Grand Royal Plaza — Chachoengsao's Go-To Wedding & Conference Hotel
If you grew up in Chachoengsao, or have ever been to a wedding or work seminar in town, the name Grand Royal Plaza Hotel probably rings a bell. This white 6-floor block on the bypass road near Complex Junction is the property locals talk about as a place to hold an event rather than a place to stay on holiday — because it runs nine banquet halls seating anywhere from 20 to 1,000 guests. Honestly, the building is dated and the rooms aren't new, but at a starting rate of ฿1,100 including breakfast, and a 5-minute drive to Wat Sothon, it answers a very different brief from a riverside resort.
Start with what Grand Royal Plaza genuinely does well — events and conferences. The hotel has nine ballrooms and seminar rooms in total. The largest carries crystal chandeliers and a stage and can lay out dozens of Chinese banquet tables, while the smaller rooms handle classroom-style seminars for tens to a few hundred people. Plenty of Chachoengsao families have been to a wedding, an ordination, a class reunion, or a government training session here. It's the name that comes to mind locally when someone needs a venue that seats a hundred-plus.
The building is six floors with over 200 rooms, ranging from singles and twins up to suites. Rooms are decorated in an older style — carpeted floors, padded headboards, dark wood furniture, with air conditioning, TV, fridge and hot water as standard. Be clear going in that this is not a freshly renovated minimalist hotel. The style is the older provincial-Thai hotel format that prioritises a big, usable room over polish. If you're fine with 'dated but clean and spacious' you'll be okay; if you're expecting an Instagram-ready room, this isn't it.
The detail that surprises a lot of guests is the 25-metre indoor swimming pool — a genuine full-length lap pool, which is rare for a hotel at this price around Chachoengsao. Beyond the pool there's a fitness room, a sauna, separate male and female bathing areas, and a traditional Thai massage service. Parents bringing kids to swim, or anyone who likes a morning workout, can use all of it without leaving the building.
A guest who attended a relative's wedding held at the hotel decided to book a room rather than drive home late: "I didn't originally plan to stay overnight because we don't live that far away, but I knew the reception would run past midnight and nobody wants to drive home after that. So we booked a twin room for two adults and two kids, all in — breakfast included, and the rate was honestly lower than I expected for four people. Our room was on the fourth floor, road-facing side, and the first thing I noticed was how much bigger it was than the room photos suggested. The carpet and furniture were old-fashioned, dark wood and patterned fabric, but everything was clean and nothing was broken or missing. TV was a decent size, the fridge worked, hot water came out strong, air conditioning was cold — none of the things that sometimes go wrong in an older building. I headed back down to help with the reception after check-in and didn't get back until nearly midnight. The kids were already asleep, and I fell asleep quickly too without hearing a single sound from the event downstairs, which I was half expecting. Turns out our room was on the opposite wing from the ballroom, so that helped a lot — worth asking for when you book. In the morning I took the kids down to the swimming pool before breakfast, and this was genuinely the best surprise of the stay. I had no idea there was a full-length indoor lap pool in a hotel at this price in Chachoengsao. It's proper length, inside, so no sunburn and no worrying about weather. The kids were in there for close to two hours — at that age they would stay in water all day if you let them. While they swam, one of us used the fitness room right next to the pool. It's basic gym equipment, treadmills and weights, nothing elaborate, but more than enough for a morning workout. After the pool we went up for breakfast, which was a buffet in the hotel restaurant. Rice soup, fried eggs, omelette, noodles, fried items, coffee, juice — a completely standard provincial Thai hotel breakfast, not fancy but filling and the kids ate well. The staff kept things topped up without us needing to ask. By the time we checked out we had eaten, swum, and worked out without leaving the building, which was a much better morning than trying to find a breakfast place nearby with two tired children. We drove to Wat Sothon straight after checkout — under ten minutes by car — and because it was early morning on a weekday there were almost no other visitors and parking was simple. That never happens when we go in the afternoon. If we are ever back in Chachoengsao for another family event I would book this place again without hesitation. Staying on-site made everything easier and the price was more than fair."
For food there's a restaurant called Krua Luang serving Thai-Chinese dishes, plus a coffee shop for lighter meals. Breakfast is included with most room rates and runs as a standard provincial-hotel morning buffet — rice soup, eggs, fried items, coffee, enough to fill up before heading out. In all honesty, food and restaurant service is the area reviewers flag as inconsistent: some meals are slow, some have limited choice. Don't expect big-city hotel standards here.
The location works in your favour if you're in town on business. The hotel sits on the bypass road near Complex Junction, a 5–10 minute drive from Wat Sothon Wararam Worawihan where people come to pay respects to Luang Pho Sothon, and roughly 20 minutes from Wat Saman Rattanaram with its giant pink Ganesha. Parking is very wide, which matters if you're driving yourself. Suvarnabhumi Airport is about 37 km away — call it 45 minutes to an hour depending on traffic.
Guest scores sit around 7 out of 10 across the booking platforms. The praise lands on spacious rooms, value pricing, plenty of parking, and the indoor pool. The marks come off for dated rooms and fittings, the inconsistent food and restaurant service, and a musty smell in some rooms given the age of the building. The right way to read this is as a 3-star hotel selling space, event convenience and price — not luxury.
The bottom line: Grand Royal Plaza works best for people in town on business, guests attending a wedding or conference held at the hotel, or families driving up for temple visits who want a big room at a budget rate with easy parking. If you're after a Bang Pakong riverside resort feel or a newly renovated room, look at Suntara Wellness Resort or Sunrise Lagoon instead. But if the brief is 'sleep in town, close to Wat Sothon, don't spend much,' this is the option Chachoengsao locals have leaned on for years.
Summary from Booking & Agoda
- ✓ Rooms larger than others at the same price
- ✓ Very wide parking — easy if you're driving
- ✓ 25m indoor pool the kids can use
- ✓ In-town location near Wat Sothon, good value
- ! Building and rooms are dated
- ! Food and restaurant service inconsistent
- ! Some rooms have a musty smell from the building's age
- ✓ Excellent for weddings and conferences — lots of halls
- ✓ Budget pricing, breakfast included
- ✓ On-site fitness room, sauna and Thai massage
- ✓ Front-desk staff friendly and helpful
- ! Furniture and bathrooms show their age
- ! Breakfast buffet has limited choice
- ! No shops or cafes within walking distance — you'll need to drive
- 💡If you're attending a wedding or conference at the hotel — staying on-site is the most convenient and best-value option, with no driving back and forth → request a floor away from the banquet halls if you want to avoid event noise at night
- 💡If you expect a freshly renovated, minimalist room — this may not be it, as it's an older provincial-style building → for something newer, try Suntara Wellness Resort on the Bang Pakong River
- 💡If you're driving and travelling as a group — the wide parking and spacious rooms are where it pays off → request a twin or suite for 3–4 people, still in the low thousands of baht