42C The Chic Hotel — A Glowing 42C Glass Tower with a Pool That's Rare in Nakhon Sawan
Drive the Nakhon Sawan–Phitsanulok road after dark and the tall glass tower with the red, glowing 42C sign on its roof is the landmark you'll spot before any hotel name. 42C The Chic Hotel opened in 2014 and had a full renovation in 2022 — a design 4-star property that road-trippers passing through tend to stop at. What sets it apart from similarly priced rooms in town is something genuinely uncommon here: an outdoor pool with a separate kids' pool, plus bright white-tiled rooms and free parking out front that drivers appreciate.
42C The Chic Hotel opened in 2014 and was renovated in 2022 — a design tower with 78 rooms. The building is glass-fronted against a grey-and-orange frame, topped by the red 42C sign that glows and reads from a distance at night. Rooms run from a 28 sqm Deluxe Double up to Junior and Family Suites roomy enough for a sofa and an extra bed. The detail guests mention most is the glossy white-tiled floor that keeps rooms feeling open and bright, paired with crisp white bedding and a swan folded from towels left on the bed — the kind of small touch people photograph for their reviews.
What separates 42C from similarly priced hotels in town is its outdoor pool with a separate kids' pool, something only a handful of properties at this level in Nakhon Sawan can offer. Reviewers note the water is clean and clear and that children can splash about happily. Downstairs, the 42C Spa handles oil massage, reflexology, body scrubs, and mani-pedis. The spa zone is quiet, with a warm foot soak waiting as treatments begin — a spot road-weary drivers tend to head for before turning in.
We drove up from Bangkok on a Friday and reached Nakhon Sawan around seven in the evening. The glowing 42C sign on the roof is genuinely easy to spot from the road — no need to squint at a map while driving, which matters after a long day behind the wheel. Check-in was quick and the staff member who showed us up explained the room layout, where the pool was, and breakfast hours without us having to ask. The room itself was spacious and spotlessly clean. The white-tiled floors make everything feel bigger and brighter than the photos suggest — the whole place had a light, open quality that some hotels in this price range lose under low lighting or dark carpets. We could hear almost nothing from the road once the door was shut, which surprised us given the location. The bedding was crisp and the shower pressure was strong enough to actually feel like a proper shower rather than a trickle. We headed down to the outdoor pool in the late afternoon before the sun dropped and found the water genuinely clean and clear. Our kids went straight for the separate children's pool — it's at a shallow enough depth that we didn't have to stand over them the whole time, which let us actually relax on the pool deck. The main pool is a decent size for laps or just floating around. After the swim we went to the 42C Spa on the ground floor. An oil massage for an hour left both of us completely unknotted after the drive. The therapist checked beforehand where we were sore and didn't overdo any one area. There's a warm foot soak while you wait to start, which is a small thing but sets a calm tone before the treatment begins. The spa area is quiet and private — no noise from the lobby or restaurant bleeding through. Breakfast at Vaniz the next morning was better than we expected for a hotel at this price. The buffet had proper range: rice dishes, noodles, bread, cereal, fruit, pastries, and the detail that stood out — eggs cooked to order, not just a fried egg sitting under a lamp. The restaurant room itself is wrapped in floor-to-ceiling glass with garden views, so it's a comfortable, light-filled place to sit and eat before getting back on the road. Free parking out front and an EV charging point meant no logistics headache. The total cost for the room, breakfast added, and the spa session came to less than we'd have paid for a far smaller room in Bangkok. We'll stop here again on the next drive north — it's the kind of place that makes a long-distance road trip feel like less of an ordeal. One last note: the EV charging point in the car park is a genuinely useful detail that most write-ups skip. If you drive electric and you're heading up toward Phitsanulok or Chiang Mai, this is a sensible overnight stop where you can charge while you sleep. The combination of a roomy, quiet room, a working pool, a reliable spa, and breakfast that's actually good — all at a price that doesn't sting — is harder to find in this stretch of the central north than you'd think.
Breakfast is served buffet-style at Vaniz from 6:30 to 10:00. It's a bright room wrapped in floor-to-ceiling glass with a curved bar counter at its centre. Several guests praise the spread for its range across Thai and international dishes, with eggs cooked to order rather than just rice soup and a fried egg. Through the day and into the evening Vaniz doubles as a restaurant and bar, handy on nights when you'd rather not head out to find a place to eat.
The location sits on the Nakhon Sawan–Phitsanulok road in Wat Sai subdistrict, on the northern edge of town. Worth saying up front: it's not in the walkable Pak Nam Pho core — immediate surroundings are mainly a 7-Eleven and roadside vendors. But it's an easy drive for anyone heading north. Sawan Park is about 3.3 km away and the provincial hall around 4.3 km, both a few minutes by car. There's free parking out front and an EV charging point too — something EV drivers passing through call out specifically.
The Trip.com score sits at 9.0 from 53 reviews, while on Tripadvisor it ranks #2 of 17 hotels in Nakhon Sawan. The highest-scoring categories are its easy-drive location (9.3) and staff service (9.1). The honest feedback from lower-rated reviews flags beds that feel firm in some rooms and air-conditioning units that blow straight at the head of the bed in a few rooms. A couple of reviewers noted the poolside can run short on towels and sun loungers — worth knowing before you go.
On price — it starts at around ฿1,100/night for a Deluxe room, with Junior and Family Suites rising to roughly ฿1,800–2,400. That's strong value once you factor in the pool, spa, and buffet breakfast at a low-thousands rate. During long weekends or the Pak Nam Pho Chinese New Year festival (the city's big annual event), rooms fill quickly and rates climb, so book several weeks ahead.
The bottom line: 42C The Chic Hotel works best for drivers passing through Nakhon Sawan who want a spacious room, a pool for the kids, and free parking at a low-thousands rate. Breakfast is good, the spa is a relaxing add-on, and the glowing sign makes the building easy to find. If your plan is to walk around the Pak Nam Pho centre, it's less ideal — but with a car and a one-night stopover in mind, it answers the brief well.
Summary from Booking & Agoda
- ✓ Spacious, clean rooms — white-tiled floors keep them open and bright
- ✓ Outdoor pool and kids' pool, hard to find in this town
- ✓ Varied buffet breakfast with eggs cooked to order
- ✓ Free parking out front plus an EV charging point
- ! Not central — surroundings are mainly a 7-Eleven and roadside vendors
- ! Beds feel firm in some rooms
- ! Poolside can run short on towels and sun loungers
- ✓ Glowing 42C glass tower is easy to spot at night and easy to reach by car
- ✓ 42C Spa — oil massage, reflexology and body scrubs to unwind after driving
- ✓ Friendly, helpful staff who sort out what you need · service scores 9.1
- ✓ Strong value — pool and breakfast included at a low-thousands rate
- ! AC blows at the head of the bed in some rooms — light sleepers should reposition it
- ! Rooms fill fast during the Pak Nam Pho Chinese New Year festival, rates climb
- ! Walking to restaurants outside the hotel is awkward — a car helps
- 💡If you don't have a car — the hotel is on the Nakhon Sawan–Phitsanulok road in Wat Sai, not in the centre, with mainly a 7-Eleven and roadside vendors nearby → budget for a ride into town, or pick a Pak Nam Pho hotel if you plan to explore on foot
- 💡If you're sensitive to firm beds or AC airflow — some reviews mention firm beds and AC that blows at the head of the bed → ask at check-in for a room where the AC can be redirected, or request an extra pillow for softness
- 💡If the pool is your main draw — the outdoor and kids' pools are the standout, but towels and sun loungers can be limited at times → bring a spare towel from the room or ask at the desk before heading down