Prince Rama, a 1900s theater that screened x-rated films before falling into disrepair, has reopened as the Prince Theatre Heritage Stay (www.princeheritage.com).

Unveiled as part of last month’s Bangkok Design Week, the modern-rustic hotel and restaurant, snuggled behind the classic Jok Prince congee stall on Charoenkrung Road, is a lesson in tasteful preservation that others could well heed.

The original theater facade’s been maintained, while inside the old screening room has been reinvented as a bar with a retro fit-out. There’s also a full-time exhibition on the theater’s history.

Opening rates start B2,100 for a duplex suite. Need somewhere to crash after a big night on Charoenkrung? Take a bed in a shared room for B850.