River Kwai Hotel ?

[Guest speedbonnieboat]

Hello

 

During my next stay inn Patt's, I'm planning a few days trip up to Kanchanburi.

 

 

Has anyone stayed at the River Kwai Hotel ? Nothing I can see in the reviews section but it seems to feature in most of the hotel search engines.

 

How to get there, I know I could bus it to BKK and then jump on a train but does anyone have an idea of how much a Pattaya taxi is likely to ask to Kanchanburi each way ?

 

Lastly, is the Sawadee booking service reliable and safe enough to book and pay through ?

 

 

 

Thanks to all

 

[elef 0]

I went there with TGF some years ago. A 2 day trip from Pattaya with minibus including hotel was less than 2000 at that time. You'll probably find some promotion in all hotels, if not ask in the reception. Else any travel agency and tour booth will sell a tour for you.

[Bullfrog 2,224]

If you were going with a TGF I would recommend renting a car and driving yourself. Once you have done the river, prison camps and bridge you are then at your liesure to drive out further. I don't stay in town but head north and stay in one of the many Thai "Resorts".

 

The only problem would be, where to leave it if you went out on one of the floating rafts. ( Are there any rafts that don't float?)

[tazzydevil 0]

I went to Kanchanaburi in Feb this year, well worth a visit.

We stayed at the River Kwai Hotel & was more than happy with it.

Beds were hard but get the maids to flip them over as they are double sided, soft & hard to suit Westerners & Asians, they will organise tours at the hotel as well

 

Trip report

[Guest speedbonnieboat]

Thanks to all for replying, I think I will try and source one of the tours from one of the hotels or travel agents.

[cookie 1]

I stayed at this hotel in late March of this year for three nights and went with my 10 year old son plus a friend of mine who was over from the U.S. We got a double suite with two large bedrooms one with a large double bed and the other two large singles. There was a spacious lounge with dining table, kitchen and guest w.c. Both bedrooms had en-suite bathrooms with bath and a shower. There was a balcony overlooking the river although the mosquitos rather put you off spending too much time on the balcony. All 3 rooms had a television plus here was a music system and DVD player in the lounge and free DVD of the week.

 

Access into the town was a walk along the railway track which the hotel has a golf buggy to take you up to if you do not want the 5 minute walk.

 

The open lounge/bar area was comfortable with a goodish wine selection (my mate is something of a wine buff) although the live band were dreadful and forced us to move into the more secluded, albeit empty, hotel bar. there is also a coffee shop and an internet area.

 

The restaurant we only dined in for breakfast - very standard buffet fare which is not my preference but it was OK. We ordered dinner via room service from the restaurant one night and had a variety of Thai and Western food - all very good.

 

We also booked one of the tours - we had a 10 year old to keep occupied remember - through the tour desk at the hotel and I have to say it was the best tour I have ever had. There was just the three of us with guides. We were driven around by jeep and they even changed the schedule when we declined to stand for 1 hour on a non air conditioned train!

 

The hotel also has a couple of pools and a few small shops.

 

The decor is a little dated but they were doing various buildings up when we were there.

 

Overall I enjoyed out time at the resort and in Kanchanaburi - which is now one of my favourite places in Thailand.

 

We took a mini bus from Pattaya which if I recall cost B4000 one way. We returned to bangkok and the price was a little less but not much! We booked directly via the phone number on the hotel web site which is a Bangkok number and all went smoothly.

 

If you fo i am sure you will enjoy the hotel and the area - it is also a wonderful change from Pattaya. One tip though is if you go into town for a meal DO NOT use the restaurants on the river/rivers edge. the service is poor, the food is distictly average, they are very expensive and they are merely tourist traps.

[Guest speedbonnieboat]

Thanks Cookie, some great info there for me !

 

I am looking forwrd to it even more now.

 

[walt2 0]

Hello,

I've stayed at the River Kwai Hotel twice, it's located on the main drag in the town and not along the river.

Stayed in a standard room the first time and was not all that happy with it.

Second trip took a superior room and it was very nice.

http://www.sawadee.com/hotel/kanchanaburi/...i/pictures.html

 

Cookie is speaking of the Felix River Kwai which is near the bridge, but on the other side of the river from

the sites and eating places near and downriver from the bridge.

A very nice resort type place that sits alone near the river bank.

http://www.felixriverkwai.co.th

 

Walt2

 

PS I second the mini bus or car rental idea

The ride on the government bus from Sai Tai station is really not bad at all and cheap.

But getting to Sai Tai station from Pattaya and back was a time consuming pain.

Edited October 13, 2006 by walt2

[Gus 97]

If you are not in a hurry there is a tourist train from Bangkok Thonburi NOT Hualampong which leaves about 1-45pm. The cost is 39 baht single, great journey, great fun.

I went all the way to the end of the line and stayed at Nam Tok, this is close to the Hellfire pass and museum.

I stayed at The River Kwai Village Hotel, nice place by the river but a bit remote, if you stay ther you need to take your own TG.

[dthomasss 1]

The Felix is a great place to stay. I was just there last weekend! Make sure you get a riverview room. Extra 200 baht but your balcony sits overlooking the Kwai and it is beautiful. There are some great tours, including the Tiger monastery where you can pet the pussies (not to be confused with Soi 6 in Pattaya). Also there is an all-day tour which includes Elephant ride, trip to Erawan Falls (the seventh level is breathtaking), river raft ride and train back to town.

Don't book tours through the hotel or you will pay triple what you can get in town. I used B.T. Travel and they were great.

Whatever you do dont stay at the River Kwai Hotel in town. It is decent but has no charm and you miss the whole purpose of being in Kanchanaburi. If I didn't have to work in Bangkok I would move to Kanchanaburi in a heartbeat...

[Gus 97]

I will stand corrected here but I believe that when saying River Kwai, Thai people will not understand.

It is pronounced River Kwey.

[dthomasss 1]

It is indeed pronounced Kweh (as though you were saying the word when without the n at the end).

If you say River Kwai you are actually saying the Buffalo River, which does not exist...

So in Kanchanburi there is Saphan Kweh (the bridge over the river) while in Bangkok there is Saphan Kwai (Buffalo Bridge which is a stop on the BTS)

[kolobos 0]

River Kwai = Song Kweh

 

Kanchanburi = Ganjanabuli

 

So my missus reckons