Where to Stay in Asia

Asia travel guide · By Frank Adam Burns · Updated 5 September 2026

Where you sleep in Asia shapes the trip more than anywhere, because the continent’s accommodation is a range of experiences rather than a range of hotels. This guide explains each type, goes city by city through the districts that work, and answers the practical questions of booking, family rooms and the peak weeks.

Where you sleep in Asia shapes the trip more than it does anywhere else, because the continent’s accommodation is not a range of hotels but a range of experiences: a night on tatami with a kaiseki dinner, a courtyard house with heated floors, a villa with a cook and a pool, a maharaja’s palace, a junk on Halong Bay, a monastery, a hillside tea bungalow, a hut on a beach with no electricity after ten. Some of these are the reason people go. This guide explains each type — what it is, what it costs, who it suits, what to expect and what to check — then goes country by country through the districts that work, and ends with the practical questions of booking, rooms that sleep four, and the peak weeks that sell out a year ahead.

The types

Ryokan

Japan — Hakone, Kinosaki, Kyoto, the onsen towns · AUD 250–800 per person per night with dinner and breakfast

The traditional inn: a tatami room with a low table by day and futon laid out while you eat, a multi-course kaiseki dinner and Japanese breakfast included, communal hot-spring baths (and often a private one to book), yukata robes worn everywhere in the building, and a level of quiet attention that has no Western equivalent. Priced per person, not per room, because the meals are the point. One or two nights on a trip is the right amount; a week would be too much of a good thing.

• Check-in 3–4 pm, dinner at 6 or 7 and not moveable, check-out 10
• Bath rules: wash first, sitting, no swimwear, no towel in the water
• Tattoos may be refused at older houses; a private bath (kashikiri) solves it
• Western beds exist at some; ask if floor futons are a concern
• The first-time Japan guide has the etiquette

Hanok guesthouses

Korea — Bukchon in Seoul, Jeonju, Gyeongju · AUD 120–350 per room

The Korean traditional house: timber and paper walls around a courtyard, ondol underfloor heating, bedding on the floor, and a breakfast of rice, soup and side dishes. Bukchon’s hanok stays are minutes from the palaces; Jeonju’s village has dozens. A night or two, as with a ryokan.

• Floor bedding is standard; some have Western rooms
• Shared bathrooms at the cheaper ones
• Quiet after ten; thin walls
• Book the popular ones in Bukchon a month ahead

Private villas

Bali, Phuket, Koh Samui, Lombok, Sri Lanka’s south · AUD 250–900 per night for the whole house

A house with a pool, a garden, staff (a cook, a cleaner, often a driver on call), two to five bedrooms and a kitchen, for the price of one or two hotel rooms. The Bali formula for families and groups and the reason a week there is cheaper for four than a week in a Sydney apartment. Seminyak and Canggu for the beach and the restaurants, Ubud for the rice-terrace view, the Bukit for the cliffs, Sanur for calm.

• Licensed villas only; the reputable agencies list the licence
• Check the pool fence if travelling with toddlers — most have none
• Breakfast cooked in is usually included; other meals by arrangement
• A driver is a separate hire and the villa will arrange one
• The Bali guide has the districts

Beach resorts

Thailand, Bali, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, the Maldives, Sri Lanka · AUD 150–500 mid-range; AUD 600–2,000 luxury

Five-star service at three-star Australian prices is South-East Asia’s standing offer: pools, kids’ clubs, spas, beach service and breakfast buffets at AUD 200–400 a night in Phuket, Khao Lak, Samui, Nusa Dua, Da Nang or Langkawi. The Maldives is the resort taken to its conclusion — one island, one hotel, nothing else. The luxury tier (Aman, Four Seasons, Six Senses, Soneva, the Datai) is where Australians who would never pay AUD 1,500 a night at home find themselves doing so, because it is half the price it would be anywhere else and the setting is unrepeatable.

• The coast and the month must match; a resort in monsoon is a bargain for a reason
• Half-board is rarely worth it where the village restaurants are good
• Kids’ clubs have age limits; check them
• Beach quality varies within a single island — ask which beach, not which island
• The beaches and islands guide has the coasts

Business hotels

Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, the Chinese cities · AUD 110–250 per room

The chains — Dormy Inn, Mitsui Garden, Hotel Gracery, APA and Toyoko Inn in Japan; Shilla Stay, Lotte City and L7 in Korea; the CitizenM and Ibis tier in Singapore — give small, immaculate rooms, excellent showers, breakfast often included, and a location by the station, for less than a motel in regional Australia. Dormy Inn has rooftop onsen baths and free late-night noodles. For travellers who are out all day they are the best-value beds in East Asia, and the savings pay for the ryokan night.

