Bangkok, Thailand

I got room no. 1711, which had a great view. The bathroom was extra nice, with light-colored marble surfaces. The bathroom shelves were filled with amenities, including a toothbrush, shaving kit, sewing kits, swabs, shampoo, etc. There was also great water pressure. Bathrobes and slippers were provided. You can leave your shoes in a little basket in the room and they will be shined free of charge by the time you return. The room itself was similar to a Best Western in the USA (in good condition, but aging). I thought the price was a little high for a hotel that hasn't been renovated. There were blackout curtains that kept out most of the morning light. We had a very firm mattress typical of Thailand. We were in a very, very quiet and well-constructed building (I didn't hear any plumbing noises from the other rooms) and barely heard any other types of noise. The quiet central air-conditioning worked well. The room was a bit small for two people. They gave us a fruit basket on our second day. The location is excellent, within walking distance to restaurants and other nightlife and to the Silom train station and Sala Daeng Sky Train station. I would stay here again, but would also want to try other hotels to see if they are a better value for the money.

This is a newer building, with rooms similar to those at a Best Western or Comfort Inn in the USA. It's a good value, but you can easily hear plumbing noises and closing doors from the other rooms, which might wake you up early in the morning. There are blackout curtains that keep out nearly all the light in the morning and mini-fridge, cable TV, and plenty of places to put things. There are simple amenities in the bathroom and a marble counter and tiles. The room was clean overall, but there was black mold in the bathroom grout, which could have easily been removed with a little bleach. We had a great view (room no. 2214). We also had a desk, two chairs, and a table. This was a large room for a budget hotel. They do not have an iron and ironing board for guests to use (you have to use their pressing service, which isn't available at all times). This was a major negative for me, since I arrived with a suitcase full of wrinkled clothing. The beds were of medium firmness, which was a nice change from the usually rock-hard beds in Thailand. The in-room safe was free to use.

This hotel management apparently thinks that guests are there to take things from the room. For example, the toilet paper holder in my room's bathroom had room for two rolls of toilet paper, but they only put in one roll. There was a price list posted that listed what you would be charged for each item missing from the room upon check-out. When we checked out in the morning, we had to wait nearly 10 minutes at the front desk while they had a maid inventory our room for missing items before they would give us our receipt. This wasted precious time while we were trying to get to the airport.

The biggest problem with this hotel is that it's not within reasonable walking distance of either the regular trains or Sky Train. It took us 25 minutes to walk to the nearest Sky Train station (National Stadium). Because there's no transit in this area, traffic is heavy, so you can take a taxi, but you'll sit in traffic. Even though the hotel was a good value at $35 per night, I would only stay here again if everything was booked elsewhere.