Gallery Design Hotel — An Art-Themed Hotel With a Pool in Central Sisaket
If you assumed Sisaket had no hotels with real design behind them, Gallery Design Hotel is the one locals point to first. It sits on Ubon Road in the middle of town and runs an art-gallery theme through the whole building — walk into the lobby and you meet wall-sized reproductions of the Mona Lisa and Van Gogh. What guests keep coming back to is the outdoor pool beside the Oasis restaurant, a rarity in a secondary city, plus rooms that come out wider than you'd expect at this price.
Gallery Design Hotel stands on Ubon Road, about 600 metres from the fountain circle that marks the town centre. The hotel is a multi-storey block wrapped in emerald-green glass that you can spot from a distance, while the front gives you a covered driveway framed by a copper-toned geometric wall and green Thai-fretwork glass — it doesn't read like the usual upcountry hotel. There are 28 rooms split across Superior, Deluxe and Exclusive grades, most done in dark wood with blue curtains and a gold-framed artwork above every bed, which is where the Gallery name comes from.
The art theme is something the hotel commits to properly. Beyond the lobby — gilded Thai mural on the wall, chandeliers overhead — the corridors and banquet hall carry wall-sized reproductions of the Mona Lisa and Van Gogh's The Starry Night. Plenty of people who've attended a wedding or function in town remember this hall purely because of those paintings. It gives the place a personality that's easy to recall, which is more than you can say for the square concrete boxes that pass for most hotels in a smaller city.
One guest recalls the room being "spotless from check-in to check-out, with English-speaking reception staff who genuinely helped" — and not expecting to find a place like this in Sisaket at all.
The outdoor pool is the single thing guests mention most, because very few hotels in central Sisaket actually have one. It sits next to the Oasis restaurant, which opens poolside so you can order food and drinks and sit by the water. One thing worth knowing: getting from the room block to the pool means cutting across a corner of the car park — it isn't directly connected from every room. Mornings before it gets busy are quiet, and that's the time to swim before the heat sets in.
Breakfast is a small buffet, but reviewers agree it's done well — Thai dishes, eggs, bread, salad, and a coffee machine that turns out a decent cup. It isn't the sprawling forty-item spread you'd get at a hotel in a tourist city, but for a secondary town it covers the bases and fills you up. There's also a massage room and a sauna, plus free bicycles to borrow for a ride around town — the kind of extras you rarely find at this rate.
The score sits at 9.4/10 from 48 Trip.com reviews, and 4.1/5 on Tripadvisor where it ranks 2nd of 7 hotels in Sisaket. Guests praise the cleanliness, the room size, and the attentive staff. The honest gripes are firm beds in some rooms and a faint musty smell in a few, since the building is starting to show its age. One review mentioned arriving during a loud function at the hotel — if you're coming on a weekend, it's worth checking with them whether an event is booked.
The location works in your favour. It's roughly a 10-minute walk to Wat Maha Puttharam (the Big Buddha temple), the town's signature temple, and close to the Phranang Sisaket Monument and Sisaket train station (about 800 metres). The streets around the hotel have restaurants and an evening market within walking distance for finding dinner. If you arrive by train at Sisaket station, you can simply wheel your bag over without needing much transport.
The bottom line: Gallery Design Hotel suits anyone who wants a hotel with real design and a pool in central Sisaket without paying much for it. You get a wide room, a walkable spot near the temple and the train station, and an art theme that makes the trip memorable. If a firm bed is a dealbreaker, ask for a renovated room when you book. But if you're after good value for a stopover in Sisaket or a base before heading on to Pha Mo I Daeng, this is the first option to look at.
Summary from Booking & Agoda
- ✓ Rooms spacious and very clean — above expectation for the price
- ✓ Reception staff speak English and are helpful
- ✓ Has an outdoor pool, rare in central Sisaket
- ✓ Central location within walking distance of the temple and train station
- ! Beds in some rooms run firm
- ! Building is ageing — a few rooms have a musty smell
- ! Path to the pool crosses the car park, not connected from every room
- ✓ Mona Lisa and Van Gogh art theme makes it memorable, not generic
- ✓ Breakfast done well with decent coffee, even if the buffet is small
- ✓ Massage room and sauna, plus free bicycles to borrow
- ✓ Oasis poolside restaurant lets you eat by the water
- ! Design dated in some rooms — ask for a renovated one
- ! Functions can get loud; check before booking a weekend
- ! Parking fills quickly when an event is on
- 💡If bed firmness matters to you — ask for a renovated room when booking, or ask the hotel directly which rooms have softer beds → some reviews note the beds run firm
- 💡If you're coming on a weekend — check with the hotel whether a function or wedding is booked → the banquet hall is large and can get loud in the evening, and parking fills up fast
- 💡If you mainly want the pool — request a room near the pool side at booking → some rooms require walking across the car park to reach it, and it isn't directly connected from every room