After living in Bangkok with my family for more than 16+ years, these are some great insider tips about the do’s and don’ts of booking a family-friendly place to stay — whether that’s a hotel in Bangkok, a guesthouse, a resort, or an AirBNB.
Contents
Types of Places to Stay in Thailand
First off, let me share with you what kinds of places you might find to stay at and what they call them on this side of the world:
Hotel = has rooms and suites available usually with amenities like a welcome reception, swimming pool and a fitness room.
Resort = similar to a hotel but has more extensive facilities and amenities like a Kids Club, Tennis Courts, Saunas, and usually a large garden area too.
Guesthouse = similar to a bed and breakfast in the states where the room being rented is usually in a home or small building, has a welcome reception, but does not usually have any amenities or facilities.
Hostel = usually a lower end type of stay where people share bathrooms or even rooms with bunkbeds.
Residence / Mansion / Apartment = usually has rooms with a guest reception desk, but please note that these do not usually have a living room or kitchen as typical in America nor do they usually have amenities or facilities.
Condo = Most AirBNBs are condos with individual owners who are renting out 1-5 units out of an entire condominium building. These units usually have a bedroom, small living room, a balcony, and very small kitchen. They usually have nice swimming pools, fitness rooms, and are centrally located. However, there is no reception to welcome you or help you with questions. Read Tip #10 for why I don’t recommend booking an AirBNB in Thailand.
Read this list of tips BEFORE booking a hotel in Bangkok!
Tip #1: Book a Hotel in Bangkok near Public Transportation
Bangkok has pretty horrible traffic year-round. One time, it took me 2+ hours to go only 1 mile — I was seriously tempted to abandon our family van on a sidewalk it was so horrible.
Sadly as a local, getting stuck in horrible gridlock traffic is just a normal part of life here. But don’t let that deter you from enjoying your time in Bangkok — simply stay near public transportation lines such as a BTS Sky Train Station or MRT Subway Station.
This BTS Pre-filled Rabbit Card is really helpful to have and saves you lots of time not needing to queue the long lines.
TRANSPORTATION TIP FOR BANGKOK:
Get a BTS Sky Train Pass called a ‘Rabbit Card‘.
Having this card has multiple benefits:
- Go straight to the BTS gate, tap your card, and it will automatically calculate how much the ride was based on where you exit.
- Save lots of time not needing to queue to buy individual BTS ride tickets
- You can pick up this Rabbit Card from Klook at the Suvarnabhumi Airport or at Central World (a mall in the center of the city). This makes it easy to quickly jump on the BTS Sky Train and make your way around the city with ease.
- This one from Klook is pre-loaded with 200 THB already (about $7 USD).
- If you buy yours from the BTS Station, you should pre-fill it with about 100-200 baht per day that you’ll be in Bangkok. You can top up more later, but it is quite difficult to get a refund on any amount left in the card.
- Get 1 Rabbit Card per person above 90cm (about 3 feet). Kids under 90 cm ride for free.
If you’ll be stopping at multiple BTS Sky Train stations all in one single day, it would save you money to have a BTS One Day Pass. With this card, you can go to an unlimited number of stations in one day, saving you time buying individual tickets at the long queues. This is most helpful if you’ll stop at 3+ stations in a single day. But this pass is only good for one single day and can not be ‘topped up’ like the above Rabbit Card.
Tip #2: Always Include 'How Many'
Unfortunately most hotels in Thailand only accommodate 2 adults, and maybe +1 child, which makes it a bit tricky to find a good place to stay for our family of 5. Sometimes, we’ve been tempted to just put we have 2 kids so that the booking system would allow us to move forward with booking a particular hotel.
But we’ve had to learn the hard way that it’s very important to be honest and put exactly how many people you are planning to stay in your hotel room.
Unlike in America, where the hotels usually don’t ask or even care how many people plan to stay in a room, Thailand is not that way. They are very particular about how many are staying in each room.
Sometimes, they will refuse you to stay in a particular room if they don’t deem it able to accommodate the amount of people in your party. Usually if that happens, they’ll either make you upgrade to a bigger suite or maybe even book an entire second room. This would make for a horrible start to your travels, so it’s best to just be honest from the start.
Tip #3: Book a Hotel where Kids Stay Free
Most local hotels in Thailand only accommodate 2 adults per room; however, most hotel chains from the West — especially the ones from America or the UK — are more likely to allow children to stay for free (using existing bedding).
These are some of the hotel chains in Thailand that allow children to stay free:
Novotel Hotels
- Up to 2 kids (age 0-16) stay free if sharing existing bedding
- Breakfast is free too if it’s part of your room
- My top Novotel pick in Bangkok is : Novotel Living Bangkok Sukhumvit
Centara Hotels
- Up to 2 kids (age 0-12) stay free if sharing existing bedding
- Breakfast is free too if it’s part of your room
- My top Centara pick in Bangkok is : Centara Watergate Pavilion Hotel
Marriott Hotels
- Up to 2 kids (age 0-12) stay free if sharing existing bedding
- Breakfast is free too if it’s part of your room
- My top Marriott pick in Bangkok : JW Marriott Hotel in Bangkok
Centre Point Hotels
- 1 kid (age 0-11) stays free if sharing existing bedding
- Breakfast is extra though
- My top Centre Point Hotel pick in Bangkok is : Grande Centre Point Terminal 21 Hotel
Be sure to check out my post on ‘The Best Hotels in Bangkok for Families” for more recommendations.
