Review : Sawasdee Sukhumvit Inn, Bangkok

In 2005

We spent 5 days in Bangkok (29-Oct-05 to 2-Nov-05), all of which we stayed at Sawasdee Sukhumvit Inn. It's really truly excellent value for money.

KF and I stayed in the Superior Double room on the 1st floor, while ML and JC stayed in the Deluxe room on the 3rd floor. It's definitely worth it to pay the extra for the Deluxe as you get a more comfortable bed, nicer drinking glasses, etc. But if you're not into the tiny details, a Superior is fine too.

Only problem I had was with the air-conditioning which turned hot in the middle of the night, so I would have to switch it off and on again. Troublesome. But otherwise, I was comfortable.

Hot shower available, although I would have to warn you that the bathroom I had in the Superior was really quite small, about 5' by 6'. The one my friends had in the Deluxe was much longer and more spacious. Note, though, that the bathroom will definitely be entirely wet after a shower.

The room had a fridge which was a great place to cool our store-bought mineral water after a day of traipsing in the hot Bangkok weather. They also had cable television : HBO, MTV, ESPN, CNN, and some others.

Breakfast came with the room and was American-style, with toast, eggs, ham and a cup of coffee/tea.

A nice touch was the little massage parlour in the lobby. The therapists there are excellent! For THB250, you get a 60-minute foot massage with a little head and shoulder massage thrown in. It's utterly wonderful to return after a day trip and flop down in the lobby to get your feet pampered.

We paid THB645 per night for the Superior, which is really a steal! The Superior has a queen-sized bed whereas the Deluxe has a king-sized bed.

The staff were quite helpful. Sometimes, they will appear to be frazzled and unsmiling. But, definitely, at all times, they assisted us with whatever we needed - be it booking a tour, or giving directions. It is no wonder that the reception people are often harried, because it appears that this place is constantly fully-booked. And I can see why.

Overall, I think this place is real value for money. It is clean, has a homely feel, is not seedy, quite quiet (no noisy cars or highways), very near to the skytrain, and near to all kinds of food. I would definitely stay here again the next time I am in Bangkok.

(this is extracted from a review I provided to Tripadvisor)

In 2008

This is the 2nd time (30-Sep-08 to 3-Oct-08) I've stayed in this inn, the 3rd time for KF (12-Jul-08). We booked 4 rooms this time - 2 deluxe and 2 superior. The deluxe rooms were very nice as usual - comfy quilts, nice beds, big windows, spacious bathrooms. The deluxe rooms were obviously more superior to the Superior rooms in every way. I'd recommend the deluxe rooms anytime! The location of the property is excellent, 3 mins walk to Thong Lo BTS station, about 5 mins walk to Ekamai BTS station (of which there's a shopping complex nearby with McD's and KFC if that's your thing). Excellent night food stalls in soi 63 across the road from the BTS. Helpful and friendly reception staff as always.

(this is extracted from a review I provided to Sawadee.com which I use whenever I need to book a hotel in Thailand because they have the best rates)

What I didn't say in the reviews

The 2nd time around, we wanted to book 4 Deluxe rooms but couldn't. So us young ones had to settle for the Superior rooms, which is the same as what I stayed in the first time I was there. Obviously, with age, (and higher spending power, more "yim chim"-ness) the room didn't seem so nice after all. It was bearably comfy, but not luxurious. The Deluxe rooms however are faultless, except that you have to climb more stairs to reach them. They've refurbished some Superior rooms (my sisters-in-law had a nice one), so if you're lucky, you might land a good Superior room. But the difference in room rates for a Superior (THB 830) and a Deluxe (THB 890) is not substantial, so I'd suggest a Deluxe anytime.

The travel desk is still there, and gosh, the hotel receptionist is still the same person! But much friendlier this time around and very helpful when we had to make bookings for massages and transportation. The only thing I truly miss is the massage service in the lobby. If the masseurs were still there, then the stay would have been perfect.

However, I'm glad this time we found soi 63 which has LOADS of great hawker food. And the nearby McD's to satisfy that Pork Burger urge.

Yes I know, this review is like super-da-long. Little bit more ah.

We've agreed that the next time we're back in Bangkok (if we do go back again for some leisure trip which we don't foresee in the near future), we'll stay elsewhere (like I said, higher spending power). But if it's a budget budget trip, definitely recommend here :)