Favourite Hotels, Hostels and Guest Houses in Southeast Asia

It’s time for us to write a post on our favourite and recommended hotels, hostels, and guest houses in Southeast Asia. Hostels in Southeast Asia are generally very good and many have family rooms, however, they’re not always the cheapest accommodation option. In this post we give you our tried and tested favourites, some we’ve used many times, others are new. Most are budget or even cheap, some are quite expensive but worth it. We hope you find our list (and photos) of accommodation in Southeast Asia helpful.

You’ll find that guest houses and cheap hotels in Asia are often cheaper than hostels if you’re looking for private family rooms in a hostel, rather than dorms.

We’ve travelling the world since 2012, a lot of years! At first full-time, now in shorter chunks of time. A lot of that time was spent in Southeast Asia, it’s our favourite place to be!

If you’re wondering why so many families look for ultra-budget rooms, it’s because family accommodation costs around double couple accomodation. At least 1 of the people in the party doesn’t have an income but still has to eat. A lot of family travellers are maximising their time on the road, trying to travel as long as possible. Booking cheap accommodation is a tiny sacrifice vs time on the road!

If we don’t mention a destination in this post, it’s likely because we didn’t like the hotel or hostel we booked there. We only mention the hotels we recommend. We also found the cheapest reasonable family room (for 4) in each destination, to give you an idea of which countries and cities are cheaper and more expensive.

Travel bloggers and influencers get free and heavily discounted stays in hotels all over the world. This is not our way. We pay for 99% (approx) of our travel, stays, transport and tickets ourselves. We chose to work for us, rather than somebody else. This means you can guarantee our reviews are genuine.

Hostels, Cheap Hotels and Guest Houses in Southeast Asia

Here are some of our favourite hostels and cheap places to stay in Southeast Asia, for families looking for family rooms in particular.

It’s best to stay in a hostel rather than a hotel in Southeast Asia if you plan to cook, but honestly, food at street food stalls and simple restaurants is so cheap and good, that I doubt many people would want to do that.

Your cheapest option for where to stay in Southeast Asia will be a shared dorm usually, but most families won’t do that and a lot of hostels won’t allow children in dorms, rightly so.

Some hostels don’t allow kids to stay, because they are party hostels or because there are safety or noise issues. Always check the booking conditions when you click through to Agoda or Booking dot com (or whichever platform you prefer) to book your hostel, guest house, or hotel. All reviews are based on our personal findings, things may change.

Bangkok Thailand

The lowest cost family room (for 4) I can find in Bangkok today is this one, at $13 per night. It’s kind of a hut. The cheapest family accommodaion that looks suitable (to me), is this one, at $28 per night. The location isn’t ideal, but it’s not too bad, and this is an apartment, making it ideal for a budget stay. If youre looking for a comfortable but not luxury family room in a traditional hotel in Bangkok, you’ll probably need to spend $100 per night at least. Look at the Ibis Bangkok Riverside. There are plenty of hostels and guest houses around $50 to under $100 per night for a family.

There are a few places we use regularly in Bangkok. Mile Map Hostel was one. It is a clean modern hostel in the Silom area of Bangkok, it had family rooms with a double and a bunk bed, shared bathrooms, a shared kitchen and a huge area to sit, work and socialise downstairs. This was always one of our cheapest options for family rooms in Bangkok.

In 2024 I can’t find any availability for Mile Map on Agoda, Kayak or Hotels.com, so I’ve removed the link. I’ll keep monitoring and leave the information here until I know for sure it’s closed. It may be being refurbished.

We normally look for family rooms with a private bathroom for family stays, but we liked Mile Map a lot and the shared bathrooms were clean and just a few steps away, so we don’t mind shared facilities here. Of course, as a hostel, it also had dorms for the ultra-budget travellers.

There was a 7-11 convenience store right opposite, a beautiful Hindu temple at the end of the street and endless street food options nearby amongst the temple flower stalls.

