Review: Areca Lodge (LK Metro)

[Yujin 18]

For some reason, the "hotel review" section wouldn't let me post this review so I'm posting it here.

 

http://www.arecalodge.com/

I’ve visited Pattaya five times over the past 15 years. On each visit, I’ve stayed in different hotels. This is my first stay at the Areca Lodge. I stayed there for seven nights in mid-March 2015. I booked directly through their website and I was charged one-night stay to hold my reservation.

I booked a DELUXE room at an internet price of THB 1,900 (inclusive of VAT). When I arrived, the front desk offered me a one-year membership in their ACE Club for THB 890. The ACE Club benefits are 15% off all in-house services at their massage / spa, their hair lounge, and all food & non-alcoholic drinks. It also reduced my room rate for my DELUXE room to THB 1,650. Since I was staying for seven nights, the cost of the ACE Club membership was worthwhile since it saved me THB 1,750 for a seven-night stay (THB 13,300 vs. THB 11,550). If you’re staying for less than four nights, joining the ACE Club is probably not worth it.

There are three towers: Areca, Corona, and Evergreen. The Evergreen Tower is the newest of the three and it has its own entry and front desk.

My DELUXE room was in the Areca Tower which is the oldest of the three. Although it’s in the oldest tower, my DELUXE room did not disappoint me. It was not “worn-out” by age or use. Instead, I found my room large, modern, comfortable and well-maintained.

If location is important, the Areca Lodge is at the edge of the LK Metro bar zone. The Devil’s Den is less than a minute walk away.

The hotel is GF friendly.

My room had a small room safe (too small for most laptops).

Small refrigerator.

Free WI-FI, but signal wasn’t the strongest.

Free good buffet breakfast.

Hotel staff is friendly and helpful.

Large tour groups do NOT stay there.

It’s popular with farang families and couples. I met one couple who planned on staying there for over a month.

The two fitness centers have old, but usable exercise equipment.

For those who like to sunbath, both swimming decks / pools have good sun exposure throughout the day. Unlike other Pattaya hotels that I’ve stayed at, the building heights do not cast a long or significant shadow over the pools.

My preferred method of exercise is swimming laps. In looking at the hotel photos, the Blue Ocean Pool appears to be larger / longer and more suitable for swimming laps, but I found the Cabana Pool to be the better of the two. I found more guests using the Blue Ocean Pool since its designed for socializing in the water. The kidney bean shaped Cabana Pool wasn’t as crowded and it has 16-yard length (my wild guess on measurement) of swimmable water so it was my preferred pool. There’s another 1 yard that’s not swimmable since there are step benches for sitting and soaking at one end.

You can tell that the Areca Lodge takes great pride in their swimming pools. At home, I swim 3 to 4 times per week in an indoor pool and an outdoor pool during the summer. Outdoor pools are notoriously difficult to keep clean, but the Blue Ocean Pool and the Cabana Pool are two of the cleanest pools that I’ve ever used (cleaner than most indoor pools that I’ve used).

The only downside that I can give of the Areca Lodge is that if you’re an early sleeper, the mind-numbing beat of techno music from the nearby beer bars can keep you awake. If that’s the case for you, be sure to stay at the Evergreen Tower since it’s further away from LK Metro bar zone or bring a set of Mack’s silicone earplugs http://www.amazon.com/Macks-Pillow-Soft-Silicone-Earplugs/dp/B004RRGUCY/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1427248473&sr=8-7&keywords=mack+ear+plugs+silicone

I’ve always stayed at a different hotel every time I’ve visited Pattaya, but I’ll probably break from that pattern and stay at the Areca Lodge on my next visit since my experience was very positive. My ACE Club membership is valid through March 10, 2016 so hopefully I’ll be back before then to take advantage of the ACE Club discounted room rates.

I’m not going to upload any photos that I took of the Areca Lodge to this review. Instead, if you search YouTube, you can find several videos that were uploaded by guests that’ll give you a better visual on the Areca Lodge.

If you’re looking for a hotel in US$50-$60 range, I would wholeheartedly recommend the Areca Lodge (at least for their DELUXE room).

[short 215]

I stayed at this hotel and will never stay there again. I had high hopes and was completely let down.

 

The staff and MANAGER spent an hour demanding that I paid AGAIN for a new years party which I had no interest in. ( I had a Agoda reservation)

 

The door to the room didn't fit properly and thus wouldn't securely lock and the staff never fixed it even though I asked many times.

 

I didn't even bother to mention the water rotted ceiling that was about to fall on the floor.

 

Since I had paid for the NY eves party I decided to check the food and it was room temperature and unsafe to eat.

 

The breakfast shut down early

 

It took them two hours to get me a ride to the airport.

 

... I could go on and on. NEVER AGAIN.

