Book online, save money
While most guest houses in Khao San Road do not even bother to have a website, with moderate and upper end hotels you can save a surprisingly large amount of money by booking via the web. In most cases, walk-in rates are known to be about 30% higher than online rates as administration costs are higher and front desk personnel often get paid by commission. When standing inside the hotel's lobby, sometimes it can pay off to use the free Wi-Fi, get online, book for the same night and get it for less! To give an example, some mid-range hotels offer walk-in rates for 1,500 baht the night, but online rates for 1,000 baht. That's five free beers on the hotel!
Bangkok has a vast range of accommodation, including some of the best hotels in the world â and some of the worst dives too. Broadly speaking, Khao San Road is backpacker city; the riverside of Silom and Thonburi is home to The Oriental and The Peninsula respectively, often ranked among the best in the world and priced to match. Most of the city's moderate and expensive hotels can be found in Siam Square, Sukhumvit and Silom, though they also have their share of budget options.
When choosing your digs, think of the amount of luxury you want to pay for â air-conditioning can be advised, as temperatures don't drop below 20°C at night. Also pay careful attention to Skytrain, metro and express boat access, as a well-placed station or pier could make your stay in Bangkok much more comfortable. In general, accommodation in Bangkok is cheap though. It's possible to have a decent double room with hot shower and air-conditioning for about 500 baht/night. If you want more luxury, expect to pay around 1,500 baht for a double room in downtown. Even staying at one of Bangkok's top hotels only sets you back around 5,000 baht â the price of a standard double room in Europe.
One Bangkok hotel phenomenon of note is the guest fee of around 500 baht added to your bill if you bring along a newly found friend for the night. Some hotels even refuse Thai guests altogether, this is especially common in Khao San Road. These rules are obviously aimed at controlling local sex workers, which is why hotel security will usually hold onto your guest's ID card for the duration of the visit, but some hotels will also apply it to Western visitors â or, more embarrassingly, try to apply it to your Thai partner. Look for the signs, or, if in doubt, ask the staff before check-in.
