Bangkok Hotels

[QUOTE=Bigatl164;1587513]What do you do with your valuables when in BKK, laptop when out and about and other valuable. Are there generally safes in all rooms?[/QUOTE]I can only speak from personal experience, but the hotels I have used in Bangkok all had room safes.

[QUOTE=Bigatl164;1587513]What do you do with your valuables when in BKK, laptop when out and about and other valuable. Are there generally safes in all rooms?[/QUOTE]Passport, credit cards and not needed cash are always in the safe in the room, everything else, including notebook, is left open in the room. Never had a problem with that.

[QUOTE=PinkPearl;1582012]Unfortunately my dick & pocket book couldn't handle banging gorgeous young LOS, VN, PRC etc chicks 24/7, so that leaves a bit of time for extra sexualer activities.

In SG hotels I had only about 10 channels, in Siam around 20, in VN 70. Are these figures quite common for the respective countries "budget" 2-3 star hotels?

Having the "Fashion TV" channel in Hanoi certainly made my stay there more pleasant, as looking at sexy female bods is one of my hobbies. Other people prefer to sit at a gogo or cafe & "people watch".

Fortunately for the junta they timed their coup & TV blackout before the World Cup, else the whining would have certainly been far worse. Even so, I was still getting a few channels & discovered "China TV" with some rather stunningly mouth watering announcers.

People look for a lot of different things in a hotel. Strangely many are concerned about a "walk of shame".

As for HBO channels, the one I'm interested in has the shows I previously referred to.[/QUOTE]PinkPearl,

The Grande Centre Point Terminal 21 has HBO, but I am not sure how the scheduling works and how current the shows are. I did catch part of Game of Thrones while my girl was showering. I do not follow the series, so I don't know if it is current. I enjoyed my stay at this hotel. Great location. Go to the lobby and up the escalator and you are at the BTS. There's also a door directly into Terminal 21 in the lobby. There's an ATM in the lobby, which was a great convenience too. Location to the BTS, MRT, and Soi Cowboy can't be beat. Right across the street (Asoke) from Soi Cowboy, with easy access through the BTS walkway. Definitely GF. The room safe was big enough for my valuables including my iPad. Very minimalist look to the room. Might be too bland for some. No bar in this hotel, so BYOB. I just stocked the fridge with some beer and wine, and I was good to go.

I enjoy staying in different hotels. You learn the lay of the land in each area you stay in. More than you would just passing through. There's a food court at the bottom of the Interchange 21 building on the Soi Cowboy side of Asoke, that I never would have discovered. That's the building with the big Citibank presence. It's one of those basement food courts, so common in Japan. You can get Thai food for 40 to 50 baht. You can also get Thai food at Terminal 21 or at the MBK shopping center for about 140 to 150 baht if you so choose. I also tried out the massage places on Soi 23, including the legit place Raintree. Nice place and a good massage.

S Sukhumvit Suites also looks like a hotel worth checking out in the future. Right at the base of the BTS at Asoke, on the Soi Cowboy side. I ate at their cafe, called Indulge. Nice cool vibe to the cafe. Limited buffet, but I'm fine with just the omelet station, bacon, and a few sides. I like a simple breakfast in a good atmosphere. Good Wifi access at this cafe.

http://www.grandecentrepointterminal21.com/

http://www.ssukhumvitsuites.com/index.php?page=Dining&lang=th

AT2.

[QUOTE=Bigatl164;1587513]What do you do with your valuables when in BKK, laptop when out and about and other valuable. Are there generally safes in all rooms?[/QUOTE]When I arrived at a hotel I could not open the safe because the previous occupant had left it locked and I did not know the digital code. I complained at the front desk. I member of the hotel staff came to my room and opened the safe. The hotel must have a master code. Depending on who has access to the code the room safe may not be as safe as you think.

[QUOTE=WarmStone25;1590153]When I arrived at a hotel I could not open the safe because the previous occupant had left it locked and I did not know the digital code. I complained at the front desk. I member of the hotel staff came to my room and opened the safe. The hotel must have a master code. Depending on who has access to the code the room safe may not be as safe as you think.[/QUOTE]What would you do if you lost your code? Have you traveled allot. Do you have any other anxiety about travel? Are you going to call the police if you forget your code to the safe?

[QUOTE=WarmStone25;1590153]When I arrived at a hotel I could not open the safe because the previous occupant had left it locked and I did not know the digital code. I complained at the front desk. I member of the hotel staff came to my room and opened the safe. The hotel must have a master code. Depending on who has access to the code the room safe may not be as safe as you think.[/QUOTE]All hotels have a master key/code to the room safes, they have to because some guests will from time to time lock themselves out. If they had no way to get into the safe when a guest forgets the code then everyone involved would be screwed. Most reputable hotels are not going to rip off customers by breaking into the room safes, if they did we would hear stories about it from the many booking sites that provide guest reviews/feedback of hotels worldwide.

