Evil Penevil

There won't be any problem getting a room on short notice in September in the LK Metro area or anywhere else in Pattaya. If the establishments you name all happen to be full at that time (very unlikely), there are many, many others that hold the same standard and price level. There's no reason to be worried. Evil

Opey De Place on Soi Lengkee fills all your requirements except inroom safe. It does have jumbo-sized safety deposit boxes in a room behind the front desk. These boxes are big enough for a full-sized notebook as well as camera equipment. They also have hasps for attaching your own padlock for extra security beyond the lock built into the box. Only disadvantage is that the safety deposit room isn't accessible between 10 p.m. and 8.00 a.m., but that was never a problem for me. It's one of the better hotels I've seen for under 1,000 baht (rates range from 750 baht/night for a standard room to 950 baht/night for a jr suite). The pool and pool area are impressive for a budget hotel. Opey De Place Website Evil

I've been in the past and it is indeed a fun event. Picnics and outdoor barbecues are the sort of U.S. celebration that can be transposed well to locations abroad. One year I encountered the legendary Bernard Trink at the July 4th event in Bangkok. Evil

I wonder what she had planned to steal from Disneyland. She could always take her kids to Disney World in Hong Kong or Tokyo. Evil

I had a great time in Babydolls about 10 days ago - really had fun with the ladies. Did nr 63 get her watch back? She had forgotten it in my hotel room. She was excellent company in every way. Kudos to the mamasan for recommending her to me. Evil

I do the same on Narita flights. Last trip I even met a BM in the Northwest Club lounge. A more basic difficulty with taxi share for me is the time it can take for different passengers to clear Customs and Immigration. At that time of night, I don't feel it's worth a few hundred baht to wait around for the person with whom I'd share a taxi. If we clear the formalities and reach the taxi queue or pick-up point at the same time, great, but I want to get into either Bangkok or Pattaya ASAP. Evil

I arrive on the 17th around noon, so I'm out for any taxi sharing. But on my last few flights through Tokyo, I saw guys who were trying to line up a taxi share in the departure lounge at Narita before the flight took off. One was walking around with a sign that said "Taxi to Pattaya?" I've also been approached at the baggage carousel at Swampy about taxi share or even in the taxi queue. You have plenty of chances even if it doesn't work out through the forum. Evil

Good for you, BigD. I wonder if the overbooking is a sign that the total number of seats on flights to China has been reduced so far that demand is exceeding supply. It usually takes the airlines awhile to work out the balance. Evil

Could be quite an attraction: The Missouri State Sugar Bears

The Fraser Suites on Sukhumvit Soi 11 has some special offers, but I'm not sure if better rates are available through the various booking agencies. The Fraser is another facility on the "serviced apartment" model. It offers great value for money. I posted pics from the Fraser in one of my T/Rs: link Evil

Citadines has four properties in Bangkok and Centre Point has seven. Some Centre Point properties have rooms ranging from 30 sq m studio rooms to two and three-bedroom suites. Certainly not all rooms at Centre Point were regularly available for 2,500 baht/night prior to the airport closure. Perhaps the smaller rooms at one property were, but the one-bedroom suites at Suk Soi 10, of which I posted the pictures, went for at least 3,000 baht/night. I got it for 2,200 baht/night. At Citadines, through www.thaihoteldiscounts.com , every studio room in all four of the properties can be had for 1,612 baht/night including tax and service charge. On Nov. 1 last year, the cheapest rate offered at Citadines on Soi 11 was 2,205 baht/night including tax and service charge. It might have been 1,850 excluding tax and service charge. Whether these represent deep discounts depends on your definition. To me, a savings of 20% to 30% is a deep discount. Evil

