Bangkok Hotels

[Eszpresszo]

Warning Hotel prices on the rise. Last week Marvin in Sathorn was 950 Baht per night mid week. This week 1400. I expect the cheaper good deal Hotels are filling rapidly in Sukhumvit as well. I only needed Hotel as a mongering stay. LOL So 1400 is too high for just some where to fuck a girl.

Do you think that might just be seasonal rates going into effect? Or just the higher occupancy of the high season affecting the price?

[Eric Swiss]

I had a bit of a negotiation with a weird girl at the PB hotel recently, so I'd like to lay low for a while and find alternatives. I don't want to be remembered as "the guy who was difficult last time", because that can only come back to bite me in the ass. Although I like the place in principle: centrally located, acceptable quality standards, and short-time prices. Mirrors! Fuck-chairs!

Ruamchitt I have used with satisfaction, but it's more like a full-day / night rate, so makes you wonder what else you could have done with the extra 1000 Baht.

I know a short-time motel on Soi Ruamrudee but it's a bit dilapidated. I like higher standards.

I may have been once at a place near Nana Plaza on or near Soi 4. It could have been the CheQinn but I was too drunk to remember. I just remember I paid short-time price and it was rather luxurious.

I remember also some freelancer from the live music bar near the Asoke end of Soi Cowboy took me once to some pretty decent short-time hotel near Soi 15 (I think), but I could not find it again.

Any suggestions for the best short-time hotels in the area? Money is no object, as long as it's in the short-time zone, which I would call 350-500, but quality and location are priorities.

[Syzygies]

Warning Hotel prices on the rise. Last week Marvin in Sathorn was 950 Baht per night mid week. This week 1400. I expect the cheaper good deal Hotels are filling rapidly in Sukhumvit as well. I only needed Hotel as a mongering stay. LOL So 1400 is too high for just some where to fuck a girl.

[BokKen24]

Anyone have any experience / feedback?

[Syzygies]

Booking.com and Agoda are sister sites, so I would think Agoda is also owned by Priceline. Note that Agoda doesn't include taxes and fees, whereas Booking.com does. The end price is pretty much the same.

Yes the web site I quoted gives the information for a few booking names.

[Banana Boi]

While booking a room in a hotel, I saw the price at US $40 per night. But when I tried to book the room for 6 nights, the total price indicated was US $300. I, then, checked the price for each of the 6 nights separately, the price for each night was still at US $ 40. What I did was to book the same room 6 times for 6 different nights at US $ 40 per night for a total of US $ 240.00. When I checked in at the hotel, I requested to be in the same room for the 6 nights although I had 6 different bookings. They agreed.

I've done this many times as well. Many times it is cheaper to book multiple 1-3 day bookings for a long stay than to book a single booking over a week or 3.

[Red Kilt]

Yes and who owns Agoda and Wotif, etc.?

I much prefer to see the Hotel charge broken down to price on each individual day to better tailor my length of stay to price optimum dates.

Agoda is owned by Priceline.

It's easy to check the ownership of most sites either by going to the "About Us) page or reading the fine print at the bottom of most home pages and the company will describe their corporate structure.

Hotels.com (Expedia) gives you the overall price for your stay but then breaks it down into a day-by-day rate, and often the weekends are actually CHEAPER than during the week. I usually stay at so-called "business hotels" so they cater to the Mon to Frid crowd meaning weekends are often cheaper.

[Manfield04]

While booking a room in a hotel, I saw the price at US $40 per night. But when I tried to book the room for 6 nights, the total price indicated was US $300. I, then, checked the price for each of the 6 nights separately, the price for each night was still at US $ 40. What I did was to book the same room 6 times for 6 different nights at US $ 40 per night for a total of US $ 240.00. When I checked in at the hotel, I requested to be in the same room for the 6 nights although I had 6 different bookings. They agreed.

I much prefer to see the Hotel charge broken down to price on each individual day to better tailor my length of stay to price optimum dates.

[Eszpresszo]

Yes and who owns Agoda and Wotif, etc.?

Pity the article mentions a lot of booking sites I never heard of but omits some more well known ones.

I was very disappointed when Wotif web site was revamped to become almost identical to some "competitiors" (or co owned sites) and removing the grid function that listed prices by Hotels and each individual night, making a consideration to change Hotels on a certain date less easy. I much prefer to see the Hotel charge broken down to price on each individual day to better tailor my length of stay to price optimum dates.

