Thepnakorn Hotel — A Long-Standing City Hotel in Central Buriram With Big Rooms, a Big Pool, and Some Age to It
Straight up before anything else — Thepnakorn Hotel is not a new build. It's an older, large hotel that has been part of central Buriram for decades, sitting on Jira Road right in town. What guests keep coming back to mention is rooms noticeably larger than anything else at this price and a genuinely big swimming pool you rarely get on a sub-฿1,000 budget. But there are things to know before you book — the furnishings and upkeep in parts of the building show their age. We've pulled this together from real guest reviews so you get both sides.
Thepnakorn Hotel is a big property that has been open in Buriram for a long time. The main block is a grey multi-storey tower with rows of balconies, a wide car park out front, and a small Thai-style sala by the entrance. The detail you remember is the tall, open lobby with massive stone pillars, cream tub chairs and a grand piano — the feel of a hotel from the era before Buriram had any of the newer chains. There are 175 rooms in total, sorted into Standard, Superior and Luxury by fit-out. The overall read is 'big and old' rather than 'modern', and it's worth setting that expectation up front.
The thing guests agree on most is room size. Rooms here run a lot larger than the usual budget room — two single beds still leave plenty of floor to move, and some rooms have a teak desk and a small seating set by the window. The renovated rooms look brighter, with mint-green wall panels and laminate wood flooring. The rooms that haven't been updated are the older style — fan-shaped padded headboards and Thai-pattern bed runners. If you book and want something that feels fresher, the move is to call and ask for a 'renovated room' at the time of booking.
The other strong point is the large swimming pool. The hotel has both an outdoor pool and an indoor pool section, plus a separate children's pool, which makes it workable for families travelling with kids. Beyond the pool there's a spa, massage rooms, a sauna and a fitness room — and, more unusually for a hotel, an in-house snooker hall and karaoke rooms, a leftover from the years when this was one of the town's main entertainment spots. On the events side there are several meeting halls that handle larger seminars and banquets, which is why people organising functions in Buriram still think of it.
"The room was huge for the price and the pool is big, and some of the staff were genuinely helpful — but you have to accept it's an old hotel, and parts of it really have worn down with age."
The location is convenient for anyone arriving by train. The hotel sits in central Buriram, about 2.4 km from Buriram train station and roughly 3 km into the main town area. Nearby you've got Masjid Anuarussalam (620 m), Wat Klang Phra Aram Luang (1.5 km) and Rom Buri Park (2.1 km) for an early walk. For football or motor racing, Chang Arena is out toward the edge of town, about 15 minutes by car — so this isn't a stadium-side hotel like the ones over there, but you trade that for being in the centre where food is much easier to find.
Now the part to be honest about. The overall scores here are not high — TripAdvisor sits at 2.7/5 from 63 reviews, last in the Buriram group, and Trip.com is at 5.9/10. The lower-rated reviews focus mainly on age and upkeep — worn carpet in some rooms, marks on shower curtains, dated furniture, and one or two reports of a pool that wasn't kept clear. There's also noise from outdoor events and club nights that carries up to the rooms on weekends until around 11 pm. These are the reasons the price is low — if you can live with them it's good value, and if you can't, choose elsewhere.
The bottom line: Thepnakorn Hotel suits travellers who want a low price, a big room in the centre of town, and who aren't fussed about how new it is. Rates start around ฿700/night, which is very cheap for a room this size with a large pool in town. It works for budget travellers, families who want the kids to swim, and anyone in Buriram for business or to run an event. But if you're expecting a polished new hotel, chain-level service, or a silent night every time — at the same budget, other options on the Top 10 list will fit you better.
Summary from Booking & Agoda
- ✓ Rooms very large for the price
- ✓ Big swimming pool with a separate kids' pool
- ✓ Central location, near the train station, food easy to find
- ✓ Free parking, plenty of space
- ! Building and furniture are old, parts worn with age
- ! Cleanliness inconsistent in some rooms
- ! Outdoor event noise on weekends
- ✓ Very cheap rates, starting in the low hundreds of baht
- ✓ Tall stone-pillar lobby with an older-era atmosphere you don't see anymore
- ✓ Has snooker, karaoke, spa and sauna on-site
- ✓ Several meeting halls, good for events in Buriram
- ! Decor and atmosphere are dated, not a modern hotel
- ! Some reviews found the pool not well maintained
- ! Some staff have limited English
- 💡If you want the freshest-looking room — ask for a 'renovated room' when booking → the older un-updated rooms have visibly more worn furniture and carpet
- 💡If noise keeps you awake — request a higher floor on the inner side away from the event lawn, and skip Friday–Saturday nights → outdoor club/karaoke noise can carry to the rooms until around 11 pm
- 💡If the pool is your main reason to stay — check recent pool photos in reviews first, or ask the hotel directly whether it's open and maintained → some reviews have hit a stretch where the pool wasn't kept clear