The Centre Point on Sukhumvit Soi 10 is one of seven Centre Point properties in Bangkok. They function on the serviced apartment model, with daily or long-term options available. All are good, but the one I like best is on Sukhumvit Soi 10. The one-bedroom suites are a roomy 73 sq meters (there are also some 89 sq m one=bedroom suites) and are very well equipped. They even have a washing machine. The only downside is the long haul to the Suk, but you can walk it in roughly 10 minutes or take the tuk-tuk than runs 24 hours a day. There's a mini-mart and beauty/barber shop on site. I paid 2,200 baht/night in early February, but a more usual price is between 3,000 and 3,500 baht/night. The building entrance and lobby: The bedroom: The bathroom: The kitchen: The living room: The view from the balcony: The garden: Looking down from the sixth floor:

The Riverfront Residence has serviced apartments that are available on a daily or long-term basis. It's located on Rama III Road (close to the Silom and Sathorn Roads' business district), with spectacular views of the Chao Phraya River. I paid about 2,500 baht/night in late January for a one-bedroom suite, but I'm not sure that price is still available. Highly recommended if you want to stay outside the Sukhumvit area. I had some business meetings nearby, so it was convenient for me to stay there a few days. It's a bit of a haul to the Suk, though, whether you go by BTS or by taxi. Not much of interest within easy walking distance of the hotel. Riverfront Residence SV City, 912 Rama III Road, Bangpongpang Yannawa, Bangkok 10120 Telephone : (662) 682-7888 E-mail : sales@riverfrontbangkok.com The entrance: The view from the balcony - the Chao Phraya River on a cloudy day: The entrance and part of the living room: The living room: The kitchenette and dining area: Bedroom: Now that's a proper inroom safe - big enough for a full-size laptop, camera and everything else you need to lock up. The Riverfront Lounge, where breakfast is served:

I wasn't comparing the discounts to the rack rate. Except at the peak of the high season or when there is a special event in town that keeps the hotel booked solid, you can almost always find a better deal for any hotel than the rack rate. I was using rough figures for what you would normally pay at some hotels and stated clearly the steeper discounts are at the more expensive hotels. Neither Citadines nor CentrePoint fall into that category. Normally a one-bedroom suite at the CentrePoint property on Suk Soi 10 can be had for about 3,000 baht/night. At the beginning of February, I paid about 2,200 baht/night. The Majestic Grande was recently offering discounts off rooms that usually go for around 3,500 baht/night. Those types of deals are still around, but not necessarily at the same hotel. Once the hotel reaches a certain level of occupancy, the heavily discounted rooms won't be available any longer. The thing about using an agency like Thai Hotel Discounts is that you can easily find out the best deal for the day. You can also phone them and speak to Tim directly - he is very accustomed to finding bargains for guys who want guest friendly hotels. At some of the more expensive hotels, you can find deals that would be in the half-off range from what you'd normally expect to pay, not the rack rate. Here's the link to the deal at the Grand Hyatt Erawan. It's a pay one, stay two nights (maximum) offer. The Landmark last week was charging US$100 for rooms that usually cost $175. But whatever the discount, 10% or 50%, it's still cheaper than before. What that means in effect is that a traveller with a budget of US$100/night can get a better hotel than he normally would, just like those with a budget of US$50/night can also move up a notch. There are some deals in the under US$50 range, but they represent less of a saving from what they normally cost. Even the Majestic Suites was offering a discount and that's very unusual, as they only have 55 rooms which are mostly booked to 100% capacity. I don't know about the offer to Thais and resident expats. I posted the link above to the offer to which I was referring.. Here are the prices I got for May : Grand Deluxe room at 4,186 baht/night for each of two nights. That room usually goes for 8,700/night. Grand room at 3,670 baht/night for each of two nights, usually costs 7,600/baht night. Evil

A lot of Bangkok hotels are offering special deals which may last through the autumn, as bookings are reported to be down 30% to 40% this year from last year. It's mostly high- to mid-range hotels that are offering bargains, so it means you can get a room that normally costs 7,000 - 8,000 baht/night for around 3,500 to 4,000 baht/night or a room that usually goes for about 3,000 b/n can be had for 2,000 b/n. However, rooms that ordinarily go for 1,500 or less aren't being discounted by much if at all because profit margins are already low at that level. The Landmark, Grand Hyatt Erawan, Citadines (all its BKK properties) and the Centre Point hotels are only a few of those offering deep discounts. Check the deals available on a site like LateStays or Agoda to find the deals. If you want to make sure you get a G/F hotel at the best rate, go through Tim at www.thaihoteldiscounts.com. Evil

