I needed a place to stay for one night on my way out of Bangkok on to Singapore. I was already in the country and wanted to stay near Silom so I could have a bit of a night out on the town with friends and only have to make the short walk from Silom’s gay area to my hotel – and I wanted a bargain in a good place. Expedia led me to JustBeds. There were no reviews online at TripAdvisor or any other site so I decided to take the leap and risk it for one night. At 27USD for the night it was indeed a bargain as JustBeds is a high quality little hotel.
Location: Yes… it is a bit of a challenge to find. It is exactly where they say it is – behind India Hut (whose logo “coincidentally?” looks like a Pizza Hut logo).
Note to management: Put directions and a downloadable pdf map on your website. Even if I can’t print it I can put it on my smart phone or other device to show to the cab driver.
Unfortunately, there are at least two Sois (streets) with the same name in the area and unlike the typical Bangkok numbering system which would have given these roads different numbers, these have slightly different affixes to the street name (in this case Soi Pramote - Jesu). A good way to explain to the cab driver is that this is going to be the last Soi on the left before you get to the overhead freeway as you travel down Suriwong. Or – the hotel is across the Soi is across the street from the Manorha hotel on Surawongse Road. The website notes the proximity to Surasak BTS (Skytrain). I’m not sure but it might be just as easy to go to Chong Nonsi BTS. Neither is “convenient.” They are each about 30 minutes away. There are a slew of other Major hotels within a 15 minute walk with the Holiday Inn Silom being one long city block away on Silom and the Sofitel about 15 with many other’s in-between. Surprisingly there isn’t a plethora of places to eat and the only restaurants within 5 minutes of the JustBeds are Indian, Thai Street Food (underneath the freeway) and a “sketchy” looking buffet across the street. A short walk down Silom toward Saladaeng BTS (and the center of Silom’s nightlife) will bring you to more and more eating establishments. Keep in mind you are in the high business and tourist corridor so prices, while not expensive, are not budget without a bit of searching. Best bet is to look down the side streets (Sois) as you go down Silom. If you are a budget traveler, this is where you will find your bargain foods.
The first floor includes a reception area/desk with a public computer stand (don’t know if they charge for use) and a small dining/reading area with bench seating around a single table. I did not eat breakfast here but they advertise something for 99baht. The staff was friendly and I was impressed that I made my reservation via the U.S. Expedia Website at 11am that morning and when I arrived at 3 they had my reservation in hand ready to go. Checked me in quickly and then a gentleman helped me carry my bags up one floor to my room (on the 2nd of 3 floors in the building). The pictures on the website are fair representations of the facility. I stayed in room 1 (artfully rendered the the numeral 1 and the Thai word for one – Neung – next to the door). My emergency exit map indicated there are smaller size rooms on my floor and if the upstairs is a duplicate, it would be the same.
Unusual for my experience in a Thai hotel of this price range was the fully carpeted room. I do hope they are able to keep it clean. It was spotless, as was the room and bath, upon my arrival. Everything is as advertised – refrigerator in room (I had to plug mine in… I’m actually kind of glad they had it unplugged – saved energy), strong Wi-Fi, a tiny safe deposit box (big enough or my money/passport, and hand electronics – I do like the bigger sized boxes as they can also accommodate my e-reader – this one was too small for that) and a little tea/coffee set with the requisite hot water kettle thingy. There is a desk/shelf beside the bed that can be used as a desk. It has a plug and one could sit on the bed and write there but it is of an awkward height so I found myself sitting in bed to use the laptop. There is a small LCD T.V. in the middle of the wall opposite the comfortable bed (not rock hard Asian standard – more of a midrange American firmness in the mattress).
The bathroom provided a shower stall with an adjustable water heater. Again – for those of us averse to having water all over the bathroom after a shower the half-wall separating the shower from the bathroom is not adequate. One must be careful to control your spray.
Note to management: in a future renovation consider one of those two choice sprays – a shower/rain nozzle above or the hand held model. You’ll provide a nice pleasure to your western and Asian guests.
There is no wardrobe/closet but there is a rack and hangers in the bathroom. Clean crisp bath towels were on the bed when I arrived. Shoes can be neatly stored out of the way underneath the shelf next to the bed.
Note to management: You do have room for a small chair – perhaps ad that and a bedside lamp so that one does not have to illuminate the entire room to read in bed. Perhaps provide a separate towel rack so that after using the towel in the evening I can hang it to dry overnight.
Overall I was very impressed with JustBeds. I believe they also promote themselves to the backpacker/hosteling traveler but I think they are well above that level of accommodations (unless something has really changed in that market I’m not aware of). It’s not too far from the heart of a tourist haven (Silom/Patpong) and the price can’t be beat for the quality of accommodations in the Silom/Suriwong area.
On a side note – it may be of interest to some to note that like many Thai hotels there is an unpublished policy of charging for any guests to your room. I was informed by management via email that they will charge 500baht for any guests. At least it is cheaper than their sister hotel, the Tawana, where folks are charged a surprise 1000 baht when they bring a guest to the room which may not be uncommon for some travellers who might pick up a date while out on the town. It is a dilemma for hotels – if they publish the rate then it looks as if they are welcoming overnight “guests” but there is a nice bit of money to be made off of this business as long as it is all respectable.
My understanding from a colleague I had dinner with that night who works for the Tawan hotel on the same street is that JustBeds has the same owner.