Laithong Hotel — A Long-Standing City-Centre Hotel With Rooms Bigger Than the Price Suggests
Ask anyone in Ubon which hotel has been around the longest and Laithong Hotel comes up fast. The white tower on Phichitrangsan Road, with its orange-tiled Thai-style canopy over the entrance, is a familiar sight to locals. What guests talk about isn't luxury — it's rooms that run noticeably larger than other hotels at the same price and a free airport shuttle that means flying into Ubon costs you nothing to reach the city. Worth saying up front: this is an older-generation hotel, not a sleek new build. But for a few hundred baht to just over a thousand a night, the space you get is genuinely good value.
Laithong has stood in central Ubon for decades. The white nine-storey tower with an orange-tiled Thai canopy over the driveway is a landmark locals recognise instantly. Rooms come in two main types — Superior with twin beds and Deluxe with a queen — and the thing guests keep coming back to is how genuinely large they are. Many rooms have a wide corner window framing the city rooftops and distant temple spires. The decor is brown-and-orange teak in the style of an older Thai hotel: not modern, but clean and well kept.
The feature that sets Laithong apart from other hotels in town is the free airport shuttle. Ubon Ratchathani Airport sits only about 10 minutes away by car, and guests who notify the hotel ahead of time get picked up — no taxi needed. There's also free parking on a large lot, which matters a lot for anyone driving an Isan road trip. The location puts you in the city business district, walking distance to restaurants, cafes and a market, with Thung Si Mueang park and the main temples a short drive away.
One guest recalls: "The room was far bigger than they expected, and arriving on a late flight, the hotel car was waiting for them at the airport — excellent value for the price."
For food, the hotel runs Ruen Thong restaurant, serving Thai, Chinese and international dishes. Breakfast is included with most rooms, and guests regularly single out the fried rice and Thai morning dishes as well done for the price. The hotel also has a Thai massage room and several meeting rooms that locals use for seminars and banquets. When there's a wedding or conference on, the lobby gets noticeably busier.
Let's be straight about the swimming pool, because it's the single most common complaint in reviews. The hotel has an outdoor pool and a kids' pool, but several reviewers report the water isn't always clear, upkeep is inconsistent, and it has been closed for renovation at times. If you're choosing a hotel specifically for daily swims, Laithong shouldn't be your first pick. If the pool is a nice-to-have rather than the reason you're booking, it won't be an issue.
The Trip.com score sits at 7.5/10 from 37 reviews, and TripAdvisor rates it 3.5/5 from 89 reviews (ranked #10 of 28 hotels in Ubon). Guests consistently praise the friendly, English-speaking staff, the room size and the location. The complaints, beyond the pool, centre on the age of the building and the carpets in some rooms — a few mention a faint musty smell, and Wi-Fi signal can be weak in certain rooms. The overall picture is an older hotel that still does its job well at a sensible price.
On price, Laithong starts around ฿600/night for a Superior room in normal periods, averaging about ฿1,100. That's cheap for the floor space you get. Rates climb during the Candle Festival in July — the city's biggest event, when visitors arrive from across the country — and rooms fill fast at several times the usual price. If you're coming for that, book weeks ahead.
The bottom line: Laithong works best for travellers who want big rooms, a central location and a free airport shuttle, and who value those over a new fit-out or a pretty pool. Business travellers flying in for meetings, road-trippers exploring Isan, and families wanting more space will find it good value. If you're after fresh design, a great pool, or a boutique feel, one of the newer hotels in the city will suit you better.
Summary from Booking & Agoda
- ✓ Rooms much larger than similarly priced hotels
- ✓ Friendly staff who speak English
- ✓ Free airport shuttle, a real help on late arrivals
- ✓ Central location with free parking
- ! Building and carpets in some rooms feel dated, occasional musty smell
- ! Swimming pool upkeep is inconsistent
- ! Wi-Fi signal weak in some rooms
- ✓ Strong value on a tight budget
- ✓ Breakfast included, fried rice and Thai dishes done well
- ✓ Ruen Thong restaurant covers Thai, Chinese and international
- ✓ Close to the airport and the city business district
- ! Design is older-style, not modern
- ! Pool has been closed for renovation, water not always clear
- ! Rates rise and rooms fill fast during the Candle Festival
- 💡If you want a nice pool for daily swims — check the pool's status with the hotel before booking → multiple reviews note unclear water at times and past renovation closures, so don't count on it as a headline feature
- 💡If you're sensitive to smell and carpets — request a renovated or higher-floor room when booking → some older rooms have a musty smell and worn carpet, and staff can offer you the best-condition room available
- 💡If you're coming during the Candle Festival (July) — book weeks in advance → it's the city's biggest event, rooms sell out fast and rates jump to several times normal