Should be no problem, lay some groundwork...
[QUOTE=Levitraboner]Do you suppose they would care about exceeding the 2 person room limit at the Renaissance? I would do Shama but intend to move to pattaya after 1 day.[/QUOTE]Hey Levitraboner.
My experiences at the Renaissance have been very very good. The guards only seem to care to make sure that you go through the metal detector. Nothing is ever asked about IDs, room numbers, who's in what room, NOTHING.
But then, I do a little groundwork first: I grease the palm of the bellman pretty good when I check in, memorize his name, then say Hello, to him again and make a good smiley presence of myself in the foyer before I go out. This only takes a few seconds, but it's part of my strategy of making sure that I'm going to be cool with bringing a couple or three totally smashed giggly high-heel-clickity-clicking chicks back to my room (which happens more often than not.)
So then, the guards and bellmen remember me OK, and they just give me a fine howdy-doodie welcome home when I show up back at the hotel, (no matter how many fine babies I have in tow!)
I am quite sure that you guys will experience very much the same.
10 photos
Review: Omni Tower, Soi 4 (October 2010)
Hotel: Omni Tower, Soi 4
Date of Reviewer’s Stay: October 2010 (low season)
Website: [url]http://www.omnibangkok.com/[/url]
The Omni Tower is a serviced residence with owner occupied units and short / long term rentals. There’s a diverse ethnic background of guests. Most families, i.e., wives, kids, grandparents, appear to be Arabic and Indian. The other guests were mostly men from Japan, the Middle East, USA, Australia, and western Europe. There were also some fairly attractive young women from India who appear to be long-term residents.
PROS:
Location is close to Nana BTS station (shortcut using Soi 6). A free tuk-tuk shuttle is available from the hotel to Sukhumvit Road which I used only when I checked-out since it was easier than hauling my luggage down the road.
Location is close to NEP and other adult entertainment venues.
Room rates are discounted if you advance book through their Internet site and pre-pay. For my 9-day stay in October 2010, I paid 12,231 baht (US $410) or 1,359 baht (US $46) per night inclusive of all taxes and fees. (The hotel took a 2,000 baht damage deposit when I checked in; however, the front desk tore up the credit card charge slip when I checked out without even inspecting my room.)
Different sized rooms are available. I stayed in a studio (smallest available) which I found HUGE. It would have been easily comfortable for two people. (see photos)
Non-smoking rooms are available if you ask for one.
Rooms have a small safe to secure your valuables, but too small for most most laptops. (see photos)
Rooms have lots of amenities, e.g., refrigerator stocked with two bottles of water everyday, microwave, toaster, hot water pot, flatware, dishes, hair dryer, lots of closet space. (see photos)
Free American or Continental breakfast is available. If a large group arrives, the kitchen staff (two people) can be overwhelmed; but I never encountered that problem.
Six elevators are available so the wait is short.
24-hour security guard is posted at the elevator. In addition to your room key, you’re given a swipe pass card for access to the elevators. You also keep your room key with you instead of dropping it at the front desk and you can keep the air conditioner on when you leave the room
Hotel is girl friendly. The girls have to surrender their IDs to the security guard. I don’t think there’s a limit to how many girls are allowed since I saw a guy bring back four girls to his room without any problem.
Nice sized swimming pool with good sun exposure. (see photo)
Exercise room with old, but usable cardio machines and some free weights. (see photo)
Token operated washers and dryers are available. (see photo) If you don’t have much laundry, it’s probably cheaper and more convenient to drop off your dirty laundry across the street at a small shop.
Cable TV with a wide range of different language channels. English language channels included CNN, HBO, BBC, CNBC, ESPN, Discovery, etc. It was nice to wake up and watch Monday Night Football live on ESPN.
CON:
To obtain the “special” Internet rate, you have to pre-pay the entire amount of your stay with your credit card which is non-refundable.
LAN and Wi-Fi are available in your room, but you have to pay for it.
Some previous reviewers have complained about cooking odor in the hallway. Since the units have kitchens, cooking odors are to be expected. I never smell anything offensive, e.g. sauerkraut, and the smell never penetrated my room.
SUMMARY:
When I travel, I don’t like to spend too much money on my room since my stays are normally short and I only use the room to sleep. Since I was staying longer than normal, I wanted a bigger room with more amenities. This was my first time at the Omni Tower and I was very satisfied. The room was clean, but the carpet was showing its age and the shower curtain was ripped, but that didn’t detract from my stay. At less than US$50 per night, it was as cheap as other nearby “budget” hotels, e.g., Nana Hotel, Dynasty Inn, Majestic Suite, but with much larger rooms and better amenities. At the price that I paid, I’d definitely would stay there again.