[QUOTE=Bigatl164;1587513]What do you do with your valuables when in BKK, laptop when out and about and other valuable. Are there generally safes in all rooms?[/QUOTE]I haven't experienced any hotel theft, but I do know of others who have. For these and other reasons, I've become paranoid when it comes to leaving my laptop, iPad, jewelry or anything of valuable unsecured in a hotel room. If you think of the laptop or iPad as $$$ would you leave $$$ unsecured. That's temptation that an underpaid hotel staff might not be able to resist. If the room safe is big enough, I'll still lock and place the PacSafe in the room safe.

PacSafe won't stop a determined thief, but it's a good deterrent against an opportunist thief.

[URL]http://www.amazon.com/Pacsafe-Travelsafe-Portable-Travel-accessories/dp/B002VBIY9U[/URL]

[URL]http://www.amazon.com/Pacsafe-Travelsafe-12L-Charcoal-Size/dp/B00E8BK6KQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=apparel&ie=UTF8&qid=1404436378&sr=1-1&keywords=pacsafe[/URL]+travelsafe+portable+safe.

[URL]http://www.amazon.com/Pacsafe-Travelsafe-GII-Charcoal-Size/dp/B00E8BK6LU/ref=sr_1_2?s=apparel&ie=UTF8&qid=1404436378&sr=1-2&keywords=pacsafe[/URL]+travelsafe+portable+safe.

You can, of course, roll-the-dice and do nothing and hope nothing bad happens, but it only takes a bad guy less than a minute in your hotel room to ruin your vacation.

There are other places that you can use the PacSafe. I was on a flight that was delayed in an airport for more than 24 hours. I used the PacSafe to secure my laptop to a bolted down chair while it was being AC charged and whenever I had to go to the restroom or slept.

There isn't exactly a sure bet that the in room safe is a safe bet, or even for that matter at times if one is staying at a higher star hotel that precious things left in the room would be just left there!

But as rightly said by one of the seniors that its all about roll a dice and take one's chances.

To narrate a story about my folks' experience recently on a trip, they were traveling to HK, and in complete hindsight they left the in-room safe open before heading out for the touristy things to do.

The room cleaning staff when she came for her cleaning routine noticed this, and call the Hotel Manager. The manager locked the room and put a notice at the door to meet the GM of the hotel before entering the room.

In short it was nice of the cleaning lady to have done this and the moral ethical staff (s) that supported the whole episode. Not to mention a lesson learned for my folks.

But it always pays to play safe post which its all luck!

However at times there are locker facilities available with the reception (not all the time, but guess).

FunkySexy

Hotel safes overwhelmingly provide good security. But every hotel has somebody with a key or a code to enter your safe. I always used to leave $1500 or more in cash, my wallet with driver's license, and my original passport in the safe. I know guys that leave $2000-$4000 or more in their safe. Never had a problem but met more than 1 person that did. Last year I got the Charles Schwab no ATM fee / no foreign exchange fee debit card. I can now withdraw $200-$300 rom ATMs without worrying about high ATM fees. Now I always have less than $1000 in cash in my safe. I still worry about my wallet and passport.

Bottom line is we really need to take as little with us on these trips as possible. Buy a $100 tablet and take it instead of your $1000 laptop. Get a no fee debit / ATM card and reduce the cash you keep on hand by withdrawing less from ATMs. A guy with a key to the safe may be tempted by us keeping 6 months-1 year of salary in our safe. Do Thais have to provide proper I'd to their employer upon hire? Are references checked as they are in the west? Maybe, maybe not. Lower your exposure to loss and pray you never get robbed.

[QUOTE=Allover;1590280]Lower your exposure to loss[/QUOTE]That is good advice!

[QUOTE=Allover;1590280]and pray you never get robbed.[/QUOTE]
Prayer never helped anyone. Perhaps the thief has prayed to his god to find a nice "fat" farang to rob. Do you want to gamble the power of your god against his?

I've never had a problem with my laptop or other valuables in any hotel. What I usually do with my bigger valuable items that don't fit in the safe is put it in my luggage and lock it. This cuts the risk of anyone getting in there including housekeeping. The only way you could lose your laptop that way is if someone takes your whole suitcase which won't be possible by the girl you bring back and if housekeeping has the audacity to take your whole freakin suitcase then you could get hotel security involved right away.

