Between the crowded alleys and street markets of Chinatown you’ll find Shanghai Mansion, a little gem of a hotel. We had just landed after an 11-hour flight and they greeted us with a smile and the traditional refreshing towels. The room was very nicely decorated in traditional Chinese style and the bed was absolutely huge. In the room there is a minibar with a couple drinks and snacks which are free of charge. My only complaint is that the room had no windows at all, so we would wake up in the morning and think it was still night outside.
Breakfast was exceptional. A large buffet with western, Chinese and Thai food, plus you can choose one of three “main dishes”.
The hotel is in the heart of Chinatown. A taxi to most places in the western part of Bangkok will probably cost around 60-80 baht, just make sure you don’t try to take taxi during heavy traffic (in fact, many taxi drivers will refuse to go to Chinatown during rush hour). It’s a 15-minute walk from the hotel to Hua Lamphong train station, from which you can take a train to pretty much anywhere in Thailand (or a subway to the eastern half of Bangkok).
Except for the window thing, there’s not a bad thing I can say about the hotel. I highly recommend it.
If you want a good sweet snack, go left from the entrance and you’ll see a guy selling Chinese donuts with awesome green coconut cream.