If “checking out different hotels in Bangkok” qualifies as a hobby, I will totally list that pastime on my future online dating profiles. Because believe it or not, it really is one of my faves. I’ve now tested out upwards of a dozen different lodging options in the city, ranging from Khao San Road cheapies to swank suites on Sukhumvit. Bangkok has some of the best value luxury in the world, and I’m consistently impressed by what you can get for $100 or less in a hotel room here.
Previously, I probably would have listed my favorites as Rikka Inn for Khao San, Lub D for a proper boutique hostel experience, and the Aloft for a high end high rise. But U Sukhumvit was about to give the Aloft a run for its money.
Leaving our plush digs in Koh Samui, our pack thinned to three — Chris, Brian, and I made our way to Bangkok in spite of what appeared to be our own self determination to miss both our ferry and flight. There, we’d meet up with Chief Travel Buddy Heather, who was in the process of relocating to Bali to set up a new chapter of her business. It had been, like, a whopping two months since our European adventures and so we were long overdue for a little debauchery.
I was well looking forward to four nights in one of my favorite cities with some of my favorite people. But where to stay?
Long ago, a new booking site had offered me some credit in order to try them out. It took me a while to get around to actually using the credit — I frequently stay with friends, rent long term apartments, stay in hostels or travel to obscure locations not featured on booking sites.
But finally, in Thailand, I got the chance. Browsing through Bangkok options, I was immediately intrigued when I came across U Sukhumvit. I was also kind of suspicious at first — no one has prices cheaper than Agoda, my normal go-to booking site for Southeast Asia. A reminder to always shop around!
But back to Bangkok. We fell crazy in love with this hotel! Not only is it brand new with an ultra modern design style right up my alley, it had really innovative policies that I’ve never encountered before at any hotel. For example, a 24 hour check-in, check-out policy. If you check-in at 7pm, you don’t have to check out until 7pm on the day of your departure. How cool is that?! I loathe the standard check in and out times at most hotels and wanted to full on mouth kiss the concierge when he was telling me about this approach.
Also, no more sleeping through breakfast — if you miss the standard morning breakfast hours in Uzzie restaurant (more gushing on that below), you can order your complimentary breakfast anywhere, any time of day — if you wake up mid afternoon and want your eggs served poolside, why not? And your welcome drink is whatever you want from the minibar — they had me at Diet Coke upon check in. You also get to pick what pillows, soaps and teas are put in your room, which is kind of fun.
But mostly, have you seen this rooftop?
U Sukhumvit has all the standard amenities of a high-end Sukhumvit area hotel — rooftop pool, free wifi and water, gorgeous gym, bar, and restaurant, and a complimentary tuk tuk shuttle to the sky train. That complimentary shuttle is key, too, as the hotel is located quite far down Soi 15 from the main drag of Sukhumvit. While I was kind of dismayed at the distance at first, between the free bikes and the free shuttle, it quickly faded from my mind.
And while we spent most of our time rooftop, when we were in the rooms, those were pretty heavenly too.
We were also impressed with the food at the hotel. Breakfast buffets are one of my favorite things in the world about staying at hotels, and this one did not disappoint. I also give a thumbs up to the snacks and lunches we ordered poolside, and a double thumbs up to the buy-one-get-one-free happy hour at the rooftop bar from 4-10pm each night.
And here’s the best part: the price! Standard room prices fluctuate but seem to settle around $75 a night.
The takeaway? You should really stay at U Sukhumvit.
What’s your favorite Bangkok hotel?
This looks amazing. I love the rooftop infinity pool. Bangkok can be crazy, so having a bit of tranquillity back at the hotel is really important to me.
Holy gorgeous hotel, Batman!! I would stay in this place in a heartbeat. Love the innovative policies…yes I will take my eggs poolside, thankyouverymuch. And yes I WILL check out at 4pm when my hangover starts to fade, khopkhunmaaakkha!
I know right? I love when I check into a hotel and they are like, congratulations on our complimentary breakfast toast and coffee, which can be enjoyed in the lobby from 6:12am-7:14am. YEAH THANKS.
Ummm… YES!! This place is gorgeous! Even here on Roatan $75/night doesn’t get you much. I would so stay at this hotel, it’s lovely!
Definitely one of the benefits to traveling with someone else, too… $50 or $75 is pretty high for me alone but split it and two and yup, I think I can swing that!
I had spent about an hour on Booking.com trying to pick a hotel, unable to make a decision. Then I saw your post and booked U Sukhumvit straight away via Travelpony. Talk about perfect timing! Will report back next month how I liked it 🙂
Yay Dani! I’m so excited for you! Ugh so wish I was going to be there so we could meet up. Ah well, enjoy Bangkok and let me know what you think of the hotel!
