Seeharaj Hotel — A White Tower With a Pool That Has Anchored Central Uttaradit Since 1983
Ask anyone in Uttaradit which in-town hotel they have known the longest and the name Seeharaj Hotel — โรงแรมสีหราช to locals — tends to come up first. It is a tall white tower on Boromaat Road in the centre of town, opened back in 1983 and given a major renovation in 2019. The reason people still book it is simple: it is one of the few hotels in town with a genuine outdoor pool, paired with a location you can walk from to both the train station and the town market. Real guest reviews give it 8.6 from 78 ratings, and TripAdvisor ranks it the number-one hotel in Uttaradit city. The trade-off is the building's age — some corners still look their years — and it is worth knowing that before you book.
Seeharaj is one of Uttaradit's long-standing hotels, open since 1983 — a tall white tower with a curved cream canopy over the driveway that you can spot from down Boromaat Road as you arrive. It runs 152 rooms, which is large for a provincial hotel, ranging from Superior twins and doubles up to a roomier Suite with a separate sitting corner. Since the 2019 renovation most rooms come in warm cream tones offset by orange accent cushions, with a framed Thai woven textile on the wall — plain but warm. Guests repeatedly note that the rooms are cleaner and more spacious than the rate suggests, the Suites in particular drawing praise as good value.
What sets Seeharaj apart from other places in town is the outdoor pool set against the tower. It is a long pool, big enough for actual lengths, with white sun loungers and red parasols lined along the edge and a glass-walled wing as the backdrop. Hotels with a pool like this in Uttaradit can be counted on one hand, so anyone travelling with kids or wanting a cool-down after a day on the road has an advantage here. The poolside Ruen Kwan restaurant doubles as a spot to eat and sit by the water. To be straight about it, some older reviews flagged the loungers and poolside fittings as looking worn — if you are expecting a brand-new resort pool you may need to adjust, but if you simply want a pool to swim in, this one delivers.
One guest summed it up as a "spacious, clean room with a pool to swim in, walkable to the train station and the market, and staff who were great with parking — good value for central Uttaradit at this price."
The public areas still carry the feel of an older-generation hotel — a wide lobby with wood-panelled walls and Thai woven textiles, a chandelier, and a reception lounge in cream upholstery. There is a 24-hour front desk, luggage storage, a lift, a gym, a bar, and large meeting and banquet rooms that locals use for events fairly often. The service guests mention most is the friendly staff and the help with parking, and the free on-site parking is generous — handy if you are driving in. Airport transfers are available too, though charged separately.
Location is the real advantage. Seeharaj sits on Boromaat Road in the town centre, a roughly 15-minute walk from Uttaradit train station — if you arrive on the northern line you can wheel your bag over without a taxi. The streets around it are a town district with Thai and Western food, a department store and markets within easy reach, so finding dinner on foot is no problem. The Phraya Phichai Dap Hak monument and the provincial hall are a few minutes' drive away, while the town's main sights — Wat Phra Thaen Sila At and Wat Phra Borommathat Thung Yang — sit about 15–20 minutes out by car. The upside of staying central is that everything is close and you are not reliant on a car all day the way you would be at an out-of-town property.
The Trip.com score is 8.6/10 from 78 reviews, which is solid for a small-town hotel. Location scores highest at 9.2, followed by service (8.6) and cleanliness (8.5). Guests regularly praise the spacious clean rooms, the central location, the pool, and the helpful staff. The honest feedback to weigh: because this is an 80s-era tower, several reviews note that the structure and wooden furniture show their age, that the air-conditioning in some rooms cools slowly, and that the rooms still use old-style key locks. Breakfast also draws complaints about limited choice and food that is sometimes not hot. Worth knowing so you can pick the right room and set expectations.
The bottom line: Seeharaj Hotel suits travellers or those here on business who want a spacious room, a central location, a pool and free parking for under a thousand baht more than anyone after a brand-new, design-led property. Rates start around ฿800/night for a Superior, which is good value once you factor in the pool and the location. If you are travelling as a family or want more space, the Suite is the room most guests call the best value. Compare Agoda, Booking and Trip before booking each time — and if a newer room matters to you, request one of the renovated rooms when you reserve.
Summary from Booking & Agoda
- ✓ Central location, walkable to the train station and market
- ✓ Has an outdoor pool — rare in Uttaradit town
- ✓ Spacious rooms, the Suites especially
- ✓ Free parking and helpful staff
- ! Older building, some corners look worn
- ! AC cools slowly in some rooms, old-style key locks
- ! Limited breakfast choice, sometimes not hot
- ✓ Good value for a spacious central room
- ✓ Pool the kids can cool off in
- ✓ Near town restaurants and the department store
- ✓ A long-trusted local hotel
- ! Wooden furniture and decor look dated
- ! Some poolside fittings could be refreshed
- ! Staff English is limited
- 💡If a newer room matters — the tower opened in 1983 and was renovated in 2019, but not every room was redone equally → request a renovated room or a newer floor when booking, and expect some original wooden furniture
- 💡If you want a brand-new resort pool — the pool here is an older one that still works well, but some poolside fittings look worn per reviews → if swimming is your main plan, ask the hotel about the current condition first, or choose it mainly for the central location
- 💡If breakfast matters — the breakfast buffet (around ฿235/person) has limited choice and is sometimes not hot per reviews → the surrounding town district has plenty of breakfast spots, so eating out is what many guests do