Shanti Lodge (on Agoda) is another Bangkok favourite. This one is in the Dusit area and appeals to my inner hippie with Om Mani Padme Hum playing softly on the music system and decor that takes me back to the olden days of backpacking. We would book their Deluxe Family Room for about $48 US per night. It had its own shower, plus a really clean communal washroom downstairs. It has kids stay free deals, under 3 years. (Checked September 2024.) On Booking.com I was able to find a slightly cheaper deal.

You could sit and work downstairs but you couldn’t bring in your own food and drink as they run their own, rather nice but slightly expensive, restaurant.

There was a 7-11 opposite Shanti Lodge. It’s near Dusit Zoo and the New Palace, along with the river ferry jetties. It is an OK walk from Khao San Rd. It’s cheap but their food and drink prices tend to push up overall stay costs.

The breakfasts are great, but not street food cheap. Their family rooms are a little small but very cute. Bathrooms were private, within your room, or there was a shared, immaculate, bathroom block downstairs. 

We sometimes booked 2 doubles here, it costs about the same, instead of a family room and always loved staying. View here on Agoda and here on Booking.com. It may be a bit cheaper for you on Booking.com, I’m seeing a discount when I open it. But these things change all the time. (2024)

Blue Chang House (on Booking.com here), pictured above, is our latest find. We liked this place a lot, it was super clean, well-located, had good security and still had an Old Bangkok feel. This one only had family rooms with beds for 3 people unfortunately, I was travelling with just the kids, the cost is about $30 US per night for 3. (updated 2024)

This guest house was about 10 minutes walk from Khao San Rd or the river and was in a very “local” area with a good balance of local people plus a smattering of tourists, so you have facilities like 7-11, cafes and 40 Baht / Kg laundry nearby, as well as a real Bangkok, feel. Take a look here on Agoda at Blue Chang Bangkok.

Sukhothai Thailand

The cheapest family room I can find in Sukhothai today, with enough beds, is this one, at about $24/night.

This hotel Thai Thai Sukhothai Guest House (now Resort) on Agoda, was actually a series of cute bungalows. It was a huge wow for us for a family budget room. It had a pool, included breakfast buffet and as you can see above, lovely family rooms. The current cost on Agoda for a room for 4 is between $50 and $71 per night (2024), it seems to fluctuate by day of the week. A. double or twin is about $30 per night on Booking at Thai Thai.

This former guest house, now resort, in Southeast Asia is a little more expensive than the others on this page but well worth it.

Sukhothai is incredible, you really must go, allow 3 nights to stay and tour the ancient city, it’s quiet and off the main tourist drag. Our guide to visiting Sukhothai is here.

Chiang Mai Thailand

The lowest cost family room in Chiang Mai, that we could find today, is this one at $19 per night. It actually has enough beds for 4 kids! They may charge more for that. This one is in the Old Town, which is where you’ll probably want to be. You may find cheaper places if you go further out.

Again, there are several places we use often in Chiang Mai, all with family rooms, here is a selection of good hostels and cheap hotels with family rooms in Chiang Mai. We also include the hotel we used in 2024, which was a bit more expensive, but very nice.

Triple Palms House, here on Agoda, is a little more expensive than rock bottom for a family room, but still affordable. Its family room had 2 rooms in one, and was perfect for us. It’s where you want to be, within the Old Town of Chiang Mai. It has really great reviews from others, not just us, and I can see kids stay free deals. It costs around $81 US per night and they even have a family room for larger families, up to 6 people. I’m seeing it on Booking.com a fraction cheaper today.

It came with a fridge, kettle, ensuite shower room and balcony/fire escape with old town views. There was a lovely vegetarian restaurant opposite and downstairs there was a nice garden and seating area where you can work or just chill. It’s in a lovely quiet area of Chiang Mai, within the old town walls.

