Welcome to the first-ever RailTravel Stays blog post! In this series, I’ll be putting reviews only of accommodation near train stations – not every hotel that I stay at for each trip. Let me know if this series should be continued in the near future or I should just stick to transport.
@Hua Lamphong Hostel is conveniently situated opposite Hua Lamphong Railway Station and right outside Hua Lamphong MRT Station on the MRT Blue Line, offering easy access to Bangkok and beyond.
Despite its name of being a “hostel”, there are actually more private rooms than bunk beds in this establishment.
The lobby is rather spacious, similar to a hotel rather than a hostel.
I booked for myself a Single Bedroom for this trip.
The Single Bedroom comes with, well, a single bed.
However, the amenities available in the room are quite extensive for the price paid for this “hostel”. An in-room safe, TV, attached bathroom, towel and toiletries and even a minibar are provided.
There’s a mural of Hua Lamphong Railway Station as well.
The bath towel, Do Not Disturb/Make Up Room sign, extra toilet paper and remote controls for the TV and air-conditioning are placed at the corner of the bed.
Hangers are provided too. Also, despite being promoted as a room with no window, there are small frosted glass windows providing natural light in the room, and the one above the wash basin can open to allow natural air in.
The minibar is located below the wash basin.
The interior of the shower and toilet.
In the morning, buffet breakfast is available in the restaurant. Just pass your breakfast coupon (if included in your stay) to the staff and help yourself to breakfast. If breakfast is not included, it retails at 185 Baht per person.
It was a pretty fair spread with Rice Soup with Pork, sunny-side up eggs, ham and sausages.
Toast is available as well.
Outside of @Hua Lamphong Hostel, there are 3 7 Elevens around with less than 2 minutes walk from the hostel, access to the Hua Lamphong Railway Station is 98% fully sheltered (with the 2% a short 5-second run from the hostel to the MRT station exit in case of rain, which connects underground to the railway station) and with the MRT Blue Line just below, almost everywhere in central Bangkok is easily accessible by the MRT, BTS and Airport Link network without traffic jams. Chinatown (Yaowarat) is about 10 minutes away by foot, and the Marine Department Pier for the Chao Phraya Express Boat is about 15 minutes away by foot.
If there’s a downside, the elevator in the hostel runs really slowly, taking about half a minute to ascend each floor. To get around this, try asking for a room on the lower levels and take the stairs instead.
Overall, @Hua Lamphong Hostel was a clean, comfortable and convenient place to stay at, with qualities that sound more like a hotel rather than a hostel. @Hua Lamphong Hostel is probably my top choice if I’m using Bangkok as a base for rail trips around Thailand.
Looks good. I stopped staying overnight in Bangkok because of poor options near the train station.