You know that I usually don’t post reviews about hotels. It would seem like an obvious thing to do for a hotelier and blogger to post about hotels, right?

Not because I don’t want to or never thought about it, just because I work for Starwood and with that mostly stay at Starwood properties when travelling for business or when going on vacation. Since it obviously wouldn’t be smart for me to provide constructive feedback about a Starwood property online (and I guess it wouldn’t help my career development either), and writing only positively and saying that absolutely everything is perfect would be somewhat unrealistic and not exactly boost my credibility, I decided not to post at all… until now!

My wife asked me if we could stay at The Yard, a hostel that one of her friends recently opened, and while I am spoiled with mostly staying at luxury properties, I had to go with ‘happy wife, happy life’ on this one.

I previously explained my take on luxury, how it changed over the past years, and that it’s not about marble  floors, crystal chandeliers and sumptuous flower bouquets anymore, that it’s about an experience and the feeling of genuine service.

View from our hostel room

So my wife and I arrived at The Yard, and immediately fell in love with the vintage design, heart warming welcome of the owners and the boutique concept. The wooden furniture in the guest rooms matches the design of a boutique hotel and the mattress is extremely comfortable. The bathrooms are across the corridor and are very clean and well-maintained. I have only been to a hostel a few times before, many years ago as a teenager, and this was a very different experience than what I remember – almost a luxury boutique hostel, I would say. The Yard features a bar, a small business center, kitchen area, library and entertainment room.

Business center facilities and free wifi everywhere

I love the vintage design

The library  on the 2nd floor overviewing the yard

At night you can sit or lay down in the yard and enjoy the company of other travellers or the owners themselves.

My favorite part is waking up in the morning to the sounds of birds, it feels like an oasis within Bangkok.

I like to compare Ari, a neighbourhood of Bangkok that The Yard is located in, to the Williamsburg of Brooklyn, and you can find a lot of hip and cool places as well as delicious street food (I recommend that you check out the Fat Bird for dinner while in Ari)

If you are ready to try something different for your next trip to Bangkok or are just looking for a nice getaway to Ari for the weekend at a very reasonable price, The Yard is a must try for you – I know that I definitely come back again to switch off and relax for the hectic city life. No drawbacks whatsoever as long as you manage your expectations that you are staying at a hostel and not at a 5 star luxury propety.

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