The LOL Elephant Hostel

All the rooms at The LOL Elephant Hostel have air conditioning. Beds go from bunks in mixed and female-only dormitories to private rooms with their own bathroom, and some private rooms have a lake view. Several rooms have blackout curtains and reading lights.

The dormitory rooms share bathrooms, while the private rooms each have their own. These include a 35 m² quadruple room with a queen bed and two bunk beds, a 12 m² Deluxe Queen Room with a private entrance, and a 14 m² twin room with two bunk beds and no window. Some rooms also have heating, and all of them have air conditioning.

The common areas include a garden, a terrace, a game room with pool and darts, a shared lounge with a TV and a shared kitchen. A happy hour is offered, and tours can be arranged for guests.

Practical services include laundry service, luggage storage, lockers and 24-hour security. Free Wi-Fi covers all rooms, with WiFi in the public areas and internet services too. Air conditioning is in the public areas, and the property has non-smoking rooms and a family room.

The hostel is in the Khaosan area of Banglamphu, an older district of Bangkok between the Chao Phraya river and the old royal quarter of Rattanakosin. The streets around Phra Sumen Road are lined with guesthouses, street-food stalls and bars, and the old city's temples are close enough to reach on foot or by tuk-tuk. The lanes running off the main street are quieter than Khaosan Road itself, so the area suits a stay that mixes evenings out with calm mornings.

Khaosan Road, the best-known street of the district, is 500 m away. Wat Bowon Niwet Ratchaworawihan, a royal temple, is a short walk, and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, at 1.4 km, sits inside the Grand Palace complex, 1.6 km from the hostel. Across the river, Wat Arun is 2.3 km away, and the Phra Sumen Fort ferry pier is close by for boats along the river.

A full day could begin at the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew, then cross by boat to Wat Arun and walk back to the Khaosan streets in the evening. The hostel is a walk from the river, so both the temples and the boats are easy to combine in one day. For something different, the Chatuchak Weekend Market, 6.7 km to the north, is a large market open only at weekends.