A cheap bed in Bangkok is a false economy if you spend the savings getting to and from it. That is the trap most budget bookings fall into: the rate looks excellent, the address is four kilometres from a station, and by day three you have handed the difference to taxi drivers.
HOFT sits on Silom, a short walk from BTS Sala Daeng and MRT Silom. It is our lowest rate anywhere in the group, and it is in a business district rather than a backpacker cul-de-sac.
Here is what that actually buys you, what it does not, and the specific travellers who should book somewhere else instead.
The short version
- A cheap bed without a station near it is not cheap. Silom gives you both rail systems from one corner.
- You do not have to share a room. The Private Double is a private room at hostel rates.
- Dorms come in four, six and eight beds, and every bed has its own large locker.
- The coin laundry and printer are what make a week here workable rather than just a night.
- Weekday lunch on the Silom side streets is some of the best value eating in central Bangkok.
- If you need to work from the room, are travelling with children, or want a kitchen, book an Express or a monthly stay through Arawana Living instead.
Before you book
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Why the address matters more than the rate
Silom is Bangkok's financial district, and it has the best transport position in the city outside Asok. BTS Sala Daeng and MRT Silom sit almost on top of each other, so you have both rail systems from one corner. The BTS takes you up Sukhumvit and across to Siam; the MRT takes you to Chinatown and the old town.
That is the entire argument for a budget bed here. You can spend very little on the room and still reach the river, the temples, Sukhumvit or the weekend market in one ride, without ever negotiating a fare or sitting in traffic.
Compare that with a cheaper bed somewhere without a station. The nightly saving is real, and so is the forty minutes each way and the fare each time. Over five nights the maths reverses completely, and you have spent your holiday in the back of a car.
Good to know
- BTS Sala Daeng and MRT Silom at one corner
- Both rail systems from a single address
- Lumphini Park at the end of the road
- Savings go to food, not taxis
A hostel that is not only dorms
This is the part most people get wrong about booking a hostel, so it is worth stating plainly: you do not have to share a room. HOFT runs four room types: a Private Double, and dormitories of four, six and eight beds.
The Private Double is the one worth knowing about. It gives you your own room and door at a rate that still sits well below the Express hotels, in a location that beats most of them. Couples and light-sleeping solo travellers book it constantly, and it is the answer whenever someone tells us they want the location but cannot face a dorm.
In the dormitories, the size is the trade. A four-bed is calmer and costs a little more; an eight-bed is the cheapest bed we have anywhere. Every bed comes with its own large locker, which is the detail that decides whether a dorm works for a week or only for one night.
Good to know
- Private Double, plus 4, 6 and 8 bed dorms
- A private room is available at hostel rates
- Large locker with every bed
- Smaller dorms are calmer and cost a little more
What is actually on site
Luggage storage, free Wi-Fi, a coin-operated washing machine, a printer and photocopying, a pool table, car parking, and a staffed desk. There is a fifth-floor rooftop, which is where people end up in the evening.
The washing machine and the printer are the two that decide long stays. They sound trivial on a booking page and they are the difference between a hostel you pass through for a night and one you can genuinely base a week or two in. Being able to wash clothes means packing less, which means a smaller bag, which changes the whole trip.
Luggage storage matters more here than it looks too. Silom works well as a bookend: a night either side of a flight, or before a transfer down to the coast, and being able to leave bags for the day between checkout and departure turns a wasted afternoon into a usable one.
Good to know
- Coin laundry, printer, photocopying
- Free Wi-Fi and luggage storage
- Fifth-floor rooftop and a pool table
- Car parking on site
Where to stay
Arawana Hoft Hostel
HOFT if the rate is the deciding factor and Silom's two train lines are the point. Express Sukhumvit 22 if you want a private room on the BTS corridor.
Silom by day and by night
Silom has a split personality and knowing it in advance helps. On a weekday morning it is offices, lanyards and a lunch rush that fills every side street at noon, which is excellent news, because that crowd is fed by some of the best cheap food in central Bangkok. Follow the office workers at midday and you will eat well for very little.