Best Island Hopping Tour
Tip #4: Add an Extra Bed
Let’s say the hotel in Thailand that you chose only allows ‘1 child if using existing bedding,’ but you have 2 children, then you can simply book an ‘extra bed’ or ‘add an adult’ to that room.
Also, if you have 3 children, like us, but the hotel you chose only accommodates 2 children, then simply ‘add an adult’ to that booking and then that hotel room will accommodate your family of 5. Plus, you’ll get an extra twin bed, blankets, and towels for your room as well.
To ‘add an extra bed’ is usually around 500 – 1500 baht/night (about $15-$45 USD)
BEST FAMILY HOTEL IN BANGKOK:
JASMINE GRAND RESIDENCE
With 1, 2, and 3 bedroom suites that have a living room, dining area, kitchenette, washing machine, etc. for only about $55-$110 USD!
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The delicious buffet breakfast, the friendly reception who are ready to help you 24 hours a day in a foreign country, and the epic swimming pool with a slide, fountains, and kiddie area make this a great choice!
Tip #5: Book a Room with Connecting Door
If you are a family of 4-6, and you’d like to stay at a specific hotel in Thailand that has a max occupancy of only 2 adults or 2 adults + 1 child (very normal for here in Thailand by the way!), then consider booking a Room with a Connecting Door.
It’s always best to double check with that specific hotel that they have Rooms with a Connecting Door available on your travel dates, so usually I would just send a quick Facebook or Line message directly to them to ask before making the official booking.
Most hotels get back to me within 12 hours on their Social Media channels.
Tip #6: Include the Buffet Breakfast
Most of these hotels all offer buffet breakfasts with a huge variety of food, so don’t forget to choose the room option in your booking that INCLUDES BUFFET BREAKFAST.
Usually it’s just a couple hundred baht more to book the room with the breakfast, but it’s important you choose that option.
This is usually what’s on these breakfast buffets:
- Pancakes and Waffles
- Egg Station
- Pastries Galore
- Cereal Bar
- Thai-style rice porridge
- Thai-style noodles
- Yogurt Bar
- Fresh fruit
- Coffee, Tea and Juice
We literally stopped booking AirBNBs in Thailand because our whole family enjoys these buffet breakfasts way too much!
Hands down my favorite buffet breakfast has been the JW Marriott Hotel in Bangkok , but our friend who loves living that luxe life swears by the Kempinski.
MOST LUXURIOUS FAMILY HOTEL:
SIAM KEMPINSKI HOTEL BANGKOK
If you're looking for a kid-friendly 5 star accommodation right in the heart of Bangkok, then Siam Kempinski is our top choice!
Between the massive swimming pool, the fun Kids Club room, the cute child-size robes and slippers, and the exquisite breakfast buffet, you will be met with luxury at every turn.
Tip #7: Book a Hotel in Bangkok with a Kids Club
Almost every family friendly hotel in Thailand has a Kids Club — it has just become part of the Thailand Hotel Culture nowadays.
So before we book a hotel in Thailand for our family, we almost always make sure the hotel has a Kids Club for my kids to have something to entertain them for an hour or two each day — usually right after breakfast so mom and dad can enjoy the rest of our coffee in peace.
If you’re going for the best Kids Club in Bangkok, I recommend the Carlton Hotel Bangkok Sukhumvit or the Novotel Living Bangkok Sukhumvit that I mentioned above also.
Tip #8: Book a Hotel in Bangkok with a Swimming Pool
Again, almost every family friendly hotel in Thailand has a swimming pool — and most have a shallow kids section too.
In fact, with land being so scarce in Bangkok, most of the hotels actually have a rooftop pool with an epic view of the Bangkok skyline. This is the perfect way to unwind after a long day of sightseeing.
The most fun we’ve had swimming is at the Jasmine Grand Residence — the slide was the best part!
BEST FAMILY HOTEL IN BANGKOK:
JASMINE GRAND RESIDENCE
With 1, 2, and 3 bedroom suites that have a living room, dining area, kitchenette, washing machine, etc. for only about $55-$110 USD!
The delicious buffet breakfast, the friendly reception who are ready to help you 24 hours a day in a foreign country, and the epic swimming pool with a slide, fountains, and kiddie area make this a great choice!
