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[QUOTE=Badboy9613]Well, I recieved my booking confirmation for Livingstone's Aug28th through Sept 6th. Can't wait. A group of 4 of us headed for a little are & are. Look forward to meeting you Giotto![/QUOTE]Oh my god,
the next bad boy is coming... :) !
Giotto
...and it started to rain, at 7:30 pm, last Saturday. Heavy rain until 9 pm.
That was it for the Swimming Pool Party. No catwalk, fashion show, action in the pool - simply nothing. No customer around the pool, the Sports Lounge sometimes full, but basically - the lousiest Swimming Pool Party ever.
We hope for a better next time.
The Management
Livingstone's Lodge Co., Ltd.
[URL]http://www.livingstones.co.th[/URL]
The joy of working late is the ability to plug in the ipod switch out the background and read news from old friends - to whit we turn to Giotto for memories in the night.
What sweet memories but then again with a prospect of a week in Saudi Arabia - with the attendant lamb eating sessions and having to kiss strange men - is there nothing sacrosanct anymore. To cap it all a visit to Dubai is to be ruined before it starts as an old family friend has insisted on me spending my freedom there. What no Piper and no Rattlesnake and no Cyclone.
And worse no ISG in Saudi to amuse me.
Woe is my life and yet there is a glimmer of hope the fingers have moved to the Air Asia website - where will this lead !
Watch this space and once again thanks to Giotto and his team for all the memories and wonders of the night.
Until the next time !
[QUOTE=Tamurlane26]...
What sweet memories but then again with a prospect of a week in Saudi Arabia - with the attendant lamb eating sessions and having to kiss strange men - is there nothing sacrosanct anymore. To cap it all a visit to Dubai is to be ruined before it starts as an old family friend has insisted on me spending my freedom there. What no Piper and no Rattlesnake and no Cyclone.
And worse no ISG in Saudi to amuse me.
...
[/QUOTE]Tamurlane26,
LOL, Saudi Arabia. Understand that you miss Pipeman then ... btw., Cyclone is closed, isn't it?
My Singlish friend, you need a break, URGENTLY! Will prepare the dungeon for you :) !
Giotto
Ok guys:
The real low down - with apologies to Giotto/Guido for perhaps making plain/debunking some of the mystique that has been "created" about the Lodge. Straight and factual - and hopefully my report will help others here if indeed the Lodge should be where they stay at in Bangkok.
- You get what you pay for: – The lodge is NOT cheap compared to what else is available in Bangkok – ESPECIALLY during the slow season now (Is an OK deal during high season!) But on the other hand, it is not overly expensive especially if you consider that you will NOT be ripped off. Everything is quite above board and you can pretty well ask how much anything is and get quoted a price – and its up to you if you want to take it or not. This is especially useful if you’re a relative newbie in Bangkok (and Asia!!). The bar fine is THB1,500 before midnight, 1,000 up to 1:00 am and it’s 700 after that. The girls all have their own prices ranging from 2,000 upwards – and it’s up to you to make your own deal. Drinks are I would say, about 00-50% more than at comparable places (prices can and will vary in Bangkok).
- The rooms: Very basic and STILL NO HOOKS in the bathroom! And at THB1,800 is quite small and cheaply furnished. I especially hate the bedside lights – which, whilst some may consider to be quite ‘ethnic’ (??), serves no useful purpose at all (10 -15 watt bulbs?) and looks very schlocky. And the matching light fixtures on the mirror? YUCK! And I cannot understand why the toilet bowl needs to sit up on a platform – feels like a throne!
- Quality of girls – OK I guess, but mostly the Issan darker type girls NOT favored by most Orientals as I. OK OK- I know lots of you Farangs love these dark skinned exotic creatures – but I prefer the lighter skinned gals that are to be found in venues frequented by the locals. One thing though, the gals all seems to have been well trained by ‘the management’ and quite up-front. You KNOW that you ain’t gonna get ripped off or rolled or taken advantage of. I must confess though that I had not “partook” enough to be able to make a definite judgment as my schedule in Thailand this time was just too filled with other things that needed doing.
