Sivalai Place is a wonderful place to stay, especially if you have more than a few days in Bangkok. We have stayed there a couple of times a year for several years. It has large, ultra clean rooms and apartments. A small restaurant and coffee shop are on the premises. All the staff go out of their way to help you. Khun Supharb and Khun Oillie can arrange anything for you; day trips, medical care, bookings at special restaurants, classes etc. The swimming pool is half Olympic size and Ozone filtered, the gym has a wide range of equipment and there are three tennis courts. The wi-fi is high quality.
Sivalai Place may initially seem to be poorly located in a quiet suburb, but in fact it is a short trip to most anywhere you want to go in Bangkok and it is often quicker to the major tourist sites, than from other areas as there are less traffic jams this side of the river. You can walk, catch a motorcycle taxi or a taxi. The nearby main roads, Itsarphap and Charoen Sanitwong have a variety of shops, restaurants and street food.
If you turn left when you leave Sivalai Place it is a 10 minute walk to the Itsaraphap Road following the streets or if you turn right at the klong you can walk to Itsaraphap with no traffic. Continue along the Klong after crossing Itsaraphap and you arrive at Wat Arun, This takes approx. 20 minutes. From Wat Arun you can catch a ferry across the river for 3 Baht to Wat Po, and it is a short walk to the Royal Palace. From the Wat Po ferry stop you can catch a ferry up or down the river. The Orange ferry runs all day and stops all stops.
If you don't want to walk there is a motorcycle taxi stop just before the klong, 10 baht to the main road, soi 33 entrance. Or one of the young men downstairs will go to the the main road and bring a taxi back for you.
From Itsaraphap there are 2 main buses of interest the number 40 and the number 56.
Bus 40 - Runs along Itsaraphap travelling between the Southern Bus Terminal and the Eastern Bus Terminal, via Chinatown, Wat Trammit, Hua Lamphong, MBK and Siam Centre. All the non-aircon and some of the air-con buses make you get off at Hua Lamphong and wait for another bus. Non-aircon costs 8 Baht, aircon costs 13 Baht to or from Hua Lamphong, if the bus goes straight through, the price is a few baht higher depending on start/end point. the conductor will ask you where you are going if they do go straight through, otherwise they tell you to get off when it reaches Hua Lamphong
Bus 56 - Runs along Itsaraphap in both directions, it is a circular route, either way ending up at the Terminal near Kao San Road. Going south you pass Chinatown and Golden Mount/ Queens Gallery. From near Golden Mount you can catch a speed ferry to Siam Centre/MBK/Jim Thompson house (3rd Stop Tha Hua Chang) or Centralworld (4th and final stop Tha Pratunam) along Klong Saen Seap. The fare is 20 Baht. If you change ferries at Pratunam you can go for a 1 hour trip up river to Wat Sriboonreung, where you can stop for a drink and snack before catching the ferry back. A nice outing.
Another way to get around is the BTS AND MRT. The metros are more expensive but much quicker than the bus. If you turn right when leaving Sivalai, you will head towards Charoen Sanitwong. There is a small restaurant and a 7/11 on the right and a driving school with a nice coffee shop on the left. If you follow the klong path just behind the coffee shop, to the junction and turn right, you can walk all the way to Charon Sanitwong without dodging traffic. Again it takes about 10 minutes. From here you can catch a songthaew (small public open van) to the BTS, just look for BTS on the side or ask the driver. Or just catch a taxi from Sivalai Place to the BTS. The taxi fare to Wongwian Yai BTS is 50-70 Baht depending on traffic. Wongwian Jai is on the Silom Line. The closer station is Pho Nimit but it costs 10 Baht more for the train ticket, so if there are 2 of you it is definitely cheaper to get the taxi to Wongwain Yai, for one of you it is a close call.
The Silom line intersects with the Sukhumvit line at Siam, change here for the weekend market and at Phaya Thai you can change to the Suvarnabhumi Airport link. The BTS crosses the MRT at Sala Daeng. The MRT runs direct from Hua Lamphonhg to the weekend market. The train fare to Siam is 42 Baht.
Taxis will generally always work out cheaper than tuk tuks as they use a meter. If they don't put the meter on get out and find another taxi. They are also airconditioned which is a blessing on a hot day. Taxis however are reluctant to cross the river at peak hour and you may have to ask several before getting a ride. The most we have asked is 6. The address is Itsaraphap Soi sahm sip sahm, you may have to say Itsaraphap several times as there is a multitude of pronunciations. though it involves several turns to reach Sivalai Place it is well signposted from the entrance on Itsaraphap in English and Thai or just follow the traffic.
The office will organise airport pick up and drop off which is a boon late at night when you first arrive.
Sivalai Place is also quite close to several major hospitals if you need or want medical treatment while in Bangkok. It is a favourite choice of insurance companies.