Noom Guesthouse — An Old Wooden House in the Old Town Where Monkeys Wander Past the Door
If you take the train to Lopburi and want somewhere you can walk to straight from the platform, Noom Guesthouse is the name backpackers mention first. It's an old two-storey wooden house in the old town, just a few minutes on foot from Phra Prang Sam Yot and San Phra Kan. What guests come back talking about, almost without exception, is the on-site restaurant — better than a guesthouse at this price has any right to be — and the owner, Noom, who sorts out tours and motorbike rental. The rooms aren't fancy, but the atmosphere is something the newer hotels simply can't give you.
Noom Guesthouse is an old two-storey wooden house on Phayakamjad Road in the centre of Lopburi's old town. The whole building is teak, and the upstairs balcony looks down on a street where, on some days, troops of monkeys wander past — that single image is what people remember about the place. There are around seven rooms plus a few small bungalows set around a courtyard, split between air-con and fan rooms, with some sharing a bathroom. Rooms are plain in the way old guesthouse rooms are — a bed, a wardrobe, a fan or an air-con unit, nothing more — but they're clean and quieter than you'd expect once you're tucked into the inner side.
What guests talk about most isn't the rooms; it's the restaurant downstairs. The menu runs Thai and Western — pad thai, tom yum, green curry, papaya salad, through to burgers, waffles and proper coffee. Review after review says the same thing: it was one of the best meals they'd had since arriving in Thailand, and the pad thai in particular keeps coming up. There's a wooden bar, a pool table and a dartboard for the evenings, and the whole ground floor turns into a place where travellers end up meeting each other without planning to.
One guest put it simply: the room was basic, but they'd come downstairs to eat and not want to go anywhere else, getting so caught up chatting with the owner that they lost track of time.
The owner, Noom, is the kind of old-school traveller foreign guests love to mention. He arranges bicycle and motorbike rental and helps put together tours around Lopburi and the surrounding area. There's a tour desk, luggage storage, currency exchange, a small mini-market and a laundry service on site. For anyone arriving by train without their own transport, being able to rent a motorbike right at the door and ride out to the Pa Sak Jolasid Dam or the sunflower fields in the cooler months is a genuine advantage.
The location is the strongest card here. It's about a 10-minute walk from Lopburi railway station — close enough to wheel your bag over without calling a ride. Phra Prang Sam Yot (the temple with the monkeys) and San Phra Kan are roughly a 5-minute walk away, and King Narai's Palace and Prang Khaek are both within easy reach on foot. Lopburi is a small town you can cover by walking, and Noom sits right in the middle of all of it.
The overall score sits at 8.4/10 from more than 1,320 reviews, and it has ranked among Lopburi's top guesthouses for years. A few things worth knowing up front: the house is on a market street, so front-facing rooms catch traffic and morning market noise. Some reviews mention mosquitoes in the rainy season and older air-con units that cool slowly. The food is genuinely good but priced a little above the street stalls outside, as tourist-facing menus tend to be. Know that going in and you won't be caught out.
On price, fan rooms start around ฿350/night and air-con rooms around ฿520, with bungalows and family rooms a step up from there. That's very cheap for a spot this central in the old town. Breakfast isn't included in the room rate, but you can come down for coffee and eggs at the restaurant in the morning. During the sunflower-bloom season (November to January) and the monkey buffet festival the town fills up fast, so book ahead — there are only seven rooms.
The bottom line: Noom Guesthouse suits budget travellers who arrive in Lopburi by train and want old wooden-house character and a good restaurant more than hotel-style comfort. If you need a cold, modern air-con room, a brand-new bathroom and a big car park, this probably isn't the one. But if you want to sleep in the old town, wake up and walk over to watch the monkeys, and have someone on hand to help plan your trip, you'll struggle to find better value anywhere in town.
Summary from Booking & Agoda
- ✓ Central old-town location — walk to the station and the temples
- ✓ Restaurant food is excellent — many single out the pad thai
- ✓ Friendly owner who helps with tours and motorbike rental
- ✓ Very cheap for somewhere this central
- ! Street-side rooms catch market noise in the morning
- ! Rooms are basic and some air-con units are old
- ! A few mosquitoes in the rainy season
- ✓ Old wooden-house character you won't get from a newer hotel
- ✓ Walking distance to Phra Prang Sam Yot and San Phra Kan
- ✓ Bar, pool table and darts — easy to meet other travellers
- ✓ Tour desk, luggage storage and currency exchange all in one spot
- ! Some rooms have a shared bathroom — check the room type first
- ! Food is good but priced a little above the stalls outside
- ! Only seven rooms, so it fills up fast in festival season
- 💡If you want the quietest room — ask for one on the inner side away from the street, since front rooms catch traffic and market noise in the morning → request it when you book, or call ahead to confirm
- 💡If you need a private bathroom and air-con — say so clearly when booking, as some rooms are fan-only or share a bathroom, and the price gap is real → match the room-type name before you confirm
- 💡If you're travelling without a car — rent a motorbike or bicycle here and ride out to Pa Sak Jolasid Dam or the late-year sunflower fields → far cheaper than hiring a car