In this guide
💡 The Short Version: For a first visit, stay beside a BTS station on Sukhumvit (Asok or Nana) or at Siam, where the two BTS lines meet; the train then reaches the river at Saphan Taksin and the Airport Rail Link at Phaya Thai. Stay in the Old Town or on the Chao Phraya if your days are the Grand Palace, Wat Pho and Wat Arun: the river boats beat the traffic. Silom and Sathorn suit Lumphini Park and the evenings, and Chinatown puts Yaowarat’s street food at the door. Check the walk to the station or pier, given for every hotel below. Do not rent a condo flat by the night: it is illegal unless the building holds a hotel licence.
The areas, compared
| Area | Nearest station or pier | Good for | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sukhumvit (Asok and Nana) | BTS Asok and MRT Sukhumvit; BTS Nana | A first visit, food, malls, the train to everywhere | Far from the Old Town; Nana is a late-night district |
| Siam and Ploenchit | BTS Siam, National Stadium, Chit Lom, Ploenchit | Malls, Jim Thompson House, the interchange | Crowded; the temples are a train and boat away |
| Silom and Sathorn | BTS Sala Daeng and Saphan Taksin; MRT Si Lom | Lumphini Park, the Mahanakhon SkyWalk, dinner | Busy main roads |
| The Chao Phraya riverside | Sathorn Central Pier at BTS Saphan Taksin | Hotels with pools and a boat to the Skytrain | A boat ride from the train |
| The Old Town | Tha Tien and Phra Arthit piers; MRT Sanam Chai | The Grand Palace, Wat Pho, Khao San Road | No Skytrain; nights are loud near Khao San |
| Chinatown | MRT Wat Mangkon and Hua Lamphong | Yaowarat’s street food at night | Heavy street traffic |
The hotels
Walks to the station or pier are the minutes Hotels.com prints for each hotel. Every hotel below links to its Hotels.com page. The best months and the monsoon are in the best time to visit Bangkok.
Sukhumvit
Sukhumvit Road runs east from Nana through Asok to Phrom Phong, with numbered side streets called sois. The BTS Sukhumvit Line follows it, and at Asok an elevated walkway links the BTS to the MRT Blue Line. Nana, one stop before Asok, is also a late-night entertainment district. The food courts and shops of Terminal 21 are at Asok, and the food guide has Rung Rueang Tung and Sorn on Soi 26.
Sukhumvit Road at Asok, with Terminal 21. Photo: Chainwit., Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Grande Centre Point Hotel Terminal 21
Sukhumvit Soi 19 · 3 minutes from BTS Asok · pool, spa, children’s club · Hotels.comad
The hotel sits in the Terminal 21 complex, where Pier 21’s food court is on the fifth floor of the mall, and the walk to Asok is three minutes. It is across the city from the Grand Palace and Wat Pho, which are a train and a river boat away.
Hyatt Regency Bangkok Sukhumvit
Nana · 2 minutes from BTS Nana, with a skybridge to the station · pool, rooftop lounge · Hotels.comad
A skybridge runs from the hotel to Nana station, so the walk to the train is under cover. Nana is a late-night district, and Asok, where the MRT starts, is one stop away.
Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit
Between Nana and Asok · 4 minutes from BTS Nana and 4 from BTS Asok · pool, spa · Hotels.comad
Equidistant from two stations and about 10 minutes’ walk from Terminal 21, with a weather-protected walkway to BTS Asok and MRT Sukhumvit. It is a Sukhumvit address, not a river or Old Town one.
Siam and Ploenchit
Siam is the interchange where the BTS Sukhumvit and Silom lines cross, with the Siam Paragon, Siam Center and MBK malls around it. Jim Thompson House is a short walk from National Stadium station, and ICONSIAM and Siam Paragon are covered in their own guide.
Siam Kempinski Hotel Bangkok
Behind Siam Paragon · 4 minutes from BTS Siam · four outdoor pools, spa · Hotels.comad
The hotel stands beside Siam Paragon, and the restaurant Sra Bua is on site. It is a five-star hotel, so expect the top price band.
