Lopburi Inn Hotel — Walk the Old Town Straight From the Lobby on a Budget
If you are coming to Lopburi to wander the old town, watch the monkeys and photograph Phra Prang Sam Yod, and you want a clean-enough bed that doesn't drain the wallet, Lopburi Inn Hotel tends to come up early on the shortlist. It's a budget 3-star — a 6-storey block on Narai Maharach Road, right inside the historic quarter. What guests mention again and again is the walkable location to the King Narai the Great Monument and free parking out front. To be straight with you: this is not a smart hotel and the building shows its age, but measured on location and price, it does its job well.
The first thing to understand is that Lopburi Inn is a budget city hotel, not a resort. The 6-storey building holds around 100 rooms split across Standard, Deluxe and Suite categories. Standard rooms come with air-conditioning, a fridge, a TV and a hot-water shower, while the Suites run larger and add a small sitting area. Several guests who booked a Suite note the room was bigger than they expected and the bed comfortable. The trade-off is that the furniture and decor are firmly in the older Thai-hotel mould — clean enough, but not a recent refurbishment.
The real selling point here is the location. The hotel sits on Narai Maharach Road inside the historic quarter, a few minutes' walk from the King Narai the Great Monument (about 470 m away). From there it's a short stroll on to King Narai's Palace (Phra Narai Ratchaniwet) and the museum. Phra Prang Sam Yod and the San Phra Kan shrine — the spots with the densest monkey population in town — are roughly a 5-minute drive or motorbike-taxi ride. For anyone touring Lopburi without their own car, that kind of placement saves real time and transport money.
One reviewer summed it up as "an old room but clean enough, very cheap, easy walk to the palace and the market, and the parking is free" — and reckoned a two-night Lopburi trip was well worth the rate.
Downstairs, the hotel runs the Lopburi Inn Cafe serving Thai and Chinese food, a dining room of round lazy-susan tables under a wall packed with framed pictures, very much in the old-banquet-restaurant style. There are also sizeable function and seminar rooms here, large enough for several hundred guests, which makes the place a local fixture for weddings and conferences. Note that most room rates do not include breakfast — check the rate you book, or add a package that bundles it, or simply walk to the old-town market where morning food stalls are plentiful.
The point worth stating plainly is the age of the building. Multiple reviews agree that the corridors, carpets and some rooms look tired, and a few guests met a musty smell in rooms that had been shut up for a while — running the air-con and airing the room on arrival helps. Staff earn praise for being friendly and helpful, though some have limited English. On noise, street-facing rooms can pick up traffic and activity from below, so ask for a higher floor on the inner side if you want quiet.
The aggregate Google score sits at 3.6 out of 5 from nearly 300 reviews, which captures the "budget that works" picture honestly. TripAdvisor rates it lower (around 2.7/5), with most criticism aimed at the dated condition and upkeep. Frankly, if you expect a 4- or 5-star standard you'll be disappointed. But if the brief is a clean-enough room in a good location at a pocket-change rate for a night or two of old-town sightseeing, it delivers.
On price, Lopburi Inn is genuinely cheap for a central hotel. Standard rooms start around ฿650–900/night in normal periods, with Deluxe and Suite rooms running roughly ฿1,100–1,400. During the King Narai Reign Fair (Ngan Phaendin Somdet Phra Narai) in February — the province's biggest festival — central rooms fill fast and rates climb, so book several weeks ahead. Compared with driving out to a resort on the edge of town and commuting in each day, sleeping in the centre like this is simply more convenient for walkers.
The bottom line: Lopburi Inn suits budget travellers and old-town sightseers who value location and price over how new the room is. Use it as a base to walk King Narai's Palace, photograph the monkeys at Phra Prang Sam Yod, then turn in right in the centre. If you want a newer room, a swimming pool, or a resort setting, look at properties outside town instead. But if the brief is cheap, clean-enough and walkable, it earns a place among Lopburi's better-value picks.
Summary from Booking & Agoda
- ✓ Central old-town location, walk to the palace and market
- ✓ Very cheap for a hotel this central
- ✓ Free parking out front
- ✓ Friendly, helpful staff
- ! Building and rooms show their age
- ! Some rooms smell musty if shut up for a while
- ! Most rates do not include breakfast
- ✓ Suite rooms larger than expected, comfortable beds
- ✓ 5–7 minute walk to the King Narai the Great Monument
- ✓ Lopburi Inn Cafe serves Thai and Chinese food on site
- ✓ Good base for touring the old town without a car
- ! Furniture and decor in an older style
- ! Street-side rooms catch some traffic noise
- ! Fills fast during the February King Narai Reign Fair — book ahead
- 💡If you expect a new room or a swimming pool — this isn't it → it's an older city hotel trading on location and price; for newer rooms and a resort feel, look outside town
- 💡If you want a quiet, fresh-smelling room — ask for a higher floor on the inner side away from the road, and run the air-con to air it out on arrival → street-facing rooms catch traffic noise and long-closed rooms can smell musty
- 💡If you're visiting during the King Narai Reign Fair (February) — book several weeks ahead → it's the province's biggest festival and central rooms fill fast at higher rates