Trang Hotel
History
Trang Hotel BKK is not located in the
southern Thai province bearing the same name but in Bangkok.
Names can be confusing.
As the story goes, the hotel
was once chosen to host a meeting of government officials.
Half of the participants ended up Trang province. Since this
incident, we changed the name to “Trang Hotel
Bangkok.” |
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The hotel is situated in an unlikely area: Wisutkasat, which is
not a prime business district in Bangkok. Trang Hotel Bangkok,
situated adjacent to Khao San road, is popular among international
visitors, as well as government officials, who find the atmosphere
alluring as well as affordable room rates.
Though Trang Hotel Bangkok is quite young compared to other
establishments around town, it’s almost 50 years old.
In its early years it operated under the name Vieng Sawan Hotel.
When it first opened its doors to visitors, the hotel charged 40
baht for a room fitted with fan, related Sawasdi Hoontrakul, its
owner and a native of Trang province in southern Thailand.
The name was subsequently changed to Trang Hotel after Sawasdi
and his affiliates took full control of the property.
Later in 1963, he went into a joint partnership and opened the
Manhattan Hotel on Sukhumvit 15, around the same time Asia,
Ambassador, Siam City and Mandarin hotels appeared on the scene.
Since the partnership did not prove fruitful, Sawasdi withdrew
from the Manhattan and began focusing on Trang Hotel and his frozen
seafood business in Trang.
Today, the hotel is run by second-generation Hoontrakul family
and has changed dramatically since its opening.
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