Bangkok -- Heritage Baan Silom

There is a decidedly villagey feel to this part of Silom, close to Bangkok's central business district. Many of the streets and sois have a tree-lined boulevarde feel.

The Heritage Baan Silom is set in its own little 'lifestyle arcade' of restaurants, salons, spas and a Starbucks Cafe.

Alongside are trattorias, a Vietnamese restaurant, and so on.

The hotel itself is a 3-storey affair with a shophouse feeling.It bills itself as 'an eclectic hotel'. Aye, that it is indeed. Design-wise it sort of wants to be a funky designer sort of place, with a fusion feel. It's half designery, and half colonial throwback. So the result is perhaps more con-fusion than anything else.

Still, it has a small charm and is nice and comfortable with nice big flat-screen TVs in every room. 

The website says 'close to 3 BTS stations' which naturally infers its actually not close to one at all. Still cabs, tuk tuks and motorcycle taxis are easy to grab out front on main Silom Road.

The price point (with studio rooms going from 1250 baht per night, no breakfast) makes it very popular with families and young travelling couples. Although it's close to the business district, the free-but-slow in-room wi-fi makes it not the best choice for someone who's trying to get things done fast.