The Train Hotel Hatyai Review

The Train Hotel Hatyai is the station hotel of Hat Yai Junction Railway Station, located in the station building itself. I’ve been wanting to try out The Train Hotel Hatyai for many years now, but never got the chance to as it was usually fully booked or too expensive compared with neighbouring hotels. On the Labour Day long weekend, the price was finally right for me to try The Train Hotel Hatyai.

Hat Yai Junction Railway Station

The façade of Hat Yai Junction Railway Station and The Train Hotel Hatyai.

The Train Hotel Hatyai

The lobby of The Train Hotel Hatyai is located at the driveway of Hat Yai Junction Railway Station, opposite the ticket counter area.

Check-in

The front desk of The Train Hotel Hatyai. Check-in is at 2pm, but I was able to leave my bag inside first before check-in time.

A deposit of 300 Baht or RM50 is taken by The Train Hotel Hatyai at check-in, refunded upon check-out.

There is a free one-way tuk-tuk service by The Train Hotel Hatyai for drop-off at Kim Yong Market or Lee Gardens, but both of which are completely walkable from The Train Hotel Hatyai itself.

There is also an airport transfer for 200 Baht per person, reasonable if you are a single traveller, but not 2 or more passengers, as a regular taxi costs 250 Baht which sits 4 persons.

A lift is available at The Train Hotel Hatyai. There are just 2 floors of rooms, Levels 2 and 3.

My room was at Level 3. There is an intricate lobby at Level 3 outside the lift, but it was non-air-conditioned and the weather was too hot to appreciate it.

The corridor of The Train Hotel Hatyai.

The Train Hotel Hatyai Standard Room

The interior of The Train Hotel Hatyai Standard Room. On first entry, I had to smack some bugs out of my way as fast as possible lest they get too comfortable with my presence. The floor also felt a little bit dusty, and I wiped it a little bit by damping the toilet doormat.

The room is spacious with a King-sized bed in the middle of the room with lots of aisle space around it.

This proved to be a first-world problem as the side table and charging socket was too far away from the bed, and the air-conditioning unit could not cool the room effectively.

A long table and luggage rack is available on the side of the room.

2 bottles of drinking water are provided on the side tray, along with soap.

2 bars of soap and 2 sachets of shampoo are placed on the tray. It’s been a while since I’ve seen sachets of shampoo.

An electric kettle is available in the room, but no coffee or tea was provided.

A minibar is available on the floor which was really powerful, turning everything into ice. Perhaps it was a freezer after all, instead of a fridge.

The luggage rack was convenient to leave my backpack on and for packing.

Wire hangers are available in the wardrobe.

Rooms are non-smoking with a 2000 Baht fine. Free ice is also advertised behind the main door, available on the 2nd floor.

Being “The Train Hotel”, an additional niche information of SRT Southern Line timetables are also posted behind the main door.

Toilet

The toilet was compact with the shower beside the toilet bowl.

The small sink area in the toilet, almost the same size as the toilet paper roll holder.

The shower head was placed too high for comfort, with the water loosing pressure by the time it landed on human-sized heights, becoming heavy mist instead.

The view out of my room window was pleasant but a bit underwhelming. Trains in further lines can be seen, but not any trains on the platform due to the platform shelters blocking the view.

If you don’t like trains, this will prove to be a greater annoyance as all announcements can be heard loud and clear from the room. To me, the loud announcements was a feature for relaxing trainspotting, but if you’re not into trains, this will be extremely annoying.

Conclusion

The Train Hotel Hatyai’s location in Hat Yai Junction Railway Station cannot be beaten for convenience if you are after convenience between train rides. The rooms are very big as well. However, cleanliness was not really up to standard with insects and a dusty floor in my room. The big room size also turned out to be a negative point as the air-conditioner couldn’t cool the room down effectively and evenly, even till the next morning. The high shower head position was also uncomfortable.

You may say that I should have held the shower head throughout my shower, but remember the shampoo sachet? Exactly.

Prices were high at neighbouring hotels on the Labour Day long weekend, and hence I had the opportunity of trying out The Train Hotel Hatyai, but if the rates go down on normal days, I don’t think I will be staying here again, especially when the hotel market in Hat Yai and Thailand in general is quite competitive.