- It’s probably the low season – but I did feel that the whole place was quite “sleepy” and not the “Action Packed, Playboy Mansion Like” atmosphere I must confess I was expecting from reading this forum. And quite dowdy with curtains covering up utility corners, unfinished and seemingly abandoned parts being used as storage areas in plain view of anybody who walks by – and what’s an African Themed place doing in Bangkok? On the other hand, action IS easily and conveniently available downstairs (pretty good quality if you like the darker skinned girls) – and there’s NO joiner’s fees for the room!
- I would recommend this place to anybody new to Bangkok and Asia as there are just too many things that can go wrong with newbies here. And even for some of the more experienced mongers – it’s an OK place if you want straight action WITHOUT some of the hassles and chasing around and bargaining and whatever else.
- Easy to feel at home – Guido/Giotto are quite accessible and straight talking (what do you expect from Germans?!) but I also know that they will NOT suffer fools gladly. And the staff – welllll… they do try very hard to please…. But then again… you ARE in Bangkok aren’t you? So it would also be wise for you to double check ANYTHING you’re signing or paying for.
- Transport – Taxis are everywhere around the lodge in the afternoon and evening – but don’t even think of getting into one in the morning! I had an earlier flight out and I was really sweating it. I only got lucky when I went up to Novotel Lotus (a chain hotel a couple doors down) and got one via the courtesy of their doorman there. The BTS Skytrain station is a couple blocks away, adjacent to the Emporium which is one of Bangkok’s nicer shopping mall.
- Any specific questions, please PM me.
SE Asia Joe
I got some interesting PMs during the past few days, and I think it is necessary to publish some of the discussed issues here on the forum.
[b]1.) Reports and Discount[/b]
An ISG member mentioned that the necessity to write a report )for getting the promotion) leads to too positive reports about the Lodge.
This is in general possible, but it is NOT what we want if we request to write a report. The background for this condition is that we want to support the forum with some reports, to keep it alive and interesting.
Please note:
--> it is NOT necessary to write the report within the Giotto's Lodge forum, it can be written in the Thailand forum, too.
--> it is NOT necessary anything about the Lodge is written, it can be a normal travel experience report, too.
[b]2.) Critical/Negative Reports[/b]
Some readers send their reports to me in a PM first, to check and confirm it.
Please, I am not a CENSOR. If you there are issues to criticise here at the Lodge PLEASE DO IT! We can only learn from it, or explain why the problem exists. There is nothing wrong with ciriticising issues in your reports.
[b]3.) Missing Discount on Invoice[/b]
An ISG member wrote to us that he did not get the the discount.
There are only two reasons that this can happen:
--> Either I am not aware that this specific customer is an ISG member and wrote a report (connection handle / registration name)
--> Or a mistake happened here, I forgot to inform the hotel administration, I did not check my PMs, the staff entered it in the invoice from another customer or something like that
Please, if this happens, DO NOT HESITATE to ask for this discount, that it can be clarified before you leave! The discount should be printed on your invoice.
[b]4.) Problems with Internet[/b]
A customer reported problems accessing the internet.
We encounter some problems sporadically, and it usually turns out to be a configuration problem on the customers notebook. A few weeks ago one of our WiFi antenna's was broken - now exchanged.
Please note: Even if WiFi does not work in your room we can always connect your notebook via cable. Each room has a cable connection, too.
We have 7 WiFi antennas in Livingstone's, to cover all rooms. And I checked it out that we have the signal available everywhere. But - please make sure that your system is configured for using DHCP.
[b]5.) Bedside Lamps[/b]
A customer mentioned that our bedside lamps do not deliver enough light that you can read in the bed.
That is correct, we already corrected that in the new rooms, where we installed an additional reading lamp above the bed. If you encounter that problem please ask for a stronger lamp at the front desk, we are prepared for that. Alternatively we can change your room to one of those with reading lamps in the new building.
[b]6.) Shower Flooding[/b]
We have 3 rooms (new building) in which the bathroom is partially flooded after taking a shower.
The management is aware of the problem. It is a construction bug (please let it rain brain), the slope in this rooms is directed wrongly, away from the drain.