Aero Svit is a Ukraine-based international carrier. I've never flown with it, but it gets very poor reviews at Sky Trax: Aero Svit reviews. Apparently no need to buy a biz ticket, just pay economy and offer a flight crew member $100 to move you to the biz section. also, the schedule to fly from New York to Bangkok is inconvenient, with long layovers and even an overnight stop on the way back. On a more positive note. I just got a flight on China Airlines JFK to BKK via Taipei for $846.38 all in with tax and fees. Departure is mid May, returning middle of the first week in June. I checked the EVA Hot Fares and Members Only section, but couldn't find a flight that matched my dates for anything under $1,200. Too bad, because Newark is better airport for me than JFK. This trip is a vacation and not not business, so I have to pay the ticket myself and that means I'm after the cheapest fare, assuming it doesn't involve a 40-hour journey each way. The travel time, i.e. from take-off at JFK to touch down in BKK, is about 24 hours, which is reasonable. There's a stop in Anchorage and change of planes in Taipei, but the layover times aren't bad. However, the latest departure date for these fares on China Airlines is May 20. It's an option worth considering for anyone planning a trip with a departure between now and then. Evil

TripAdvisor has published its lists of the dirtiest hotels in the world. In the Asia Pacific section, three Bangkok hotels - First Hotel, Woraburi Sukhumvit Hotel and Resort and the Royal Pakview Hotel - make it into the bottom ten Dirtiest Hotels in Asia. In fairness, there are far dirtier hotels in Bangkok than those three. The travelers who submit TripAdvisor reviews aren't likely to stay at the super-dumps. But there are much, much better options in Bangkok than the three "list of shame" hotels. Evil

A few hotels in that area, with links to their Web sites. The Darjelling is especially goof (stayed there last week for afew days). Evil : 690 – 1,500------------Honey House Hotel $25 – $35 ---- ----Honey Hotel 900------------------------D'Pelican Inn 1,200 – 2,000----------Town Lodge (Reservations: townlodge@gmail.com) 1,200 – 1,300----------Bourbon Street Hotel 1,400 – 1,800----------Queen Lotus Guest House 1,550 – 3,150--------- Davinci Suites 1,700 – 2,500----------Sachas Hotel UNO 1,800----------------------Baan Sukhumvit Inn Soi 20 1,800 – 3,200----------Merisess Sukhumvit 16 1,800 – 2,200----------Darjelling Boutique Hotel 2,000----------------------Baan Sukhumvit Inn Soi 18 2,100 ---------------------Grottino (In a subsoi between Soi 17 and Soi 19) 2,100 – 4,700----------Livingstones Lodge 2,300 – 3,200----------President Park Bangkok Soi 24 2,600 – 3,600----------Legacy Suites 2,900 and up-----------Davis Hotel

I just reserved a one-bedroom suite at LK Metropole for 10 nights in January. They answered me within 6 hours of my email through the "card" function at the bottom of the first post in this thread. That's service! The rate was very attractive, certainly better than I could have gotten through any online booking agency. But they did say that LK Metropole only had two one-bedroom suites available for the days I wanted, so with my reservation, only one left now. Whatever the decrease in total tourist visitors, it doesn't seem to be hurting the LK hotels. Evil

The Bellagio is the only hotel that would place on a list of the 25, maybe even 50, best hotels in the U.S., no where near the 10 best in the world. And Circus Circus and the Ambassador City Jomtien? Evil