Centara Grand at CentralWorld
Ratchaprasong · attached to the CentralWorld complex, with an indoor link to the mall · pool · Hotels.comad
A large hotel on the Ratchaprasong crossing, one of the busiest junctions in the city. Expect a queue for the lifts at peak times.
Hotel Indigo Bangkok Wireless Road
Ploenchit · 7 minutes from BTS Ploenchit, 11 from Chit Lom, near Central Embassy · pool, rooftop bar · Hotels.comad
A hotel with a pool and a rooftop bar near Central Embassy. The nearest station is 7 minutes away, so check the walk against your luggage.
ibis Bangkok Siam
Near Siam Square · 6 minutes from BTS National Stadium, 8 from Siam Paragon · Hotels.comad
A budget chain hotel between National Stadium and the Siam malls, 8 minutes’ walk from Siam Paragon. Hotels.com lists it as a three-star, so expect a basic room.
Lub d Bangkok Siam
Near the National Stadium · 6 minutes from BTS Siam, 7 from National Stadium · hostel · Hotels.comad
A hostel beside the National Stadium, close to MBK and the Siam malls. Some rooms share bathrooms, and Hotels.com guests report street noise, so ask for a quieter floor.
Silom and Sathorn
Silom and Sathorn run between Rama IV Road and the river. The BTS Silom Line and the MRT Blue Line serve them, Lumphini Park is at the north-east end, and the Mahanakhon SkyWalk is at BTS Chong Nonsi.
Dusit Thani Bangkok
98 Rama IV Road, Silom · 5 minutes from Lumphini Park · six restaurants, spa, pool · Hotels.comad
A hotel on Rama IV Road, 5 minutes’ walk from Lumphini Park, with six restaurants. It is a five-star hotel, so expect the top price band, and it is on a main road rather than a quiet soi.
lebua at State Tower
1055/111 Silom Road, Bang Rak · Hotels.comad
The hotel runs Sirocco and the Sky Bar (see where to eat). Sirocco takes a deposit, which comes off the bill, and enforces a smart-casual dress code; the Sky Bar takes walk-ins only.
State Tower, home of lebua. Photo: Supanut Arunoprayote, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.
SO/ Bangkok
North Sathorn Road · 5 minutes from Lumphini Park · two restaurants, spa, pool · Hotels.comad
A hotel 5 minutes’ walk from Lumphini Park, formerly the Sofitel So. The Old Town temples are a train, a pier and a boat away.
The Chao Phraya riverside
The big river hotels have gardens, pools and their own boats to the pier at BTS Saphan Taksin, so a visitor on the river still reaches the Skytrain. The hotels are compared in hotels on the Chao Phraya River.
The Peninsula’s tower on the Chao Phraya. Photo: Supanut Arunoprayote, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.
Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok
Oriental Avenue, Charoen Krung Soi 40 · free shuttle boat to Sathorn Central Pier · Hotels.comad
A hotel that opened in 1876 as The Oriental, and whose restaurant Anne-Sophie Pic at Le Normandie holds two Michelin stars in the Michelin Guide Thailand 2026. It is a five-star hotel, so expect the top price band, and it is not on a rail line: every trip to the Skytrain starts with the boat.
The Peninsula Bangkok
Thonburi (west) bank, about five minutes by car from ICONSIAM and Wat Pho · free shuttle boat to Sathorn Central Pier · four restaurants, pool · Hotels.comad
A tower on the west bank with a pool and four restaurants. It is across the river from the city, so the boat decides your day.
Shangri-La Bangkok
89 Soi Wat Suan Plu, New Road · 6 minutes from BTS Saphan Taksin · 802 rooms, two outdoor pools · Hotels.comad
The walk to Saphan Taksin is six minutes, the only river hotel here with a walk rather than a boat. At 802 rooms, check-in and breakfast run at big-hotel pace.
The Shangri-La on the Chao Phraya. Photo: Chainwit., Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Anantara Riverside Bangkok Resort
Thonburi (west) bank · free shuttle boat across the river · lagoon-style pool, spa, two tennis courts · Hotels.comad
A resort with a spa and tennis courts on the west bank. Everything in the city is across the river.
The Old Town
Rattanakosin Island is the old royal quarter, on foot from the Grand Palace and Wat Pho. There is no Skytrain here: use the river boats and the MRT Blue Line at Sanam Chai, as the Rattanakosin old city walk does.
