samkip/Bangkok

Family Hotels in Bangkok

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Anantara Riverside Spa & Resort – luxury

Huge luxurious rooms. The pool is one of the largest in Bangkok and sits amid the beautiful green grounds. The resort, located across the river from Bangkok proper and accessed by a free shuttle boat, is a respite from the chaos of the city. Kids club has some fun activities (including Thai boxing).

Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok – luxury

Large rooms, beautiful pool, great restaurants. Convenient location in the center of town, close to several shopping malls, and steps from a Skytrain station.

Pathumwan Princess Hotel – moderate

Huge kid-friendly pool (and plenty big enough for laps). Directly connected to the MBK shopping mall and close to several others. Cinemas, restaurants, and a Skytrain station (on the opposite side of the mall) are all within a short walk.

Swissotel Nai Lert Park Hotel – moderate

An oasis in the heart of the city. Great pool area and breakfast buffet. Good sized rooms and free wi-fi throughout the hotel.

Amari Watergate Bangkok – moderate

Good sized rooms and a great location if you want to hit the shopping malls. Beautiful pool on the 8th floor offers nice views of central Bangkok.

Viengtai Hotel – budget

The nicest pool of any budget hotel in Bangkok – with a very nice kids pool. Rooms are clean and simply decorated. Family suites are huge and easily sleep a family of 6. Great if you want to experience Khao San Road and the attractions near the river.

Somerset Lake Point – budget

Great place and fantastic value. Apartment-style suites are huge. Indoor and outdoor pool, full kitchen, washer and dryer, children’s playroom, free wi-fi. Location is small drawback. Nice neighborhood but not much of interest nearby. Free shuttle bus takes you to Asok Skytrain station and subway.

Sam and Kip in Paris
Recommended Websites for Hotels

HotelsCombined.com – My favorite. Great for finding deals and discounts.

Booking.com – Also very good, especially in Europe and Asia.

13 comments Post a travel tip for other families

*Links have been added to comments to make them more helpful to other readers.

  1. I would not recommend more than 3 days in Bankok if you’re traveling with kids. We visited at the end of a trip to Phuket which was perfect. We had done some shopping in Phuket but did our big shop in Bankok where the selection was obviously a lot better (though not as cheap as I expected, once you’re in the malls there is little difference between the prices of Bangkok and San Francisco). If you visit and shop at the beginning of your trip you’ll have to lug what you bought around while you travel the country.

    Bangkok is hot, muggy, and polluted and I cannot see how kids would like it more than playing and swimming on a beach. We visited 3 years ago and I doubt things have changed much. We are currently planning a trip back to Phuket and this time, Krabi. We’ll be spending 1 night on arrival and 3 nights on departure.

  2. We were in Bangkok for 4 days. Our 14 year old teenager had heard about the Flight Simulator Experience where you can fly a 737 so he and his father did that. They raved about it and that’s all they talked about for the rest of the day – so if you have teens I’d recommend that. Very expensive though. We also did a Bangkok tour with Tong. She was hard to contact which we had heard about so tried our best to be patient. In the end it all worked out. It was not Tong that gave the tour but we told her we had kids could you please send someone good with young people and the guide was excellent. Friendly funny and knowledgeable, or seemed to be, I don’t know anything about Bangkok’s history so you could make something up and I’d believe it. The kids definitely enjoyed themselves. Other than that pretty uneventful. We went to 2 shopping malls. The food in Bangkok was excellent regardless of where we ate or how much it cost. We stayed at a family owned hotel. The couple running it was very nice so I don’t want to disparage it by name but would stay somewhere else next time. It didn’t have a pool which I must have known about when I booked it but seems dumb in hindsight. We thought about going to a water park but couldn’t find reliable info on which was good or easy to get to and never ended up getting to one. We were on our way to Phuket and onwards to Malaysia so the lack of water activity was not a priority.

  3. We spent 30 days/29 nights in Bangkok with our 2 children, ages 8 and 10. We found an apartment through AirBnb that was excellent value. The owner left a long sheet of things to do nearby and around Bangkok. Lots of little tips only locals know. It seemed he wrote a special page just for us knowing that we had kids.

