Thong Tarin Hotel — The Tallest Tower in Surin and the Ballroom the Whole Province Knows

Thong Tarin is a 12-storey tower that stands out from the middle of the city, with 233 rooms running from Standard and Deluxe up to Junior Suites and Suites. Most of what you'll book are the renovated Deluxe rooms — brown vertical wood panelling, a comfortable bed, crisp white linen, and a large window looking out over Surin. Housekeeping leaves towels folded into swans on the bed, the kind of small touch that tells you someone cares. The rooms run wider than a typical in-town hotel because the building was designed as a large hotel from the start, not a converted shophouse.

The reason people choose this over other in-town options is the outdoor saltwater pool. It's a long pool lined with rattan sun loungers and rolled towels, and before 9 am it's almost empty — easy laps with no crowd. The saltwater system is gentler on the eyes than heavy chlorine. A few reviews mention the pool occasionally running over-chlorinated, but flagging it at the front desk gets it sorted — worth knowing in advance so it doesn't catch you off guard.

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The other thing locals know Thong Tarin for is events. There are more than ten small and mid-size meeting rooms plus the large Rattanaburi hall, which holds up to 1,500 people. Weddings, government seminars, company functions, and big school reunions across the province tend to book here, simply because few other venues in town can take a crowd that size. For ordinary guests the upside is three restaurants inside the building — the main one is Big Bite, serving international dishes — so there's no need to head out when you're hungry late.

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The location is genuinely central. It's about a 12-minute walk to Surin Railway Station, which is handy if you're arriving by train from Bangkok or Korat. Wat Burapharam, home to the revered Luang Pu Dulya, is under a kilometre away — close enough for an early-morning visit. The Phaya Surin Phakdi monument and the city park are nearby too, and the town market is a few minutes by car. If you're coming for the Surin Elephant Round-up (November), this is one of the hardest rooms in the city to get — it books out months ahead.

The Trip.com score sits at 8.3/10 from 51 reviews. Guests praise the clean, spacious rooms, helpful staff, and a breakfast buffet with good variety. The honest part: the building is an older hotel and shows its age. Parts of the lobby and corridors keep a previous-era design, and while the rooms have been renovated, the original bones still show through. Some reviews report the occasional insect in the room, which is something older provincial hotels do run into — if that worries you, ask for a higher, recently renovated floor.

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One thing to know before you arrive — the hotel only takes cash at the front desk for deposits and extra charges, so carry some cash even if you've already paid online by card. Rates start around ฿1,000/night for a Deluxe room, which is strong value once you count the room size and what comes with it (pool, free parking, breakfast). During the Elephant Round-up and other festivals, prices climb and rooms fill fast, so book ahead.

Bottom line — Thong Tarin works best for anyone who wants a large central Surin hotel with roomy rooms, a pool, and easy parking for a little over a thousand baht a night. It isn't a sleek new Boutique design, but you get a full-service hotel with a pool, an event hall, and restaurants all on site. For work trips, conferences, or a family stay where the kids want to swim, it does the job comfortably. If you'd rather have a small, freshly finished room, look at Sorin Boutique or Slive in town instead.