neilri2001

qatar are ok in business class, although if you read the airline review sites their approval rating seems to be falling all the time, but the ticket would need to be practically free before i would fly economy with them Neil

I've only flown from Beijing to Thailand but i did conside going from Shanghai .If my memory is correct your choice is limited to Thai or Air China. Price for both is quite high because of the lack of competition but i would choose Thai over air china every time. Bangkok Airways fly to some destinations in China but i'm fairly certain that Shanghai isn't one of them Neil

Qatar are ok in business class but economy looked a complete zoo. All the flights I took were packed, even in business. The premium terminal in Doha was fine but there was no priority boarding at heathrow or Bangkok. You also had a ten to fifteen minute bus journey from plane to terminal in Doha. Neil

I posted a similar question on the board some months ago. I stayed in a junior two room suite with a fantastic view of the sea from twin balconies. Guest friendly but not an out and out mongering hotel. If you're planning to take back 3 different girls every day then stick to the flippers. Good buffet breakfast for two included in the price. When i was there this spring there were a mixture of western and asian guests. If you stay in Best beach you will probably not want to set foot in sabai lodge ever again Neil

sabai lodge have very wide definitions of " superior ". A Superior A room will probably be acceptable, but be very careful if you're offered Superior " B" as i've stayed in better short time rooms. Neil

1050 baht for a newly refurbished room sound very cheap. I paid almost double than that for a really shit room last year. Sabai lodge have been getting more than their fair share of bad reviews of late so maybe they're having to make an effort again. Definately no joiners fees Neil

I fly BA fairly often in Europe where even club class fares can be really good value if you book at the right time and i find the service ( especially the online booking ) to be very good. I don't use them so much long haul as long hall business class is too expensive. Bargains can be found in premium economy but this cabin is usually too small for me as i like to get up to stretch my legs a bit Neil

Both Flippers have pools. Recommend you get a superior room. Should still be possible within your budget in low season. Very friendly staff Neil

A couple of people asked me to report back on best beach villa on Soi 5 so here goes. if you're looking for a sub 1000 baht a night hotel or are looking to bring back multiple girls every night plus a freelancer in the afternoon then this hotel is probably not for you. If you are looking for a mid priced well located hotel then Best Beach is a real undiscovered gem. The hotel is located half way up soi 5, less than 5 minutes walk from Big C / soi 2 bars and around 3 mins walk from the beach. Price wise it is pitched at around the same level as Sabail lodge with standard rooms in high season priced at 1440 baht, superior rooms at 1680 and suites from 2400. I booked a junior suite at 2400 baht but judging from the pictures i think i may have been upgraded to a best beach suite. My suite had two rooms and featured TWO bathrooms, small kitchen area, twin balconies with sea view, nice settee, individually controlled aircon, dining table, two tv's and in room safe. A very decent western and chinese buffet was included in the rate. Even though i checked in alone i was given breakfast vouchers for two. the hotel is only two years old and still has a fairly new feel to it. I've stayed at Sabai lodge a few times and can honestly say it is not a patch on Best Beach. The one thing i didn't like was the 50% advance payment but on check in i didn't have to leave my credit card and wasn't asked for any more money until check out. A mixture of western and asian guests. The hotel is guest friendly but discreetly so. If i wanted a hard core holiday i'd probably choose to stay at Flipper lodge but otherwise best beach will be my new regular home in Pattaya Neil

Flipper lodge is fine as long as you get a superior sea view. Standard rear facing rooms are starting to get a bit shabby now. Neil

Just returned from atrip with Qatar into beijing and back from bangkok business class and it was ok but nothing special. Planes new ( although you may get an older one on the BKK route ) but service inconsistent. As prices were low the planes tend to be very full. Economy looked to be a real zoo, packed , screaming kids and customers who have never heard of the concept of queing. My transfers at Doha were fairly smooth although have heard reports from others who missed their " guaranteed" connections ). Neil

I've booked in for a week from March 22nd so will report back on my return. They were fairly insistent on the 50% deposit ( maybe this changes when they know you ) and i paid by bank transfer as hearing the words Thailand and credit cards in the same sentence generally makes me nervous. Neil

