You could probably get a list using AI such as Gemini. On my second trip to Thailand in 1987, I stayed at the Rose Hotel. It was an older hotel at that time, so I queried AI and received this result:

Rose Hotel - Its origins trace back to the early period when Surawong Road was developing into a nightlife and hospitality district, with the hotel opening around 1970 and operating continuously since then.

1 hour ago, Tom89 said:

I stayed at the Honey for years. Great staff, great memories. I miss it.

Good restaurant, too.

This list of hotels comes from the 'Bangkok after dark" guide handed out to US servicemen in 1967. It's not comprehensive, but pretty thorough. Of the few that still exist, even fewer are still in their original state. The names of others live on, after they were torn down, or gutted, and rebuilt - the Grace, Manhattan, Park and Fortuna being a few. I wish the prices were still the same.

A few individual hotel adverts from the above guide. Complete with Radiophonic sound. I'll send them a cable.

22 hours ago, Kyoto Kyle said:

Off the top of my head, there are few others like those that are gone too. The Honey, The Rex, The Crown,

I was sadden to see the Honey hotel gone.It was not flash but cheap ,clean and comfortable and the little cafe had the best Thai food that I have ever tasted. Stayed there many times over the years.

The Royal Hotel ...

I never stayed at the Federal Hotel but had breakfast in the coffee house a few times, and took some pictures while they were tearing it down in 2014. RIP

I first got to Bangkok in 1978, stayed many times at the Privacy Hotel, both the Privacy & Malaysia hotels were good value, funny how the Malaysia was the backpacker mecca, then that whole scene moved to Khao San Road, then the Malaysia became a gay hotel. If you were really on a tight budget then the Thai Song Creet was the place. The Atlanta was were everyone went to score. I also stayed many times at Honey, and Miami. I stayed at Miami last time about 2 years ago, it wasn't cheap, 2300 Bt and if you wanted breakfast it was extra. However, it was the noisiest hotel I've ever stayed at in my entire life. I even told the reception that when I checked out. My favorite for many years was the Golden Palace, the rooms were old but they had a very good pool and a terrific restaurant, but that's all gone now.

22 hours ago, Kyoto Kyle said:

There is also the old Royal Rattanakosin Hotel next to Sanam Luang. It was built in the 40s. Art deco style. Sizable hotel. 300 rooms. The lobby was turned into a temporary field hospital during the violent 1992 uprising which occurred just in front of the hotel.

This was the first hotel I ever stayed in Thailand -- 1983.

15 hours ago, pomchop said:

The Grace on soi3? was once a good place late at night to find a friend. Have not been there in decades but I think it is still there but mostly all middle east patrons?

Promenade hotel on soi 8 is an oldie goldie that still provides a decent room in a great location at a good price. Stable Lodge across street also has been around a long time with lot of repeat guests.

Actually there are lots of very old hotels that are still going on small sois etc. Most have been renovated with better a/c tv's etc but still represent good value for the baht. Sadly many have been bulldozed and are now mere memories of times past.

I went to grace coffee shop 1982 paradise!.

Thai Hotel on Prachatipatai Rd not far from the Democracy Monument. The hotel is still there. It was used when a young Burt Reynolds was in a movie called Operation CIA (1965) filling in for what was supposed to be Saigon.

16 hours ago, Dcheech said:

There in th 60’s or 70’s, but mid 80’s for me. Use to move between two hotels on Soi Kasem San 1, depending on money. The Reno; nice, upscale, a pool, café, bar. The Star, farther down the soi. A cheap, pickup hotel, if skint.  If the press/news flacks stayed in the Reno in the 60’s. GIs used The Star for RR. The Star had a central building that had been added to, a short time Thai style, drive in parking with drapes around cars, by the 80’s. Reno is still there and I use it, if in the city. The Star was bought, bulldozed and turned into hi so condos back in the early teens.

If I mention those two , I have to include a restaurant, The New Light, a short walk away, on the backside of Siam Square. Three floors; western, Thai and Chinese food. Always extremely dark. Great place to nurse a hangover after a hard night. Closed 2014 & missed.

I stayed at the Reno, but they started renovating it around 2000, so I moved down to the end of Soi Kasem San 1 on Khlong Saen Saep to Pathum House, where I eventually lived. I used to walk past the Star and see all the Benzes parked there, covered by canvas curtains.

I was always amazed by the ice depot across the road, where they would drag blocks of ice off the trucks into the gutter, then into the depot, before crushing them for sale to street food stalls, markets etc.

I liked to eat at Baan Khun Mae and Baan Khun Por on Siam Soi 6.