The problem will be fixed soon, room by room. The bathroom tiles on the floor will be removed and reinstalled, the slope corrected.
[b]7.) Charging to Room Account / Getting Carried Away[/b]
A customer mentioned that we encourage our customers to charge everything (food, drinks, bar fines) to the room account, and that this is dangerous.
Yes, a customer can charge all his spendings in the facilities of the Lodge to his room account, and I think this is standard in most hotels. Whether we encourage a customer to do so - I would call it this way, I think we offer this as a service, to make it easier for the customer. We really have NO PROBLEM if all a customer want to pay each single transaction, and many customers do so.
If you get carried away in the bar, spending to much money, buying too many lady drinks - I will not comment on that. But we all should know that Livingstone's is not a school for catholic girls.
[b]8.) Girls go only LT[/b]
A customer complaint that our girls only go All Night (LT), and that they charge a lot.
It is definitely NOT TRUE that our girls only go LT. They go ST as well, and as everywhere each girl has her own preferences. We do not interfer into their price negotiation strategy. We know that some girls charge more, others less. A clear statement: We will NOT interfer into the girls pricing and negotiation strategy.
I hope I forgot nothing, otherwise later more.
Giotto
[URL]http://www.livingstones.co.th[/URL]
SE Asia Joe,
Thanks for your report. Some remarks:
[QUOTE=SE Asia Joe]The real low down - with apologies to Giotto/Guido for perhaps making plain/debunking some of the mystique that has been "created" about the Lodge.
...[/QUOTE]LOL, no reason to apologize. Your opinion is highly appreciated.
[QUOTE=SE Asia Joe]...You get what you pay for: – The lodge is NOT cheap compared to what else is available in Bangkok – ESPECIALLY during the slow season now (Is an OK deal during high season!)
...[/QUOTE]Correct. WE DO NOT WANT to be cheap. There are many cheaper places available in Bangkok.
[QUOTE=SE Asia Joe]Drinks are I would say, about 00-50% more than at comparable places (prices can and will vary in Bangkok).
...[/QUOTE]Drink prices are in line with the prices of Soi 33, cheaper than in the discos of the big hotels, and more expensive than in beer bars.
[QUOTE=SE Asia Joe]The rooms: Very basic and STILL NO HOOKS in the bathroom! And at THB1,800 is quite small and cheaply furnished.
...[/QUOTE]Cheaply furnished...yikes. I designed the furniture, made the drawings, and have it produced in a small factory in Nontaburi. Now - you obviously have a different taste, but there is nothing really cheap in the rooms. I also don't like to overload a room with furniture...
HOOKS: This is Thailand, things last a bit. Hooks are installed in all new rooms, most of the Deluxe and Junior Suites. The last chapter - the Superior Rooms - coming soon.
[QUOTE=SE Asia Joe]I especially hate the bedside lights – which, whilst some may consider to be quite ‘ethnic’ (??), serves no useful purpose at all (10 -15 watt bulbs?) and looks very schlocky.
...[/QUOTE]Accepted. I mentioned the issue in the report below.
[QUOTE=SE Asia Joe]And I cannot understand why the toilet bowl needs to sit up on a platform – feels like a throne!
...[/QUOTE]LOL. Sitting[Shitting] on a throne.
Yes, some rooms have the toilet on a small platform, due to construction reasons (concrete flloor below, no chance to lower the plumming into the floor.) It is like this, we cannot change it.
[QUOTE=SE Asia Joe]...Quality of girls – OK I guess, but mostly the Issan darker type girls NOT favored by most Orientals as I. OK OK- I know lots of you Farangs love these dark skinned exotic creatures – but I prefer the lighter skinned gals that are to be found in venues frequented by the locals. One thing though, the gals all seems to have been well trained by ‘the management’ and quite up-front. You KNOW that you ain’t gonna get ripped off or rolled or taken advantage of.
...[/QUOTE]To each his own. Training: We do our best to avoid rip-offs by the girls. Girls who tried to cheat a customer or the bar are fired instantly.
