Nakhon Ratchasima

Budget

Budget
$
Sansabai House
335 Suranaree Rd.
+66 (0) 44255144
฿270/฿450/฿600
From the Ratchadamnoen Rd end, go down Suranaree Road, straight across the junction with Buarong Rd, past the turning for Burin Rd, the hotel is on your left, nearly opposite a 7/11 store.

Essentially the same type of hotel as the Far Thai but much brighter and better appointed. As of Feb 2010 room with a fan, fridge, cable tv, free wifi, balcony, closet, small table with chairs, western toilet and shower for 270 baht. Clean rooms, centrally located with a lot of street food stalls nearby. No bar or restaurant.

Budget
$
Srivichai Hotel
9-11 Buarong Rd
+66 (0) 44 242194 (or 241284)
฿500 (+฿100 for an extra bed)
From Yamo, go down Ratchadamnoen Rd, turn left onto Suranaree Rd, go down Suranaree, turn left at the traffic lights onto Buarong Rd. The hotel is a couple of buildings down Buarong on your left.

A small budget hotel, the Srivichai is a rival to the nearby Chao Phaya. Quite a cosy place with a small lounge and small bar/restaurant both overlooking the street. There's a computer with Internet access ฿30/hr near to the reception desk. Rooms are basic but functional with air-con, fridge and tv. All rooms are the same price

Budget
$
Far Thai Hotel
35/37/39 Pho Klang Road
+66 (0) 44 267 3901
฿430
The entrance to Pho Klang Road is immediately opposite the statue of Yamo and the Far Thai is 50m up Pho Klang on the left.

Pretty basic and quite tatty. ฿430 is for a double room with air-con but rooms with a fan start from ฿260. All rooms have a TV but none have a fridge. A small, quiet restaurant serving typically cheap Thai fare is at the rear of the ground floor. No lounge or bar. The closest hotel to the staue of Yamo since the closure of the Potong Hotel.

Budget
$
 

How low can you go? Budget hotels in Korat start at less than ฿200, but it's fair to say you get what you pay for. These hotels will be devoid of any facilities and usually just consist of a reception desk with a flight of stairs leading to the rooms above. At less than ฿200, the room won't have air-con or hot water. It will be very dated, poorly decorated and probably uncleaned. They have a reputation for being 'short time hotels' but the fact that two have recently closed down - the Potong Hotel on Ratchadamnoen Rd and the Ratchasima Hotel on Chomphon Rd - suggests that the days of ฿200-a-night dumps may be numbered: they won't be missed.

If you must, the Srisura on Suranaree Road, the Chomphon on Pho Klang Road, the Cathay on Ratchadamnoen Rd and the Sri Chomphon on Chomphon Road are city-centre examples of such places.

The budget hotels listed below are a rung or two above those described above. These hotels have air-con, TV, a restaurant and so on

Midrange

Midrange
$$
Chaophayainn Hotel
62/1 Chomsurangyat Road
+66 (0) 44 260544
฿500-฿1000
From Yamo, go south on Ratchadamnoen Rd, turn right at Klang Plaza Dept Store onto Chomsurangyat Rd. The hotel is a couple of hundred metres up the road on the right, shortly after the post office.

A popular mid-range choice, the Chaophaya is a fairly large yet pretty basic place. Facilities are limited to a sleepy cafe with a more popular outside dining area, room service and free Wi-Fi. The type of hotel that makes a good base for exploring the city centre but not the type of place that you're likely to spend a serious amount of time in. Walking distance from Yamo, the museum, Klang Plaza Dept Store and several visitor-friendly temples. Rooms, clean; mattresses, hard.

Midrange
$$
Chomsurang Hotel
2701/1-2 Mahat Thai Rd
+66 (0) 44 2570 809
฿500-฿1000
From Highway 224, turn right onto Chumphon Rd, travel the entire length of Chumphon and turn left at the end of the road. You will now be able to see the hotel; a large, tall white building a few hundred metres up the road on your right

One of the oldest hotels in Korat and one of the best in its day. That day, however, was some forty years ago. Today, it is quiet, very dated even the promotional leaflets are fifteen years old and completely outclassed by other hotels in the city. The fact that the room rates have been considerably reduced from those displayed on the website tells you something. But the location - adjacent to the southern entrance of Night Bazaar 1, close to several popular restaurants and ten-minutes walk from Klang Plaza and Yamo - is hard to beat.

Top end

Top end
$$$
Hermitage Hotel
725/2, Highway 224
+66 (0) 44 247444
฿1,600-6,000
follow Highway 2 then 224 through Korat, the hotel is on your left, set back from the road, just after you have come over the railway line flyover; difficult to get to and from if you do not have a car, buses bound for the Cambodian border at Aranyaprathet stop in front of the hotel

A 139-room hotel in the southeast of the city. Surrounded by gardens and lakes. A pool, gym and sauna are among the facilities and it comes with a reputaion for good food.

Top end
$$$
Sima Thani Hotel
2112/2 Mittraphap Road
+66 (0) 44 213100
฿1400-฿2500/฿4000-฿15,000 rooms/suites
Approaching from the west (Bangkok) the Sima Thani is on the left just after you cross the railway line flyover. It's a huge, prominent building; you can't miss it.

A former Sheraton hotel, the Siam Thani is the most famous and biggest 265 rooms hotel in Korat - it's also one of the most expensive. It's more traditonal-luxury than the V-One's modern-funky see below. It has all the facilities you would expect from a five star hotel and is a favoured destination for any celebrities that happen to be in town. But its location - a couple of kms west of the city centre - isn't great for night owls.

Top end
$$$
V-One Hotel
666/6 Chang Pheuak Rd
+66 (0) 44342444
฿3060(฿1836) - ฿11299(฿6780) Figure in brackets is the Internet booking rate (40% off).
From the west (Bangkok) follow Highway 2 past Lotus and The Mall. Bear left on Highway 2 past Big C and the 'new' bus station. Turn right onto Chang Pheuak Rd in front of the Pegasus Hotel. V-One is a few hundred metres down Chang Pheuak on the left.

The V-One is a self-styled 'trendy, boutique hotel'. Certainly, its modern, colourful decor and 21st century facilities mark it out as quite different from any other hotel in the city; you have to pay for it, though see below. It does have 'Brother' and 'Sister' hotels - smaller buildings adjacent to the main building. The rooms in these are smaller and cheaper than the quoted figures. The road the hotel is situated on is one of the better for nightlife by Korat standards. The V-One also benefits from being close to Highway 2 and the main bus station.

Top end
$$$
Dusit Princess Korat
1137 Suranarai Road (Highway 205)
+66 (0) 44 256629
฿1600-฿4700
From the west (Bangkok) follow Highway 2 then Highway 224 through the city. Turn left onto Highway 205 (s/p Phimai,Chaiyaphum). The hotel is on your left after approx 1.5km.

A Sima Thani rival, the Dusit Princess is part of the Dusit International group. Facilities are as you would expect from a 4/5 star hotel and there is a limosuine service which can collect you from Suvarnabhumi airport ฿9000! Er...up to you! Like the Sima Thani, it suffers from a location adjacent to a main highway and is several kms from the city centre. Website claims of it being 3.5 kms from the train station and 2 kms from the bus station are bold to say the least. You can email the hotel through their website email address not available.

This guide uses the following price ranges for a standard double room:
Budget Under ฿500
Mid-range ฿500-฿1500
Splurge Over ฿1500