroom with a stand up shower and a massive tub (unusual for Thailand)
- On-site pool with a great view of Doi Suthep
- On-site security (cameras, staff watching vehicles) and key access entrance
Ban Jed Yod was a great place, but to be fair, here are some of the things we found to be under par. However, most of these things were fixable one way or another or had a work around.
Cons of Ban Jed Yod
- The mattress was Thai firm – no joke!
- We had an ant problem
- Nighttime noise prevented us from opening the windows during the evening hours
- Few restaurants within reasonable walking distance
- Electricity is charged at 7 baht per unit, not the government rate of 5 baht per unit
- Not pet friendly (as we later found out…)
Ban Jed Yod was a great place for us to begin our lives in Chiang Mai. With it’s great amenities, modern look, and excellent price tag, we were happy, even if we couldn’t keep our windows open at night or had to buy a can of bug spray.
Ban Jed Yod is located off Yu Yen Road Soi 2 in Chang Phuak, just northwest of the Old City, and is best accessible by motorbike or car. It offers studio apartments (two twin beds or one king bed) for 10,000 baht per month or one bedroom apartments for 15,000 baht per month. A two month’s security deposit is required after a signed lease (in English).
Location and Contact Information
Address: 155/10 M.2, Soi Yu Yen, Chang Phuak, Chiang Mai, Thailand
Phone: (053) 221-777
Website: www.banjedyod.com
Hi! Do you have recommendations for shorter term leases? Is it easy to find them on a month-to-month basis? I am a traveler who is not really in a traveling mindset right now but doesn’t want to go home….
If you want something shorter than three months (such as a month or a few weeks), many hotels in Thailand are willing to offer a severely discounted monthly rate. The weekly rates aren’t bad, either. Try that first.
Hi thanks for the review of the area but did you say that you wouldn’t recommend the area for cyclists ?
Not really. The roads are very narrow and hugged by shops, so there’s nowhere to go in case you need to dodge a car or motorbike. On the flip side, everyone is driving very slow so motorized vehicles shouldn’t be trying to fly by you anyways.
Where did you move to from there?
We are considering this place for 5 months. Did you feel safe if you left your valuable there while you were out of the country for 2 weeks? Do you happen to know what a private internet line would be? About how far walk to Central or Salad Concept if you happen to know? Thanks!
We definitely felt safe at Ban Jed Yod. It’s a small, private building with key access to the front door, so your valuables should be safe if you take a trip out of the country. A private internet line costs between $20-30 a month with a small set up fee. We suggest speaking with the front desk for approval and to arranging for installation. Salad Concept is a 25 minute walk right down the highway. The Jed Yod area has really built up a lot since we’ve moved out. Make sure to check out the nearby restaurants and shops!
Just returned from the front desk. They said there was no any private internet line. When I said that internet was very slow they replied that they were going to reset the router to speed up the internet and that’s it.
Let’s hope the reset makes it work better. It can be frustrating if you require a fast connection :/
What was the internet quality there?
The connection was fine, but we remember having to log in a lot to re-establish the connection. The main office provides a username and password. A work around would be to ask to put in a private line.
Great Info, You were lucky to find a great apartment so quickly. Chiang Mai has many hidden Gems, that is for sure.
If anyone is looking for longer term accommodation may I recommend Perfect Homes. http://perfecthomes.co.th Perfect Homes
They really looked after us when we arrived.
Thanks for the recommendation!
Looks like a wonderful place for your first place. I am sure you will love it. :-)
Thank you for your nice comment! We were definitely happy with our choice.
How exciting for you both! And while there is always some compromise, it sure seems like the cons are manageable to deal with. That must be thrilling to have found something so quickly and easily. I look forward to your next post!
We couldn’t believe how fast we found it. We had such a lucky day!
Looks like you found a great place! Those cons aren’t too bad. I’ve read many travel and expat articles that apartments charge extra for electricity, so it’s not just your apartment. Love having your site to gather information from for when we finally get to Thailand.
We agree, the pros outweighed the cons. A little bug spray and ant chalk go a long way, and as long as you make it a habit of using the AC sparingly, it’s not too expensive.
Thanks for following us and we’re glad to help you with your own move to Thailand.
Really great information and pictures.
This was on the list for us to check out………I say “Was” because we now have a house waiting for us!
That’s great to hear you have a house. Lucky duck!
Immediately regretting staying at the Smyth looking at this.. Our room is a studio, with no couch or kitchen for 10,000!!
Yeah, but the Smyth Residence’s location is hard to beat!
Nice post =) Although Doi Inthanon is the highest mountain. But Doi Suthep is really nice to look at from your window – hope you still have that view!
Thanks!. We can still see Doi Suthep mountain from our rear balcony in our new townhouse, but it’s not quite the same as seeing the mountain poolside!
Wow! How come this is the first time I’ve seen this review? I didn’t realize how beautiful your first apartment was until now. The only issue I see is that it’s far out from the old city, other than that, it looks great!
Ban Jed Yod is a great starter “home”, only they don’t like cats so we had to leave :( It was a little too far for our liking because we found ourselves going into the Old City almost every day. If our lifestyle was a little different and we stayed home more, it probably wouldn’t have been too bad. We don’t think we would have stayed their if we owned a bicycle, though.
Read it all–What a life. I would like to add one thing to your travel list–Super glue. I use it for everything from a blown out flip flop to covering a skin cut.!
Hi! Welcome to Chiang Mai! How is Ban Jed Yod going for you? We love that place and we are very happy to know that you chose to stay there because of our review :)
Although by now you’ve probably read our more recent post about having to move out of Ban Jed Yod because we brought our cat with us, we did enjoy our two week stay there. I’d definitely recommend it to anyone who wanted to do a one or two month stay in Thailand. It certainly helped us with the transition of first arriving in Thailand with next to nothing to be able to purchase some necessities we needed for our more permanent home. Thanks again!
Love your postings and pics!! How much was your electric bill for the two weeks? I’m trying to get a gauge of the monthly electric bill at this apartment with the A/C on ~ 12 hrs / day. Thx!
I believe our 2 week electric bill was around 1000 baht (little over $30). We ran our aircon, tv, and laptop throughout the day since it was the hot season when we arrived. We didn’t run the AC while we slept as the cross-breeze on the top floor sufficed. In our current home our electric bill for a month (government rate) runs us between 750 and 1200 baht per month.