The New Cathay Hotel — A Long-Standing Hotel in Central Betong Where You Can Walk to Everything
If you want a Betong hotel that's cheap but bang in the middle of town, the name The New Cathay Hotel turns up almost every time. The building sits on Jantarothai Road, directly across from the wet market, a few steps from the Betong Clock Tower and Thailand's largest mailbox. Honest take: the building is old and far from fancy, but travellers who drive into Betong themselves or come on a family trip often end up here because it's good value and saves you driving in and out of town.
The New Cathay has been part of Betong for a long time. It now sits under the same group as Grand Mandarin Betong, which positions it as the budget option in the family. The hotel has renovated all of its rooms with modern furniture and has 99 rooms in total. The Standard rooms run about 15 sqm with a large or twin bed, an LED satellite TV, a writing desk, and large windows that, in some rooms, look out over the town and the distant mountain ridge.
The thing guests mention again and again is the location. The building faces the Betong wet market, and a 3-minute walk out the front door gets you to the Clock Tower and the giant mailbox that has stood there since 1924. Betong chicken rice, morning dim sum, and street snacks are all within a few hundred metres, so you barely need to drive anywhere. For anyone coming to Betong to eat and wander the town with a camera, that location saves both time and fuel.
The honest caveat before you book is the state of the building. The rooms are renovated, but the structure itself is old. Several reviews agree that some hallways smell musty, the bathrooms look dated even when clean, and a few rooms are smaller than expected. Anyone expecting a brand-new hotel may be disappointed. But set your expectations to "budget hotel in the town centre" and most guests are fine with what they get for the price.
One guest summed it up: the room wasn't new but was clean enough to sleep well, and what they liked most was stepping outside straight into the market and the food, without ever needing to drive.
What surprises a lot of people is the Thai massage room on the first floor. The hotel says its therapists trained at Wat Pho and that it has run a massage service since 1983. Prices are friendly and it's a good way to unwind after a full day on foot. There's also an on-site restaurant, a ground-floor karaoke bar, a currency exchange (handy, since Betong sits on the Malaysian border), and 24-hour CCTV throughout the building.
Self-drivers will appreciate the hotel's indoor parking — in central Betong, parking is hard to find on holidays, so having a spot at the hotel helps a lot. As for breakfast, note up front that it is not included in the room rate. That's no real loss, though: Betong's well-known dim sum and chicken-rice shops are only a few hundred metres away, and heading out to eat is both tastier and more fun.
The overall score sits at about 7.6/10 from several hundred reviews. Location and value score well; what pulls it down is the age of the building and the ground-floor karaoke, which on some nights carries up to the lower rooms. If you're noise-sensitive, ask for a higher floor when you book. The hotel is also SHA-certified, which gives some reassurance on basic cleanliness standards.
The bottom line: The New Cathay works best for travellers focused on exploring the town itself, on a tight budget, who value location over luxury. If you want newer rooms or sea-of-mist Skywalk views, this isn't the answer. But if you want to wake up and immediately walk out to eat and take photos without starting the car, it's hard to find a better-located room in Betong at this price.
Summary from Booking & Agoda
- ✓ Central location — walk to the market and all the food
- ✓ Cheap rates, excellent value on a tight budget
- ✓ Indoor parking, convenient for self-drivers
- ✓ Staff communicate in Thai, Chinese, and a little English
- ! Old building, some hallways smell musty
- ! Bathrooms look dated even when clean
- ! Ground-floor karaoke can be loud some nights
- ✓ Across from the wet market — dim sum and chicken rice at the door
- ✓ Renovated rooms with LED TVs and a writing desk
- ✓ On-site Thai massage room, easy to unwind
- ✓ Currency exchange in the hotel, handy near the Malaysia border
- ! Some rooms smaller than expected
- ! No breakfast included in the rate
- ! No pool, and the lift can be slow when it's busy
- 💡If you're noise-sensitive — ask for a higher floor when booking → the ground-floor karaoke and restaurant can carry up to the lower rooms on some nights
- 💡If you expect a brand-new hotel — reset your expectations first → the rooms are renovated but the building and bathrooms are clearly older and show their age
- 💡If you want breakfast — plan to eat out → there's no breakfast included, but Betong's famous dim sum and chicken-rice shops are only a few hundred metres away