I think that’s the greatest hobby ever!
This looks soooo nice….When I see an infinity pool I’m SOLD.
I actually like the 24 hour check-in, check-out policy. I never got to know it before I went traveling around Asia. Now I’m currently in Oman, and here all the hotels have a 24 hour policy…And I’m loving it 🙂
That’s awesome, I didn’t know it was common anywhere in the world. I LOVE IT! You just gave me a reason to be intrigued by Oman 🙂
Hi Asa. The 24 hour policy you mentioned seems interesting. Just a question: How does it work if you arrive 2 am of Sat and leave at 8 pm of Sun, next day? Would you pay for one night?
Hey Alex,
Great to know about TravelPony. Are the good deals specific to SouthEast Asia or in the US and Europe too?
Regards,
Rekha
They have hotels all over the world (though like I said in some places the selection is limited, most of their inventory seems to be in the US and Europe) and these codes work for any of them. Let me know if you try them out!
Oh. Wow. Another hotel to add to my list! That check in policy though?! As someone who currently runs a hotel it would take some serious co-ordination to leverage that kinda deal! Awesome for the guests though. And the price?! Just wow.
That alone kind of made me fall in love with this hotel forever. ALL ABOUT IT!
I love the innovative policies of this hotel! I usually tend to miss complimentary breakfasts at hotels. Call me crazy but I’m rarely hungry first thing in the morning, or anywhere near then. I would LOVE to stay here next time I’m in town!
I mean, I’m basically always starving the second I wake up 🙂 But after a big night out, I might not wake up until after the usual breakfast times have passed…
Like the concept of Travelpony, will be interesting to see how it evolves!
I hope it keeps growing, would love to see more hotels on their roster!
Thanks for the tip!, we changed our hotel that we will be staying in for 4 night in Panama city end or the month to a much nicer one. Close to the Carnval street parades while still paying the same amount and having a small rooftop pool for our 2 year old.
Great deal with discount over discount. Never heared of this site before so nice tip!
Awesome Tikva! I considered going to Panama City for Carnival this month, jealous you’re going to see it 🙂 But happy for you that you nabbed a great deal!
TRULY ENJOYABLE. But how is staying in a dorm these days for you? No more? 🙂
Actually dorms aren’t very common in Bangkok, the cheaper end tends to be small guesthouses and the dorm beds I’d stayed in (at the Lub D brand) are actually more expensive than a private room at the guesthouse! But anyway, Bangkok is really one of my favorite places to splash out due to the great value — I doubt I’ll do dorms there again.
I LOVE anything on a rooftop, but especially a pool. Last time I stayed at a home-stay in Bangkok, and next time I think I’ll splurge on a place like this in Sukhumvit. I love Bangkok, so hopefully I’ll be back soon 🙂
Tell me about it! I stayed at one more cool hotel I’ll share coming up on my way out of Thailand, but I think when I return I’ll be back here at this one…
So you totally just won me over with this, this’ll be the first place I check out when I return to Bangkok later this year (fingers crossed). I won’t even have to search! WHY CAN’T ALL HOTELS BE LIKE THIS? Thanks for another new discovery by way of TravelPony, could always use a money-saving resource!
I know you’re a Vegas girl like me too — they have a ton of great deals for that city too 🙂
I really appreciate you passing on the savings, Alex! Just signed up for Travel Pony, can’t wait to use it 🙂
Let me know if you find any great deals! I’m keeping me eyes on Vegas for this summer…
WOW what an amazing Hotel! Love the decor and that you can have yoru complimentary breakfast at any time of day – more hotels need to do that! So cheap too. I will definitely be looking into staying there when I am in Bangkok later this year 🙂
Hope you love it as much as I have!
Totally worthy bio if you ask me & a great hobby 🙂 You’ve sold me on Travel Pony, cheers for that.
Let me know how it goes when you check it out, Anna!
Haha I better list that on my online dating profile too, because I’m always staying somewhere new in BKK. I love the city, though, and this place looks sooo nice.
It has such a fun and funky hotel scene, how could you not?!
I don’t have an online dating profile but I still would like to test these out! Looks like the place has changed A LOT since I was there – I need to get back!
Ha ha, I don’t have one either… buy maybe someday 🙂
This is a good looking hotel. We are looking for a place to stay when we get back into Bangkok after Koh Lanta. Think we might have just found the place.
We just stayed at TENFACE in Bangkok and that is a super nice place. Another one of our faves is The Warehouse. Great design in an awesome location.
Those two are very high on my list of places I want to try out! Great to have a personal recommendation for both!
Nice hotel!! My favorite ever is in Bangkok — the Sofitel SO.
Ah, it’s still very much on my list of places to try. Your post made it look drool worthy!