The list below is an update and expansion of the OP. It is intended as source of information about guest-friendly hotels in the Bangkok's Sukhumvit area. Its purpose isn't to review any of the hotels, but to note what's available in various price classes. If you want further information about a particular hotel, click on the link to go its Web site or search the board for comments, reviews, etc. I've listed the hotels in price order - from cheapest to most expensive - and divided them into two geographical areas - Closer to Nana Plaza and Closer to Soi Cowboy - with Sukhumvit Soi 13 as the line of demarcation. This list is by no means exhaustive. There many other hotels in the vicinity and quite a few are guest friendly. Whenever possible, I've hot-linked to the hotel's official Web site. If the hotel doesn't have its own site, I've linked to a web page that has information, pictures, etc. on the hotel. All are guest friendly, meaning that an unregistered guest can stay overnight in your room without extra charge. However, some will charge you a joiner fee if you want to bring back two or more ladies at the same time. There's no reason to get hysterical about a joiner fee. It's a hotel policy, not a crime against humanity. Use a common sense approach. If your style of mongering involves heavy partying in your room with three or four ladies at once, then be sure to stay in a monger friendly hotel. But if you usually take back just one lady per night, then guest friendly is OK. Should you decide one night to indulge in a threesome and the hotel asks for a joiner's fee of 300 baht for the extra lady - pay it. It's no big thing. There are dozens of hotel booking agencies, all roughly the same in terms of prices offered and service. I've listed three specialist agencies below. If you don't need the services of a specialist, you're just as well off booking your room through the hotel-booking function affiliated with this board. Thai Hotel Discounts is great if you need personal service, especially for last-minute reservations or if you have very specific requests. Tim (the owner) knows exactly which hotels are good for mongers and which aren't. He can usually find something to suit every budget. So if you are looking for a monger-friendly hotel in the Nana area at 2,500 a night with a swimming pool that gets a lot of sun, has WiFi, a gym and a breakfast buffet, call up Tim and ask him what he recommends. He'll always steer you right. LateStays.com and CheckInToday.com are good online options for last-minute reservations. Both offer big discounts and CheckInToday gives you an answer in real time on the same day as you need the room. It's been extremely useful when I've had to extend my stay one more day or I've check out of a hotel sudden;y because it was unsatisfactory. DISCLAIMER: The prices listed are indicative as of November, 2008 and include taxes and service charges. They represent prices that are widely available, but lower prices can sometimes be found because of special promotions. Keep in mind that many online agencies don't include taxes and service charges, which makes their rates appear 17% lower than they really are. Always read the fine print about what is included in the price given. Evil ----Indicates the hotel is particularly good for mongers ----Indicates the hotel has opened recently (as of November, 2008) Closer to Nana Plaza Area ----Price --------------------Hotel --------------------- Comment 700-------------------Thai House Inn ------ (In an alley that connects Soi 5 and Soi 7, right around the corner from the Beer Garden. The reception is in a beauty salon!) 700-------------------Swan Inn 800 and up------------Swan 4 Bar and Hotel 800 – 1,000-----------Nap-Inn 800 – 1,000-----------Business Inn 900-------------------Maxim's Inn------- (131/21-23 Sukhumvit 7/1 (Tel:02 252 9911 Fax: 02253 5329) 1,000 – 2,500 -- -----Star Inn ------(If the walls in this hotel could talk, what amazing tales they would tell. It was the S/T hotel used by the Eden Club.) 1,200 – 1,300---------Promenade 1,200 – 1,500---------Federal Hotel 1,200 – 1,600---------Cozy at Ten 1,315 – 2,050---------Majestic Suites -(Tiny rooms, but great for the price ) 1,395 – 1,495---------Stable Lodge 1,450-----------------World Inn 1,480 – 2,200---------Dynasty Inn 1,490 – 2,790---------Nana Hotel ----(The granddaddy of all monger hotels) 1,500 – 2,300---------Smart Suites 1,600 – 1,800---------Everrich Inn 1,600 – 3,000---------Grand Business Inn 1,600 – 3,000---------Swiss Park Hotel 1,700 – 2,500---------Drop Inn 1,800 – 2,000---------Parkway Inn 1,850 – 4,500---------Heidelberg Inn 2,000 and up----------Citadines Soi 11 ------ (Citadines also has properties on Sois 8, 16 and 23 at roughly the same price.) 2,200 – 3,000---------Aspen Suites 2,280 – 2,680---------Dynasty Grande 2,300 – 3,500-------- Grand President Soi 11 2,500-----------------CitiChic Hotel 2,500 – 3,300---------City Lodge 2,600 – 4,800---------Mac Boutique Suites Hotel Soi 7 2,700 – 3,500---------Adelphi Suites from 2,900------------Centre Point Sukhumvit---------(There are six Centre Point properties in Bangkok, with prices starting at 2,200.) from 3,300------------Majestic Grande 3,400 – 4,000---------President Solitaire 3,700 – 7,650-------- Fraser Suites US$135 – $230--------Landmark Hotel from 5,300------------Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit from 6,100------------Conrad from 6,200------------Westin Grande Sukhumvit from 6,400------------JW Marriott US$220 – $300------- H & M Penthouse Suite Soi 8 ---(Luxurious 2-bedroom penthouse with a 120 sq m rooftop garden) Closer to Soi Cowboy Area 690 – 1,500------------Honey House Hotel US $25 – $35 ----------Honey Hotel 900--------------------D'Pelican Inn 1,200 – 2,000----------Town Lodge(Reservations: townlodge@gmail.com) 1,200 – 1,300----------Bourbon Street Hotel 1,400 – 1,800----------Queen Lotus Guest House 1,550 – 3,150--------- Davinci Suites 1,700 – 2,500----------Sachas Hotel UNO 1,800------------------Baan Sukhumvit Inn Soi 20 1,800 – 3,200----------Merisess Sukhumvit 16 1,800 – 2,200----------Darjelling Boutique Hotel 2,000------------------Baan Sukhumvit Inn Soi 18 2,100 -----------------Grottino (In a subsoi between Soi 17 and Soi 19) 2,100 – 4,700----------Livingstones Lodge 2,300 and up-----------Royal President Soi 15 2,300 – 3,200----------President Park Bangkok Soi 24 2,600 – 3,600----------Legacy Suites 2,900 and up-----------Davis Hotel 3,000 – 5,000----------S15 Hotel 4,200 – 6,800----------Dream Hotel