Sala Rattanakosin Bangkok
East bank, opposite Wat Arun · within about 10 minutes’ walk of Wat Pho and the Grand Palace · rooftop bar · Hotels.comad
A riverside hotel facing Wat Arun. Not every room faces the river, so book a river-view room, and expect to reach the Skytrain by boat or taxi.
Riva Surya Bangkok
23 Phra Arthit Road · 6 minutes from Khao San Road, 20 from the Grand Palace · riverside pool, spa · Hotels.comad
A riverside hotel with a pool in Banglamphu. The walk to the Grand Palace is 20 minutes, so you will use the Phra Arthit pier for the river boat.
ibis Styles Bangkok Khaosan Viengtai
42 Rambuttri Road, Banglamphu · short walk to Khao San Road · outdoor pool · Hotels.comad
A budget hotel with a pool in the Khao San backpacker district, which is busy into the night.
Chinatown
Yaowarat is the Chinese quarter and its main street food strip; the Chinatown and Talat Noi walk covers it.
Shanghai Mansion Bangkok
Yaowarat Road · spa, restaurant, bar · Hotels.comad
A boutique hotel on Yaowarat Road itself, so the street food is at the door. Hotels.com guests report some rooms with no window and street noise: check the room type.
From the airport to each area
Fares are from Bangkok airport to the city and Bangkok public transport.
- Siam and Sukhumvit: the Airport Rail Link to Phaya Thai is 45 THB, and Phaya Thai is also a BTS station, so the Sukhumvit Line takes you on to Siam, Asok and Nana. From Makkasan (35 THB) a covered walkway leads to Phetchaburi on the MRT Blue Line.
- Silom, Sathorn and Chinatown: ride to Makkasan and change at Phetchaburi to the MRT Blue Line, which serves Si Lom, Hua Lamphong and Wat Mangkon.
- The river and the Old Town: take the BTS to Saphan Taksin, where Sathorn Pier is beside exit 2, then the orange-flag Chao Phraya Express boat, 19 THB flat, to Tha Tien for Wat Pho or Tha Chang for the Grand Palace.
- From Don Mueang: the SRT Dark Red Line to Krung Thep Aphiwat is 33 THB, and an underground passage there leads to Bang Sue station on the MRT Blue Line.
Scams and deposits
- The “hotel is closed” tout. Drivers at airports, stations and temple gates say your hotel is shut or full and offer a “better” one. They are paid a commission. Decline and give the booked address.
- Card pre-authorisation. Hotels hold a deposit on a card or in cash at check-in; it is released after the room is checked.
- Condo flats. Daily rentals of condo flats to tourists are illegal without a hotel licence.
For the journey in, see Bangkok airport to the city and Bangkok public transport. The Bangkok guide has the entry rules, and 3 days in Bangkok shows where the sights fall.
Common questions
What is the best area to stay in Bangkok for a first visit?
Near a BTS Skytrain station on Sukhumvit (Asok or Nana) or at Siam, where both BTS lines meet. From there the train reaches the river piers at Saphan Taksin and the airport link at Phaya Thai without road traffic. Stay in the Old Town or on the river instead if your days are the Grand Palace, Wat Pho and Wat Arun.
Is it better to stay near a BTS or MRT station in Bangkok?
Yes. Every hotel on this page gives its walk to a station or pier, and the difference between 3 minutes and 15 matters in the heat. Road traffic can add an hour to a short taxi ride.
Do riverside hotels have a boat to the Skytrain?
Several of the large riverside hotels run a free shuttle boat to Sathorn Central Pier, which is in front of BTS Saphan Taksin. Hours differ by hotel, so ask for the timetable and the last boat back before you book.
What is the hotel scam to watch for in Bangkok?
A taxi or tuk-tuk driver says your hotel is closed, full or flooded and offers to take you to another one that pays him a commission. Give the driver your booked address and ask for the meter.
Can you rent a condo flat by the night in Bangkok?
Only if the building holds a hotel licence. Daily and weekly rentals of ordinary condominium flats to tourists are illegal, and building security turns away guests with luggage. Book a registered hotel, serviced apartment or guesthouse.