Booking.com and Agoda are sister sites, so I would think Agoda is also owned by Priceline. Note that Agoda doesn't include taxes and fees, whereas Booking.com does. The end price is pretty much the same.

[Syzygies]

Thanks for sharing. Interesting to read the information. I think booking.com is owned by Priceline.com Inc. But the article does not mention it.

Yes and who owns Agoda and Wotif, etc.?

Pity the article mentions a lot of booking sites I never heard of but omits some more well known ones.

I was very disappointed when Wotif web site was revamped to become almost identical to some "competitiors" (or co owned sites) and removing the grid function that listed prices by Hotels and each individual night, making a consideration to change Hotels on a certain date less easy. I much prefer to see the Hotel charge broken down to price on each individual day to better tailor my length of stay to price optimum dates.

In a recent stay I would have changed the check out date if I had known in advance that the weekend was much more expensive per night than week days. Wasted some Baht.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travel_website

[Eszpresszo]

Why change Hotels so much? Just curious. On finding one you are happy with, could extend the booking?

In hindsight, I wish I had stayed at Ruamchitt longer. But, I was curious what other guest friendly hotels were out there, and was booking whatever deals I could find online. I prepaid the two rooms at Sam's Lodge because it was a non-refundable special deal for their superior room. So to extend my stay at Ruamchitt would have been a loss financially, not to mention it was a lot higher in price when I was actually there. I might have mentioned this before, but I used to work for Hotels.com before they were acquired by Interactive and bundled into Expedia. I used to write the hotel descriptions, so I am naturally curious about different hotels. It just comes natural that I want to try them all.

[Manfield04]

Thanks for sharing. Interesting to read the information. I think booking.com is owned by Priceline.com Inc. But the article does not mention it.

See this link http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifest...tes-story.html.

[Syzygies]

Arrived Thursday afternoon of last week, and checked into Ruamchitt Plaza on Sukhumvit. The place is a bit legendary and had my curiosity, particularly with Thermae in the basement.

Why change Hotels so much? Just curious. On finding one you are happy with, could extend the booking?

[Red Kilt]

If I booked a non-refundable hotel for 1 week on a site like agoda, booking, hotels, etc. And was scheduled to check in tomorrow, would I still be able to check in 3 days from now?

If you read the fine print you will see that non-refundable bookings are just that. Non-refundable.

It's why they can offer prices so much lower than the rack rate in the hotel.

If you are uncertain of your dates then you should book refundable options.

It's not rocket science. Non-refundable rates are usually much cheaper than regular or refundable rates.

All of the booking sites (like Agoda, Asia Rooms etc) are what the hotels call 3rd party providers and according to hotels they are independent of the hotel management.

So, if you booked for 7 days and turned up 3 days late, you will have only 4 nights available for you. It is likely that your room was tied up for the 3 days because you might have arrived at any time.

Incidentally, although there seems to be a plethora of booking sites for hotels, in reality there are only 3 or 4 major sites.

See this link http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifest...tes-story.html.

[Eszpresszo]

Arrived Thursday afternoon of last week, and checked into Ruamchitt Plaza on Sukhumvit. The place is a bit legendary and had my curiosity, particularly with Thermae in the basement. Got a good rate in advance on Agoda, for under $30. It was for the windowless studio, but that worked for me. Daylight wakes me up, and I need a dark room in order to sleep in. It did not disappoint. I slept like a beast after a brutal flight over the Pacific with little rest. Took a good hour long Thai massage to get my back in gear, and a good session with a girl I brought up from Thermae, but I slept better than I had in recent memory. But be sure you have a grasp on where the lamp switch is and don't leave any open beverages on the lamp stand. When you turn out the light, it will be Pitch black. You will be fumbling around for the lamp switch when you wake up so don't clutter up the lamp stand.

The staff at the Ruamchitt were great folks. The rooftop pool is nothing special but can be really nice, if you need to cool off. There was no bar open at the time I was there, but feel free to bring a beer up with you. Everyone else did.

