If you are looking for a decent and affordable hotel to stay in Bangkok, you can consider the Citadines Bangkok located at Sukhumvit Soi 23. It is an apartment hotel (owned by the Ascott group) that makes a very comfortable stay within the heart of the city. Since it is meant to be more for the business traveller, this hotel is a little off the main roads of Sukhumvit and therefore a little away from the hustle and bustle of the busy street, so that it provides a little more quiet and calm for those who need it.
Being a 4-star rated hotel, it is not that expensive to stay in Citadines Sukhumvit Bangkok. Of course, the rate varies from season to season, and when I was there in April/May period, we paid about 1,700 Baht a night, with complimentary breakfast for 2 included.
The hotel is within walking distance to the BTS SkyTrain Asok Station and the MRT Sukhumvit Station (I would say less than 5 minutes easy walk). So it’s very convenient to have access to transportation. It is also right next to the Exchange Tower which houses True Fitness and True Spa. You will also find a Starbucks in the building as well as a small Boots Pharmacy store. You can also access the BTS Skytrain from the tower’s second floor bridge link.
When I first arrived at the hotel, it reminded me of the setting of a boutique hotel. It has a small lobby area with a reception desk, a seating area with the use of a computer with internet connection and a TV. The porter is always ready and on standby the moment our cab arrived and we got help right away with our luggages.
We stayed on the 8th floor of the hotel, which is the top floor. It is a non-smoking floor and also where the hotel’s pool is located. A small cafeteria is located on the 2nd floor of the hotel where complimentary breakfasts are served every morning. The breakfast spread is not much, I have to say, mainly comprising a main dish of either fried rice or noodle, congee and condiments, hams and sausages, a small selection of bread and a salad spread that consists about 3 to 4 cold dishes, fruits and fruit juices too. You can also place an order for eggs to be cooked in whatever way you wish at the counter.
The room itself is quite spacious. We booked a regular room that came with a queen sized bed, and it came with everything that you will expect of a service apartment. See pictures below for more description of what you can expect of this apartment hotel, which by the way, is ideal when you’re traveling with kids.
Our room came with a queen size bed and comfortable pillows. I don’t recall seeing any extra pillows in the closet, but none were needed anyway. The bedding and closet area are separated from a small living room area by a sliding door that can be pushed back all the way. Below is the picture of the small living area that’s furnished with a two-seater sofa and a coffee table.
It proved to be the more ideal spot to watch TV in the room as opposed to the bed as the TV is mounted on the wall facing the sofa. The flat screen TV comes with selected cable TV channels and there’s also a DVD player (see picture below).
Next to the entertainment unit is a working table where you can use the broadband internet service for free. We didn’t bring our computers and enquired how much it costs to use the internet service at the lobby’s computer and we found it to be expensive, at about 100 Baht for half an hour’s use! So if you need to be connected online, do bring along your own notebook and get connected for free in the comforts of your own room.
The wash room comes with a shower and no bath tub, but I have no qualms about that. I especially enjoyed their rainmaker shower head! Shower gels and shampoos are provided, but do keep in mind that they do not replenish them even when they are finished. I think you are expected to purchase your own once you run out, or you can ask the hotel for more but it is chargeable. Thank goodness though that they do change your towels daily to give you fresh and clean ones.
I like the fact that the room also comes with an iron and an ironing board. Sometimes it can be quite hard to get hold of housekeeping in a hotel just to get them to send you an iron. At least with this as a permanent fixture in the room, you don’t need to request for it when you need it.
The kitchen in the room is no doubt a small one in the corner of the room, but it comes fully prepared for you to cook up a storm. You will find all that you need in those cabinets and kitchen counters, from pots and pans and even one for steaming food, to dish washing liquid and a dish strainer. Apart from using the stove, you also have the use of a microwave, bread toaster and sufficient cookware and utensils.
There’s also a mini refridgerator and you are given 2 complimentary bottles of mineral water each day.
The kitchen comes complete with everything that you will need in a home!
The only thing is that if you want some night life and experience the hustle and bustle of Bangkok city in the night time, you won’t find any nearby. But you can take a walk for about 10 to 15 minutes where you will find a Robinsons to shop at, and the many bars and massage centers available on Sukhumvit Road itself.
Speaking of massages, the hotel does provide some very affordable massage packages too. It is an outsourced massage service where you can either request it to be a room service or you can take a 5 minute walk down the road to the actual massage center itself. A 90-minute full body massage only costs 400 Baht. I find this rate a lot cheaper than many of the massage centers in town. I didn’t get to experience the massages though, because they close by 10pm and I was never back in time before they closed.
In terms of ease of getting about Bangkok, it’s really quite a central place to be at. From the BTS SkyTrain Asok station, you can take the train to many places like the Siam Paragon, MBK Center, Pratunam area and even to Chatuchak market. If you want to go to the Suan Lum night market, then just hop on to the MRT station at Sukhumvit station.
I would personally recommend this hotel to others and if we do visit Bangkok again, I wouldn’t mind staying there again. Especially if we’re bringing my son, this place would be ideal for the family. It will provide a larger space for my little boy to run about rather than just being confined to a normal hotel room.
If you want more information, do leave me your comments and I’ll try to answer them as best I can. But bear in mind these are just my personal opinions and recommendations.
