I think the final gate to Soi 4 from that apartment complex is sometimes locked
[QUOTE=Bunky;3038870]I concur with those who counsel against Airbnb for the first time visitor. If you've never spent time in Bangkok, you don't know the difference between a good location and a bad one. Bringing girls to an Airbnb may annoy neighbors. And if you're staying for a week it's nice to have housekeeping and perhaps breakfast in the lobby.
New guys will probably do well to stay within 1,000 meters of Nana Plaza. [B]One hotel I often recommend is the Shama Suites Sukhumvit. It's on the east side of Sukhumvit 2, just south of the massive J.W. Marriott. But if you go out the back door and cut through a little snicket you come out on Sukhumvit 4 Alley in front of Fitzgerald's Pub. That's just steps from Nana Plaza, which is super handy if you pull from one of the go-go bars in that complex.[/b] From there you can walk north up to Sukhumvit Road (which runs E-W) and explore the odd-numbered sois branching off the north side, and the even numbered ones branching off the south side. Or you can walk south on Sukhumvit 4 Alley, which is packed with freelancers in the bars and girls on the street.
The Shama is a "serviced apartment" place, so you get a sitting room and kitchenette (w/ washing machine) to go with the bedroom. Water pressure and temperature is EXCELLENT. There is a rooftop pool and breakfast every day in the lobby. It's a popular place with families, many from the Gulf states, so after dark the lobby is as quiet as a library. No problem returning with a joiner, and they do insist on the usual formalities before you go up. Again, for the first timer this process is a good thing.
Best way to book is on their web site. Joining their club costs nothing and gives you access to "member rates."[/QUOTE]I often have a reason to take that little snicket from Soi 2 to Soi 4, or attempt to. And unless we are talking about a different shortcut passway or snicket, I have discovered the final gate that would allow access to Soi 4 is locked and nobody is in the guard shack to open it. In fact, it just happened that way again two nights ago at around 10 pm. I was on foot. And the guard at the entrance to the Maison Hotel driveway nearby was also not having it. No Entrance, No Exceptions for me and another farang wheeling luggage. At that point, the only way to get to Soi 4 from there was to walk back up Soi 2 to Sukhhumvit and then across to Soi 4.
Again, maybe you are talking about a passage between Soi 4 and that apartment complex that is wide open 24/7 without hassle or that I have not discovered. But from my experience, trying to go from Soi 2 to Soi 4 that way has been thwarted at least three times over the past few months and at prime time evening hours.
As always, YMMV.
3 photos
Snicket Connecting Soi 4 & Soi 2
[QUOTE=EihTooms;3038958]I often have a reason to take that little snicket from Soi 2 to Soi 4, or attempt to. And unless we are talking about a different shortcut passway or snicket, I have discovered the final gate that would allow access to Soi 4 is locked and nobody is in the guard shack to open it. In fact, it just happened that way again two nights ago at around 10 pm. I was on foot. And the guard at the entrance to the Maison Hotel driveway nearby was also not having it.[/QUOTE]The snicket near the Shama Suites is a bit NORTH of what Google Maps labels the Maison Alley. The Maison Hotel is on the southeast corner of that alley and Soi 2.
Check out the attached map and satellite photo, again courtesy of Google Map. You'll see how it's possible to exit the Shama using the back door, cut through the small parking lot, and walk east to Soi 4. The snicket connect to Soi 4 a few steps south of Fitzgerald's. The final photo I've attached shows how it looks from the Soi 4 side.
Bunky
(Sorry about the poor resolution of the photos. That's best I could squeeze out screen grabs.)
Yes, that is the snicket I was referring to as well.
[QUOTE=Bunky;3039196]The snicket near the Shama Suites is a bit NORTH of what Google Maps labels the Maison Alley. The Maison Hotel is on the southeast corner of that alley and Soi 2.
Check out the attached map and satellite photo, again courtesy of Google Map. You'll see how it's possible to exit the Shama using the back door, cut through the small parking lot, and walk east to Soi 4. The snicket connect to Soi 4 a few steps south of Fitzgerald's. The final photo I've attached shows how it looks from the Soi 4 side.[/QUOTE]The photo showing the Shama sign next to Fitsgeralds that also shows a small portion of a waist-high version of a much taller white gate further in is the snicket / passage way that I was talking about too. You can also see a portion of the guard shack further in the entrance in that photo.
Right next to the guard shack, not visible in that photo, is a tall white gate that has at least 3 times in the past 2-3 months been locked up tight as a drum all the way across the snicket / passage way with no guard in the shack to open it at prime time in the evening, not even for someone who could prove they are staying at Shama.
I only mentioned the Maison Hotel driveway because that is where those of us intending to walk from Soi 2, the Shama Apartment area, to Soi 4 that way and discover the gate next to Fitsgeralds is closed, locked and no one there to open it will then try to make the transition instead. And that is where you will then likely encounter a uniformed guard waving off anyone and everyone who thinks they ought to be able to do that. Not even a fellow standing there with wheeled luggage claiming to have once stayed at the Maison Hotel convinced the guard to raise the guard rail or give him permission to pass through.
I can't say that tall white gate next to Fitsgeralds is always closed and locked at a certain hour every night. I have only paid attention to it the 3 recent times I tried to walk from Soi 2 to Soi 4 that way and could not do it. If I pass by it tonight I will take a photo of that gate and post it here. And maybe it will be wide open to any foot traffic or bike traffic at that particular hour. Or maybe not.
I used to walk or ride my bike from Soi 2 to Soi 4 that way all the time. The snicket ritght next to Fitsgeralds, I mean. And the Maison Hotel driveway alternative. But that gate next to Fitsgeralds has been closed and locked in the evening quite often lately so I rarely bother giving it a try from Soi 2. I would say the Shama and Maison Hotel properties are on to what many of us want to do either on foot or on a two-wheeled vehicle and do not want to become the constant go-to stroll for punters and their Nana Plaza or Soi 4 honeys to and from the other hotels or apartments on Soi 2.
Boss Suite and Woraburi South end of Soi 4
Both are in a quiet alley at Soi 4's South end near the big park. Boss Suite is supposed to be 4 -star, about $40 including breakfast. WoraBuri is 3-star, about $30, free breakfast.
Both have large lobbies and pools, convenient to walk to Nana Plaza. Rooms are large, nice, clean, comfortable enough.
A few 5-star hotels on Soi 4 are small with small rooms and no lobbies or services, feeling restrictive.
