Lullaby Inn - Bangkok, Thailand

Ahhh Bangkok… the city I grew to love, though it took me a while. Good thing I loved Lullaby Inn immediately. They were a big part of what made my stay in Bangkok so amazing and memorable! After 36 hours of very little sleep, a 24 hour plane ride and a good dose of culture shock thrown in the mix, all I needed was a quiet place with friendly people who were there to lend an ear and debrief me about the best way to tackle a busy, overwhelming city.  And I found it- for about $45 USD per night.

Lullaby Inn felt like a happy little Oasis in the midst of chaos… because it filled all of those needs and more. When I arrived, I was greeted with COLD air conditioning, clean reception area with a bar, and a smiling team of people who were always ready to answer any question (and I had a LOT).  From cultural advice such as when to bow and how to pronounce important phrases, to best directions and routes, and even help scheduling massages the way we wanted them- Lullaby Inn was there to serve and they genuinely love their jobs. Two employees, Piche and Nin, are very proficient in English and make it their priority to help guests round the clock. Piche always seemed to be around, whether it be 6:30am or 11:00pm.  I don’t know about you, but this level of service and travel advice rarely comes “standard” in any hotel, let alone a budget hotel.

Let’s look a few key areas:

The Rooms: CLEAN!! Basic, but a comfy enough bed and hot shower. The television has a couple of English speaking channels (along with a few other languages) and wifi access. Here’s some advice: Book an inner room! Here’s the thing- though reviews show that some people preferred the balcony rooms, I stayed in both and was MUCH happier in an inner room with no windows. Even if you have a balcony room, there’s really no view except a busy street with bars, and therein lies the problem- the bar on the corner was L O U D until 5:00am. Usually ear plugs suffice, but not in this case. It could have been the world cup, but drunk partiers ruined my first two nights. However, I heard almost nothing in the inner rooms. True, there’s no window, but I didn’t miss it for one minute- quiet, serene and just what I needed at the end of our busy days. One more tip- wifi worked better on floor 4 than on floor 5. I think their internet is set up on even numbered floors so the signal is stronger, but kind of sketchy on the other floors.

The amenities: This is a budget hotel, so there’s not a whole lot of extras- but you get free bottled water daily, free coffee in the room (those Nescafe instant packets were surprisingly delicious!), clean towels and washcloths, cable TV and wifi. There is a bar if you want an evening drink or a mid-day cup of coffee, and the 2nd floor has a breakfast area.

The Location: Perfect! No, the Silom area doesn’t seem exciting right away. But a five-minute walk to the BTS, fifteen-minute walk to MRT and fifteen-minute walk to the ferry were incredibly convenient. Not to mention, we found out that this hotel is actually right by one of the known “foodie” areas of Bangkok, called Bangrak. There’s a night market right down the street and you can easily navigate to the airport using public transport. Couldn’t ask for better for this price!  If you take the Airport Rail the the Phaya Thai BTS station, you then transfer the the Chong Nonsi BTS station and leave through exit 3.  From there Lullaby Inn is a quick walk- you walk straight until you hit the next big road, Silom, cross the street and turn left on Silom, and then turn right after a few minutes on Decho road. Lullaby Inn is immediately on your left.

The “eats:” If you book the room “including breakfast,” you’ll pay 200 Baht more per night for everyone in the room (that’s roughly $6 USD). If you don’t, then you pay 200 Baht per person for breakfast, so it’s a bit more expensive to pay on your own. However, it works just fine on the one morning you need a solid start. You get some delicious fruit (of course! It’s Thailand!) and can get scrambled eggs, sausage, and bacon, yogurt, and assorted breads. You know what? It hit the spot! And it’s not ridiculous to pay extra when the room is so cheap and they have a full breakfast. On our last morning, Nin allowed us to take fruit and yogurt to the room for free so that we had a bit to eat before heading to the airport.  Oh, I MUST mention- when you are hungry for dinner but want amazing Thai food in a sit down restaurant, DEFINITELY go to Kalpapruek, reviews from Trip Advisor here: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g293916-d3162313-Reviews-Kalpapruek_Soi_Pramuan-Bangkok.html

To eat there, you cross Silom and turn right on Silom, walk about 7 minutes and turn left on Pranuam road. It will be on your left in about three minutes. If we had found this restaurant earlier we’d have visited several more times. But I digress….

The excursions: The only downside… I wouldn’t book a floating market tour through Lullaby. They don’t run the tour themselves, but book with an outside company which was very budget (the tour was cheap, and it felt like it). It was very disorganized, confusing and ultimately our least favorite tour. But that’s easy to solve, just book your tours through Bangkok Food Tours instead! We did two tours with them and the extra money gets you a phenomenal experience. Link to website http://bangkokfoodtours.com/

The service: perfect. I could list all of the ways they helped me, but it would take too long- I’ll just end by saying that they helped me navigate through and enjoy a chaotic but wonderful city, and I’m supremely grateful that they helped me discover beauty within the chaos. At the end, I tried to give Piche a tip for giving such consistent personal service, but he asked me to put it in the shared tip jar instead because “helping people is enough, it’s not for the money.” Staying here, you truly believe this. It shows in every action they take and the genuine joy they get from talking to their customers. Win!

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