First Hotel

, Bangkok, Thailand
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First Hotel

, Bangkok
2 Petchburi Rd, Ratchathewi - Bangkok - 10400 - Thailand 2-255-0111
241 Traveller

Reviews - First Hotel

1/10
Bedbugs!
Submitted by: Ruth in 16/07/08
  • Age Group: 26 - 30
  • From: Australia
  • Traveller type: Young Couple
There were bedbugs!!! Only reason we stayed the night was because it was already 1am by the time we discovered the bedbugs! The hotel is really old and the bathroom was so old and dirty! Worst experience ever from my many travels!
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8/10
Always Good
Submitted by: Ann S Rode in 29/10/06
  • Age Group: 60 +
  • From: Australia
  • Traveller type: Backpacker
Have stayed there 4 times with the grandchildren and with my husband and a friend. Each time has been most satisfactory. Right on bus routes to just about everywhere. Good food. Staff speak very little english, but who cares, they are polite and competent. Both pools are enjoyable, the rooms are fair. Only problem is that there is no family room which is difficult when there are four of us. Staying there again soon as is a friend I intoduced to the hotel this year.
5/10
Average
Submitted by: Chen in 26/07/06
  • Age Group: 31 - 40
  • From: Malaysia
  • Traveller type: Budget Traveller
Good location for hotel better near town at world trade centre & room clean & nice & price is reasonable

Historical Traveller Reviews of First Hotel

Generally ok for the price

from Mykonosboy
On my trip to Bangkok between 23 - 27 Nov 06, my agent recommended this "cheap and good" hotel to me. For the price paid, I think it is relatively good value for money. Location-wise, it is near the street shopping area of Pratunam (to the left, about 600m) and the nearest BTS (Skytrain) station (Ratchethewi) is about 300m away on the right. If the BTS station was nearer, it would have been a fantastic hotel but then again, the price would be different. Anyway, the location is OK with me. There're also two 7-11 convenience stores just a few steps away.

As for the rooms, the beds (except for the pillows which are a bit flat) and furnishing look pretty decent I must admit but the bathroom seem to be straight out from the 80s! The bathroom at the hotel lobby is surprisingly much better. (if only they fixed all the bathrooms like that too) The rooms' walls are really thin too, so it is not too difficult to hear your neighbors... Can be quite disruptive at night, e.g. when doors open and shut. Oh yeah, cable tv's available too (incl ESPN and Discovery)

The pool at level 2, though small, looks quite good too. Pity that I did not have the chance for a dip.

I'm staying at the main wing so the newer tower wing might be better.

There're 2 nice coffeehouses and a restaurant. Breakfast at one of the coffeehouses was ok the first two days but got a bit boring on the third.

There's a small massage parlour (starts from 300 baht for a thai massage) at along the alley towards the tower wing and it stays open till 2am! Great for those who need one after a long day out shopping! Other shops that stay open late include a foot massage parlour and hairdresser (which also does mani- and pedicures based on my wife's feedback, but I wouldn't recommend them).

Generally, the hotel staff are courteous and obliging. However, be wary of queues in the morning at the lifts though, so you need to buffer in some lift-waiting time!

Trust you'll find this review helpful.

try to find a better hotel

from pukeycow
My family and I ended up at this hotel because we booked through a travel agent in Hong Kong. If it was in my power, I would spend the extra money and stay at a nicer hotel.

Bangkok has never been colonized, therefore no one speaks English. The front desk is no exception. Expect to put a little more effort into communicating what you need.

We stayed in the main building - it is older than the tower. We stayed on the 5th floor which is a smoking floor. I am not sure if there are any smoke-free floors.

Bathroom
The bathroom is flourescent lighting. Grouting is gross. The shower has no pressure. There's so much calcium caked on the shower head that the water just drizzles out. If you shower in the evening you will probably get more hot water than in the morning at 8am.

Beds
The beds are small. There are two beds, they will each fit one person. I saw the mattress peaking out from under the sheets. They were stained. *shudder*

Carpets
They are stained as well. Wear slippers.