[QUOTE=SE Asia Joe]...It’s probably the low season – but I did feel that the whole place was quite “sleepy” and not the “Action Packed, Playboy Mansion Like” atmosphere I must confess I was expecting from reading this forum.
...[/QUOTE]Correct, it was the lowest point of the low season when you stayed here. It was not only "sleepy", it was dead. But an "action packed playboy mansion like" atmosphere - no, you will not find this here, even not in the high season. This is not our business model.
[QUOTE=SE Asia Joe]...unfinished and seemingly abandoned parts being used as storage areas in plain view of anybody who walks by – and what’s an African Themed place doing in Bangkok?
...[/QUOTE]Yes, the old area of our Thai restaurant, new construction is planned, the Presidential Suite... but still no construction license for that, we are waiting.
African Theme: That is a good question. A long story. I wrote about that in the beginning, will try to find that report and post a link.
[QUOTE=SE Asia Joe]...Easy to feel at home – Guido/Giotto are quite accessible and straight talking (what do you expect from Germans?!) but I also know that they will NOT suffer fools gladly. And the staff – welllll… they do try very hard to please…. But then again… you ARE in Bangkok aren’t you? So it would also be wise for you to double check ANYTHING you’re signing or paying for.
...[/QUOTE]Now - I have problems to understand this. Guido and me, we are accessible and straight forward, but what does "NOT suffer fools gladly" mean?
As for our staff - I think they do a very good job here at Livingstone's, more and more good staff working here.
And now: "double check ANYTHING" ... may be I am too sensitive, but is this an indication that somebody tried to rip you off here at Livingstone's ? Please, details, I really need to know those issues.
[QUOTE=SE Asia Joe]...Transport – Taxis are everywhere around the lodge in the afternoon and evening – but don’t even think of getting into one in the morning! I had an earlier flight out and I was really sweating it.
...[/QUOTE]Taxi in the morning - after 7 am usually no problem. Before that we should book a taxi, to make sure that it is available when you leave.
Again - thanks for your report and all the mentioned issues. Hope to see you again soon.
Giotto
[QUOTE=Giotto]
Cheaply furnished...yikes. I designed the furniture, made the drawings, and have it produced in a small factory in Nontaburi. Now - you obviously have a different taste, but there is nothing really cheap in the rooms. I also don't like to overload a room with furniture...[/QUOTE]
Sorry - not only different taste, but definitely different view on what constitutes "cheap decoration." Perhaps you did pay a lot of money for your furniture - but to me, it looks cheap and certainly cannot be compared to standards of furnishing in even 4 never mind 5 star hotels. Exposed airconditoning, Plastic covered chairs, a couple planks attached to the wall to serve as a desk, plastic flowers etc
Sorry Sir to disagree with you on this - but your rooms feels cheaply furnished to me. What do others feel about this?
[QUOTE=Giotto]
Now - I have problems to understand this. Guido and me, we are accessible and straight forward, but what does "NOT suffer fools gladly" mean?
As for our staff - I think they do a very good job here at Livingstone's, more and more good staff working here.
And now: "double check ANYTHING" ... may be I am too sensitive, but is this an indication that somebody tried to rip you off here at Livingstone's ? Please, details, I really need to know those issues....[/QUOTE]
"Not suffering fools gladly" is NOT derogatory/quite complimentary - and it means that I take both of you as being straight talking/straight shooting businessman who will NOT take any nonsense from anybody - especially if such nonsense is not factual.
As for your staff - yes, I did say that they are 'quite' well trained and try their hardest to please - but this is after all Thailand and as such, especially for those of us who do NOt speak Thai - wellll... things can and do get derailed don't they?
And as far as "double checking" - please talk to Guido about this. Basically, upon checking out (hurriedly I must note as I needed to catch my flight) I noticed that even though there was a notation (on the 1st bill I was presented with) that there is a THB1,000 ISG voucher, said amount was NOT deducted from my bill. I pointed this out to your girl - with a question as to what another notation on the bill - "Paid by visa Card xxxxxxxxxxxxxxXX 2,295.15 Bht Attached" - meant and she went ahead and made me up another bil and presented it to me which I paid in cash. When I got home and was doing my own double checking, I figured that there is probably still a mistake - in that apparently the THB2,295.15 above was also deducted and went ahead and e-mailed Guido about it. We've now settled the matter as Guido apparently have now charged my credit card (something which actually I did NOT want done and which I had over-emphasized to him even prior to confirming my booking as I've had nothing but problems with using my credit card in Thailand BTW).(Ps. whoever got the above credit card - I'd suggest you check your credit card bill this month VERY carefully!)
