The Grand Riverside Hotel — Nan River Views in Central Phitsanulok, Walk to Phra Buddha Chinnarat
Ask anyone in Phitsanulok which riverside hotel locals have known for years and The Grand Riverside Hotel usually comes up first. The white six-storey building sits right on the Nan River along Phra Ruang Road, with recently renovated rooms. What guests mention most is the river-facing rooms and the riverside River View restaurant, where breakfast looks straight out over the water. Add a location that puts the Night Bazaar and Wat Phra Si Rattana Mahathat under a 10-minute walk away, and it stays the first pick for travellers who want to stay central without needing a car.
The Grand Riverside is one of the city's older hotels that has gone through a recent room renovation. The six-storey building holds 80 rooms split across Superior, Deluxe, Junior Suite and Presidential Suite categories. What sets it apart from the usual in-town hotel is the genuine Nan River frontage — river-facing rooms open onto the water and the bridge across to the night-market side. Several first-time guests who ended up in a street-facing room said the same thing: next time they'll request the river side at booking, because the two views are not remotely the same.
The renovated rooms draw particular praise for cleanliness — crisp white linen, bathrooms with both a shower and a tub, and one detail foreign guests keep writing about: genuinely strong shower pressure, which is rare at this price. The Superior rooms start at a comfortable size for two, while Junior Suites and up add a separate sitting area that helps on longer stays or with family. Every room has air-conditioning, a minibar, a safe, satellite TV and free Wi-Fi.
The riverside River View restaurant is the other thing guests talk about. It runs both an indoor section and an open-air terrace on the Nan River, serving Thai, Chinese and Western dishes. Breakfast is included with most rooms, and plenty of reviews credit it as better than the room rate would suggest. In the evening the breeze off the river keeps the terrace cool, and dinner with the lights of the far bank across the water is the kind of setting a single in-town tower simply can't offer.
"Opened the curtains to the Nan River and the bridge, had a riverside breakfast in the cool morning air, then walked straight across to pay respects at Phra Buddha Chinnarat — great value for the price."
Location is the hotel's strongest card. It's about a 10-minute walk to the Night Bazaar and the riverside night market, where the street food runs deep, and roughly another ten minutes to Wat Phra Si Rattana Mahathat (Wat Yai), home to Phra Buddha Chinnarat — held by many to be one of Thailand's most beautiful Buddha images. Convenience stores, coffee shops and a market across the bridge all sit within easy reach. Phitsanulok train station and airport are both close too, around 10–12 minutes by car, which makes it a sensible stopover heading north.
The Trip.com score sits at 9.1/10 from 48 reviews — cleanliness scores 9.3 and location 9.3. The honest feedback to flag up front is that soundproofing between rooms is weak — light sleepers should pack earplugs. Beyond that, this is an older building where only the rooms have been refreshed, so the lobby and lifts still feel of an earlier era. And there is no swimming pool here, so if the plan involves kids in the water, that one rules it out.
The bottom line: The Grand Riverside works best for travellers who want to stay on the Nan River in the city centre, walking to the Night Bazaar and Phra Buddha Chinnarat without driving, from around ฿1,200/night. It isn't a luxury hotel, but the renovated rooms are clean, breakfast is good, and the river views are real. The one tip worth repeating — request a river-facing room when you book, and the experience shifts well clear of the street-side rooms.
Summary from Booking & Agoda
- ✓ Riverside location, walkable to Night Bazaar and Wat Yai
- ✓ Renovated rooms are clean, strong shower pressure
- ✓ Riverside breakfast better than the price suggests
- ✓ Free parking and airport transfer available
- ! Soundproofing between rooms is weak
- ! No swimming pool
- ! Lobby and lifts still feel dated
- ✓ River-facing rooms have lovely views and a cool evening breeze
- ✓ Staff friendly and helpful
- ✓ Close to convenience stores, coffee shops and markets
- ✓ Strong value for a central city hotel
- ! Street-facing rooms lack the river view
- ! Some rooms catch noise from neighbours
- ! Parking fills quickly during conference events
- 💡If you want a river view — specify a Nan River-facing room when booking → street-facing rooms cost about the same but the view and atmosphere are clearly different
- 💡If you're a light sleeper — soundproofing between rooms is weak, so pack earplugs and ask at check-in for a room away from the lift and corridor
- 💡If you're travelling with kids who want to swim — there is no pool here → if a pool matters, look at an out-of-town hotel that has one instead