    THE BEST THINGS TO DO WITH KIDS IN BANGKOK

    Here it goes.

    #1) Chatuchak Market. All the markets were fun but this was our favorite. It’s huge. Expect to get lost and don’t fight it. We would allow the kids to buy one thing each per visit. We’d walk around for the morning, then get something to eat and discuss the pros and cons of each thing they wanted to buy. Then we’d attempt to get back to where we saw the thing they decided upon. I’m rather proud of the way we dreamed this up as it worked well for all. As I say, the market is huge. They have an entire section devoted just to clothes for animals. Insane but fun. There’s a nearby park (get a map) with a playground (not up to western standards) and lots of room to run.

    #2) Funarama. Huge indoor playground that the kids enjoyed. It was cool which everyone appreciated. I would say it’s more for kids 7 and under but my kids liked it and asked to go back so there was something there they liked.

    #3) Safari World. A large open air zoo/safari. There are orangutan, elephant, dolphin, and sea lion shows (probably others too). It’s quite well done and the children absolutely loved it. I think it cost a $100 for the whole family to get out there, tickets, and food. Shows aren’t in english (just Thai). The river boat is not worth the expense (though the kids liked it).

    #4) Food courts. I’d rarely eat in a mall food court back home but these were interesting and had great food. Everyone got to pick one dish and we shared everything which worked well. Be sure to order those wacky Thai drinks. It wasn’t in our comfort zone (the kids wanted pop of course) but we had lots of fun exploring the different drinks and flavors.

    #5) Lumpini Park. Great place to see Thai life, everything going on here. Right in the heart of the city so lots nearby too. You can eat in the park (the street food is just outside the gates) and there’s a nice playground. Humungous monitor lizards hang out by the lake and the kids watched them in stunned silence.

    #6) Hire a long tail boat from any pier along the river and visit the canals to the west and north of the city. It’s a little nerve racking when you’re on the choppy main river with 2 kids and no life jackets but once you’re on the canals it’s quite relaxing and interesting. In some ways, don’t expect too much. If you’re thinking you’ll be in thick of a huge water market with boats all around you’ll be disappointed. The longer the tour/time you get the more you’ll see as the good stuff is a long way from the main piers and takes a while to get to.

    #7) Ocean World in the Siam Paragon. Supposedly the largest aquarium in SE Asia. I enjoyed this but my kids were bored to tears so not sure what that says.

    #8) Dusit Zoo. Pretty nice zoo but not as good as, say, the Singapore Zoo. Worth an afternoon though and lots of fun little side things to do while there.

    We bought the Lonely Planet Bangkok book upon arrival and used it as our bible. Great maps and lots of helpful tips.

    Also, buy a rabbit card for the skytrain so you needn’t lineup for tickets each time you travel.

    Bangkok is great. Enjoy!

  4. Trip report and tips. Bangkok with a 6 year old child and my wife.

    I’ve been to Bangkok many times for work but finally got around to taking my wife and child for a 2 week stay (+ 2 nights after a week in Koh Samui). I usually stay at the Mandarin Oriental when in town for business but seeing as I was there longer and was splitting the bill with my work I looked for a less expensive place. I personally would not recommend the Mandarin for kids under the age of 12 or so. It’s quite formal and dress codes are expected at dinner. The pool area is nice but a calm and quiet aura preside over it. This time I went with the Anantara Sathorn. It has to be one of the best value hotels in Bangkok. I won’t call it cheap but we got a great deal through hotelscombined. We had a huge room. There is a great pool which is very kid friendly. The breakfast was included in our rate and was very good. The only downside is the location: not terrible but not great either. It’s about a 15 minute walk to a BTS station. And found it very strange but this happened half the time we got in a taxi: the taxi driver had no idea where the hotel was. The hotel said this is common and printed a map for us with some Thai writing on it. This helped immensely.

    On the way back through Bangkok we stayed at the Centara at Centralworld. This was nice and had a great location for hitting the malls but the room was much much smaller and the pool was not nearly as child-friendly. It was fine for 2 nights but glad we were at the Anantara for the longer stretch.

