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.
With Nana and Soi Cowboy, I’d stay clear of Patpong…but will definitely consider this if I’m looking to stay in that area.
Hi Mali. Thanks for the comment. Nana and Soi Cowboy are great, but Patpong also has it’s value in my opinion. There are some unique places and really high quality go go bars there. Cheers!
Rockit–thanks for your response, as always! Last time I was in Patpong I got a little more liquored up than I wanted and came close to getting mugged in one of the gogos. I probably would have realized it otherwise, but I got lured in by a beautiful woman offering 30 baht shots. When entered, the women were horrendous…when I tried to leave, they wouldn’t let me without paying 3K baht. I left anyway, but the mamasan chased me while swinging as I ran out. She managed to get a couple good shots on my face, but at least I didn’t pay more than 60 baht for 2 shots.
Love your new site by the way.
Thanks for the comment. You’re lucky it was only the old bird that attacked you. Word is some of these places are staffed with male heavies that can knock customers who refuse to pay the inflated prices around pretty well. While I’m well aware of the existence of nick joints in Patpong, I can say that in years and years of visiting I’ve never been in one or encouraged to enter. I think that is probably due to my determination to get where I’m going when I enter those two streets. I’ve lived in major cities like New York and Tokyo long enough to brush right by people slanging stuff on the streets. It’s also very rare that I get drunk in foreign lands. I was approached by a European woman in front of a mini-mart in the area once once touting some kind of sex show, but as soon as she got a look at the scoured face I gave her she quickly gave up the sale. Stay safe.
Hey Rockit.
When booking this/these guest friendly hotels should one book for 2 adults (re: guest) or just 1 adult?
In almost every case the price is the same whether someone books a room for one or two people. For that reason I usually book for two people to avoid any possible problems later. Cheers.