Location
The location is good. It is conveniently located near the sky train (about a 5 minute walk, and one stop away from Siam, where the new Siam Paragon shopping mall is) and a 2 minute walk to a five level shopping mall that sells brandname clothes and acessories at whole sale price. VERY VERY cheap. Th mall also has a fantastic modern food court on the 5th floor. My sister and I had pad thai and tom yum gung every day.

Overall, the hotel was gross, the only redeeming factor was the location.

Fake photo

from Miffychan
We were on our annual trip with our young daughter who will be turning 2 coming December. We booked First Hotel after checking on the facilities available. We did this through reviewing the photos posted on the website. First and foremost upon entering the room we were allocated to, to our dismay there weren't any coffee making facility. We needed the kettle to boil hot water for making formula milk. My daughter have her bottle every 3-4 hours in the night. On the website, we saw that the rooms are equipped with such facility.

We politely asked the room service personal to request for a kettle on our behalf. He came back and said he can't . So, I went down to the front desk and to my delight, the manager was there. When I told him about my problem, from a smiley face he turned sour. He said this I have to ask the travel agent I have booked the room with. I showed him the webpage with the coffee making facitlity I have printed out beforehand. He said this has nothing to do with the hotel. This was done by the travel agent. I didn't raise my voice but instead asked politely if I could rent the kettle. He said no and repeatedly saying I have to ask my travel agent. He sure did raise his voice up. I told him politely again that they should have indicated there is no such facility in the hotel and should not used a fake photo to attract customers. He gave me a rude look. I told him politely again before I left that "Sir, this is just my comment and please do not have hard feelings".

We stayed there for the next 3 nights and each time we bumped into him at the lobby, he will look away. He is surely not showing professionalism in his work.

Acceptable

from tigervyh
Location was good, around shopping district and walkable distance to sky trains.

I stayed at the Tower Wing, it was okay, not sure about condition of the Main Wing though. The room is showing its age. The hot water was a bit "moody" one night we had to wait for it to come out!

The breakfast spread was okay, not bad.

The reception was also okay, most of the receptionists speaks and understand english.

If u r in for cheap deal...

from PlopperTubby
Stayed at the wing tower..no cockroaches..the whole hotel has a dim,gloomy feel..the corridor from our room to the lift is so dark that it cast an eerie feel. Supposed our room is a non smoking one but it has a strong smoking smell. Breakfast is kinda bad and lacking..bcareful of the cabbies waiting outside of the stand, one actuali brought us to a jewel factory when we intended for MBK...

Value for Money, Strongly Recommend for Budget Travellers

from RatnaPrasad
As part of our package tour to Bangkok/Pattaya we were informed that we would be staying at First Hotel in Bangkok and when initially i checked the Reviews i could see a lot of negative feedback but when we visited in May 2006 to my surprise it was far much above to our expectations and i strongly recommend for Budget Travellers.

Iam not sure if in the past this hotel was really doing bad but as far my trip in May 2006 i had no complaints on this hotel.

Nice hotel, great location...

from slim05
We went as a group of 7 people and found this hotel great. Its location is ideal and it offers great trips for Bangkok first timers like us (although slightly more expensive than outside outlets but safer all the same) . We stayed in the wing tower and had no problems. The hotel manager is friendly and the staff are also helpful. The rooms are cleaned regularly where we stayed (wing) and the restuarants and breakfast are good. We stayed in three hotels while staying in Thailand (2 in Bangkok) and this one left a good impression.

I would recommend this hotel to anyone visiting Bangkok who would want to be in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the city.

I miss the First Hotel :-(

Pleasant environment, value for money!

from cyndi-nakano
This is my first trip to Bangkok. In my opinion, First Hotel is pleasant and value for money for the low room rate that we are paying.

We checked in to the old wing as the tower wing is fully booked. As what previous reviews have said, a baby cockroach was spotted, but only on our first day.

