Mountain View Guest House

Saungduan King (Meao) - Owner

Ms Saungduan King, more affectionately known as Meao is a Sukhothai local who loves cooking and satisfying guests with her delicious array of cuisines. Her love for cooking was realised in high school when she did catering as a subject, after which she moved to Pattaya where she got a job as a trainee in the kitchens. Over the next 10-12 years she gained invaluable experience and a reputation for quality and attention to detail and became No.2 Chef in a Pattaya Hotel. It was here in Pattaya 11 years ago, when working as No.2 Chef that she met Malcolm, a man hailing from England with a passion for Thailand.

After marrying nine years ago, Meao and Malcolm returned to Sukhothai and built a house and swimming pool for their future. After completion of their home, they had a small amount of land left and built four guest houses for hosting their family and friends.

It was only during a local festival when all other guest houses where full that they accommodated a group of German tourists and the vision of Mountain View Guest House was laid and hence the start of the business. Within a year, these first guests had put Mountain View Guest House in the German Guide Books and Malcolm and Meao never looked back, purchasing another 4,000 sqm of land making a total area of gardens and rooms 6,000 sqm.

This homely guest house has gained a reputation for excellent hospitality and a beautiful natural feel with hosts Meao and Malcolm going out of their way to make your stay as comfortable as possible. Five years ago, they bought a restaurant on the main street of the old city opposite the National Museum so Meao could back to what she loves doing; cooking! It is here at the MV Restaurant and the restaurant at Mountain View Guest House where you will meet Meao and be greeted with a smile and great local and international food.

This accommodation provider has taken action to address one or more issues (whether environmental, social or cultural) which will contribute positively to the long term viability of the destination and hence their site displays a Caring for the destination rating.

Main area of focus in Caring for the Destination:

Environmental and social projects

Detailed description of the Caring for the Destination Initiative:

The owners of Mountain View Guest House (Malcolm and Meao) are conscious about the environment and seek to conserve natural resources through the use of solar lights around the garden, and recycled water for irrigating the plants.

As well as these environmental measures, they also work with the local community through sponsoring the local village school for various sports activities, which their son also attends. For the ten local Thai staff that work for them, they also endeavour to give them further hospitality training to enhance their skills.