Lee Gardens Plaza Hotel — A Downtown High-Rise Sitting Above Hat Yai's Mall and Night Market
If you want a hotel where stepping out of the lift puts you straight into a mall, a night market and rows of food stalls, Lee Gardens Plaza Hotel is the downtown high-rise for you — its guest rooms rise above the Lee Gardens Plaza mall, with the Lee Gardens night market right outside the door. It is a landmark tower in the Lee Gardens / Nipat Uthit district, opened in 2003 and renovated in 2013. The 405-room hotel has a rooftop pool with city views, a fitness centre and a sauna; the lobby sits on the 10th floor, where you change lifts to reach your room. Rates start from approx. THB 1,300/night, and it scores 9.4 from 476 reviews on Trip.com — its draw is the dead-central location plus the city views from the upper-floor rooms and pool.
What makes Lee Gardens Plaza Hotel a Hat Yai landmark is its position directly above the Lee Gardens Plaza mall and the Lee Gardens night market. Step out of the tower and you can walk straight into the mall, while the night market right outside lines up food and souvenir stalls for as far as you can see. This is genuine downtown Hat Yai — you can walk to Kim Yong Market and Santisuk Market, and the Hat Yai train station is only around 500 metres away. It's the kind of location made for people who come mainly to eat and shop and don't want to waste time hailing a ride.
The hotel is a tall tower, with guest rooms stacked above the mall floors — 405 rooms in all. What many reviews single out are the city views from the upper-floor rooms and the rooftop pool, which look out over Hat Yai. Rooms range from Deluxe at around 30 sqm up to an Executive Suite at around 42 sqm; every room has a fridge, TV and free Wi-Fi. Guests often say the rooms are spacious and clean, especially the higher floors, which look newer than the lower ones.
"Brilliant location — step downstairs and you're in the night market and the mall, and you can walk to Kim Yong. The high-floor rooms have lovely city views, the rooftop pool was clean and quiet, and the reception staff were friendly and helpful."
The shared facilities are well judged for a city hotel. The outdoor rooftop pool with city views is something reviews praise often — clean and a good spot to escape the sun — open roughly 7am to 9pm. There is a fitness centre, a sauna, two restaurants serving Chinese and international food, a cafe for the breakfast buffet, and conference rooms. Free in-building parking is a real plus in a downtown area where parking is hard to find, which makes it handy for self-drivers from elsewhere in the province or from Malaysia.
Service scores consistently well. Plenty of reviews praise the friendly, helpful reception staff, whether for restaurant tips, arranging rides or handling special requests. The location glued to the mall and market is why many families pick it — you can head out to eat and shop without stepping into the sun. The breakfast buffet offers both Thai and international options, and many say it's done well for this price band.
The thing to accept is that this is an older tower that has seen heavy use, so room quality is uneven from floor to floor. Some reviews mention lower-floor rooms looking dated, musty smells, a leaking tap, or marks on walls and bathtubs, while the upper-floor rooms feel newer and in better shape. The gym is another sticking point — some reviews say the equipment is old and a few machines weren't working. And because the lobby sits on the 10th floor and you change lifts to reach your room, peak times can mean a wait for the lift.
Rates start from approx. THB 1,300/night for a Deluxe room in normal periods, with Deluxe City View and Executive Suite climbing to around THB 1,800–2,500 depending on the season. Over long weekends and festivals, when Malaysian and Singaporean visitors pour into Hat Yai, prices rise and rooms sell out fast. The score of 9.4 from 476 reviews on Trip.com reflects a city hotel that guests are happy with overall — above all for location and service — while the room condition depends on which floor you get.
In short, Lee Gardens Plaza Hotel suits people who come to Hat Yai mainly to eat and shop, who want to be right on top of the mall and night market, families who want to walk out to eat without going into the sun, and self-drivers who need downtown parking. If a dead-central Lee Gardens location, a rooftop pool with city views and rates in the low thousands of baht are what you're after, this fits. But if you want a brand-new room that's identical on every floor, or a gym with modern equipment, it's worth comparing newer downtown hotels first.
A tip from reading the reviews: ask for a high floor for the city views and a room in better condition. If you want quiet, avoid rooms facing the night-market street, which can be noisy in the evening. Allow a little time for the lift at the 10th-floor changeover during the busy morning and evening peaks. And book a Free Cancellation rate, especially over long weekends when rooms fill up quickly.
Summary from Booking & Agoda
- ✓ Dead-central location above the mall and by the night market — walk to everything
- ✓ Spacious, clean upper-floor rooms with city views
- ✓ Clean and quiet rooftop pool
- ✓ Free in-building parking downtown
- ! Older tower; lower-floor rooms look dated and some feel musty
- ! Gym equipment is old and some machines don't work
- ! Lobby on the 10th floor means changing lifts — a wait at peak times
- ✓ Best location in the Lee Gardens district — on the mall and night market
- ✓ Friendly, helpful reception staff
- ✓ Walk to Kim Yong Market, Santisuk Market and the train station
- ✓ Breakfast buffet with both Thai and international options
- ! Room quality is uneven and depends on the floor you get
- ! Some rooms have a leaking tap or marks on the walls
- ! Rooms facing the night market can be noisy in the evening
- 💡If you want a brand-new room that's identical on every floor — this is an older tower; lower-floor rooms look dated and some feel musty or have a leaking tap → ask for a high floor or check the latest room reviews before booking.
- 💡If a serious gym workout matters to you — some reviews say the fitness equipment is old and a few machines don't work → if you really need the gym, consider a hotel with newer equipment.
- 💡If quiet is your priority — rooms facing the night-market street can be noisy in the evening, and the 10th-floor lift changeover gets busy → ask for a high, inward-facing room and allow time for the lift.