Hotel Royal Bangkok

Hotel Royal Bangkok sits on Yaowarat Road, the main artery of Bangkok’s Chinatown, 260 metres from Wat Mangkon MRT station. It is a four-star hotel with an outdoor salt-water pool, a restaurant, a pool-side bar and a fitness centre.

Rooms range from 28 to 38 square metres, with a 60 square metre family room and a one-bedroom apartment of the same size at the top end. Most are doubles or twins, and a triple room with three single beds covers small groups. The pool and bar are the features that set it apart here: after a day of walking Yaowarat’s pavements in the heat, a swim is a reasonable way to cool off. Free parking is listed, and the 24-hour front desk can arrange airport shuttle services.

Insider Tip: The Superior Double and Superior Twin rooms have no window. If you want daylight, book a Deluxe or Premium Deluxe room instead, and check the room name before you pay.

Getting around is simple. The MRT at Wat Mangkon is a short walk, and Hua Lamphong Train Station is 500 metres away, so this works as a base for rail trips as well as the city. Suvarnabhumi Airport is 36 km away, so allow for traffic on the way in. For sights beyond Chinatown, you will be on the MRT or in a taxi. For the street itself, see our guide to Yaowarat, the neighbourhood’s night food scene, and the nearby temples such as Wat Mangkon Kamalawat.

This suits travellers who want a proper hotel (pool, gym, parking) inside Chinatown rather than a guesthouse, and families who need the larger rooms. It is less good if you want a quiet residential feel or a window in every room.

Check-in is from 14:00 and check-out is until 12:00. Booking.com guests rate the location and staff especially well.