On 7/2/2026 at 1:31 PM, Rams86 said:

My first trip to Bangkok I stayed at the Asia Hotel I believe it was 1997 because the BTS train station was being built out the front. My second trip was hilarious I booked BBB INN online, a boy took to my room and told me to get undressed because I needed a shower after my long flight from Australia. He told me he would shower me and sleep with me that night. I said thanks but no thanks and changed hotels the next day.

The next day I changed my hotel to the Sukhumvit Crown Hotel at the end of Soi 4. I used to walk past the Nana Hotel and Nana Plaza everyday. Several times I had a drink in Nana Plaza but I never bar fined a lady there as I was on my way to Pattaya. I met my wife to be in a Beach Road bar and we've been married 25 years since.

They might still have the same mattresses from the Vietnam war era in Miami Hotel....

The Bangkok Dusit Thani. Technically it qualifies. 😁

Dating from 1970, it closed in 2019 and was demolished in 2020. I stayed there in 2018 and it was neglected. Charged a premium rate, for something that was definitely not a premium facility. A new 39 storey Dusit Thani was built and it came back to life in 2024. I haven't been back. It was an experience that reminded me of the dying days of the Novotel Bangkok Airport Hotel right before Hyatt took over.

the malaysia restaurant is quiet these days it was a noisy pick up joint in the past ,open all night like the thermae, !

The Siam Hotel on New Phetchaburi Road was one of Bangkok’s older mid range hotels, dating from the 1960s and 1970s. Although never considered particularly luxurious, it became well known among long term Bangkok residents for its lively coffee shop.

Like several hotel coffee shops of that era, it developed a reputation as an informal late night meeting place where businessmen, expatriates, freelancers, and women looking to meet clients would gather well into the early hours.

Before dedicated nightlife venues became widespread, hotel coffee shops often filled that role, forming an established part of Bangkok’s social scene from the 1970s through the 1990s.

The atmosphere was mostly local, with a few foreign punters mixed in. Many women who worked in the massage parlors along New Phetchaburi Road would also gather there together after work.

The Siam Hotel stood at 1777 New Phetchaburi Road. It was completely demolished in 2007 to clear the site for what would later become the Lancaster Bangkok.

On 7/2/2026 at 12:37 PM, Kinnock said:

The Asia Hotel, Ratchatewi, Bangkok.

It was the first hotel I stayed in on my first trip to Thailand as a back packing student, and it was old then. While it's been updated, it still has that old vibe.

When I stayed there on my first Thai visit, I remember planning my trip to various temples by looking out of the bedroom window and plotting the temples on my map. Now you can't see anything out of the windows as it's all built up.

Yes, I stayed there in 1970 on the first trip here. Airport immigration suggested it.

On 7/2/2026 at 9:52 AM, 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.

The Opera Hotel Phetaburi soi 11, no changes.

The Grace Hotel Nana area, but a class of it's own, infamous for decades in that 99% of the guests were arabs who took girls back and violently abused them. Lots of stories of arabs picking up the 'chosen' girl and throwing her against a wall with serious injuries. and refuse any payment / tip.

On 7/1/2026 at 9:30 PM, Kyoto Kyle said:

Sanam Luang

Don't mean to divert from topic here, but back when was Sanam Luang the site of the weekend market?

I didn't know much about Bkk on that first trip, but I do remember the market was all canvas roofs and carts. It was the first time I saw a cast-iron wok, so impressed I bought one to bring back.

Being near Hualumpong meant it was a short bus ride (for pennies) to Lumpini night market, which also was just a big piece of dirt with canvas and bamboo poles. None of these markets had any of the glitz and structures they do now.

The "backpacker" thing came up in the mid to late 1980s, that was when that word came into use. Before that it was hippie or cheap traveller, and there was no sort of guide books, it was the overland grapevine and an obscure newsletter from UK called BIT. A lot of the people I met on the road were Aussies/Kiwis headed to UK, or Brits headed to down under.

There were a few other places near the RR station, like Pepsi Hotel. There's also still a few hostel type places in that area that are decently maintained. About ten years ago I stayed a few nights in a B&B for old times' sake, nasty old battle axe ran the place but her gracious young daughter would apologize for her. I liked the novelty of getting off the train and walking to my hotel.

@bendejo

Thanks for the interesting posts.

I did the Hippie Trail in 1976 and first visited Thailand in 1978, so much of what you say sounds familiar.

However, you are mistaken in thinking "...there were no sort of guidebooks..." . Actually there were, if you knew where to look for them.

The first [as far as I know] detailed travel guide for an overland trip across Asia appeared in the 1969 edition of the Whole Earth Catalog.