    A tip for the BTS skytrain. Get the SmartPass that allows you to swipe the card and gain access to the train without having to queue for tickets. You buy the card at any Skytrain station. There is a small nonrefundable deposit. It is good for 2 to 5 years depending on some factor that I can’t recall. There are also day passes (I think they cost 130 baht) but it’s hard to make these worthwhile. Most trips are short on the Skytrain so you’d have to take 4 longer trips to make it payoff – and for most tourists that’s unlikely. Single trip tickets cost between 15 and 40 baht but need to be purchased for each trip which becomes a hassle especially during rush hour when the lines are long. The Skytrain is a great way to get around the city though many of the top tourist sites are not near a stop. It does connect with the Saphin Taksin station which is a short walk to the main pier for ferry service on the river – and this will get you closer to the Grand Palace and many of the wats and musuems. The Skytrain is air conditioned but has few public bathrooms. There are no discounts for children on the Skytrain. The MRT (subway) is much less useful for tourists though this would depend somewhat on where your hotel is. I believe there is a discount ticket for kids on the MRT.

    And if you need an indoor break from the heat (that isn’t a mall) check out the Funarium. For the best playground in Bangkok go to Lumphini Park.

  5. If you’re in Bangkok to shop then the Pathumwan is perfect. My 9 year old daughter and I stayed for 5 nights and enjoyed every minute. It’s directly connected to MBK and there’s a walkway to Siam Discovery, Siam Center, Siam Paragon and Centralworld. The pool is wonderful and very large. Breakfast buffet was huge and tasty. I’m a little embarrassed to say that we did not leave the hotel/shopping center area at all except to meet friends one night at the Shangila for Italian food (it was very good and admittedly much better than the dinner we got at the Pathumwan). In part because we plan to come back with my husband in 2 months for a 3 week trip around the country so hoping will have a bit more resolve to see more, our laziness was not from lack of interest but we would wake each morning and ask each other what to do and the answer was always go to the pool and then go shopping. My only complaint with our experience was on arrival. We had just got off a long flight from Sydney and Singapore, then endured 90 minutes in a taxi, and then arrived to find a huge check in line that moved very slowly. I actually recognized a couple from our flight so we must have been in the thick of the evening flight arrivals. We were bored, tired, hungry, and grumpy and the line moved very slow. But once we got to our room, a nice size, and down to the pool everything improved and so it was for the rest of our trip. Now I’m torn between returning to the Pathumwam for our next trip or trying something new that might not be as perfect. Am leaning towards the new and different but will see. The Four Seasons is fully booked for our dates so now not sure. One final tip is to use the skytrain whenever you can. When we went to the Shangrila to meet our friends we had intended to to take the skytrain as we were told it’s the easiest way. After searching out the station and looking to buy tickets we got a little intimidated (in part by the long line) so walked out the door and hopped in a taxi. After dinner our friends insisted on accompanying us back to MBK center on the train and helped us buy tickets (very easy). We made it back in 1/3 the time as going in a taxi.

  6. Recently stayed at 2 hotels in Bangkok with our 2 kids. The first – which I don’t wish to name – was not up to standard and had very poor service. The second (after consulting this website) was the Four Seasons and was excellent. It had a child friendly air that was very refreshing and even invigorating. It made being in Bangkok, not my favorite city, quite pleasant. The pool and service were wonderful but what really won me over was the Italian restaurant Biscotti. They served some of the best food I’ve ever eaten in my life. Simply amazing. They have a special children’s menu filled with items that kids love – whether they be Italian food or comfort food. We stayed for 3 nights and ate at Biscotti 5 times! Thank you Four Seasons (and Samkip Guides) for finishing my trip on such a high note.

  7. We were not as smitten with Bangkok as some posters. It was very busy, lots of traffic, incredibly hot and smokey. We were in Bangkok for 5 nights, 3 nights longer than planned. We were under the impression you could get train tickets from Bangkok to Chiang Mai in short notice. It took 3 trips to our travel agent to get the tickets we eventually got. We stayed at Buddy Lodge in Khao San Road for the first 2 nights. This was not our type of hotel. We were expecting a boutique experience but this is more of a backpacker hotel. An upscale-ish backpacker place but still not our cup of tea. Pool looks nice but tends to have 20-somethings sitting on the side of the pool reading, and not for kids splashing about. We switched to the Dusit Thani Hotel for our final 3 nights and enjoyed that. It’s close to a large park, a grocery store, a night market, and much more shopping. Pool is beautiful and breakfast buffet good. It’s still very busy – actually busier than Khao San but more interesting stuff around. Due to our trouble booking train tickets and wasting a day switching hotels we didn’t do much in Bangkok besides shop, swim, and eat. The food was very good. We also did a tour of the canals which was just OK, don’t be expecting floating markets and teems of activity.