The downside of the hotel is the bathroom. It was old but usable, shower curtain is dirty and the white towels looked grey. I would advise you to bring your own towel and toiletries, just use their towels as foot mat. There wasn't any beautiful scenery outside the window. Anyway, Bangkok does not have beautiful streets or achitectures since most of the buildings are grey.

The rest of the room is pretty fine. Room is clean and you get a comfortable soft bed. The good thing about First Hotel is you can catch channels such as HBO, CNN, and Discovery Channel on their TV. Its breakfast voucher entitles you to a scumptious spread consisting of American breakfast buffet and Asian dishes. If you would prefer dining in bed, room service is prompt and affordable.

We were very satisfied with the location of the Hotel as well. The staffs are friendly and gave good advices on destinations as well as taxi fares. The Rachathewi BTS station is only a short 5 - 8 minutes walk away. One station down and you will reach Siam, where shopping centres such as Siam Centre, Siam Paragon and Siam Square are located.
You can also take a short 5 - 10 minutes walk to Pratunam Market and Platinum Fashion Mall (Wholesale clothes). Food places such as Burger King, Pizza and 7Eleven are also located besides the hotel.

On the whole, First Hotel is well worth the money. I would recommend it to budget tourists who will be spending most of the time out sightseeing or shopping.

Value for money..

from GreenTravel
Having been forewarned by the "horrible" experiences of other TripAdvisor members who stayed in the old wing, we booked a room in the new Wing Tower for 3 nights in Feb 2006. (Cost more - just a few USD - than a room in the old wing but we weren't taking any chances!)

Our room was not ready when we checked in at 11am. It was a horrible mess that the former guests left! But after sorting out the problem with the hotel reception, we were given a clean room. First Hotel is surrounded by buildings so it doesn't offer any nice views. Just ask for a room that's not facing the main road - it'll be quieter. (Remember, Bangkok traffic is incessantly noisy..)

Overall, we found our stay pleasantly comfortable. The room was always clean. The airconditioning, bath, hot water all work. Saw only 1 baby roach.. Note: The mineral water bottles they place on the writing desk are not free. Buy your own - they're cheaper outside.

The hotel's very conveniently located. There's a big shopping complex (named Fashion Centre or Mall) located to the left of the hotel further down the road (opposite side) where you'll find a nice food court where you can afforably try all kinds of Thai cuisine.. The Sky Train station is just abt 6-8 mins walk down the road (turn right when you exit the hotel). (We bought a day pass for 100 baht and rode the train everywhere.) The Pratunam Market is located just behind the alleys abt 200-300m further down the road (same side as the hotel).

Unfortunately, we didn't have time to try the Thai buffet lunch at the First Hotel. The table spread looked tantalizing! Our only regret really..

Avoid at all cost

from A TripAdvisor Member
This place is just awful. Filthy, dirty, smelly, and just plain nasty. My wife was in tears. Luckily we only had one night here. Do not waste your time or money here.

Top Local Tips for Bangkok

River Buses Tale the river buses whenever possible when trying to get somewhere in Bangkok. In addition to being very cheap, it is much cooler on the river espcially during the hot season, and you avoid much of the city's horrible traffic.

Beware of the taxis and toktoks infront of First Hotel My wife and I only wanted to go to a shopping mall. A Thai man with a toktok offered us a ride for only 20 baht only if we agree to go to a government sponsored tourist place so he can get a free oil for his vehicle. We politely refused and went on our way.

Where the normal taxis are at the airport... When you arrive at the ariport you are only offered very expensive limousines for hire and they seem to be the only taxis you see there so it's easy to make the mistake. You need to go one level down where all the regular 'metered' taxis are. (they are painted in two colours). Those are the cheap normal taxis, they will take you to the town center for just a few Baht. you will have to pay for the road tolls but it's not very mucho.

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Other names for First Hotel

  • first hotel bangkok
  • Address: 2 Petchburi Rd, Ratchathewi - Bangkok - 10400 - Thailand
Travel Library Traveller Rating?
6.0/10

See All 241 reviews

"Bedbugs!" - Ruth

"Always Good" - Ann S Rode

"Average" - Chen

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