Also its true that all hotel security can get into your hotel room safe with a simple master code that they have, which is usually the same for hotel room safes around the world. I've worked in hotels before and we have had to get into hotel room safes when guests forget something in there. I had an incident before where I forgot my passport in the hotel room safe when I checked out. When I realized I called the hotel and they had my passport at reception by the time I got back. You don't have to worry about that though, if you realize that someone has gotten into your safe then you must inform hotel security and the culprit will be investigated by hotel security and no hotel employee will risk that. This is of course in higher end hotels, I am sure there are some cheap hotels where you will be on your own no matter what happens.

Stay safe out there guys.

[QUOTE=Bigatl164;1587513]What do you do with your valuables when in BKK, laptop when out and about and other valuable. Are there generally safes in all rooms?[/QUOTE]Safes? You'd trust them?

Cash? Keep low amounts. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. A couple bucks in the room safe, a loonie or two on your person, a few euros in a hiding place, a few hundred baht in the hotel reception safety deposit box, a Thai bank account & your smelly undies. Use secure traveller's checks & bank cards, which are easily replaced if lost or stolen. Don't forget your bitcoins.

Passport? Some places, like Siam & Malaysia, require you have it with you when you're out & about. Keep a copy in your room or hotel safe. If lost or stolen, it is easily replaced. Some people even purposely lose theirs, so they can get a new one.

Laptop? Why leave it in your room to be stolen? If so, lock it up. Or leave it in your home country while you travel & take something smaller & more portable for internet use, like a tablet or cell phone.

Jewelry? Do men really wear that?

[QUOTE=Allover;1590280]Hotel safes overwhelmingly provide good security. But every hotel has somebody with a key or a code to enter your safe. I always used to leave $1500 or more in cash, my wallet with driver's license, and my original passport in the safe. I know guys that leave $2000-$4000 or more in their safe. Never had a problem but met more than 1 person that did. Last year I got the Charles Schwab no ATM fee / no foreign exchange fee debit card. I can now withdraw $200-$300 rom ATMs without worrying about high ATM fees. Now I always have less than $1000 in cash in my safe. I still worry about my wallet and passport.

Bottom line is we really need to take as little with us on these trips as possible. Buy a $100 tablet and take it instead of your $1000 laptop. Get a no fee debit / ATM card and reduce the cash you keep on hand by withdrawing less from ATMs. A guy with a key to the safe may be tempted by us keeping 6 months-1 year of salary in our safe. Do Thais have to provide proper I'd to their employer upon hire? Are references checked as they are in the west? Maybe, maybe not. Lower your exposure to loss and pray you never get robbed.[/QUOTE]This is good advice but the one thing I remain anxious about when in a foreign country is loosing my passport. I have never trusted this to a hotel safe instead I conceal this on my person. I take more than one card for cash and keep one in the safe and one or more on my person. I make sure that I am never in a position where I do not know what code I have used for the safe.

[QUOTE=WarmStone25;1590397]This is good advice but the one thing I remain anxious about when in a foreign country is loosing my passport. I have never trusted this to a hotel safe instead I conceal this on my person. I take more than one card for cash and keep one in the safe and one or more on my person. I make sure that I am never in a position where I do not know what code I have used for the safe.[/QUOTE]I think the most secure place to store your passport would be in the hotel safe behind the front desk. I have never done this though as the room safe is fine for me. What I do is carry a photocopy of my passport with me as I move around the city, leave the original in the hotel room safe, and email myself a PDF copy just in case.

As for room safe safety. During my last visit the safe was on the fritz ("no power" LOL) and it turned out it needed a new battery which took about 15 minutes to change out. So yah hotel maintence can get into them if necessary which IMO is not a big deal.

SunLover.

[QUOTE=Sunlover2;1590874]I think the most secure place to store your passport would be in the hotel safe behind the front desk. I have never done this though as the room safe is fine for me. What I do is carry a photocopy of my passport with me as I move around the city, leave the original in the hotel room safe, and email myself a PDF copy just in case.

As for room safe safety. During my last visit the safe was on the fritz ("no power" LOL) and it turned out it needed a new battery which took about 15 minutes to change out. So yah hotel maintence can get into them if necessary which IMO is not a big deal.

SunLover[/QUOTE]Another good backup method for your passport is to scan it and other ID or travel documents and keep them up on google drive or dropbox or other service so you can access and print copies from anywhere in the world with internet and a printer.

BTW, looking for a hotel in November and agoda has terminal 21 rooms with breakfast for 51% off. There is a $15 USD cancellation fee if you cancel it but not too bad for locking in the price. Superior for $116.