I decided to stay near Yaowarat (Chinatown in Bangkok) on my last trip as accommodation is likely to be cheaper and i wanted to explore more than just shopping malls!
After some active searching on hotels.com, we chanced upon Prime Hotel Central Station Bangkok. With a review of 8.0 on the website, the price of about S$74 a night (including taxes and breakfast) is a steal for a 4-star hotel.
Interesting part about Prime Hotel Central Station Bangkok is that the lobby is on the 12th floor; this is somewhat similar to the 6th floor lobby at Amari Hotel Johor Bahru although the ground level is a lot less inviting for Prime Hotel.
Tall-ceiling reception as it covers two floors. Do note that you have to take two sets of elevators in order to get to your room; first from ground level to 12th floor lobby and then from lobby to your accommodation. With just two lifts serving 150 rooms, it could be a frustration in peak periods.
10th floor - the doors were all red! While red can symbolize good luck in Chinese custom, it's visually alike to blood and that didn't sit quite well with Alex who is a scaredy cat!
It didn't help when we stepped into the Prime, City View room and saw a relatively strong infusion of red or some shades of red in its decor! Now, i am honestly quite alright with it and thought it's a good play of the hotel's placement right at the door step of Chinatown.
Anyway, there was a strange occurrence on our first night; i have the tendency to sleep on the bed's left and thought i did so at Prime Hotel. However, i was on the bed's right the next morning.
Room in the daytime; i have always preferred hotel rooms with large windows as they let in a lot of sunlight and that makes the room a lot brighter and less eerie.
Not to mention that there's a chance that the view outside would be impressive, like the one at Prime Hotel; i can spot the Hua Lamphong train station, baiyoke tower, the two golden domes from The Berkeley Hotel Pratunam (where i stayed a year ago).
Back to the room; the sofa should be moved next to the windows where i could relax by having a cup of hot tea while enjoying the night view of Bangkok.
32-inch, study area and basic hotel amenities like mini-fridge, safe etc. WiFi was provided for free but signal wasn't strong enough; to the extent i preferred to use my mobile data instead.
Bathroom and amenities; nothing spectacular that would wow me.
Shower area; one dispenser for both body and hair wash and there's no bloody door to keep the water in. This means wet floor most of the times unless we position the shower head in a direction that not much water would splash out!
Breakfast at the Station Cafe; pretty decent (i enjoyed the basil pork and braised pork) with an okay spread even though i am still very much in love with the breakfast offering at Kritthai Residence. By the way, you can ask for omelette from the egg counter.
Rather large gym on level two (open from 6 am till 10 pm) where i spent about 30 minutes working out everyday! My sisters were actually in Bangkok around the same period as i was and my younger sister, a gym rat, was complaining how lousy hers was and how she wished she had booked her accommodation at Prime Hotel instead.
Lobby from the gym floor; aside from the gym, there's a spa on the same level. While pricing would normally be more expensive than street stores, i recalled this hotel space was having a promotion before 4.00 pm or something and the rate for an hour-long Thai massage was actually quite comparable in price.
Open courtyard next to the lobby with a function hall. I initially thought it's just a disused space until the third day where a Thai wedding actually took place at the hall.
Hall at night with fluttering backdrop curtains; if not for the fact that there were still plenty of people at that time, eeriness would have kicked in!
Main reason to check out the courtyard; the bar counter towards the end. I would recommend you to go over and chill out at night, even if you don't drink.
In addition to the stronger wind given the bar's location 12 floors up, it commanded an equally great view like the one we had in the room although it's a different scene.
It showed the Chinatown, a traditional commercial belt of Bangkok; ahead of us would be Wat Traimit, famous for its 5,500 kilograms solid gold buddha statue!
There's a reason for the bar's location and for its popularity come evening time.
It's a fantastic place to catch the setting sun!
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Address
23, 34-35 Tri Mit Rd, Khwaeng Talat Noi,
Khet Samphanthawong,
Krung Thep Maha Nakhon 10100, Thailand
Location Map
As above.
Directions from MRT Station
Exit 1 from Hua Lamphong MRT station, walk straight and cross two roads. You would see Prime Hotel Central Station Bangkok in front of you.
Website
Pricing
Prime, City View Room - S$367.98 for 5 nights
(inclusive of all taxes via hotels.com)