My room (they are all identical) was spacious, newly re-furbished, with efficient air-conditioning, tasteful prints, large modern western bathroom, satellite TV and fridge. You can keep the view over the street at bay with curtains and double-glazing. The breakfast, included in the room rate, was an eclectic buffet, ranging from pork curry to toast and jam, but the more attractive dishes tended to run out early, and weren’t always replenished. Amazingly, in the middle of Bangkok, there is a life-size outdoor pool at the back, completely hidden, and accessible only from the 3rd floor. Relax at sunset in the cool water after a hard day’s sightseeing, and watch the geckos running up and down the whitewashed wall between the trellises, hunting mosquitoes.

Room rates are not displayed, and extremely negotiable. I paid 900 baht ($25) a night for single occupancy of a double room, including breakfast, which is exorbitant for Bangkok. You won’t stay here for the price, or for the atmosphere. The place is a typical 3-star anonymous modern hotel. You could be anywhere in the world. Absolutely no atmosphere, but no bedbugs, cockroaches or mosquitoes either. There are other reasons to recommend it. You probably wouldn’t want to stay here long, but it’s ideal for a couple of days at the beginning of a holiday, when you want to acclimatise gently and see all the main sights without fuss. It’s within walking distance of the Royal Palace, National Museum, City Pillar and river taxis, within a block of the airport bus stop, and bookable by internet. It would also be good at the end of a holiday, when you want to wash thoroughly everything you’ve got, and indulge in a final massage or two.

The Viengtai Hotel has an elegant lobby with all of the employees dressed in matching uniforms. They immediately serve you quickly and professionally. Your bags will be carried to your room. The rooms are not as fancy as the lobby. This is where you can see the age of the hotel, but all said, the rooms are clean and comfortable. The air conditioning is great after the heat and humidity of the streets. You can catch watch BBC on the television and catch up with world news. There are refreshments in the refrigerator (honor system, pay when you check out). The one area I found lacking is the hot water system. Since this was the only place we stayed in Thailand that had hot water, I had somewhat gotten my hopes up for a warm shower rather than the eye-opening cold ones that we had for the rest of the trip. Unfortunately, I was dissappointed to find only sporadic warm water. Only once during the three nights that we stayed at the Viengtai Hotal did I get a warm shower for the entire length of the shower.

There is a swimming pool at the Viengtai Hotel. While we were so busy that we didn’t get a chance to use it, another couple in our group did use it and said it was nice. A swimming pool is great for beating the smoldering heat.

Connected to the lobby of the hotel you will find a number of travel companies where you can arrange day trips and they can take care of your other travel needs. One confirmed our airplane tickets for us the morning we were leaving and also arranged a ride to the airport for us. A cab to the airport costs about 350 baht (about $8.50), and the airport bus costs 100 baht per person ($2.50) but you have to carry your bags 3 blocks to catch the bus. The travel agent arranged for a man to take us in his minivan (along with about 12 other people – yes, there were enough seats with the baggage strapped to the top of the minivan) for 60 baht per person ($1.50). The ride to the airport is about 1 hour. Also connected to the lobby of the hotel are a number of shops and a massage shop. I went to the massage place a couple times. The cost is 140 baht ($3.50) for a one hour Thai massage.