Royal Rattanakosin Hotel

• On Ratchadamnoen Road, old city
• Sanam Luang 5 minutes and Khao San Road 8 minutes on foot
• Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew about 10 minutes on foot
• Outdoor swimming pool and spa services
• 24-hour front desk, laundry and free parking

Essentials

Royal Rattanakosin Hotel is a budget hotel on Ratchadamnoen Road in the old city, close to Sanam Luang and Khao San Road. The hotel’s website lists walking times from the door: Sanam Luang 5 minutes, Khao San Road 8 minutes, the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew 10 minutes, Wat Sutat 15 minutes and Wat Pho 20 minutes. It puts Wat Arun about 500 m away.

Rail is the weak point. Sanam Chai is the nearest MRT station, and it is a taxi or tuk-tuk ride from here, not a walk, so this is a hotel for people who plan to see the temples on foot.

Overview

The hotel lists three room types. Grand Deluxe rooms are 24 m2, Deluxe rooms are 30 m2 with a sofa bed and a city view, and the Grand Suite with two bedrooms is 45 m2 and takes a family or two couples. Rooms have air conditioning, a television, a refrigerator and private bathrooms with a hot and cold shower, and the hotel describes the style as Thai classic with modern interiors.

It works best as a plain, central base for a few days of sightseeing around Rattanakosin, with a pool to cool off in afterwards. It is a poor match if you want boutique style or a station on the doorstep. The two Old City hotels in hotels in Chinatown, Pratunam and the old city sit at opposite ends of the price range, and this is the larger and plainer of the two.

Tip: Do the Grand Palace first thing and Wat Pho afterwards. The hotel’s own list puts the Grand Palace at 10 minutes and Wat Pho at 20, so Wat Pho is the longer leg: take a taxi for it if the sun is high.

Food and drink

Royal Chinese Restaurant

The hotel’s restaurant page names the Royal Chinese Restaurant. Its homepage describes the restaurant as serving a variety of international dishes and traditional Thai cuisine, and a coffee shop and a bar or lounge are also listed.

For a different meal, Khao San Road is 8 minutes away on foot.

Amenities

The outdoor swimming pool is the main amenity, and spa services are available on site. A 24-hour front desk, laundry and dry-cleaning, luggage storage, a safe-deposit box at reception and a tour desk are listed. Free Wi-Fi covers the property, and self-parking is free.

The position matters more than the facilities: with a pool and short walks to the main sights, you can go out in the morning and be back at the pool in the middle of the day. The hotel is smoke-free.