It seems I start off talking about how we like staying in Bangkok in every post I write. Which is because I do. However, we do like Bangkok and so do find ourselves staying there a lot.
We have almost always done short trips of a few days and stayed in hotels. Now, though, we are considering a longer stay in Bangkok and it has had me looking over the options.
Hotels
This is the most obvious choice. Bangkok has no shortage of hotels, ranging from cheap and somewhat grimy guesthouses to cheap chain hotels all the way up to super luxury hotels.
On my first trip to Thailand I stayed in a cheap backpacker place off the Khao San road. It was simple and just comfortable enough but had a great location. These days I am a bit more discerning.
That said, I am still budget conscious. I look for good value family hotel rooms from international chains. The French chain Accor, with its Ibis hotles, offers some of the best value and if you book a bit ahead has some fantastic rates.
Theres plenty of luxury hotels, too. Weve stayed at the Parthawan Princess hotel which is built over the MBK centre, our favourite place in Bangkok. Weve also had a lovely stay at The Sukosol, closer to the centre of the city. That was really nice.
One of the draw backs for a hotel is that they may not have family rooms or that those family rooms are significantly more expensive than other rooms, meaning it can be just as cheap to book two rooms which stops being that cheap even if you get a great rate.
Apartments
With the rise of Air BnB getting an apartment in Bangkok has never been easier. Theres tons of options of all different types. For longer stays they can provide significant savings as they come with facilities to cook or clean your own clothes which can help save money.
Many apartments in Bangkok are built in complexes and have facilities like laundries, shops, pools and even playgrounds within them that you get access to as part of your stay. This means you dont need to go out much if you dont want to. They tend to have good security too, with secured entrances and full time security guards monitoring who comes in.
Many larger complexes have restaurants just outside the door that will deliver to your door (which not everyone can do thanks to the security).
Theres a lot of serviced apartments, too. Some of those on Air BNB have this as an option but you can go to proper, hotel like, serviced apartment complexes which have the advantages of being like a hotel with more space and a cheaper price.