Volve Hotel Bangkok Over-Delivers on Comfort & Quirky Design [Review]

Volve Hotel Bangkok is a perfect place for couples or solo travellers to recover from a day in the city. If you’re looking for a place that offers a welcoming and stylish retreat from the city, this boutique design hotel in Bangkok’s Thong Lor neighborhood is ideal.

Sometimes you walk into a place and instantly feel like you’ve come home. That is, if your home was spotlessly clean and designed by experts with exquisite taste and a quirky sense of style.

It’s more like you’ve come home — to your dream home.

That’s exactly how I felt as soon as we entered the lobby of Volve Hotel Bangkok.

But Volve is more than just its lovely design. Function is first here – from the fabulous chairs in the lobby to the heavenly oversized beds, Volve is a reminder that, with a little effort, life can be made to be wonderfully comfortable.

Find Quirky Design and Luxurious Comfort at Volve Hotel Bangkok

Don’t miss: Our complete guide to Thailand travel advice, our guide to 2 days in Bangkok, and our guide to taking a bike tour in Bangkok.

What we loved at Volve Hotel Bangkok

Rooms so comfy it’s hard to get out of bed

Our first priority for any place we stay, whether it be a hut in the jungle or a five-star resort, is comfort.

Volve gets top marks in the comfort category, with the extra-large firm-yet-soft beds taking centre stage. The room is spacious and includes a couch, a desk, and a huge TV placed in the optimal spot for bedtime viewing.

The snack bar contains Thai-inspired snacks like Tom Yum Cashew nuts and Crispy Silkworms (yikes!), while the mini-fridge comes stocked with local craft beer.

A welcoming and well-appointed lobby

In the lobby, the casual seating area was tough to leave once we’d gotten settled. For a start, it features the world’s most comfortable (and beautiful) mid-century armchairs.

Then there’s the long work table constructed from reclaimed stairs of the original building. The table features power outlets, proper desk chairs, and personal lighting. Ideal for digital nomads!

Central and convenient location

If you’ve been to Bangkok, you’ll know that getting around the city can be a bit of a nightmare. There’s just too much traffic – which makes taxis almost useless.

Volve is just a few minutes’ walk from the Thong Lo skytrain station, which connects guests to the most-visited sights in the city.

It’s also just one street away from Sukhumvit 55, which puts you in walking distance of almost every kind of restaurant or bar you might want to visit.

Quirky eye for design

While the key design elements at Volve recall Sukhumvit’s aristocratic heritage homes, everything is enhanced with a unique modern twist. The terazzo and brass floors are modernized by a unique geometric pattern while textured wood panelling on the walls lends warmth to the stairwells.

As one would expect from a Bangkok design hotel, the art pieces are full of quirk and charm as well.

A mural in the breakfast room is a map of the local area, which highlights staff picks of the best local places to eat, drink, and visit.

On each floor, the stair landing features large collage paintings representing each of Thailand’s five regions. The collages incorporate Thai history, Western icons, weird and wonderful images, and a cat in every collage. You could spend hours trying to decipher the messages hidden within.

Unusual extras at Volve

A library of inspirational books

As soon as we arrived, Stephen and I gravitated to the bookshelf in the lobby. It is stocked with books about adventure, travelling, and Thai culture. There are also a few interesting outlier titles, like Why Did the Chicken Cross the World: The Epic Saga of the Bird that Powers Civilization and Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time.

The books form a mini-library, so if one grabs your interest, just give the old-school card to the cheery staff and away you go. I was tempted to curl up in one of those comfy lobby chairs and spend my entire trip to Bangkok lost in a book.

Roof garden with panoramic views

Aside from a few big parks, Bangkok is not the best city for the outdoorsy among us. But if you need a little greenery, Volve’s rooftop garden can provide it.

Carpeted with (fake) grass and filled with the owner’s mother’s gardening projects, the rooftop is a welcoming outdoor space well away from the din of Bangkok’s traffic.

You can borrow a yoga mat from the front desk for a rooftop yoga session or grab a bottle of craft beer to wind down at the end of the day.

Local craft beer in every fridge

In Thailand, it’s a tricky task to find anything beyond the state-sanctioned Chang and Leo beers. That’s why we were surprised to find that our in-room fridge was stocked with a couple of kinds of local craft beer – and it was even priced affordably!

What we didn’t love at this Bangkok design hotel

It’s a rare thing when Stephen and I can’t come up with some complaint or quibble about our accommodation. (What can I say? We have high expectations.) But Volve has stumped us; there just wasn’t anything we didn’t like about it.

It has been designed for experienced travellers who want comfort, a sense of home, and a personal touch in a hotel. That’s exactly who we are and they satisfied our every need.

Where to eat & drink near Volve Hotel Bangkok

Soi 83 Hawker Market

Though Soi 83 isn’t what it used to be (the big street market was closed down a few years ago), there is still some first-rate street food to be had at the small hawker market. You can find most of the Bangkok street food favourites there.

We ate twice at Mill, where they serve delicious bowls of vegan hand-pulled noodles. Seriously, if you’ve never seen hand-pulled noodles being made, you must go there! And don’t miss out on their fermented rice drink, a tasty sweet alcoholic concoction that goes down a little too smoothly.

Broccoli Revolution

If you’re a little tired of Thai food, stop in at Broccoli Revolution, a modern vegan cafe that serves a range of plant-based Western and Asian dishes. It is a little expat-heavy for us (we didn’t see any Thai people eating there) but worth it for the satisfying plates of vegan deliciousness.

Sukhumvit 55

Just one road over from Volve, Sukhumvit 55 is filled with trendy eating and drinking spots. Not only does Volve provide a map of their favourites, but the staff will be happy to update you on what’s new in the area. If you want an amazing meal or the perfect cocktail, it’s all a short walk away from their doorstep.

Book your stay at Volve Hotel

If you’re heading to Bangkok soon, get the best rate by booking directly on the Volve website.

Find out more and book your stay →

Bangkok activities and tours we recommend

Even though you might be tempted to wrap yourself up in the comforts of Volve, you really ought to get out and see a little of Bangkok while you’re there.

We did both these activities and highly recommend them.

Bangkok Canal Bike and Boat Tour with Grasshopper Adventures

Though Bangkok does not, on the surface, seem like the ideal city for bicycling, this bike tour will change your mind. Winding through back alleys and rarely visited sections of the city, we got to experience a Bangkok that tourists rarely see.

In this version of Bangkok, children still get excited about seeing foreigners and adults smile and wave as you pass by. After wheeling through the alleys for a while, you get to hop on a boat and see the city from another side entirely!

This unique tour is well worth the time (and totally suitable for kids).

Get details and see Grasshopper’s other Bangkok tours →

Thai cooking class with Cookly

Thai food is one of the world’s most beloved cuisines, and for good reason – Thai people are absolutely obsessed with food. If you’re obsessed with food too (like us), then book yourself into a Thai cooking class. You’ll not only learn how to cook your favourite Thai dishes, but you’ll discover more about Thai culture through the world of food.

We did a half-day cooking class at the home of the friendly and knowledgeable Chef Aey. Most classes can be customized for vegans and vegetarians.

Find a Bangkok cooking class on Cookly →

We hope you enjoyed this review of Volve Hotel Bangkok and we really hope you consider staying there when you’re in Bangkok. We highly recommend it and would love to go back!

♥  Happy mindful adventures, Jane & Stephen

Our stay was paid for by Volve Hotel, but as always, we only stay in and recommend accommodation that we think you’ll truly love! If you book or buy something using one of our personal links in this post, we’ll earn a small fee at no extra cost to you. Huge thanks in advance! –S&J