The Rich Hotel Nonthaburi — Big Rooms on a Small Budget in the Drive-Friendly Rama 5 Area
If you're after a bed on the Rama 5 side of Nonthaburi that costs barely over a thousand baht yet gives you more room than you'd expect, The Rich Hotel is the name locals here tend to bring up. It's a 3-star property in the older mould — timber panelling and faux-stone walls, the look of a mid-2000s Thai hotel — and what guests keep mentioning is the combination of large 24–28 sqm rooms, some with a soaking tub, and free in-building parking that's genuinely hard to find around here. It suits drivers running errands or visiting Wat Sangkhathan far more than anyone hoping to stroll around the city centre.
The Rich Hotel sits on Soi Wat Chotikaram off Nakhon In Road, on the Rama 5 side of Mueang Nonthaburi — a residential strip that most visitors arrive at by car rather than public transport. The hotel is a mid-rise that has been operating for well over a decade, and the interior language of timber panelling, faux-stone feature walls and warm-toned corridor carpet places it firmly in the mid-2000s Thai hotel aesthetic: nothing cutting-edge, but warmer in feel than the concrete-box alternatives at a similar price point. There are 77 rooms in total, distributed across the floors in two main configurations: Standard Double rooms at 28 sqm come with one large bed and are popular with couples or solo travellers who prefer a king setup, while Standard Twin and Superior Twin rooms at 24–28 sqm pair two single beds and are the more common request from colleagues sharing or families with older children. Every room is fitted with a work desk large enough to actually use, a full-size timber wardrobe, a mini-fridge, a flat-screen TV, an in-room phone and free Wi-Fi — the complete working set for a business overnight or a practical family stay. What guests consistently comment on, across both Booking.com and Agoda, is that the rooms are bigger than the price suggests: at a little over a thousand baht a night, 24–28 sqm with a proper desk and wardrobe is genuinely above the norm for this tier in Nonthaburi. The ceiling height contributes to the feeling of space — several reviewers specifically note that the room felt less cramped than expected from the photos, which tend not to capture the vertical dimension. Air conditioning is central-system style and generally reliable, though a handful of older reviews mention units that needed adjustment — worth flagging at check-in if the room temperature feels off. The housekeeping standard is mixed across rooms: most guests report clean linen and tidy surfaces, but a minority of reviews — perhaps one in five across both platforms — mention a specific room where grout had darkened or a patch of wall showed signs of wear. The overall picture is of a hotel that maintains its better rooms well and is less consistent with the older stock, which is common in properties of this age and scale. If cleanliness is a priority, the practical move is to ask at check-in for a recently refurbished room — the staff have generally been described as cooperative about this. On the practical side, the in-building convenience store saves a trip outside for snacks or toiletries, and the free parking lot is genuinely large enough to accommodate a full-size SUV — a detail that matters more than it sounds in a province where dedicated hotel parking is increasingly rare. The front desk is staffed through the night, so late arrivals present no issue. Check-in is from 14:00 and check-out by noon, both standard for Thai hotels at this level. The overall package — room size, included breakfast, free parking, convenience store, banquet facilities — represents more infrastructure than most budget travellers expect at this price, and that gap between expectation and reality is the main reason repeat guests keep coming back to The Rich when they have business in the Nonthaburi Rama 5 area.
What sets The Rich apart from same-priced rivals is that many rooms come with a soaking tub in the bathroom. It's no luxury jacuzzi — just a plain white tiled tub — but at a little over a thousand baht a night, that's tough to find elsewhere in the area. Bathrooms use a shower-curtain setup with hot water. Be warned that in some rooms the tiles and grout have picked up stains over the years, so if that bothers you, ask to see the room first or request one of the better-maintained units at check-in.
One guest summed it up as "a much bigger room than I expected, parking inside the building, friendly staff, and good value for Nonthaburi — but the building really is old, so don't expect brand new."
The ground-floor lobby is a wide timber hall with leather sofas and waiting chairs, classic in the older Thai-hotel way. There's a convenience store inside the building for snacks and essentials without going far, a restaurant serving breakfast (included with most rates), and a large banquet hall that locals around Nonthaburi like to book for weddings and functions. On a weekend with an event on, the lobby can get busy — if you want quiet, try to avoid nights with a big party booked in.
Location is the thing to get straight before booking. The Rich is on the Rama 5 side, a residential pocket rather than central Nonthaburi, and it's not within walking distance of the MRT Purple Line — you'll need a ride. The closest stations, around Bang Rak Noi–Tha It or the Phra Nang Klao bridge, are a 10–15 minute drive or Grab away. The real strength is for self-drivers: free parking here, and quick access onto the Si Rat–Outer Ring expressway, makes runs to Don Mueang Airport or into inner Bangkok straightforward.
The places guests head to most are close by. Wat Sangkhathan — a temple well known for vipassana meditation — is just 0.7 km away. The Mall Ngamwongwan and Central Rattanathibet are a 10–15 minute drive, and the markets and roadside restaurants along Nakhon In Road give you plenty of local-priced options. Ko Kret and the Nonthaburi pier for river trips are a short drive too. This pocket works best for travellers who want a quiet base and then drive out to attractions one at a time, rather than walking everywhere.
On the scores, plainly: The Rich holds 3.1 out of 5 on Tripadvisor across 43 reviews, sitting near the bottom of the Nonthaburi hotel rankings. Its best subscore is value (3.8), and the recurring criticism is the dated rooms and patchy maintenance. Some reviews report stained linens or mould in the bathroom — the kind of upkeep gaps you get in an older hotel that isn't maintained evenly across every room. Worth stating up front so there are no surprises: if you want somewhere new and spotless, this isn't it, but if you can accept an old building in exchange for a big, cheap room, the value holds up on its own terms.
Bottom line: The Rich Hotel works best for drivers who want a large, budget-priced room in the Rama 5 area — visiting Wat Sangkhathan, running errands around Nonthaburi, or breaking a longer drive. The draw is the big rooms, the soaking tub, free parking, and staff that many guests describe as genuinely helpful. The trade-off is an ageing building and inconsistent upkeep. If you want something newer and close to the MRT, look instead at the hotels on the Rattanathibet side along the Purple Line.
Summary from Booking & Agoda
- ✓ Spacious rooms with high ceilings and large desks
- ✓ Free in-building parking — very handy for drivers
- ✓ Friendly, helpful staff
- ✓ Cheap for the room size you get
- ! Building and furnishings are dated
- ! Maintenance is uneven in places
- ! Not walkable to the MRT — you need a ride
- ✓ Good value for the Rama 5 area
- ✓ Some rooms have a soaking tub and large bathroom
- ✓ Close to Wat Sangkhathan for temple visits
- ✓ Convenience store inside the building
- ! Décor is dated, very mid-2000s
- ! Some reviews note stained linens or bathrooms
- ! Lobby gets busy when a function is on
- 💡If cleanliness matters to you — ask to see the room before check-in, or request a better-maintained unit → some reviews report stained linens and bathroom mould in rooms that aren't kept up evenly
- 💡If you're not driving — check the Grab distance to the MRT Purple Line first (about 10–15 minutes) → the main advantage here is free parking, which is wasted if you have no car
- 💡If you want a quiet night — avoid weekend nights with a function on, and request a higher floor away from the banquet hall → the lobby and lower floors get lively during weddings