River View Residence

• Riverside guest house in Talad Noi
• Express-boat stop at the Harbour Department nearby
• Rooftop River Vibe restaurant and bar
• Family, Standard, Deluxe and balcony rooms
• Renovated rooms, per the hotel's website

Essentials

River View Residence is a long-running riverside guest house in Talad Noi, at 768 Trok Vanich 2, off Song Wat Road. It traded for years as River View Guest House, and both names still turn up in listings. The setting is a working Chinatown backstreet by the river, not a hotel strip.

There is no rail station at the door. The hotel’s website points instead to an express-boat stop nearby at the Harbour Department, so the river is the easy way to reach the temples and the rest of the old city without sitting in road traffic.

Overview

The website lists four room categories: Family, Standard, Deluxe, and Exclusive with Balcony, and it advertises newly renovated rooms. Not every room is air-conditioned. A travel guide quoted on the hotel’s website says the fan rooms have the best river views and the dearer rooms have air conditioning and a fridge, so the view and the cool room are a trade-off you choose at booking.

This suits someone who wants the river and Talad Noi’s lanes and is happy with a simple room, a balcony and a rooftop. It does not suit anyone who needs air conditioning in every room, or a hotel’s facilities and service, since this is a guest house. Hotels in Chinatown, Pratunam and the old city sets it beside the Yaowarat hotels, and it is the plainest of that group.

Tip: When you book, name the room type and ask whether it has air conditioning. The hotel takes reservations by email and through its own website, which the site recommends as the quicker route.

Food and drink

River Vibe Restaurant and Bar

The rooftop restaurant and bar is the hotel’s main draw after the river itself. The website calls the view a panorama over the Chao Phraya and the city, and a travel guide quoted there describes the roof as a spot to read, sip a beer or eat Thai food around sunset.

Talad Noi’s lanes, a short walk from the door, have noodle stalls and small shops for lunch, so the roof can be an evening stop rather than a three-meals-a-day plan.

Amenities

This is a small riverside guest house: rooms, a rooftop restaurant and bar, and the river. The express-boat stop is the main transport point, and the hotel’s contact line is open for bookings by phone and by email.

For a longer stay the main practical choice is the room type. The balcony rooms put you over the lane and the river, while the air-conditioned rooms give you a cooler night. If heat is a worry in the hot months, the air-conditioned rooms are the safer pick.