Now Giotto - tell me - doesn't the above WHOLE incident points out to a need for your guests to "double Check" everything? It could have as easily been an overcharge instead of an undercharge. Now, please understand that in no way am I saying that you or anybody is trying to rip anybody off - but... THIS IS THAILAND like I've been saying all along - and you gotta agree that things ain't as effishun as in the more developed countries where most of your guests most likely originate from.
And as far as Taxis are concerned - nope, it was already 9;30 am and there were NO taxis at all and I was really sweating it out lugging around my bags.
PEACE and salutations - Hope I didn't cause too much offense
SE Asia Joe
I,ll never forget that feeling of walking the gauntlet of femme fatales seated in the sports lounge at Livingstones. And not a fake boob amongst the lot. Hefners Chicago digs has got nothing on the Lodge!!
Joe , your biggest mistake was not barfining one of those lovely dark skinned creatures from the Isaan. One of the best GFE of my sweet mongering existence.
True, Giotto is your quintessential German but telling him he doesnt suffer fools gladly is like telling an aussie he fucks , swears and drinks too much. He will also say " please explain?"
[QUOTE=Silly Fool]I,ll never forget that feeling of walking the gauntlet of femme fatales seated in the sports lounge at Livingstones. And not a fake boob amongst the lot. Hefners Chicago digs has got nothing on the Lodge!!
Joe , your biggest mistake was not barfining one of those lovely dark skinned creatures from the Isaan. One of the best GFE of my sweet mongering existence.
True, Giotto is your quintessential German but telling him he doesnt suffer fools gladly is like telling an aussie he fucks , swears and drinks too much. He will also say " please explain?"[/QUOTE]
"Gauntlet?" Nah - that line-up don't qualify at all if you've ever been in China! And even these "Gauntlets" in China nowadays hardly compares with the mobbing and free for all I used to experience early 1980's Shanghai.
Aaah yes.... Shanghai! Those days it was the first city to turn a blind eye to the oldest profession, but unlike nowadays when they have "Mommies" to do the marketing and cajoling and whatever, those days the gals had to work solo. With the result that only the most fabulous/beautiful creatrues you've ever seen ANYWHERE in the world would 'qualify' and would congregate at the doors of the very few places where Hong Kong and Taiwanese mongers go to and where the hobby was "tolerated." As soon as you step off the lift you'd have 20, 30 even 40 of the best looking gals in China jostling to hold you, to hug you, to plead with you to buy the "entrance fee" into the club - 5 or 10 FEC's those days (Foreign exchange certificate). Now THAT'S a Gauntlet!
And BTW - the playboy Mansion is in LA, not Chicago. And No, I did barfine and ST one of the gals (in the interest of pure research of course!!) and although quite satisfactory (felt very safe, did just about everything I wanted/expected, quite pretty etc) it was nonetheless just de-rigeur.
SE Asia Joe
[QUOTE=Silly Fool]...True, Giotto is your quintessential German but telling him he doesnt suffer fools gladly is like telling an aussie he fucks , swears and drinks too much. He will also say " please explain?"[/QUOTE]
If you need explanations as a German, here is the dictionary:
[url="http://dict.leo.org/ende?lp=ende&lang=de&searchLoc=0&cmpType=relaxed§Hdr=on&spellToler=on&search=suffer+fools+gladly&relink=on"]to suffer fools gladly[/url]
[QUOTE=SE Asia Joe]The bar fine is THB1,500 before midnight, 1,000 up to 1:00 am and it’s 700 after that. The girls all have their own prices ranging from 2,000 upwards – and it’s up to you to make your own deal. Drinks are I would say, about 00-50% more than at comparable places (prices can and will vary in Bangkok).
