Silom City Hotel

The Silom City Hotel has a welcoming vibe, as it is a family-run small hotel with a small staff. The compact lobby consists of a couple of comfortable armchairs and a sofa as well as a wooden front desk. Wooden panelling lines the walls and a glass chandelier gives the lobby a modestly elegant atmosphere, while thoughtful touches include a newspaper rack and a bookshelf stocked with various reads guests can borrow. Handy maps of Bangkok displayed on the walls are another helpful detail. In addition to the indoor area, there is a small outdoor garden with patio furniture, as well as a lovely lotus flower-filled fountain outside the front door next to the hotel's shrine. Guests here come from all categories, including families, couples, and business travelers, and include domestic Thai and foreign customers.

Silom City Hotel is situated on a small side lane running between Silom and Surawong Roads, both busy thoroughfares in central Bangkok. Despite the fact that the Patpong Night Market and infamous Patpong red light district are a 15-minute walk from the hotel, it lies outside of the tourist zone and feels quiet. The immediate neighborhood has a local vibe and is home to many Indian restaurants and hole-in-the-wall eateries. It's an excellent spot for exploring and feels off the beaten track. The colorful Sri Maha Mariamman Hindu temple is just down the street, and both the Chao Phraya River and Lumphini Park are essentially equidistant to the east and west, each less than 10 minute away by tuk-tuk or taxi. The Chong Nonsi BTS Skytrain station is a 10-minute walk from the hotel, though reaching the tourist sights around the Grand Palace is best done by taxi, a trip that can take 20 to 40 minutes depending on traffic. Overall, it's a great spot for those who want to see local life and yet close enough to all the action and main tourist spots. Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang Airports both take 35 to 50 minutes to reach depending on traffic.

Silom City Hotel has 70 rooms and suites to choose from, all of which are spacious (starting at 22 square meters, or 237 square feet) and tastefully decorated, with white walls, wooden floors, and crisp white beds that give them a light and airy feel. There is no wall art, though, and rooms can feel a bit austere. Simple, but stylish, wooden furniture includes work desks and nightstands, and all rooms feature wall-mounted flat-screen TVs with cable channels, minibars, electric kettles for coffee or tea, air-conditioning, safes, and two free bottles of water. Bathrooms are spacious and have walk-in showers or shower/tub combos with rainfall showerheads (some suites have both showers and soaking tubs). Some of the higher category rooms and suites have private balconies with nice views of the Central Business District and the surrounding skyscrapers. Executive Suites even come with small kitchenettes.

Though there's no swimming pool on-site, the hotel does have a decent fitness center consisting of a few weight machines, free weights, and cardio machines. There is a meeting room downstairs, which is also used as a private karaoke lounge that guests can rent. The business corner consists of a PC computer. The hotel's Silom City Cuisine restaurant and cafe serves buffet breakfasts (only included in some rates), as well as Thai, Chinese, and western dishes for both lunch and dinner. Wi-Fi is free throughout, though some guests have complained of slow and spotty service.