A Review of the Nantra Silom Hotel in Bangkok

The Nantra Silom Hotel in Bangkok is an inexpensive guest friendly hotel located very close to all the action in the world famous Patpong redlight district.

The hotel is very easy to find once you know the location, but don’t expect taxis or even locals to know where the place is unless you can provide them with some specific direction. To get to the Nantra Silom Hotel, walk up Silom Soi 8 from Silom Rd (there is a yellow Bank of Ayudha on the corner in case you missed the blue “Silom 8” street sign). The road soon cuts sharply to the right. The hotel is located right at that turn, next to some massage parlors staffed by a bunch of Thai guys who are sure to call out and ask you if you want a rub down.

The building is fairly large. The lobby is not so big. There is a small desk where one or two staff members sit looking bored out of their minds.

Thankfully check in is quite painless. Hand over your passport and they’ll find your reservation and hand you your key. No papers to sign, no long speeches about services you won’t use anyway. Up the elevator you go and off to your room.

Nantra is hotel chain in Thailand. The Silom hotel seems to be their most recent edition. It’s also their worst, at least in my experience. While the hotel just opened as Nantra, it’s clear the building has been around for a while. It wasn’t totally remodeled, but there was some work done. What it resulted in is a sort of newish veneer on an old structure.

That’s a weird thing. The halls still smell a bit of fresh paint even though the walls themselves clearly have been damaged plenty of times of the years. It doesn’t matter much, but it’s something to note.

The rooms at Nantra Silom are small but not tiny. Patrons won’t hit their knees or heads on any walls. Each has a bed, a new flat screen television, a desk, a new split air conditioner, a toilet and a shower. The toilets and showers are off behind walls, but there is no door in the way. That could lead to some uncomfortable feelings between you and any guests you bring back to your room, depending of course on how squeamish the parties involved are about such things.

Everything in the rooms looks decent enough. The towels and linens are clean. The showers also offer a nice supply of hot water, something unfortunately lacking from many other similarly priced hotels in the city. The only problem I saw with the rooms was some mildew on one of the shower curtains.

Considering that a stay in the Nantra Silom is so inexpensive, it’s not a bad deal. The hotel is in a central location that single male travelers will find very convenient. There are plenty of convenience stores, massage parlors (with female staff), restaurants and even a Starbucks within a very short walk of the hotel. Patpong 1 and Patpong 2 are also very close, only one block away from Silom Soi 8.

The official prices for a stay at Nantra Silom hover between 50 and 60 US dollars a night, but anytime I’ve checked the hotel on online booking sites that price has been marked down to a sale price of 25 or 30 bucks. At times I’ve seen it as low as $19. That’s exactly what I paid when I stayed there.

The Nantra Silom offers an easy and convenient stay in Bangkok at a very reasonable price. It’s a place to sleep, shower and maybe have a little fun. For that it serves its purpose.

Rather outrageously the Nantra Silom is listed as a three star hotel. Although it’s not a terrible place to stay, it certainly isn’t a three star hotel by any stretch of the imagination. Keep that in mind if you book it.

Book your stay at the Nantra Silom Hotel online to insure the best price.