Central Guest House Chiang Mai (on Agoda here, but I’m seeing no availability on this platform), was perfectly located within the old walled city of Chiang Mai, right on Tai Pae gate. It had large family rooms, actually 2 rooms, with a bunk and sofa in one, a double bed in the other. Bathrooms were en-suite and a fridge and kettle was included. It cost slightly more than rock bottom but was a solid choice. Central Guesthouse is still available on Booking.com here from around $20 per night.

In 2024 we used Makka Hotel, again, within the Old Town. This one cost us in the region of $92 US per night and included a great breakfast. Before you get too excited, that was far 2 people, this wasn’t a budget trip as it was a very short trip. They do have a young child stays free deal on some suites, under 12 years, but those rooms are more expensive. We booked Makka Hotel on Agoda, we can’t find it on Booking.com.

Hotel costs in Chiang Mai have risen significantly over the last few years. We think they’ve roughly doubled since this post has been in existence. Food costs have also risen, but not quite as dramatically. We were still able to buy a good meal in Chiang Mai for $2-$3 in 2024.

Kanchanaburi Thailand

We once spent 6 weeks in a floating raft room on the River Kwai at Kanchanaburi at Sugar Cane (see here). It’s a lovely spot with great views and superb food but very old-school backpacker. We paid $12 per night for a family of 4. Today I can see doubles on Agoda (link above) for $18 US per night. I can’t see the kids stay free deal we negotiated directly with them.

Here’s one where the price seems to have gone down! These days many of us want something modern, clean and new, Warm Well Hotel, on Agoda was a winner for us on our 2018 trip to Kanchanaburi. In 2024 it looks like a family room at Warm Well is coming in at around $40 per night. That’s less than we paid 6 years ago! Kanchanaburi isn’t such a huge tourist draw like Bangkok or Chiang Mai.

Warm Well hostel had a huge family room, a very basic included breakfast, good wi-fi and a nice bathroom.

We still walked down to Sugar Cane to eat (from Warm Well) overlooking the river, the food was still great but the 4 of us won’t squeeze into a $12 room anymore.

The cheapest family room we could find in Kanchanaburi was Tamarind Guest House, at $12 per night.

Kuala Lumpur Malaysia

The most affordable family room I can see in KL right now is $13 per night, here.

Back Home Kuala Lumpur was a great place to stay in Kuala Lumpur. Totally awesome, the staff here became like family. But there is a snag. Their family rooms have a double bed and a single bunk bed above the double. It’s a family room for a family of 3. They have been able to provide us with an extra mattress for a 4th person, and from time to time we’ve booked 2 double rooms here. According to my search engine this morning Back Home Kuala Lumpur has permanently closed! That’s a shock.

They offered cooking classes, a movie room and tours. Good internet, family rooms, doubles and dorms, shared, immaculately clean shower blocks. This KL hostel is just footsteps from the free pink bus into central KL and amazing Indian food on the next street.

Accross the road from Back Home was 1000 Miles Hotel. That one is still open! We took two double rooms here at only about $20 per night (2024 prices). That’s very cheap for a capital city in Southeast Asia. Could it be that Malaysia is now cheaper than Thailand? It never used to be.

1000 Miles Hotel is an easy walk from Chinatown or Kuala Lumpur’s historic district.

Penang Malaysia

Your cheapest family option could be this one, in George Town, and I think it looks pretty nice! $19 today.

Heritage 16 Hostel in Penang was one we really liked. That one also seems to be permanently closed! We’re in Penang again soon so we’ll be looking for another one to recommend!

If you’re going to Penang Malaysia, Georgetown is absolutely where you want to be.  We’ve also stayed in Batu Ferringhi and really didn’t like it much.

Here’s our guide to things to do in Penang as a family.

Kuching Malaysia

I had a look for the cheapest family rooms in Kuching, there were a few for under $20, but I wouldn’t use one. The most affordable I could find, that may be OK is this one, $26.