  8. Stayed at the Mandarin Oriental with our 11 year old daughter and loved it. Great to be at the river. It’s more formal than most BKK hotels so bring some nice clothes for dinner. For the kids too. The pool, the restaurants, and the location are why it’s my favourite hotel in Bangkok. There’s a kids club too but for younger kids. It’s not a full-on kids club like you’d find at a resort, though not sure the details as we didn’t consider it.

  9. Bangkok trip report with 2 kids (ages 8 and 10)

    Here are my thoughts and highlights:

    1. Siam Niramit was great. If I had to recommend only one activity for a family this would be it. Our kids LOVED it. There are elephants, dancing, costumes, singing – the whole bit. Quite a show. Food OK but didn’t expect much. It has a tour group feel to it which made me skeptical but really fantastic for the kids.

    2. The Markets. We visited three. Nonthaburi, Asiatique, and Chatuchak. They were all great, could not recommend one in particular. Nonthaburi involved a trip on the Chao Phraya express boat – well worth it in its own right. Asiatique had a free boat from a nearby pier (right around the Saphan Taksin Skytrain station). As with anything just ask, everyone is very helpful. I say this because I read many tripadvisor reports that had all these details about green, blue, yellow flags and getting on the right boat. I wrote out a page of notes on which boat to get on. We walked up and bought the tickets, no problem. Waited a few minutes, no problem. Got on the first boat back, no problem. One tip: We were told not to buy day tickets/passes for the express boat as they’re a tourist ripoff, so just bought individual tickets and that was fine for us.

    3. We went to 3 different malls. MBK was the most interesting with a wonderful food court. Also went to a movie in one which I now regret. Why did we waste our time in a movie theater? – but the kids were big on it. Suppose traveling with children does involve some compromises.

    4. Did a river cruise dinner with Loy Nava. Kids were half-priced. It was a fun experience but not very kid-friendly. There was not another child on the boat. Our kids were fine but I could see this being a disaster for some kids that are younger or go-go-go types. And there’s not much of a payoff so not worth it in my opinion. Food was so-so to good, but not great.

    5. Learn the term for “not-spicy” – can’t remember what it is but just ask someone at your hotel the first day. The street food and hole-in-the-wall restaurants were great and very kid friendly, but the food is often spicy. Say “not-spicey” -in Thai – and point to your kids. They’ll make it eatable for them. I like spicy food but a couple of dishes blew me away and there was no way the kids could even taste it. So definitely ask, it was never a problem, and we were never made to feel like dumb tourists for requesting it. Lots of smiles and laughs.

    6. Stayed at the Pathumwan Princess Hotel and it was wonderful. Great pool. Perfect location with easy access to the BTS and mall – makes getting something to eat easy and convenient. Highly recommend.

    7. Be prepared for traffic and try to take Skytrain, subway, or bus whenever possible and avoid taxis. Used the train connection to and from the airport and it was easy (though we traveled light – wouldn’t want to do it with a lot of luggage). Tuk tuks are fine for short rides but don’t use them for anything longer than a mile.

  10. Thailand with kids trip report. Multiple trips to Thailand.

    1. DO NOT TAKE A TAXI FROM THE AIRPORT
    It costs more than the train and takes longer during rush hour. On 2 occasions we’ve been stuck in the taxi for a 2 hour hellish ride to our hotel after a long flight. Much easier to hop on the train that will take you to central Bangkok, then taxi from there to hotel. Try to get the Express train as it’s much faster than the commuter. However, the train is not practical if you have more than one bag per person.

