Hi all does anyone know if Flamingo Hotel is up an running again? Any reports much appreciated. I stayed any times in the past but it has been closed for ever it seems. It was still not open when I was there last spring. I liked the old Flamingo just fine an have many happy memories. I hope the new place is not too different or too expensive.
Thanks.
[QUOTE=Paolo99;2208072]Quick review of hotels in PP.
When I was organizing my trip to Cambodia I had a hard time trying to find a good place to stay (I knew only 2 places from my previous trip, LE grand Mekong and Vacation boutique hotel, but I didn't want to go back there this time). Here is a quick review of some hotels on PP for guys that are planning a trip there.
During my stay there I had the opportunity to check a few hotels. I changed places every 2 or 3 days mostly to have a look for my future trips here or to visit some areas that I didn't know.
The first place that I've checked in was Ohana on street 148 mostly because I read some good things about it here. On arrival I was a bit disappointed. I had a balcony room on the 2nd floor for 38 dollars, breakfast included. Not a bad deal in my opinion. Location is great but couldn't sleep well as the noise from the street outside was very loud and after my long flight in the first days I was also sleeping in the afternoon. The swimming pool on the ground floor looked big but I didn't check it as there were always some childs and families screaming and jumping in it. Breakfast was not bad but finishes at 10 o'clock. Girl friendly as I took a bar girl back and they called me when she left to check if everything was ok. Wifi was a bit slow, the room was very dark (lights not powerfull) and beware with the door lock system as I could sometimes open the door from outside without using the card (it was probably only my room but it's good to check if anyone stays there). Overall good place but would not stay there again for my first days.
Katari hotel on street 294. I took the double superior room for 41 dollars. The best hotel that I've checked in my opinion. Very quiet (it's more like a business hotel). Very big, nice and clean rooms and lightning in the room was good (but the air con in my room was noisy, room 601). I've gone there only because of the sauna and steam room. It looks like it's very hard to find hotels with these equipments in PP. The swimming pool was perfect on the rooftop, I was always the only one to use it. Breakfast sucks, so take the room without breakfast if possible. The location is great also, on bkk1 , for anyone who is tired of staying near the riverside, not far from street 252. Then here is the only reason that I left that place, it is NOT guest friendly so if you go there, take your girl with you when you check in.
Harmony hotel on street 148. I took the double deluxe room for 48 dollars. That place was almost the most expensive that I checked and yet the shittiest one. I 'll never go back there again. I went there because I saw some reports about it here and because from the outside the place looks great. First they take 50 dollars deposit and the amount of the room. The guy refused to take 2 20 dollars bills because he saw some very small marks on it (I'm from Europe so all the dollars that I used were given to me when I exchanged my Euros in PP, later I used these bills in other places without anyone saying that they were not fine). Then they gave me a room near another one that was completely destroyed, they were making it completely new, I let you image the sounds that were coming out of that room. By the time I realized that it would be like this from 8 morning to 17 evening, I had to go down at the reception desk, and ask them to change room. They did it but rooms are rather small in that place, swimming pool looks small also and was full of people inside, and breakfast sucks also. There is only one lift for all the building and you 've got to wait it for a long time. I ended taking the stairs everytime. I guess that it is girl friendly as I saw some old barangs with some younger bargirls lookalike girls. Then for the check out, the same m*therfucker at the reception desk took almost half an hour before giving me back my 50 dollars deposit. Never again in that place.
Aquarius hotel on street 240. I took the double standard room for 50 dollars. I checked that one because everytime I was looking for a room that place was fully booked, so when I saw a room available I took it. The staff is very professional, the building looks new, very clean room but a little bit small. The location was great also, I enjoy more places on bkk1 than on the riverside. It seems like it is guest friendly but I didn't bring anyone back to my room in that place. The swimming pool seems good but small. Breakfast was very good, staff up there was perfect and it closes at 10 h30 while every other places close the breakfast at 10 o'clock. One of the best places that I've checked in PP but a bit pricey in my opinion. If you 've got the money, I recommend it.
Okay Boutique hotel on a small alley near street 174, I took the double superior room for 40 dollars. This one was almost always full also and I clearly don't understand why. Maybe because they might have very big rooms, as I saw a lot of families there. My room was not bad, the wood style looks great but the furnitures looked old. It was big and clean though. I was on the 7th floor and there were a lot of wind sound coming in the room, plus a lot of constructions nearby nowadays, so it was not really quiet. The good thing is that you can keep the aircon on when you're in the room. 2 lifts for the building. The staff looks professional but not friendly. It's a bit hard to find it when you don't like to take tuktuks but instead walk back to your hotel. By looking at the map I also thought that it was a lot closer to the riverside. Breakfast sucks, a lot of people there, you have to make a queue in a small and hot room, it's not in an open area. Not a bad place but I was really not impressed.
LE Mont hotel on street 304, I took a double superior room for 36 dollars. This one is located on bkk2 , it's very far from the riverside. The shops and restaurants are really for locals, a lot of big bbq restaurants, with a big pub for locals nearby, it doesn't look like a touristic area but I like these kind of places. It seems that it's a new hotel. I went there only for the sauna and steam room. They also have a jacuzzi, but for some reason all these equipments are available only from 4 o'clock pm. Beware that sauna is very powerfull and can become very hot (I almost burnt in it at the max 110 celsius). Room was small and not clean at all. Only 1 lift, and it's always full, and you have to went for it for a very long time. There were a lot of groups there (mostly Chinese) , and they don't give a sh*t to any other customers, they were making a lot of noises from 6 o'clock in the morning, and that's the principal reason that I moved. Breakfast sucks also, almost nothing available. It seems like it is girl friendly although I didn't see any bargirl in it.
Monsoon boutique hotel on street 130, I took the double balcony room for 27 dollars (without breakfast). This is a budget hotel but everything was perfect there. Very friendly staff, clean and big room, no swimming pool. As you can guess on that street it is girl friendly even though there is a sign saying they are strongly against sex tourism. The only thing that I disliked there is exactly because of it's location. At first I thought it would be great because you can go back home by walk instead of taking these f*cking tuktuks but later I realized that everybody on the street knows exactly what you do, when you go out, when you come back, who you bring back. These girls have eyes everywhere, and if you like to be discreet, it is not the place to go. I took only one girl back there for a few days but everytime all eyes were on us. The management of this place is the same than the one of the Vacation boutique hotel on street 136. I would go back there only if I have a regular girl and I don't plan to change regularly, because too many eyes are spying on us in this part of the city.
In almost all of these places the lightning was very poor.
If anyone has other places in that budget (others than Lux or Sun and Moon) or maybe cheaper ones as some good guesthouses I would be glad to read about them. As you probably saw I'm a fan of saunas, so are there other hotels in that range of price with these equipments? I couldn't find them.
Even better would be if anyone knows a good spa where one could go just go for the sauna (not anything sexual, just the heat with the cold basin).[/QUOTE]
