Hello:

searching for a hotel in bangkok for 3 nights. Sukhmvet is the city center and popular place to stay? can you recommend 2-3 good hotels with pool in price range of $20-$50 please?

last day in Bkok we plan to splurge at Mariott on the river. but for first 3 days we want to stay city center.

Thanks!!!!!

Sukhumvit is a good area to stay if you like being in "downtown." Bangkok is so spread out it's hard to call one area the city center.

Go to www.sawasdee.com and look at hotels in the Sukhumvit area. See what appeals to you, then come back for some feedback from others about your ideas. Note that the sawasdee prices include tax and service (a total of 17%) and typically include breakfast.

Sukhumvit is not really city center. Bangkok doesn't have a 'center' or it has several of them, depending on how you look at it.

In my opinion, you'll get much more for you money if you look elsewhere. You can get rooms in that price range around Sukhumvit for sure, but they might be dumps compared to what you can get elsewhere. A couple of examples that come to mind are the Grand and Chaophraya Park, both on Ratchadapisek Road. They're under $40 a night right now and very nice places for that amount. The Chaophraya Park is very close to a subway station, making it easy to get where-ever you want to go in the city.

In your range the following are good 3* hotels. They are showing their age but are clean and within walking distance of skytrain
Ambassador - Tower wing
Regency Park
Swiss Park
Tai Pan

Check Direct Rooms for some of the best rates for the above.
http://directrooms.com/thailand/hote...els/price1.htm

the pool might be the problem at that price range..

excellent tips - thanks!

The closest thing to a city center is the Siam Square area in my opinion. That is where the skytrain system is centered. You are a short walking distance from Siam Square, MBK, Siam Discovery, Siam Paragon, etc.

I think the hotel with the best location in this area is the Siam Novotel, but I think it is out of your price range. I like Pathumwan House on Soi Kasemsan 1, but it doesn't have a pool.

There are other budget hotels on Soi Kasemsan 1 that are in your price range: The Reno, Wendy House, & Star Hotel. But I don't know if they have pools?

what was said before, that Bangkk doesn't havea city center, is not quite true. For what you are looking for, Sukhumvit is definitely the area you should stay at. Of course, Sukhumvit is a long road (it actualy goes down to Pattaya
But most hotels are within easy reach of all the attractions, shopping, dining, going out etc.. Also, along Sukhumvit Road, the Skytrai isdriving. This means you can move along this road in no time. It is very convenient.

For hotel on Sukhumvit just go to www.excelloz.com and on the Bangkok Hotels page you can search after areas. Just choose Sukhumvit and you get all the hotels. A 3 star house should be good for your price range.
For example:

http://www.excelloz.com/Bangkok/hote...ge_Soi_19.html
http://www.excelloz.com/Bangkok/hote..._Thong_Lo.html
http://www.excelloz.com/Bangkok/hotel-Manhattan.html

Enjoy your stay!

found a map of bkk finally. while siam is in the middle it was a bit expensive. Sukhmvit still works out to be cheaper and I liked Regency park for <50$ , american breakfast included + taxes. seems like a good deal. so is ambassador hotel but no prices posted for nov 06.

The Ambassador superior room in the tower will be about $55 from Nov1/06 on. Std room in the main bldg is $49. See
http://www.asiarooms.com/thailand/ba...mbassador.html

if you have not been to bkk before, some of the hotels and areas around sukhumvit are a bit doddy....not dangereous....just noisy and not nice...also some is the adult entertainment areas

i think of sukhumvit as being center city...i think of siam as at one extreme and silom as the other extreme...thus suk is sort of in the middle...

and Royal Hotel for $40 on tripadvisor said was a dump while Regency hotel on tripadvisor said there were cockroaches one time.

i'll check out ambassador hotel. For our last night on our way back from Chang Rai we're planning to splurge at the Mariott on the river in Bkk and at Anantara resort during our stay in Chang Rai. Hence i'm thinking suck it up at a dumpy hotel for 3 nights in BKK initially. But heck im deathly scared of cockroaches!

or maybe i'll go with earlier suggestion of Chaopraya park - even tho it snot city center im sure the skytrain shld us get around easily enough...

If a hotel is near the skytrain, it will be convenient to many locations.

Hi I recently booked us into a hotel near a skytrain. It is a small botique hotel Silom Serene off Silom road worked out $78 NZ 1800 baht per night including breakie. Has small pool and gym and does not seem too far out of the way. it has good reviews on both Tripadvisor and sawadee. We booked through sawadee

vac. i stay at the amb often, in the main tower, and i don't consider it dumpy. never saw a roach.

security is good, and they have a none smoking floor. the location is excellent as theres alot going on on soi 11.

its about $40 in the main tower, incl tax, and breakfast. i stayed in the new tower, and i don't think its worth the extra bucks. plus, its a walk to the tower.

two months ago, i saw the main wing for $31 on sawadee. i guess i have to pay the $40 now.

good luck.