• Rooms are 14–18 square metres in Japan; ask for a larger room type if two large suitcases
• Twin rooms are scarcer than doubles in Japan; book early
• Smoking and non-smoking floors still exist; specify
• The Japan costs guide has the numbers

Apartment hotels and rentals

Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Bangkok, KL · AUD 200–450 per night for a family unit

The answer to the East Asian family-room problem: Mimaru, Oakwood, Citadines, Fraser and the Airbnb-style machiya of Kyoto and hanok of Seoul give a kitchen, a washing machine, two bedrooms and space to be a family. In Japan, only licensed rentals are legal and the licence number is displayed; in Singapore, short rentals under three months are illegal in private housing, so the serviced-apartment chains are the option.

• Confirm the bed configuration in writing — two doubles, not a double and a sofa
• A washing machine halves the packing
• Kyoto machiya are wonderful and cold in winter; check the heating
• Licensed only

Heritage and palace hotels

India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Vietnam, Laos · AUD 150–900 per room

The category that exists nowhere else: Rajasthan’s converted forts, havelis and royal residences (the Lake Palace, Umaid Bhawan, Rambagh, and a hundred smaller ones at a fraction of the price), Sri Lanka’s colonial hotels and tea-estate bungalows, the Sino-Portuguese mansions of Penang and Malacca, Hanoi’s Metropole, Luang Prabang’s French villas, Hoi An’s merchant houses. In India, the hotel is where the trip is decided and where an operator earns their keep.

• A palace night costs half what the equivalent would anywhere else and is worth every rupee
• Heritage means old: check for lifts, air-conditioning and steps
• The mid-range Indian city hotel is reliable at the Taj Vivanta / ITC / Lemon Tree tier and unreliable below
• The South Asia guide covers the tiers

Boutique hotels in restored buildings

Hoi An, George Town, Luang Prabang, Bangkok’s old quarter, Galle, Kyoto, Tainan · AUD 120–300 per room

South-East Asia’s signature stay: a shophouse, a villa or a merchant’s house restored with a pool in the courtyard and twelve rooms, run by someone who lives there. Hoi An and George Town have dozens; Luang Prabang, Galle and Kampot the same; Kyoto’s machiya hotels and Tainan’s heritage guesthouses are the East Asian version.

• Old buildings mean stairs and small bathrooms; ask
• Street-facing rooms in Hoi An and Bangkok are noisy at night
• Breakfast in the courtyard is usually the best meal of the day
• Book two to three months out for the well-known ones

Overnight boats

Halong Bay, the Mekong, the Similans, Komodo, Raja Ampat, Kerala · AUD 150–600 per person per night

A night on the water is a stay in its own right: the Halong or Lan Ha Bay junk with cabins and a sundeck (one night is enough; two lets you reach the quiet bays), the Mekong cruises from Saigon to Phnom Penh or Luang Prabang to the Thai border, the Kerala houseboat on the backwaters, and the dive liveaboards of the Similans, Komodo and Raja Ampat where the boat is the whole holiday.

• Mid-range boats are the sweet spot on Halong; the cheapest have safety records and the dearest have crowds
• Cabins are small; pack a soft bag
• Seasickness tablets for the open-water liveaboards
• The Vietnam guide covers Halong

Temple stays, homestays and lodges

Koyasan, Korea’s temples, Vietnam’s north, Laos, Borneo, the tiger reserves, Nepal’s trails · AUD 20–300

The nights that become the stories: a Buddhist temple at Koyasan or Haeinsa with the monks’ vegetarian meals and the 4 am bell; a Hmong or Dao homestay in Sapa; a village house in Laos; a jungle lodge on the Kinabatangan or at Ranthambore; a teahouse on the Annapurna trail with the mountain outside the window. Basic, memorable, and the ones people mention first when they come back.

• Shared bathrooms, early nights, simple food
• Book through an operator or a reputable community programme; the money should reach the village
• One or two nights, placed between comfortable ones
• Jungle lodges are dearer than they look because the transfers are included

Hostels, capsules and jjimjilbang

Everywhere; Japan and Korea for the capsules and bathhouses · AUD 15–80 per person

Asian hostels are cleaner and safer than their European counterparts and many have private rooms; Japan’s capsule hotels are a one-night novelty with real beds and limited luggage space; Korea’s jjimjilbang are 24-hour bathhouses where AUD 15 buys the saunas, the sleeping hall and a bowl of noodles, and where families and businessmen sleep alongside backpackers. Singapore’s pod hotels are the same idea with better Wi-Fi.

• Female-only floors and dorms are standard in Japan and Korea
• Capsules are not for large suitcases; use a locker or luggage forwarding
• A jjimjilbang night is a cultural experience first and a bed second

What accommodation costs, country by country

The pattern across the continent: the budget tier is cheapest in South and South-East Asia, the mid-range is where value peaks in Vietnam, Thailand and Taiwan, and the upper tier is the bargain in India, Thailand and Bali, where a AUD 500 night buys what costs AUD 1,500 in Australia. Japan and Singapore are the exceptions at every level and are priced accordingly. Peak weeks — Kyoto in April, Bali in July, the Thai coast at Christmas — double the mid-range and upper figures.

