Bangkok (Lonely Planet) - Andrew Burke [170]
Located just steps from Patpong’s go-go bars, this lower midrange but thoroughly wholesome (no beer, free water) place proves that vice and morality are never far apart. The 58 recently renovated rooms are comfortable and spotlessly clean, with cable TV and air-con standard. The style is more Christian simplicity than global Zen, but at these prices you can’t complain. Family-style meals provide fellowship as well as sustenance. A small outdoor playground is available.
TAKE A NAP
Map Hostel $$
0 2637 0015; www.takeanaphotel.com; 920-926 Th Phra Ram IV; dm 380-750B, s 1000B, d 1300-1500B; Sam Yan exit 1; Sala Daeng exit 3;
At Take a Nap the wall of your tiny guesthouse room is much more than the usual monument to peeling paint and squashed mosquitoes. Instead you’ll find Pop Art–style murals of Thai and Bangkok scenes (including Wat Arun and, ahm, cars on elevated highways). The arty visuals feed into an easygoing vibe, with staff and fellow guests seeming more forthcoming because of it. The main drawback is the location on Th Phra Ram IV (Rama IV), near the corner of busy Th Surawong, which means noise is an issue at all hours; light sleepers should bring earplugs. There is wi-fi, but it’s patchy.
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top picks
PANORAMAS
If you like to spend time in your room looking out of it, these beanpoles have guaranteed angel’s-eye views in the City of Angels. Just remember to ask for a room on an upper floor.
Millennium Hilton
Banyan Tree Hotel (right)
Peninsula Hotel
Dusit Thani
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HQ HOSTEL
Map Hostel $$
0 2233 1598; www.hqhostel.com; 5/3-4 Soi 3, Th Silom; dm 380-750B, d 1500B; Si Lom exit 2; Sala Daeng exit 2;
One of the many things we learned about Bangkok while researching this book was that flashpacker hostels are likely to involve a large amount of polished concrete and other industrial-style themes. HQ Hostel has stuck to the mould, squeezing several four- to 10-bed dorms and a few doubles into a narrow multistorey building just off Silom. It’s not quite as good as Lub*D, with doubles being half bed, half bathroom and a mirror proclaiming ‘You are awesome’. Yet the vibe is fun and friendly and the communal areas are good for meeting people.
URBAN AGE
Map Hostel $
0 2634 2680; www.guesthouse-bangkok.com; 130/6 Soi 8, Th Silom; dm/d 250/800B; Si Lom exit 2; Sala Daeng exit 1;
The eight-room Urban Age is a sort of New Age version of the classic Bangkok budget haunt, in a quiet soi within crawling distance of the Silom nightspots. Small rooms, all without bathrooms and some without windows, have just enough draped fabric and minor touches to make it more appealing than the prison-cell style competition. The friendly manager is a highlight. The only downside is that the dorms are six storeys up, all stairs. Wi-fi is free but only works in the foyer.
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LUMPHINI
Access to Lumphini Park and the business and diplomatic areas of Th Sathon are the main reasons to stay in this part of Bangkok. The other reason is to experience Bangkok’s original, pre–Khao San backpacker district. Soi Ngam Duphli and Soi Sri Bamphen have been in the doldrums for quite a while, but the decades-old ultra-budget flophouses so popular with long-term expats have recently been complemented by a couple of newer, smarter guesthouses and hotels taking advantage of the location near to Lumphini Metro station and the fact it’s not Banglamphu.
Meanwhile, the leafy area between the east ends of Th Sathon and Th Silom continues to be home to several executive apartment buildings that offer very competitive short-term deals.
SUKHOTHAI HOTEL
Map Hotel $$$
0 2344 8888; www.sukhothaihotel.com; 13/3 Th Sathon Tai; r from 12,900B; Lumphini exit 2;
If you’re sick of cookie-cutter international hotels where you need to remind yourself what city you’re in, stay at the Sukhothai. Architect Ed Tuttle’s uniquely Thai modernism embraces both classic Thai features – think winged roofs, hardwood floors and six acres of garden full of brick stupas reminiscent of the ancient capital of Sukhothai –