27 Jun2016
Funky Lub D Silom hostel Bangkok
Those following my blog for longer know very well I am a hotel person and always prefer to stay at good wellness hotels. However, it’s not always possible or it might not be worth it.
Back in October 2015 I revisited Bangkok for the 5th time to attend the TBEX travel bloggers conference. And because in the past I went to other conferences in different destinations such as Cancun, Lloret de Mar, Porto, London, Toronto etc., I kind of knew what to expect. It meant no free time at the accommodation, but very little sleep. So on the conference days I chose to stay at Lub D Silom hostel sharing a room with a friend of mine, another blogger. Hotels closer to the conference venue where or fully booked when I remembered to finally search for a room to stay, or where too expensive. So knowing I would not have time to enjoy a luxury hotel, I said yes to a room with Veronika.
What made me laugh as soon as I entered the hostel was an elephant butt statue where you can insert your face :D
What I liked at the Lub D Silom hostel:
- funky design
- the hostel offers also rooms for 2 people (Railway Twin Rooms or Double rooms on the 3rd floor) and not just big dorms (both female on the 4th floor and mixed on the 2nd floor) – with my friend Veronika we stayed at one of those rooms with one bunkbed. It was so good not having to share the room with anyone else but me and Veronika as we both had to leave and get back to the hostel at the same time.
- there was a security box in our room (I believe only the dorms don’t come with one but all the rooms for 2 people do have it)
- each bed in each dorm has a personal locker
- a personal light, a small shelf (for phone etc.) and plugs by each bed – very handy as in some hostels you have to ”fight” for plugs to charge your gadgets and there’s usually nowhere to store things but on the floor
- only double rooms have their on bathroom and daily drinking water (I believe there should be free drinking water for everyone)
- bathrooms – they are shared but they didn’t seem super busy so I could go to the toilet and take a shower whenever I wanted to. There’s free toiletries included, even shampoo and shower gel, make-up removal cotton and a hair dryer in the bathroom for you to use. Each shower is big enough to take a comfortable shower and you can even lock your door behind you. Hello, hostel privacy, here we come! I believe that all hostels should have lockable toilets and showers as it’s not easy at all not to be able to do your own things without any inerruptions.
- fan and air con in the room were very useful in that humid Bangkok weather even though I usually cannot stand air conditioning because it makes me sick
- computers to use at the reception – I usually travel with my laptop and had it with me there so I didn’t have to use the computers but Veronika used one for a bit
- most of the staff speaks good English – my Thai is non-existent so this was very useful
- laundry room where you can wash your clothes for 30 Thai Baht and dry them up for 40 Baht (that was the price in October 2015)
- breakfast is not included which is a bummer but at least you can buy it if you feel like. There’s a few options available but mostly you can get coffee/tea/orange juice, toasts with butter and jam, a croissant or cornflakes with milk and a banana. So for me basically there was just tea and banana but at least something. It might sound like a traditional hostel breakfast but for me being on a very different diet (mostly gluten-free vegan without GMO and processed food) it was not worth paying for breakfast. But if you eat the above mentioned, then it might save you some time and instead of going out early morning looking for something, you could just stay in, pay and enjoy it :)
- Yellow Donut Cafe and Bar is the same place where you can get breakfast, and then also drinks or other meals throughout the day
- free popcorn in the afternoon/evening – What a shame we only found out about it on our last day!
- Viewpoint Theater with movies on the 2nd floor – there is supposed to be a place where to watch movies but as we were spending most of our time at the conference, we had no time to check that out
- saving the energy – the air con in the bathrooms is off 12 am to 6 am
- the whole hostel is very clean
- there’s a shelf in the common bathroom where you can leave cosmetics you don’t need/want any more and others might use it/take it
- Lub D Silom is a very social hostel with good vibes if you are into these things
- you can get a really cool map of the hostel surroundings to know how to get to the public transportation stops and what are buildings are around
- you can rent towels at the reception
- free luggage storage
- you can get information and book tours at the tour desk on the main floor
- the hostel is located at a side street and not far from it you can get good Thai or foot massages
- there’s no lift in the hostel which is a good thing for me as I climb the steps all the time instead anyway. And there everyone else has to move their butt, too. Just look at it as a sort of exercise instead of gym time (there’s no gym at the hostel).
PS: I have to admit the hostel was a bit loud to me but I think it depends on the guests. We had a group of drunk guys there just next door. And the wifi did not work very well but in Bangkok that can be pretty normal.
Thanks so much for the stay. For more information, visit Lub D Silom hostel website. There are two other Lub D hostels, one in Siam in Bangkok and the last one in Patong, Phuket.