    2. Stay at a hotel on Siam Square or Sukhumvit. Anywhere else and you’ll spend all your time getting to and from the malls and shopping district. I have stayed at the Anantara Resort and Peninsula when in Bangkok for work and they are very nice but I would still not want to be going back and forth from the river area to central Bangkok every time I wanted to go to a mall. The Grand Hyatt Erawan and JW Marriott have excellent locations and fine amenities.

    3. The best malls are MBK, Siam Square, Central World Plaza, and Terminal 21. All have great food courts.

    4. Take kids to Lumphini Park, Dusit Zoo, and Funarium. The Funarium is a huge indoor play area that is great for kids ages 2 to 10. There’s a huge play structure and slides (I mean huge like 3 stories high). It’s indoors and cool for those hot days.

  11. Trip, food, hotel review.
    We traveled to Thailand in January and February, 2013 with stops in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, and Phuket.

    Here’s what we did in Bangkok: Our hotel was the Viengtai and found it wonderful. Or rather, wonderful for what we wanted and expected. It’s a very simple hotel and not 5 star. It has a very nice pool which is a must for Bangkok if you have kids as we do. The location is great for exploring Khao San neighborhood. We ate street food every night we were in Bangkok. The children ate little through the day but always got hungry at night and the cheap food right at our door was a nice convenience. It was close to river, several wats, and the Grand Palace. On the way back through Bangkok we wanted to do some shopping and did find it a good distance from the top malls and not near to the BTS skytrain, so if that’s what you’re in Bangkok for you you might choose something closer to Siam Square.

    We did 2 different canal tours and quite enjoyed them as did the kids. Not sure where we went so can’t recommend any details. Even the ferry rides were interesting. Went to Asiatique and Sampeng markets by boat. Very much recommend both markets. To our surprise we also enjoyed eating in the food courts of the shopping malls. Not like an American or British mall at all. We felt it was a strong cultural experience despite being in a mall.

    We attempted to get to the Dusit zoo but got stuck in traffic. Stopped for lunch then starting shopping in a small market and never did make it.

    On our last day we went to the Fantasia Lagoon waterpark which was a blast. Kids loved it. Have to wear a swim cap but not a big deal.

    We were very surprised by how much whole family enjoyed Bangkok. We stayed 2 nights longer than initially planned due to fully booked flights on Air Asia but happy it worked out the way it did.

  12. Trip Report.
    Visited February 2013 for 4 days. From Hong Kong and on our way to Koh Samui.

    We stayed at the Anantara (based on your recommendation) and loved it. Perfect for our kids. The grounds were lovely and fun to explore. Always getting lost, but in a good way. The pool was wonderful. Our kids are ages 7 and 8 and it was perfect for them. At times the pool could be busy but other times completely quiet, but we couldn’t see any pattern to it. Breakfast was very good. Didn’t have lunch or dinner with so many places to eat nearby and across the river.

    The Anantara, as mentioned, is located across the river from downtown Bangkok. It has a very different feel from Bangkok proper and you feel like you’ve left the hustle and chaos far behind when you step off the boat. The location might be an inconvenience to some but was quite nice for us with the kids. It does require being on a boat a bit (at least twice a day) so something to consider. You could take a taxi too though we never did this as it was mentioned that the boat is much faster getting across the river.

    We tried to do one outing each day. Day 1 was the Zoo and Khao San Road. The kids loved the zoo, parents not quite as impressed. Elephants, penguins, and hippos were the highlights. KSR was fun to wander around, eat street food, and buy trinkets and touristy stuff. Day 2 was the MBK mall and another mall that had an aquarium (not sure the name). Once again, kids liked the aquarium – we thought it was a little pricey but still probably worth it. Went to Asiatique which is a market near the river which was great. Great food and shops. The hotel raved about it so we thought it was worth the boat trip and glad we went. Also went back the next day for dinner. Day 3 was a full day of the Grand Palace and Museum of Siam (highly recommended for kids from Frommers) and everyone, kids and adults, loved it. It’s a history museum but very hands on and interactive. Very well done (though a bit of construction when we visited). Day 4 was a boat trip around the canals of Thonburi. Fun but perhaps a little disappointing. In hindsight wish we had spent the time doing something different. In all Bangkok was great and the Anantara was wonderful.

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