[/QUOTE]
Giotto - did BF change? I thought B1500 before 11 pm and then drops to B1000?
[QUOTE]
- Transport – Taxis are everywhere around the lodge in the afternoon and evening – but don’t even think of getting into one in the morning! I had an earlier flight out and I was really sweating it.
SE Asia Joe[/QUOTE]
No absolute truth, everytime I've been there, never a problem to get taxi in morning.
Too bad about your stay....with low season would have thought perfect hunting in the sports bar.
[QUOTE=Tiger 888]If you need explanations as a German, here is the dictionary:
[url="http://dict.leo.org/ende?lp=ende&lang=de&searchLoc=0&cmpType=relaxed§Hdr=on&spellToler=on&search=suffer+fools+gladly&relink=on"]to suffer fools gladly[/url][/QUOTE]Tiger 888,
Thanks, I got it now.
Giotto
[QUOTE=Traveler1234]Giotto - did BF change? I thought B1500 before 11 pm and then drops to B1000?
...
No absolute truth, everytime I've been there, never a problem to get taxi in morning.
...
[/QUOTE]Traveler1234,
You are right, BF is THB 1,500 before 11 pm, THB 1,000 to 1 am / bar close and THB 700 afterwards.
I have the same experience like you - I go many times to the airport early in the morning. Within 5 min. I always got a taxi up to now.
[size=-4][b]{And I still like my furniture :) ! Real teakwood! We also don't have plastic covered chairs. There must be two Livingstone's :) !}[/size][/b]
Giotto
Yowich!....Cain't believe how many faithful supporters you have Giotto! Which all the more reinforces my previously stated admiration for your business acumen AND my statements that you run a very fair and no-nonsense business.
On the other hand, all you "faithful supporters" - Ain't you ever heard of the expression "let sleeping dogs lie?" OK OK, you pointed out that I was one whole hour wrong (Wow - a whole 60 minutes!) on the BF - that the cheaper charges kicks in a whole hour earlier! And now you can point out that if "he's wrong on this, he must be wrong on the rest of the stuff...." But really, all your rabid defense of the Lodge will instead just backfire as there is another saying 'where there is smoke, there is...."
Giotto himself had told me over and over that he wants fair and honest reports and that he will NOT censor anything we write (And yes, I was the one who had pre-submitted my original report for Giotto to vet). But you guys "are beating a dead horse" which will instead just bring up more and more warts and all.
And Giotto - if that's not plastic on your chairs and as pictured on your own Web site's photo gallery - pray tell what is that glossy, leather like, 100% genuine naugahide like material covering the desk chair? and how about the couches in the Suites - are they covered with the same?
And how is it that I had to trundle off into the sunrise to Novotel to get my taxi? I mean - what's SOOO BAAAAD about telling your guests to be aware that they need to figure out at least a few minutes to catch a taxi if they're leaving the lodge in the early hours? Yowich - sorry - got carried away again didn't I?
Look-it - let me state this once more - Livingstone's Lodge is straight, quite fair, safe and easy to stay at in Bangkok. And yes, it was the very slow season when I stayed at the Lodge. But it certainly is NOT even close to matching some of the outrageous statements that fans of Giotto has been making on these pages. I mean - better than the Playboy mansion? Gauntlet of drop dead gorgeous creatures hanging around every corner of the Lodge? Expensive solid teak furniture? (more like whatever furniture is going to be the most utilitarian and will last longest).
I'd be the last person to want a shouting match (and I do believe that Giotto would, the astute businessman that he is, would also agree). so guys - get real please!
SE Asia Joe
[QUOTE=Giotto]Traveler1234,
You are right, BF is THB 1,500 before 11 pm, THB 1,000 to 1 am / bar close and THB 700 afterwards.
I have the same experience like you - I go many times to the airport early in the morning. Within 5 min. I always got a taxi up to now.
[size=-4][b]{And I still like my furniture :) ! Real teakwood! We also don't have plastic covered chairs. There must be two Livingstone's :) !}[/size][/b]
Giotto[/QUOTE]