Bed Station Hostel

This six-story hostel launched in 2015, with contemporary industrial-hipster decor to boot. The entry is fronted by a black-iron facade that resembles the grills found in vintage elevators. There's a small platform area with a few chairs and tables for guests to socialize or smoke, but the air-conditioned lobby tends to be much busier. This large common area features a mix of red brick walls and big gray industrial pillars. The long bar counter features a big pot of continuously refilled coffee for guests throughout the day. The vibe is social, with loud pop music and a long table for guests to work on their computers. A TV usually plays international news in one corner. Upstairs is a mezzanine area with lots of bean bag chairs for reading, plus a lending library and some guest computers. An elevator connects to the first five floors, but not the top floor. Most of the people who stay here are overseas tourists under 30.

The hostel is located right off of Pherchaburi Road, a three-minute walk from the Ratchathewi BTS station. The area is full of hostels, though there are a few proper hotels in the area along with restaurants, mini-marts, and a cat cafe within a five-minute walk. The famous Jim Thompson House is a nine-minute walk from the hostel, but most other tourist attractions require taking a taxi or public transportation. The popular backpacker hub of Khaosan Road is a 15- to 20-minute drive east of the hotel. Sukhumvit is a short ride away on the skytrain -- Nana takes about eight minutes to reach by train. The Grand Palace takes about 45 minutes to reach by bus during peak traffic, or about 20 minutes by car. Wat Arun is about 25 minutes away by car. Travelers with backpacks looking for a cheap way to reach Suvarnabhumi Airport will need to either take a cab or walk about eight minutes to the SRTET City Line, which drops passengers about a 20-minute walk from the airport. 

This hostel offers a variety of lodging options -- all with air-conditioning -- ranging from Private Rooms (with or without en-suite bathrooms) up to Eight-Bed Mixed Dorms, the cheapest option available. All units follow a similar decor scheme to what's found in common areas, with lots of red brick and gray cement accented by light-wood furniture. Dorms with four and six beds are also available, and while most are mixed-sex, the hostel does offer a female-only option in the six-bed configuration. Each dorm is key-card accessible so that guests staying in other rooms can't enter, and each bed is assigned its own locker that can only be opened by keycard. Some dorms have windows, others do not. Each bed is like its own little world, with a private curtain and a key card-activated light switch and charging center. Beds are big enough to sleep taller people, and both bottom and top bunks have high ceilings that make it easy to comfortably sit up. Plush linens and thick pillows are provided, but towels cost extra to rent (except for guests in Private Rooms). Wi-Fi is free. Private Rooms follow the same sleek decor scheme found in the dorms and come with flat-screen TVs and beanbag chairs. Those with their own en-suite facilities feature small walk-in showers with toiletries and hairdryers. Dorm guests and those in Private Rooms without bathrooms have to rely on shared facilities. There's a private unisex toilet on each floor, plus separate men's and women's shower rooms with private stalls on the fourth floor. The ladies shower room is the bigger of the two and comes with a vanity table and hairdryers. Big bottles of shampoo and shower gel are provided in all of the shower stalls. 

Facilities at this hotel are geared toward backpackers and are pretty minimal. Breakfast is included in room rates, with simple breads and fruit, and there's free coffee all day long with soft drinks and beer for sale at the ground-floor cafe. Other features include hostel-wide free Wi-Fi, coin-operated laundry facilities with free detergent, and big lockers for storing luggage (with locks available to rent). Unlike many hostels, there are no cooking facilities for guests who want to self-cater.