I am trying to remember which of the old Bangkok hotels from the 1960s and 1970s are still around in something close to their original form.

Not the luxury hotels that have been completely rebuilt or renovated beyond recognition, but the 2-3 star ones that still feel like you are stepping into a time capsule.

The ones where you can almost imagine American soldiers on R and R, old travel posters on the walls, rotary telephones in the rooms, and reception desks that probably have not been moved in half a century.

Off the top of my head, I can only think of about five.

The Florida Hotel.

The Miami Hotel.

The Atlanta Hotel.

The Nana Hotel.

The Malaysia Hotel.

All of them seem to have retained at least some of that old Bangkok atmosphere, even if they have had the odd facelift, or room refresh over the years.

Have I forgotten any other obvious ones?

I am only thinking of the genuinely old school places that still retain much of their original character, not hotels that have been stripped back to the concrete and rebuilt into something completely different, like The Manhattan was.

There cannot be many others left now.

Off topic because it's gone, but as I posted in a different thread The Federal Hotel was such a great place.

Rooms were super comfortable, inexpensive, the coffee shop was the best for catching up with mates (and maybe the previous nites Mrs) the next morning to coffee and eat and talk about the previous nites adventures. Food there overall was excellent lots of locals in there

Most beautiful staff ever, not looks wise necessarily but just beautiful people. 10-15 years in a row I stayed there was always great to see those same faces. I miss the Fed.

1 hour ago, Kyoto Kyle said:

I am trying to remember which of the old Bangkok hotels from the 1960s and 1970s are still around in something close to their original form.

Not the luxury hotels that have been completely rebuilt or renovated beyond recognition, but the 2-3 star ones that still feel like you are stepping into a time capsule.

The ones where you can almost imagine American soldiers on R and R, old travel posters on the walls, rotary telephones in the rooms, and reception desks that probably have not been moved in half a century.

Off the top of my head, I can only think of about five.

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The Florida Hotel.

The Miami Hotel.

The Atlanta Hotel.

The Nana Hotel.

The Malaysia Hotel.

All of them seem to have retained at least some of that old Bangkok atmosphere, even if they have had the odd facelift, or room refresh over the years.

Have I forgotten any other obvious ones?

I am only thinking of the genuinely old school places that still retain much of their original character, not hotels that have been stripped back to the concrete and rebuilt into something completely different, like The Manhattan was.

There cannot be many others left now.

Which one of those would you say has changed least.

The Thungmahamek Privacy Hotel just across the street from the Malaysia Soi Ngam Du Pli area. The Malaysia was an R&R hotel built for officers, the Privacy across the street was for enlisted men. No pool but I always preferred it. The other was the Reno near MBK but there was no MBK back then. It is on the soi or Jim Thompsons house. Lots of journalists stayed there. Both of these were circa 1977-80.