We love Kuching! Kuching is on the island of Borneo and it’s a great little town. You can see proboscis monkeys and orangutans from here. We can give you a favourite hotel easily. We’ve used several different places in Kuching and this was our favourite. The building and decor were lovely and the location was perfect. It even had a pool, a big pool! It was the Marian Boutique Lodging House on Booking.com or on Agoda.

There was an almost attached restaurant, The Granary, which was good but fairly expensive for budget travellers. It served alcoholic beverages, which are sometimes hard to find in Malaysian restaurants.

We can also recommend 2 restaurants, one is vegan, they also offer cooking classes and tours. We did both. It is Indah House Cafe. The link takes you to their website. I had the best meal I’ve ever had in Malaysia at Indah House! The other serves most excellent pizza and red wine. It was called The Junk.

Read our guide to things to do in Kuching here. Don’t miss the Kuching Sarawak Cultural Village, a living museum, it was amazing!

Bali Indonesia

There is so much diversity in terms of destination town in Bali that I can’t really give you a cost overview. Some will want Kuta, some Ubud, some a more unspoilt place. Bali is very affordable, you will find family rooms for about $20 per night. On our first stay we spent $10! These do still exist. But time and development marches on.

In Bali we have a few favourite places. When we’re just in Bali for a couple of days between flights we use a hotel very close to the airport. We’ve used several and this one stands out. It has free airport pick-ups and a lovely pool. We liked their breakfasts and it’s walking distance to the beach and Waterr Bom Bali water park. We took adjoining rooms for our family. It is the Vira Bali Boutique Hotel and Suite.

Twin or double rooms cost about $100 per night, while a suite for a family is more. We took adjoining twin/double rooms. See it here on Booking.com.

Saigon Vietnam

While there are family rooms for under $10 per night in Saigon, still, I wouldn’t spend less than this, $14, if I wanted a very cheap stay.

Friends and readers recommended Funny Guest House to us in Saigon. They loved it but unfortunately, it was full when we visited so we stayed right next door at Phan Lan 2 Hotel.

We loved this little side alley, it was quiet away from Saigon’s bustle and was a great place to stay. View here.

We have always thought that Vietnam is cheaper than Thailand, for both accommodation and food. Hoi An, being so popular with tourists, usually costs more. That said, we found a family room in a beach hotel for under $20 per night. It has good reviews too!

Singapore

The hostel we used in Singapore the first time was, Quarters Hostel. It’s closed down. Things are expensive in Singapore and you get very little for your money, but this place had a family room, included breakfast and the location was just steps from Clarke Quay and Boat Quay. This was the smallest room we’ve ever stayed in, with shared bathroom. It served its purpose for a couple of nights before we moved to a resort on Sentosa Island. We found it difficult to find any cheap, good accommodation in Singapore, hostel or hotel, with family rooms.

We searched for the most affordable lodging in Singapore, with family rooms. We found a family room for 4 at just under $100 US per night, here. If you want to stay on Sentosa Island Singapore you should be able to find a family room for 4 around $400 – $600 per night. Take a look at this one. Because we stayed over Christmas we paid $600, but hotel prices have undoubtedly risen in Singapore in recent years,

On our latest visit to Singapore we stayed at The Fullerton, (which will set you back in the region of $1000 for 4, per night) an iconic heritage hotel, but usually more affordable than Marina Bay Sands or Raffles!

Luckily, on this trip there was only 2 of us!

We will add more great family accommodation in Southeast Asia, we hope our choices above give you some idea of what life is like, and what costs are like, for family backpackers using hostels, guest houses and cheap hotels in Asia. Hostels in Southeast Asia are generally very good and more and more are becoming super modern and stylish. Most of these places do provide towels for guests, but check if some hostels provide towels. For this sort of travel I would normally pack a travel towel and your own soap and shampoo.

If you'd like to hire a car during your stay, use this car rental comparison tool to find the best deal!

We also suggest you take a look at this company to get a quote for all kinds of the more tricky adventure or extended travel insurance.

Try Stayz / VRBO for an alternative way to find rentals on homes/apartments/condos in any country!