OMG and I thought the Chatrium was amazing! I am SO staying here when I’m in Bangkok for New Years! That rooftop is the bomb.com! p.s. if you’ve never stayed at the Chatrium Riverside Hotel, try it out 🙂 It really is fantastic.
I never have, Jenna! Adding it to the list!
That rooftop and view are totally amazing. What a great spot!
It’s definitely a great base for any trip to Bangkok.
I have just signed up for travelpony… I will be in Bamgkok end of Feb so may check out this hotel and treat myself 🙂 I am a sucker for roof top pools and gyms!
Let me know if you end up there Sally — hope you’ll love it as much as I did!
Very cool site—and hotel!
Perfect! We can stay here when you come visit me in Thailand 😀
Hey! So, I am currently planning my first trip to Thailand with my husband. I was contemplating the U Sukhumvit for our first night in Bangkok, then I came across your blog on Pinterest (which I’m loving btw) and now I’m pretty much set on staying there.
I was just wondering how you got to the hotel from the airport? We are trying to avoid taxis as much as possible and I know that it isn’t super far from the Airport Link. Do you think that it is walkable at 11pm? or do you have any other suggestions?
I’d love your feedback!
Hey Chantelle, as there were three of us and we were coming from the regional airport (not BKK) we just hopped in a cab. May I ask why you are trying to avoid them? I love Bangkok taxis for being cheap and comfortable — you just have to hold out for one that agrees to take the meter, and from the airport they have no choice! Considering your late arrival and that you’ll have luggage in hand I’d grab a cab. Once you’re settled, you can pretty much take the Skytrain everywhere, which is clean and convenient and avoids Sukhumvit traffic! Hope that helps 🙂
Thanks for the advice! We will probably do just that! I think I wanted to avoid them because I had heard from so many people how they felt like all of the cabs were trying to scam them. Honestly, I think I just need to stop over planning and reading trip advisor reviews and bad experiences. haha (:
Ha, well, the cabs can be frustrating as, especially to those they can tell are first time visitors, they will often refuse to take the meter. I just close the door and wait for the next one — I refuse to pay above-meter prices and the longer I spend in Thailand the less often I’m asked to. But coming from the airport you will have no issue! Best of luck!
enjoy your blog, and love the funny bits … “Aloft for a high end”
Ha, I’m not sure what’s humorous about that line but I’ll always take a compliment!
Hi Alex! I know this is an old post, but I’m planning a trip to Thailand now (my first!) with my fiance and was thinking of booking this hotel (it’s so cheap and looks awesome!). But we want to go and see some of the first timer things-grand palace area basically. Is it super hard to get over there? It doesn’t look like the Skytrain goes that far. Would you advise staying closer to that area or still staying in Sukhumvit and taking a taxi there? Thanks! And thanks for the tip on being adamant about taxi meters! I am totally going to do that!
Unfortunately no, the Skytrain very annoyingly does not extend to the Grand Palace/Khao San Road area. The good thing is cabs are cheap (on the meter anyway), the bad thing is traffic can be killer and is unpredictable. I often switch between staying in the Khao San Road area and the Sukhumvit area — each has their benefits, though the hotels in Sukhumvit have better value and luxury overall. If it’s your first time in Bangkok I would recommend taking a look at this tour, which covers a lot of the highlights and would get you back and forth to the Grand Palace no problem 🙂 Hope that helps!
I’ve heard of U Sathon and U Sukhumvit. I’ll check out travel pony for bookings. Have you ever used HotelQuickly? It’s a great app for booking places last-minute.
I haven’t, but I have used Hotel Tonight, which sounds similar!
Hey Alex, thanks for the awesome Travelpony tips, I just tried to book this hotel using your links but didn’t seem to get the $35 discount, help?
Thanks so much!
Hey Hannah, was the purchase for under $200? I’m pretty sure it needs to be that much for the discount to kick in. Let me know and I’ll look into it!
I think it was just a momentary glitch, I tried again today and it all worked fine, U Sukhumvit is booked! Sorry to bother you, and thanks so much for responding so promptly 🙂 Love your blog, it is always my go to for South East Asia xx
Thank you Hannah! You’re too kind. Hope you love U Sukhumvit as much as I have!
Hey Alex!
After reading your blog for years, I’m finally heading to Thailand! I’ll be in Bangkok in November for 2 nights on my way in and one night on my way out. I was thinking of staying at U Sukhumvit but because of my short time frame I really want to make sure that I’m not wasting too much time in transit. Is this a good spot for exploring BKK for a first timer?
Absolutely! And U Sukhumvit is great too because of their 24 hour check in/check out rule, so perfect for arriving and departing at weird hours to and from the airport!