I wanted somwhere near to but not on Khao San Road, and this place is exactly that. It takes litereally a minute or two to walk around the corner to the KSR and be in all the action, but this place is far enough away to get a decent nights sleep.... Well, almost.... It wasn't uncommon to see western blokes doing the walk of shame in the morning with a Thai girl, if you know what I mean. Just hope they don't end up in the room next to you!

Our room was a fairly decent size, had a fridge, AC, a shower... and that's all we needed. They are not luxury and you will not be impressed, but they are clean and the price isn't bad considering the area and what you get.

The staff were helpful enough and were even good to have a laugh with from time to time and the cleaners seemed to always be busy which can only be a good thing. The breakfast in the morning isn't fantastic but it's better than none at all.

Nice little and friendly hotel in Khaosan, very clean and at cheap price although the rooms are very basic!! They provide a good service and staff member are very helpful and able to communicate in perfect english!! They also provide free breakfast and coupons for free massages on the spa centre located on the 6th floor of the hotel. Definitely a place where to go, you won't be disappointed.

Quick summary: if you plan to be out and about constantly and just need a place to sleep in a central location, this is as good as any. Lots of street food & restaurants, some bars (with live music!), and a small outdoor park nearby (on the Chao Phraya). Reasonable service, kind of dingy, could hear the neighbors breathing, but it had TV and AC and linens that didn't look too bad.

The long version:
Perfect location for being able to walk/tuk tuk to just about anywhere of interest. In the heart of the Banglumpoo district - a block from Khao San and about 3-5 minute walk to the Chao Phraya river and lots of restaurants, shops, etc. We had some great cheap meals in the immediate vicinity. Plus, its really close to nighttime street food vendors (I ate it all and never got sick). Also, during the day the street is filled with clothing vendors, which is great if you like shopping for cheap everyday items but kind of stinks if you don't want to be walking through the cramped quarters going to/from the hotel.
The service was nice and accomodating, but I got the feeling that we paid more than we should have. I'm not saying this place is at all expensive - it was about $14 a night w/AC in August of '09 - but this was our first stop in a very long asian vacation, so it was only later that I realized you don't need to settle for dingy, dark rooms with cockroaches (I live in a city and can overlook roaches, but there were a few too many), mediocre beds and extremely loud domestic disputes in the neighboring building for this price. There's very few windows in the place, so don't expect a view unless you ask & pay for it.
Breakfast was ok - its free with the room so you can't complain...Watch out for the tailor in the adjoining building - if he thinks you need a new suit he will let you know...constantly...

I stayed here largely because of the reviews on this site, so I thought I would contribute my personal experience.

-- Staff - seems as if they have lost their excitement for their job - perhaps overcharging westerners for an average hotel doesn't make them as happy anymore...

-- Room - medium sized, clean enough, though scuffed and dirty walls could use paint.

-- Walls are super thin - I spent all night listening to my neighbors clinking beer bottles, watching TV, coughing...

-- Bed - springy. Literally - spent the night trying to contort my body so that I wouldn't have a spring poking into a bone. At home I sleep on the floor with a thin mattress. Though it may be hard, at least its predictable.

-- TV - despite being "Satellite" you can choose from exactly 6 channels - Aljazeera is the only English news channel - and there is no movie channel (despite HBO playing in the lobby)

-- Free Internet would drop my signal about a minute after logging in. Had to continually reconnect to keep pages loading.

-- Breakfast -- utilitarian toast and egg affair. Nothing inspiring.

In short, there are nicer places at better rates in the immediate vicinity. I moved to one.