LK Metropole

[MM 6,562]

After an "upgrade" to their system in early November, the internet facilities of the LK Metropole have taken a nose dive. Prior to the upgrade from a 2M outside pipe to a 5M outside pipe, I was getting 200KB download speeds (1.6Mbps), but since the upgrade, the best I have been able to get is around 40KB (320kbps).

In addition, they have a stupid security feature on the DSL interface that requires you to log in each time the connection goes down.

And they have removed wifi support for the rooms. It's only supported in the lobby.

 

And, they have blocked many ports so that downloading torrents and news groups does not work.

 

I post this just to retract my earlier recommendation on their internet capabilities.

[Braveheart 0]

I find it odd that they would make it less user friendly when most places are doing the exact opposite. then again TiT.

[MM 6,562]

I find it odd that they would make it less user friendly when most places are doing the exact opposite. then again TiT.

 

Yes, that's my point. They have totally screwed it up and think it's better.

[casper_uk 12]

A possible reason for the security could be that i know a few of the 'budget room' places around Soi LK Metro have been offering the facility of 'free wifi' ........ supplied by the Metropole, passwords and all.

 

Still no reason to balls up the install so badly though.

[MM 6,562]

A possible reason for the security could be that i know a few of the 'budget room' places around Soi LK Metro have been offering the facility of 'free wifi' ........ supplied by the Metropole, passwords and all.

 

Still no reason to balls up the install so badly though.

 

The security is also on the inroom DSL connections!

[Braveheart 0]

Sounds like what they really need is an IT guy that knows what the hell he's doing.

[elro 0]

in the strict liability sense, what legitimate hotel in their right mind would allow guests to download torrents and the like while on premises?

 

aside from that, if you owned a hotel, would you allow guests to crunch through bandwidth in that manner?

 

many hotels are implementing more secure policies for internet usage.

 

the only thing i find objectionable is the dropoff in performance.

[MM 6,562]

in the strict liability sense, what legitimate hotel in their right mind would allow guests to download torrents and the like while on premises?

 

aside from that, if you owned a hotel, would you allow guests to crunch through bandwidth in that manner?

 

many hotels are implementing more secure policies for internet usage.

 

the only thing i find objectionable is the dropoff in performance.

 

Well, that might be a hotel that has a guest staying nearly a year and a half.

[MM 6,562]

An update on LK Metropole internet issues.

 

The download speeds have been increasing lately, but the internet, in general, is sporadically timing out. But, that is most likely the result of a general problem with the internet throughout most of Thailand, caused by the Taiwan earthquake on 26 Dec. That should be fixed.

 

However, when the internet was working, I was able to periodically get download speeds of 1.6Mbps again.

 

But, a problem that I have pointed out to the IT group is that, because of their new security/login software for their ADSL connections, it has made it impossible to use www.flickr.com. If you go to flickr.com, click on any picture or second item off the main page, you get logged off the ADSL connection and have no internet access. They are scratching their heads on this one and have gone back to the security software vendor for a fix. Could be years, since they might have bought the software at tuk.com for 120B

 

So, if you use flickr, and stay at the LK Metropole, you're out of luck for accessing your account.

[Slobbert 0]

Just to add my two baht worth, I've been at the Metropole for ten days so far. It took the IT geniuses about five days to get the DSL to work. They were in my room more than I was.

 

The connection works now but it may as well be dial-up. It is very, very sloooooooow. Most times I can get connected but then there are days like today when I had to wait about three hours to access the internet. Martin is very correct when he says it's a pain in the butt to have to sign in every time you lose the connection.

 

They told me that the reason they did away with the wi-fi service is because about 50% of users were having pompem and it was too much trouble. They say that only five or ten people have pompem with the DSL service. I guess I was one of those lucky sods.

 

If you rely on the internet for business or other necessary pursuits I would recommend you find another hotel.