This was written by a lone Brit riding a BMW motorcycle on what was soon to be known as the Hippie Trail.

Then came Tony and Maureen Wheeler's "Across Asia on the Cheap" in 1973. It was the original Lonely Planet guidebook, and was such a success that it was quickly followed by others in what became a series on individual countries including Thailand.

Wonderful times in a world that was very different than the one we live in today.

I did have a book, all I can remember was the author's name was Doug, and it was ridiculously out-of-date and inaccurate, but did help a little. I never even heard of the Wheelers' back then. I went back with a book marketed at seekers, how to get to ashrams, holy shrines etc. I'm not into that stuff, but it was a good guide book otherwise.

But looking back, I'm glad I got to see Iran and Afghanistan -- a few years later and fuggetabou.

38 minutes ago, bendejo said:

I did have a book, all I can remember was the author's name was Doug, and it was ridiculously out-of-date and inaccurate, but did help a little. I never even heard of the Wheelers' back then. I went back with a book marketed at seekers, how to get to ashrams, holy shrines etc. I'm not into that stuff, but it was a good guide book otherwise.

But looking back, I'm glad I got to see Iran and Afghanistan -- a few years later and fuggetabou.

Yes, there were a lot of mimeographed "guidebooks" being passed around in those days, weren't there?

We found that the best source of information was from travelers coming from places you were going to. That was what made the meeting places so valuable - from the Pudding Shop in Istanbul to Freak Street in Kathmandu.

On 7/2/2026 at 2:37 AM, Kinnock said:

The Asia Hotel, Ratchatewi, Bangkok.

It was the first hotel I stayed in on my first trip to Thailand as a back packing student, and it was old then. While it's been updated, it still has that old vibe.

When I stayed there on my first Thai visit, I remember planning my trip to various temples by looking out of the bedroom window and plotting the temples on my map. Now you can't see anything out of the windows as it's all built up.

I never really explored that hotel, but if I recall correctly, the Calypso Cabaret show was located in that hotel at one time and I went there to watch that performance once a very long time ago.

On 7/2/2026 at 2:41 AM, Kinnock said:

The Sukosol also has that 70's style. You can imagine CIA agents in beige linen suits meeting with Thai fixers over an iced coffee, before heading to a ping pong show.

You mean the 4-5 Star Sukosol Hotel on Sri Ayutthaya Road? I was last there back in the early 2000's and it didn't look seventies to me at all. I think it also underwent another major refurbishment either during or just after Covid. Nothing about it says 70's style to me if we are talking about the same hotel.

On 7/2/2026 at 9:23 AM, emptypockets said:

Nana still retains its original charm even though the rooms have been updated. Nothing like going to breakfast with a bunch of old blokes, some still with their girl from the previous night.

The hotel restaurant was cut down to less than half its size about 10-15 years ago, but in the mid nineties it was a place where many local Thai office workers from the area went for lunch because they had a very decent lunch buffet and at a price that many locals could still afford. Now I think the coffee shop is half its size because Hooters occupies much of the previous coffee shop space. Not sure if it is still a popular hotel restaurant now at all and I doubt it does a lunch buffet anymore.

On 7/2/2026 at 10:49 AM, pomchop said:

The Grace on soi3? was once a good place late at night to find a friend. Have not been there in decades but I think it is still there but mostly all middle east patrons?

Promenade hotel on soi 8 is an oldie goldie that still provides a decent room in a great location at a good price. Stable Lodge across street also has been around a long time with lot of repeat guests.

Actually there are lots of very old hotels that are still going on small sois etc. Most have been renovated with better a/c tv's etc but still represent good value for the baht. Sadly many have been bulldozed and are now mere memories of times past.

I think the Grace has always been almost all middle east patrons and hasn't changed. They used to have a bowling alley in the hotel too, but I am not sure if it still exists. At one time the Grace also had a late night coffee shop with an atmosphere very similar to Thermae with freelancers and a mix of Western and middle eastern punters. I don't know if the coffee shop is still actively running though.

On 7/2/2026 at 11:46 AM, visalady said:

Used to small of cat piss.

Sounds like a wonderful place. Luckily, I have never stayed in a hotel with that issue.

Swan Lake Hotel Kilo Sip Bang Chang, outside Uthapao AFB main gate. Okay, not Bangkok but the scene of the crime for many a Virgin Airmen back in the 70’s……..

Edited Saturday at 04:51 PM4 days by Explorator en Action

On 7/2/2026 at 10:07 PM, Tom89 said:

I stayed at the Honey for years. Great staff, great memories. I miss it.

I walked in there once I think to meet a friend who was staying there. Did it also have a pool, I can't remember?