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Tip #9: Skip the Airport Transfer Option
The hotels usually up-charge you quite a bit to provide an Airport Transfer, like 3-4x the cost of a taxi, so I recommend not doing the hotel airport transfer, but instead pre-book a Private Airport Transfer on Klook, which is more cost-effective and time-efficient than even the metered taxis from the airport. The price is already set and paid in advance, with no risk of them trying to haggle you for more. They also would already know where your hotel is, so you don’t have to worry about trying to explain to the taxi driver (who probably doesn’t speak much English) how to get there or worry that they might get lost on the way (further driving up the metered rate).
Side Story : My family actually had one incidence where a metered taxi from the airport set off to take us home (in Bangkok) only to stop in the middle of a bridge on the highway to demand we pay an exuberant amount to be able to continue on our way. I was furious and ready to get out of that taxi right there on that bridge! But my husband, the more rational and calm one, haggled with the driver until they both came to an agreed upon price.
However, most of the taxis from the airport are a reliable source of getting from the airport to your hotel. Both the Don Muang and Suvarnabhumi International Airports have pretty well organized Taxi Service Areas. After going through Customs, just follow the signs that say ‘Taxi.’ They will lead you to a Taxi Service Area where you tell the clerk how many people and luggage you have in your party and where you are going, and the clerk will give you a queue number based on what vehicle they think you need (car, mini-van, SUV, or 10 passenger van). Then you can wait, not too long, for your queue number to be called on the screens with which lane your taxi is in.
These taxis will cost the meter + a 50 baht airport service fee + 100 baht per luggage (not counting purses or backpacks). Usually the meter will be about 300-600 baht (about $9-18 USD) to most places in Bangkok.
If you’re on a tight budget, you can also take the Airport Rail Link (this is particularly great if you are staying right next to a BTS Sky Train Station), but you’ll probably have to change lines 2-3 times (which could be a headache to navigate with luggage and tired kids in tow).
So my recommendation is to take a pre-booked taxi to/from the airport and then use the public transportation system (BTS or MRT) for the rest of your trip.
Tip #10: Book a Hotel or Resort and NOT an AirBNB
If you’re coming all the way to Thailand for an epic family holiday, I highly recommend booking a hotel or a resort (instead of an AirBNB). Don’t get me wrong, I love a good AirBNB or VRBO and have stayed in those with my family in multiple countries around the world!
Here’s why I’d recommend a hotel or resort in Thailand instead:
- Welcome Reception – you’re in a foreign country in a place that is unfamiliar and doesn’t speak the same language as you. Having that reception desk to welcome you with a lovely smile as well as help you with other travel questions is going to be a trip saver!
- The facilities of a Kids Club and Swimming Pool are going to make your holiday even more relaxing and special!
- Did I mention the buffet breakfasts?? Truthfully, this is our number one reason our own family always books a hotel in Bangkok or a resort in Thailand.
- Food in Thailand is cheap. Normally in other parts of the world, I would book an AirBNB mainly so our family can have a kitchen. Because if we’re going to stay on budget, then I know we will need a kitchen to cook a few meals. But here in Thailand, eating out can be fairly inexpensive from just $1-$2 per meal. So it’s pretty easy to stay on that ‘food budget’ when traveling through Thailand.
BEST FAMILY HOTEL ON THE RIVER:
SHANGRI-LA BANGKOK
- Get the Family Fun Experience Package that includes airport transfer, a 2 hour sightseeing boat tour on the Chao Praya River, and a family suite.
- Luxurious pool overlooking the Chao Praya River
- Expansive breakfast buffet
- Forbes voted the Shangri-La Bangkok as the ‘Best Hotel in Bangkok for Families’
- Only 220 meters to Saphan Taksin BTS Sky Train Station
- Very easy to take the river taxis
Note: Please do not take this blog as legal advice or even as fully accurate. These are just my own opinions trying to offer helpful explanations. You can read my full disclosure here.
Hey there, we're Brittany and Witt!
Other Blog Posts that might help you with your upcoming family trip to Bangkok:
If you’d like to visit the most famous landmarks in person, this is an epic One Day in Bangkok Itinerary with kids on the Hop on Hop off River Taxi.
The Best Things to Do in Bangkok with Kids with recommendations to the best cultural activities, museums, kid-friendly restaurants, indoor playgrounds, and what to do on a rainy day in Bangkok.
The Best Family-friendly Temples in Bangkok with helpful info like how to get there, opening hours, entrance fees, and how to keep the kids entertained while visiting.
Don’t forget to read up on the recently updated Tourist Visa measures.
The Best Beaches in Thailand for Families (w/ tips from a local)
Thailand has some of the best beaches in the world with pristine white sand coastlines
This family-friendly AirBNB is one of the most charming vacation homes in Bangkok
With a large playroom full of toys, a Master Suite with large soaking tub, and a fun bunk room, this family-friendly AirBNB is one of the most charming vacation homes in Bangkok, Thailand.
Comment below with which hotel tip was most helpful or if you have any other questions. Also be sure to check out my post on ‘The Best Hotels in Bangkok for Families”, which highlights my favorite hotel picks for families with kids here in Bangkok.
