Avani Riverside Hotel in Bangkok – a luxurious stay

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We recently re-visited Bangkok again, which is one of our all time favourite destinations. Having stayed in this city multiple times over the past few years, our criteria for this particular trip was for total relaxation with a bit of exploration. Based on that we decided to treat ourselves to a 3 night stay at the 5-star Avani Riverside Hotel. We booked this hotel purely on seeing the incredible photographs of the rooftop infinity pool we saw online, plus the positive reviews on Tripadvisor.

A luxurious stay at the Avani Riverside Hotel in Bangkok

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Checking into the Avani Riverside Hotel, Bangkok

Upon arrival we headed to the reception area for check-in on the 11th floor. Our first impressions of the hotel were excellent – the interior is modern and stylish, with large floor to ceiling windows and big bright open spaces. The quick and efficient check-in was with ‘P’, who was very friendly and served us a refreshing welcome drink. A great start to our stay.

Avani Riverside rooms

We were allocated a room on the 19th floor that had a spectacular view of the river and of downtown Bangkok (all rooms are river facing). The decor was neutral and modern, with an open plan bathroom including a separate toilet and shower cubicle. There was a cute seating area right by the window, and the bed was large and comfy. A bonus was the ‘Handy’ smartphone provided in the room – this enables you to access free calls to many international countries, plus free 4G wifi when out and about (I didn’t use this as I bought a Thai sim card for the duration of my stay).

Avani Riverside pool

What makes Avani a great place to stay in Bangkok is it’s incredible infinity rooftop swimming pool, with stunning views of the city and the Chao Phraya river. The Attitude bar and restaurant is also located on the same level and is a great place for a sunset cocktail.

My only negative is that the sun sets the other side of the hotel, so after 4pm half of the pool is in the shade and you do not get to view the sunset. However if you get up at 6am and head to the rooftop you can watch some of Bangkok’s epic sunrises (and it is also super quiet and free from selfie stick tourists). It’s an early start but totally worth it for that amazing Instagram shot to make your friends back home jealous!

Avani Riverside Hotel buffet breakfast

The breakfast buffet is served in the large Skyline restaurant on the 11th floor and has an excellent variety of both Thai and western dishes. The sun rises across the river during breakfast hours, so the beautiful morning sunlight pours into the room through the huge windows – which really wakes you up! The is hands down one of the best breakfasts I have had when staying in Bangkok.

The local area around Avani Riverside

Connected to the hotel is a small shopping centre that includes a handful of nice cheap and cheerful restaurants (including my favourite Thai ice cream chain cafe – Swensens!). There is also a good sized 7/11 store on the ground floor of the hotel which is very convenient!

Guests of the hotel have access to a complimentary shuttle boat service (shared with the Anantara Riverside resort next to Avani) which transports you to and from the awesome Asiatique riverside night market in 5 minutes (photos below). The market has many restaurants, bars, street food stalls, fashion shops and stalls, a big wheel, and a large theatre with live shows such as Muay Thai boxing. Check out our Asiatique: The Riverfront night market in Bangkok blog post.

The shuttle boats also take you to Saphan Taksin BTS station in around 15 minutes. From here catch the Skytrain to transport you to the centre of Bangkok. It is very quick, cheap and easy and better than taking a taxi fro the hotel (Bangkok traffic is horrendous and taxi drivers are sometimes difficult to communicate with).

We loved our stay at the Avani Riverside hotel and it was the perfect place to stay in Bangkok for 3 days. It is a little further out of town than most hotels, but the shuttle boats are frequent and reliable. You can check the room rates and on bookin g .com

Download the Grab app

Grab taxis are widely used by both tourists and locals, and the fares are really cheap! Download the Grab app here and use the code GRABCKTRAVELS to earn a free ride when you sign up.

Sim cards and pocket WIFI

Having data on your phone whilst travelling is almost essential these days – from planning your route around the city, booking a Grab taxi or for staying connected with friends and family back home. SIM cards are pretty cheap in Thailand with generous data allowances and are available to purchase from both of Bangkok’s airports, malls and 7-Elevens (bring your passport along for identification purposes).

You can also prepay online and collect a SIM from Suvarnabhumi Airport, Don Muang Airport or Siam Centre. Just remember to make sure your phone is not locked to your local network provider before purchasing one.

Alternatively if you do not want to change your sim card then renting a pocket WIFI device with unlimited high speed internet access might be for you. We’ve used them multiple times and love that we can both connect our devices to it. Pre-order one online with Klook for collection when you arrive at either Suvarnabhumi or Don Muang Airport.

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