By the weekend the district empties of workers, which is exactly when visitors want it. It gets quieter, the traffic eases, and Lumphini Park at the end of the road becomes the obvious morning.
At night, the area around Patpong and the Silom night market is close by. It is optional rather than compulsory, and it is worth saying that you can stay here and simply not go, which is not true of some other budget districts. Sri Mahamariamman Temple gives the neighbourhood a genuinely old centre a few minutes' walk away.
Good to know
- Weekday lunch is the best cheap eating
- Quieter at weekends than Sukhumvit
- Night market and Patpong are optional
- Sri Mahamariamman Temple is a short walk
A first evening that does not fight the city
Drop the bags, shower, and walk for dinner nearby. That is the whole plan, and it is deliberately small. Long-haul arrivals who try to do the Grand Palace on landing day reliably regret it, because the palace is outdoors, it is hot, and it closes in the afternoon.
If you have energy afterwards, the rooftop is upstairs and Lumphini is a short walk for a slow loop in the cooler air. If you do not, go to sleep early and start properly tomorrow.
Save the old town for a morning start, which from Silom means the MRT and about twenty minutes. The full first-timer plan is in Three days in Bangkok.
Good to know
- Keep arrival day small
- Temples need a morning, not a jetlagged afternoon
- Lumphini is the easy evening walk
- Old town is about 20 minutes by MRT
Who should book somewhere else
Take HOFT when the rate is the deciding factor, when you are travelling solo and would rather meet people than not, or when Bangkok is a short stop between flights and the room only has to work at night.
Book an Express hotel instead if you need a quiet room to work from during the day, if you are a couple who want your own bathroom every time rather than most times, or if you are travelling with children. Arawana Express Sukhumvit 22 is the closest equivalent on the BTS corridor.
And if the stay is long enough that a kitchen starts to matter, you have outgrown a hostel entirely. That is Arawana Regency Park Sukhumvit, and the case for it is in Arawana Living for longer stays.
Good to know
- Solo, short stay, rate-driven: HOFT
- Working days or travelling with children: an Express
- Want a kitchen: Arawana Living
- Couples: consider the Private Double first
Planning your visit
- Book the Private Double early if you want it
- There is only one room type that is not a dormitory, so it goes first, particularly at weekends and over holidays. If a private room is non-negotiable, book it as soon as your dates are fixed rather than hoping.
- Pack a padlock habit, not a padlock
- Every bed has a large locker, but lockers only work if you use them every time rather than on the night you feel uneasy. Put valuables away as a routine from the first evening.
- Use the laundry mid-trip, not at the end
- A coin wash halfway through means you can pack roughly half as much. Travellers who work this out on the last day always say they wish they had done it on day three.
- Eat where the offices eat
- Between about eleven thirty and one on a weekday, the side streets off Silom fill with office workers. Those queues are the best cheap food in the district and they thin out completely by two.
- Leave your bags on the last day
- Luggage storage means checkout does not end your trip. Drop the bags, spend the day properly, and collect them on the way to the airport or the coast transfer.
A budget bed is only a bargain if the city is still reachable from it. Silom passes that test better than almost anywhere else at this price, because two train lines meet at the end of the street and Lumphini Park is at the other. Book Arawana HOFT Hostel for the rate and the position, take the Private Double if a dorm is not for you, and move up to Arawana Express Sukhumvit 22 if you need quiet working days. For where Silom sits among the other districts, see Where to stay in Bangkok.
Written by
Nalinee Boonmee
Guest Manager, Arawana Group
Nalinee leads guest experience across all eight Arawana properties. She works with each front desk team so bookings, check-ins, and day-to-day stays run smoothly.
Written with the desk at Arawana HOFT Hostel. Room types and facilities are taken from our own property page and are current as of this update. Walking times to Sala Daeng and Silom stations are ours, measured at normal pace.
