Bruce Mangosteen

After my several posts earlier, I decided to book the Holiday Inn Express on Soi Buakhao. Lo and behold, they're running a special, 1077++/night. Solid savings over the LK, similar quality hotel.

Huh, didn't know that. https://www.agoda.com/about-agoda/weve-been-doing-what-we-do-since-2005/ The Agoda company was acquired by Booking Holdings [NASDAQ: BKNG] (previously The Priceline Group) back in 2007. We share the same parent company as other familiar names such as Booking.com, Priceline.com, Kayak.com, and Opentable.com. I haven't booked many rooms since I came back to the US to work ~7 years ago, so my experience with this sort of stuff is admittedly sparse and stale at this point. That will soon change... 😎

I remember reading somewhere that they don't just list available rooms and take a commission, they buy bulk blocks of rooms in advance and negotiate very low rates that way. Not sure if/which other booking services do this, but at least in my experience Agoda's prices are at the low end when comparing to other booking sites, and this might help explain it.

Maybe, or maybe it varies depending on how much discount is on offer at the desk. IIRC, the desk quoted me their best "rack" rate, then referred me to Agoda which had a cheaper price. I've only stayed there 3 or 4 times, every time booked with Agoda, but I've never had them suggest that I cancel an Agoda booking in favor of their better price. These sorts of disparate experiences are part of what makes Thailand so interesting. And annoying at times.

Sorry mate, 3 weeks too soon for me. See you at the end of the month though.

Cheers, I'll check it out mate.

OK, we're now just under a month until relocation to Thailand. We'll be based in Thailand, returning to the US for a month or so once a year while my mother is still on this side of the veil. We'll be looking for a condo to lease/rent a full year at a time. Soliciting suggestions on where to look. Desired specs: - Condo/apartment, not a house. - Location preference 1) Jomtien 2) Pratamnak 3) Pattaya - One bedroom (not a studio). - Rent ~12K - 20K/month. Year's advance OK if the landlord is trustworthy. - Sea views a big plus. - 4th floor or higher preferred (wife worried about floods). - Walk to beach 10 minutes or less if possible. - On premise gym preferred but not mandatory. Swimming pool also a plus. - Shops and bars: Ground floor of building optimum, short walk preferred. Prefer nothing requiring transportation. - Near baht bus route preferred (obviously this is at odds with most of Pratamnak but...). - Farang ownership a plus, if already acquainted or friend a big plus. We're in no rush, and have a dedicated place to stay in the Ayutthaya area. Please suggest specific buildings and even units if possible. Contact info for owners/landlords would be appreciated. Also, please reply if you've used an agency and have gotten a good result. I realize these will be a bit more expensive but if they're good they cut down on the hassle. Thanks in advance. See you soon!

Huh. What I described happened to me. Musta changed since then.

LOL! It's actually my Thai missus who is pushing for the LK Empress this time around because she likes it so much. A friend of mine stays at Sutus Court and recommended it, and after looking at the website I was willing to give it a try. We'll be there when you're there. Maybe we could have a couple of beers while the girlies argue the toss. Enjoy your stay, mate.

Best rates are gotten through Agoda in my experience. It's to the point where the staff recommends you book with Agoda while you're standing at the reception desk, then when the reservation hits their computer they give you the key to the room.

We've stayed at the LK Empress (corner Beach Rd. and Soi 12) several times in recent years and really liked it. Well-appointed rooms, friendly, helpful staff, unbeatable breakfast buffet, fantastic Indian menu for lunch and dinner, clean pool area and gym, adjacent to TQ, across the street from the beach. We're coming back to Thailand permanently next month, and are considering basing ourselves in the LK Empress for a month while we look for a condo.

I'd remove and reinstall the app; that shouldn't disturb the data in the wallet. Also try changing the password on another device; maybe before reinstalling the app on your phone. Based on general computer nerd experience, not specific experience with the Thai app.

Booked this at $1,500 r/t, all in.

Watching the NYC - BKK prices falling slowly but steadily. Can now be done in cattle class for under US$1K round trip. Interestingly, the best VFM in my opinion at this point is Singapore Airlines Premium Economy. These can be had for under US$1,700 on the date ranges I'm looking at. ~19 hours NYC - SIN, 1:10 layover in Singapore, then 2:30 to Bangkok. I did the now-defunct NYC - BKK nonstop, and for me it was survivable. YMMV.

I've recently been able to access the board from two devices without a VPN. Fingers crossed...