Not all of the dogs at Rudy's are free and they aren't very hot, either. But enjoy Loy Kratong. I had a great time last year. Evil

Here's another pic of Rudy's Bar & Grill. The pig mascot has been around since the bar opened in 1933. It was the first bar in NYC to get a liquor license when Prohibition was repealed. Evil

I'll be there! Evil

There are four reasons I can think of: 1) A cash advance via an ATM is a loan from Amex and there are some fairly hefty fees involved. Amex doesn't have it's own dedicated ATMs in Thailand, but you can use Bangkok Bank's network. It's at least 5% of the withdrawal in fees before you count in any interest that accrues over time. Amex does not charge its customers any fees for cashing a personal check (it has to be a personal check, written by the customer on his own checking account. Amex won't cash a check written by a third party to a customer.) The last personal check I cashed at Amex in Bangkok was for $3,000 to cover an unexpected expense that had to be settled in cash. It's not possible to withdraw that much as a cash advance from an ATM and even if I could have, it would have involved at least $150 in fees that I avoided through a personal check. I have to emphasize that Amex does not charge the fees that a commercial bank would for cashing a foreign personal check. Nor is there any delay. Amex considers personal check cashing a perk of its card membership. 2) The limits on withdrawals from an ATM are lower than cashing a personal check in the office. I can cash a personal check or checks up to $5,0000 a month with the Amex card I carry. There are other limits for other types of Amex cards. 3) To use your card in an ATM, you must have enrolled your Amex card in the cash withdrawal program and requested a PIN (this isn't "automatic" with Amex). If you haven't, or you forget your PIN, you can still cash a personal check at the office. Many corporate Amex cards aren't assigned a PIN, but can be used to cash a personal check. 4) In some countries, there may be Amex offices which will cash a personal check but don't offer ATM access. That was the situation when I worked in China in the 1990's. Evil