Booked a room at a steal (under $20 per night) at Sam's Lodge, which had gotten good reviews for economical lodging by Soi Cowboy as well as being guest friendly. I arrived and the manager looked at my reservation and said, "You are really too tall for the only room we have ready. I will upgrade you to a nicer room at the Smart Suites" I am 6'4", but I think the problem was that they overbooked, because I had booked the larger, superior room. Whatever, she handled it well, and I love an upgrade. She gave the young guy standing around at the counter (bellboy?) a 100 and said, "he will take you there by taxi". Sure enough, he marched me to the street, got a cab and we were off to the Smart Suites, a sister property of Sam's Lodge that typically lists for much more. Once in the lobby, my escort arranged the check-in with the front desk and off I went. Now, lets be clear, my room was not a suite. I don't know if there are actual suites in the hotel. But, it is a nice place and my room was very comfortable, if not a tad small. It did have a decent bathroom with a roomy shower with a real door to it. The fridge was much larger than usual and there was a water heater or whatever you call those things that heat up your water for tea (we don't do that stuff where I live), with Nescafe and tea included. Overall a good place to take a girl and it was guest friendly. The staff were great overall. The set the standard for lodging staff, for the rest of the trip. It was downhill after that.

Soi 11 is a farang street, where overpriced restaurants and bars vie for space along with street food vendors who cater to the construction workers who are everywhere during the day. This is where I learned to eat the street food. It was great food for literally a tenth of the stuff served in the farang restaurants. The street does do a dogleg and it is past the dogleg where you will find the Smart Suites and the Fraser Suites. I have long legs and naturally cover a lot of ground quickly. But, some will find the distance to Sukhumvit a bit much. But, the street is quiet and there is a 7-11 next door and a money exchange near the block along with a side soi where you will be asked for a massage.

The next place I stayed at was last minute. I was without a room at around 8 PM. I was at Hollies Coffee on Sukhumvit using their wireless to find a room online. The obnoxious American "girl pop" there were playing way too loud was making it hard to concentrate. I looked for the best deal and nearby was the Promenade on soi 8 for $25 at some sort of "insider special" Agoda offered. I booked it and beat it over there.

Now, the Promenade is older, well established and has mixed reviews on the travel sites. People tend to like it a lot or find it repugnant. To be sure, it is dated though I found that charming in a odd way. I showed up the front desk and told the older woman there I had just made a reservation. She could not find it yet, understandably. I pulled out my tablet and asked for the Wifi pass code, so I could log into the Agoda app. She seemed incapable of providing me the Wifi key, but the concierge (yes, that have a concierge by the door in the evening) came over and got me online. Once I pulled up the reservation on Agoda, she was still confused and had to call somebody and get advice on what to do. I asked when was check out and she said "Usually around 12:30", which told me nothing. Finally she asked, "would you like a room higher up?" I said yes, if it would be quieter. She gave me the key. An old style metal key and it turned out my room was only on the second floor. Really? What was the point of asking me if I wanted a room higher up in the first place? I got to my room and it was not bad, but dated in a quaint way. It had a king bed, and there was wood paneling along the walls, with ample shelves and cabinets. Two fluorescent fixtures were in the false ceiling. The place looked like my parents' living room in the "custom home" they had built in the late 70's. It was all very odd and then I realized it must have been an office. The bathroom was okay with a traditional bathtub and shower curtain. An ancient clock on the wall had a face that said "Discover America", though it was not working. The windows were wall-to-wall, and there were no blackout drapes, and the room faced the east. I knew sleeping in would be hard there. I got on LINE and tried to hook up with a masseuse who had given me a oil massage followed by a BBBJ the previous day. She had offered me her LINE info and wanted to hook up before heading back home to Isaan for a long visit. Sadly, I never heard back from her until later the next day, after I had traveled north. She needed some extra cash and I needed to see those perfect tits of hers just one more time. It didn't happen.

Some reviews of the Promenade claim there are hookers plying their trade in the lobby. The usual tired, old female reviewers on Agoda complaining about men having fun with younger, Asian girls. But, all I saw was a tired, older looking ladyboy sitting on the couch, minding her own business. I went to get some food on the street and met a cool young, Swedish guy. We hit Soi 4 together and it hit me how quick it was to get from the Promenade to Soi 4 and Nana Plaza. And the Promenade is notoriously guest friendly. I think it is a decent place for an encounter, and it was actually pretty quiet in the room, despite the closeness to the ground. In summary, I would like to like the Promenade. But, the front desk needs to be given some priority attention.