The Rodman Hotel

We loved the small balcony and the spacious, clean room. The staff were kind and friendly, always willing to help. Having breakfast by the pool was a lovely start to the day, and we appreciated the packed breakfast they made for our early morning departure.

The location is right in the middle of the best bars and restaurants, and the hotel is impeccable with great service. The people at reception and breakfast were super friendly and kind. A couple of things to know: there’s no lift, so be ready to carry your bags upstairs. The Wi-Fi needs a login and only works on one device at a time, so if you’re working you’ll have to disconnect your phone to use another device. I’d also like to see a vegan breakfast option. There are too many eggs offered, and vegans struggle.

The bed was comfortable, the location great, and the staff polite. I liked the complimentary drink on arrival. Housekeeping came every day, but the workers were very loud chatting in the hallway each morning and woke us a couple of times. The room felt quite dark because its window faced a little side area. We were on the third floor with no lift, which was fine for us. The Wi-Fi kept disconnecting, which was really frustrating, as several other reviews have mentioned. The pool stays cold because it doesn’t really get sun. The shower wasn’t good either, the temperature kept swinging from really hot to not hot, and the pressure changed too.

The location is a real plus: it’s an easy walk to the walking street, night market and Sunday market, with lots of restaurants, massage places and shops nearby. Staff were genuinely friendly and welcoming, consistently polite and helpful, and the Thai iced teas were excellent. There were a couple of minor language barrier moments, but nothing problematic. The room was as described and perfectly adequate for sleeping, with a comfortable bed. It was a little dark, but fine for a short stay. A few management choices got in the way of an otherwise comfortable stay. The Wi-Fi was the biggest day-to-day frustration. Each floor has its own network, and moving around meant logging in again through a web portal with a username and password. The session timed out, and only one device could connect at a time, so logging in on a phone disconnected a laptop and vice versa. It made even basic use unnecessarily difficult. The pool is usable but not inviting: the area is shaded most of the day, leaving the water quite cold even when it’s sunny. Power to the room also cuts off when you leave, so you can’t leave devices charging while you’re out, which felt unreasonable after paying for the room. The first impression in the room was the worst part. A printed “Room Amenities Price List” was placed right on the bed, listing charges for damaged or missing items, with other signs setting out liability terms. I understand hotels need policies, but leading with those notices before anything welcoming made the room feel uncomfortable instead of relaxing. It put me in a frame of mind to worry about potential charges instead of settle in. These problems seem to come from systems the staff don’t control. With a rethink of Wi-Fi, room power and how the policies are presented, the hotel could give guests a much better experience.