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The first time I went to Bangkok, way back 2005, my family and I stayed at First House Hotel. We stayed in adjoining twin rooms so we had more than enough space, and we loved their buffet breakfast. First House was also just across the road from Pantip Plaza — we didn’t buy any electronics, but we did eat at their food court, and one time the dish I ordered was so spicy, I downed my entire glass of Coke after just one bite. My proudest moment of that vacation was when, on our way back to the hotel after a day of sightseeing, the taxi driver had difficulty ascertaining where, exactly, First House Hotel was, and I confidently said, “Petchaburi, soi sip-gao.” #IKnowThai 😀
My second visit to Bangkok was in 2008; I was with a friend and we thought we’d try a hostel in Khaosan Road, for the experience. The Marco Polo — that was where we stayed. The name sounded reputable enough but, well, we wanted an experience and we got it. Our room was directly above a nightclub and the wooden walls shook all night (like, literally) from the noise. The walls were graffitied with stuff like “Free Tibet” (really made a difference to the well-being of Tibet, I’m sure), the sheets didn’t feel too clean (inadequate lighting made proper investigation impossible), and we woke up the next morning quite itchy (rendering proper investigation unnecessary). Thank God we were only booked there for one night.
Third time’s the charm
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My third and latest visit was in 2012, again with my family. This time we stayed at On8 Sukhumvit, a boutique hotel that we chose primarily for its proximity to a BTS (Skytrain) station, and we were quite happy with it. Their rooms were nice, if a bit small, and had proper amenities.
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Though I really must object to their choice of bathroom artwork!
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The Nana station of the BTS Sukhumvit line was literally just outside the hotel’s front door.
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And there were lots of good places to eat in the area.
In short, On8 isn’t exactly the Mandarin Oriental but it was just what we needed, and it’s what I recommend to people who ask for personal recommendations on where to stay in Bangkok.
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Where to Stay in Bangkok: On8 Sukhumvit
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