The Wang Yaowarat Hotel

Rooms at The Wang Yaowarat Hotel have single, double and king beds, and several of them can be set up in more than one way. Some rooms overlook the street, others have a city view, and most have a private bathroom with a shower, toiletries and towels.

Air conditioning, a flat-screen TV and an electric kettle are found in some rooms, and mini bars, bottled water and instant coffee are offered in some rooms too. Some rooms are non-smoking, and the family room sleeps up to four guests.

Free Wi-Fi is available in all rooms, and Wi-Fi is also offered in public areas. The 24-hour front desk provides luggage storage and safety deposit boxes, and the hotel has an elevator and daily housekeeping.

A coffee shop on site serves freshly brewed coffee. Smoking is limited to a designated smoking area, and the languages spoken include English, Burmese, Chinese (Mandarin) and Thai.

Rooms can have blackout curtains, an in-room safe box, ironing facilities, a closet and a clothes rack, as well as a free welcome drink and free bottled water. Valuables can be kept in the safety deposit boxes at the front desk, and luggage can be left in the luggage storage.

The Wang Yaowarat Hotel sits in the Pom Prap area of Bangkok's Chinatown, a dense quarter of shophouses, shrines and street-food stalls. The area rewards travellers who like to explore on foot, with temples and markets close by. Visitors come for the food, the temples and the old market streets, and many of the lanes are best explored on foot.

Wat Mangkon Kamalawat, a Chinese Buddhist temple, is 300 m from the hotel, and Wat Mangkon MRT station is 400 m away, a practical link to the rest of the city on the MRT Blue Line. Further afield, the Grand Palace is 2.2 km away, with the Temple of the Emerald Buddha inside its walls, and Wat Arun stands on the far bank of the Chao Phraya. Talat Kao, the old market area, is a short walk through the streets of Chinatown. Between the temples, the streets are lined with food stalls and small shops, so the walk from one sight to the next is part of the visit.

A good day could start at Talat Kao, continue to Wat Mangkon Kamalawat, and then head to the Grand Palace, crossing the river to Wat Arun. For a longer trip, Chatuchak Weekend Market is a popular day out, while Don Mueang International Airport is the nearest airport, 21.2 km away.