Where to stay, city by city

The practical questions

The weeks that sell out a year ahead

Kyoto in cherry blossom (late March–mid April) and autumn colour (mid November–early December); Bali in July and late December; Thailand’s Andaman coast and the Maldives at Christmas and New Year; Diwali in Rajasthan; Japan’s Golden Week; the Chinese National Day week; Sapporo in the Snow Festival week; the Kandy Perahera; Yi Peng in Chiang Mai. For these, the good hotels are gone six to nine months out and the great ones twelve. Everywhere else, six to eight weeks is comfortable and the wet season can be booked on arrival.

Rooms that sleep four

The commonest Asian accommodation failure. Japanese and Korean city hotels are built for two and the “triple” is a double with a fold-out; the answer is apartment hotels, connecting rooms or a house rental. South-East Asian resorts are generous with family rooms and extra beds. A villa sleeps a family for the price of two rooms. Always confirm the bed configuration in writing before paying; “family room” is not a standard.

Stars mean different things

A Japanese three-star business hotel is cleaner and better run than most European four-stars; an Indian three-star can be anything; a Thai four-star resort is a five-star anywhere else; a Chinese five-star may be new, vast and empty. Use the district, the recent reviews and the operator’s knowledge rather than the star count, and in India use the operator.

Passports at check-in

Hotels in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, China and India are legally required to register foreign guests and will hold or copy the passport at check-in. Vietnam’s hotels often keep it for the stay; photograph it first, collect it the night before departure, and carry a copy. Japan, Korea and Taiwan copy it and hand it back.

Booking direct, through a site, or through us

The global sites (Booking, Agoda — which is strongest in Asia — Expedia) list almost everything and are fine for shoulder-season city hotels booked six weeks out. Ryokan, villas, homestays, temple stays, palace hotels and the small boutique houses are often not on them, or are on them at a higher rate than the owner charges, and the peak-week inventory disappears from them first. Booking direct in Japan and Korea is easy and often cheaper; in India, Vietnam and Cambodia the operator’s relationship with the hotel is what gets the room with the view and the late check-out. An Australian booking carries Australian consumer protection, which a booking on an overseas site does not; it is one of the less obvious reasons our guests book the beds through us.

Deposits, cancellations and payment

Peak-season bookings across the region are increasingly non-refundable or carry 30-day cancellation terms; ryokan and small boutique hotels charge for late cancellation in full; Indian palace hotels want deposits. Travel insurance bought at deposit covers the cancellation risk. Cards are accepted at almost every hotel on the continent; homestays, temple stays and island guesthouses want cash. Prices in Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Singapore include tax; Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and India add service and tax of 10–21 per cent at checkout unless the rate says “nett”.

For older travellers

The questions to ask are lifts, steps and beds. Ryokan and hanok are floor-based by tradition and many now offer Western beds; heritage hotels in India and Sri Lanka are old buildings with stairs and occasionally no lift; island guesthouses have paths, not corridors. Business hotels, resorts and the international chains are step-free and reliable. A private bath at a ryokan avoids the communal one; a ground-floor room at a villa avoids the stairs; and a hotel within walking distance of the sights avoids the taxi at the end of a long day. We ask before we book.

For solo travellers

Japan, Korea and Taiwan price single rooms fairly — a business-hotel single is 70–80 per cent of the twin rate — and are the best solo countries for accommodation on the continent. South-East Asian resorts charge the room rate regardless; boutique hotels and hostels with private rooms are the solo value there. Ryokan sometimes decline single guests at peak; book early. Female-only floors are common in Japanese and Korean hotels and hostels.

For honeymoons and the one big night

Every trip has room for one night that costs too much: the Lake Palace at Udaipur, an Aman in Kyoto, the Datai in Langkawi, a Soneva in the Maldives, a cliff villa at Uluwatu, a suite at the Metropole in Hanoi, a Six Senses on Koh Samui. Placed at the end of a trip rather than the start, and booked six months out, it is the night that gets talked about; placed at the start, it makes everything after it feel like a step down.

Noise, smoking and the small things

Ask for a high floor and a room away from the lift in any city; ask for non-smoking in Japan and Korea, where smoking rooms persist; check for a bath as well as a shower if it matters, because Asian hotel bathrooms are wet-room style at the lower tiers; and expect the air-conditioning to be fierce and the hot water occasionally to be solar and lukewarm at island guesthouses. A kettle is universal; a fridge is not below three stars.

Mixing the types across a trip

The trips that work alternate: a business hotel in Tokyo, a ryokan in Hakone, an apartment in Kyoto; a Bangkok tower, a Chiang Mai boutique house, a Khao Lak resort; a Hanoi heritage hotel, a Halong junk, a Hoi An villa, a Saigon high-rise; a Delhi chain hotel, an Agra garden hotel, a Jaipur palace, a Ranthambore lodge, an Udaipur lake view. The expensive night is placed where it means most — the ryokan, the palace, the villa on the cliff — and the nights either side are spent well and cheaply. That balance is most of what we do when we build an itinerary; the itineraries page shows the sequences, and the Asia tours page shows how they are booked as one.

Frequently asked questions