£48 a night is excellent. I booked my flights through airline network but never thought about them for hotels. I've decided to take a chance on best beach villa but might check out the marriott price on the ground if i don't like best beach. Neil

Decided to take a chance on The Best Beach inspite of their insistence on 50% advance payment. The one review is a good one and the website www.bestbeachpattaya.com looks promising. Just wondered if any board member had actually stayed their yet? Neil

Thanks for checking elef. Seems like their occupancy figures might be quite high and they're not releasing any cheaper rooms. I quite like the beach rd area though so i might consider looking at Best beach or A one. Best beach looks fairly nice but i don't like the fact that they're insisting on 50% advance payment. Sends out all the wrong signals. Neil

looking to stay in The Royal Garden ( Marriott ) for a week at the end of march but the cheapest rate i can find is $155 USD for a standard sea view and $135 for a garden view, both without breakfast. Have checked with the hotel direct, asia rooms and expedia. Wouldn't hesitate to pay this rate at other locations but it seems a bit much for pattaya, or am i just being a cheapskate? The flipper lodge is my normal haunt but will be meeting up with some people not involved in the P4P scene this trip and think they might find the Flipper et al a bit full on. Thanks in advance Neil

Qatar have some very good deals from the UK in first, business and economy as long as you can avoid Easter week. Ive booked via airline network for march but my one concern is whether one hour in Doha is enough time for my luggage to join me on the second leg ( several bad memories of connections in amsterdam where connection times of two hours plus were insufficient ). My first indirect flights for some years but EVA business is very pricy at the moment and Elite is little better than economy these days Neil

Thanks to everyone who took the time to reply. I've actually booked an open jaw on Qatar instead which enables me to spend a few days in Thailand on the way home. never flown Qatar before but some senior board members have posted good reports on them. If you can avoid the easter week they have good deals in first, business and economy from UK to thailand. I booked with www.netflights.com but i think similar prices can be obtained from west east and the other usual suspects Neil

Given BA are too expensive i need to choose between Lufthansa, KLM or Air France for a flight to china. All three are similarly priced with KLM being the cheapest by a small margin. My inclination is Lufthansa via munich but on a Lufthansa business flight to Bangkok about 5 years ago i found the staff really unhelpful with regard to seat reservations and ended up on the inside of a very large german who reclined his seat fully and went to sleep for 10 hours. Anyone have ny more recent experiences/ Neil

Does anyone know if bangkok airways have a business class cabin on their international flights ( specifically China ). I'm assuming not but i couldn't tell from the website. Thanks in advance Neil

i was in Beijing earlier this year and the facilities are much improved. Wouldn't want to spend all day there ( or at any other airport ), but three or four hours would be fine Neil

The sketch is a few years old now but still very funny Neio

About four or five years ago i stayed in a two room suite at Sabai lodge which was very good value at the time. Mind you this summer i paid more for a supposed "superior " room with a brick wall straight in front of the main window and a bathroom that was falling apart. Needlesss to say i didn't stay but others have had better experiences so email the hotel and ask for their best price. Flipper lodge in Soi 8 also has a couple of what they call "suite rooms " but they were booked when i wanted to stay Neil

Flew to the US last week. On departure they were very strict on toiletries, returning from the US the American authorities weren't interested although they did make me take my belt / shoes off Neil

Just returned from vegas so as promised my thoughts on Maxjet. They use fairly old 767's that have been refurbished on a budget. There are 102 old style leather seats in a 2-2-2 formation. The seat pitch is fantasic, easily better than many other business class airlines. The seat width is not long haul business class, i would compare it to premium economy on Virgin or the old Evergreen Deluxe. The onboard service was superb , the flight attendants were very friendly and enthusiastic although perhaps a little bit inexperienced. Outward and return flights left roughly on time and arrived around 30 mins behind schedule. i would use Maxjet again to New York or Vegas but take care if you use them to Washington as this route is often cancelled at short notice ( insufficeient passengers ? ). To summarise i would say that Maxjet provide a very good premium economy service. Perfect for Leisure travellers with a bit of spare cash or business travellers on a budget. If your company has deep pockets then you wouldn't switch from Virgin / BA business class to Maxjet. Neil