10 photos
Bigger photos of the Omni Tower
The photos that I uploaded for my review of the Omni Tower were smaller than I expected so I've uploaded slightly larger ones. Hopefully, you won't need a magnifying glass . . .
Hotel Shama, a negative report...
I got a PM this morning from an esteemed long time member of ISG (and a fluently experienced traveler) wherein he explained that he had a [b]bad experience at the Hotel Shama. [/b] The staff and management being the problem, and the management has made no attempt to explain, rectify, nor console the complaints.
The investors that built the Shama put together a great thing, they invested an incredible amount of money and put in some great amenities. But then, they took off to do another new project, leaving the facility totally in the hands of the Thais. [b]BIG MISTAKE. [/b]
Hotel Shama: The quality of the place itself is excellent, and it's in a premium location. But, from the time you check in, make sure that you establish a "rooster" attitude, don't take any shit from the Thai staff. Smile, be nice, but be hard on them. We just can't let the Thais screw this place up, and it looks like they are doing just that.
I have had excellent experiences at the Shama, but I speak Thai and have a way of getting them to do what I want. So, be aware that there seems to be some total fuckups running the place, so you may have to do your best to keep them out of your time/space continuum.
More to come.
[b]As of this writing, I will consider the Shama to be on "probation" until I go back there myself and see WTF is up myself. [/b]
hotel Shama, a negative report
i am the one who had a poor expericne at the shama. it was suggested to me by barko, and i gave it a try.
this is wht i wrote to the manager after my departure. i was there 2 nights.
quote:
hi jared, well i must tell you i was disappointed.
small things which should be completely routine were not and proved to be just plain annoying. most involve your front desk staff.
at check in, when i pulled up in my taxi, there was 1 young man at the desk. when he saw the driver pop the trunk, i saw him talk on his radio, or on the phone, i don't know. i was left standing outside for several minutes until he finally realized the person he called, was not showing up, so he eventually came out and helped me with my luggage.
during check in, he fumbles looking through a stack of reservations for several minutes, staring at my passport for several minutes, even though i had printed your confirmation letter. the whole procedure should be seamless, it was not anywhere near professional.
i was then lead to a room which was occupied and in the midst of being cleaned. he told me to wait in the small room with a tv. i asked him where my luggage was. "my friend will bring up later".
he finally returned with a another room key, still no luggage. so i went downstairs to pick it up. it was waiting to be brought up. 2 other men were milling around, nothing to do. i enquired why nobody felt the need to bring me my luggage. they just looked at me, so i took it upon myself to haul it back up to my room.
the internet is poor, at best. i spent most of my time tethered to a cable in the bedroom as a connection in the living room was in and out constantly. 3 men needed to come to my room to help me connect. (my laptop usually connects automatically to just about anything, anywhere in the world.) even connected by cable, it is very slow.
i called downstairs last night for a wake up call. it seemed to be beyond the young man's capabilities. he passed me over to a young lady. i had to repeat the wake up call time 5 times. i was then asked my room number. i should not need to be asked my room number.
the paving outside with the grass is very tricky for a young lady with high heels to navigate. i agree it looks nice, but a narrow walkway seems to be needed.
the amenities in the bathroom are sparse. some people, including myself do not like liquid soap. a small bar of soap would be nice. i went to the market to buy some.
you have robes, which is nice if someone wants to use the pool, i believe slippers are also in order in case someone wants to go to the pool.
i don't know when the last time the shower head was flushed, and the jets cleaned, but they are quite clogged, and water streams everywhere. annoying.
in closing, i paid nearly 3,000 bt, and i got what i feel was 1,500 bt worth of service. i am in bkk each month, mostly for 2 nights at a time, and this place was recommended by a friend. you did not live up to the recommendation. to tell you the truth, while your internet boys were attempting to get me connected, when they told me to wait 30 minutes so they could find a specific connection tip, i seriously considered grabbing my bags, walking out, and going back to where i usually stay.
i know this is a new property, but if the staff is not up to speed, your prices should reflect it. i believe you should be in a "soft opening" phase, until you have worked out these problems. all it would take is further training, and of course a better internet provider.
thank you
unquote
i think now that all is said and done, one of the things that really chaps my hide is during the reservation process, jared was lightning fast at responding to my questions about joiner fees, breakfast hours, etc. he was very quick at sending me the credit card authorization form, but since my complaint to him........nothing, nobody home, no answer.
i will not be staying there again. i will suggest to all who ask me to not stay there. for the money, i will take a 1 bedroom apartment at the gp on soi 11 any day, over this property.
ps. breakfast was passable, at best. a typical continental breakfast, no hot food.