 

There are way too many hotels in that area that provide better accommodations at half the price.

Edited March 25, 2015 by short

[Severn 109]

Short, I am interested to know what Agoda's take on this was? Did they reimburse you for the additional items that you were forced to take?

 

Posted from my phone using predictive text, please excuse any spelling or grammatical errors.

[lustyles 1]

i have stayed at areca lodge i cant praise it enough, friendly staff, everything spotlessley clean... i will stay there again on my next trip, .... 'short' ... where are the better hotels?

[short 215]

Lustyles, I sent you a private message to answer your question.

[midlifecrisis 4,030]

Stayed there once when there were two wings only. I was overlooking the big pool.

 

My only complaint was not enough drawer and cupboard space for my clothes. I really do not have that much but mostly my underwear and socks stayed in my duffel bag.

 

There were farang families there but the hotel is guest friendly.

 

I went to their website and the room photos make me think that there is still insufficient cupboard space to unpack to.

 

I have stayed at a few places in that area and this is not so bad. It is not as noisy as LK Metro and easy to get around. Motorbike taxi guys are right out front on Soi Diana.

 

The bed was not uncomfortable as I prefer a firm mattress. It was not rock hard.

 

I am considering it again for my next trip.

 

Considered LK Empress on Beach Road but the review describes paper thin walls.

[whitney 10]

I have stayed here a few times. The rooms are nice, and its a very clean hotel. I liked that the AC was always cold no matter which room I stayed. I have been fortunate to not have to hear the bar noise once in the room, I was staying at the Evergreen Tower. I liked that the water pressure in the shower was decent, no issues there.

 

Its a pretty decent hotel, and the staff were nice. I have had some grumpy staff at other hotels in Pattaya, but at this hotel, whether it was reception desk,restaurant staff,maids, etc... I thought that they were friendly with no attitude.

 

 

[midlifecrisis 4,030]

A question.

 

When I last stayed at the Areca they had the original hotel (kidney shaped pool in the lobby and one wing overlooking a second pool. At the time as I looked out from my window at the second pool, there was a vacant lot on the left of my vantage point and I believe it was directly across the pool there was new construction. I now think that that is an additional wing.

 

If you know the hotel, if you can please, tell me the name of each wing, including the original wing, and its location relative to my vantage point.

 

Thanks!

[LBJ 533]

The newer wing is the Evergreen which is behind the original wing and has easy access to the street that runs behind the Avenue shopping center. The second pool you saw is gone and was replaced with a better pool and an exercise room. In my opinion the Evergreen is where you want to stay.

[midlifecrisis 4,030]

The newer wing is the Evergreen which is behind the original wing and has easy access to the street that runs behind the Avenue shopping center. The second pool you saw is gone and was replaced with a better pool and an exercise room. In my opinion the Evergreen is where you want to stay.

Thanks!. My mind was stuck in the old configuration. This really helps!

[The_Fat_Controller 25]

There are 3 buildings and 2 pools.

The oldest building is the Areca, where the small pool is between reception and the rooms.

Next comes the Corona building.

Then there is the large Blue Ocean pool and finally the newest building, the Evergreen.

There have only ever been the 2 pools, the second one was not replaced but completely re-tiled and the surroundings have been remodelled a couple of times.

Edited July 3, 2016 by The_Fat_Controller

[gfhb 0]

Can anyone confirm if this hotel is still GF friendly? It's listed on sites like here http://guestfriendlyhotelsbangkok.com/guest-friendly-hotels-in-pattayabut some of the comments on Agoda about it being family friend make me doubtful. Has anyone stayed there recently and can confirm if it is or isn't? Looking to book in the next few days if possible.

[Glynn 10]

Hi

 

Have stayed there many times always plenty of Thai girls with the guys, should have no problems.

 

Its a great hotel

[The_Fat_Controller 25]

GF/BF/LB friendly and they can have breakfast too !

 

If you want to take more than one "friend" there is a charge.

[beerboy 40]

Just tried for the Evergreen wing in Feb/March. Can't get more than a few consecutive days. Probably heading towards The Bay View

[bastos60 2]

i have stayed at areca lodge i cant praise it enough, friendly staff, everything spotlessley clean... i will stay there again on my next trip, .... 'short' ... where are the better hotels?

 

It is a commendable hotel, great pools, great food and the grounds are clean and nice.

Stayed there during my first 3 years I visited pattaya. It is a great distance to everywhere,

But breakfast shuts down too early, can only bring back one guest, with extra guests you need to pay. The wifi totally sucks, poor speed and connections, weak signal.

Staff is friendly, and I do welcome the welcome drink when you check in.

Price has gone up significantly since I stayed there during my first years. I think at the time I paid like 1300-1500 Baht/night for the deluxe poolside/superiour, which I found reasonable.

 

Now it is largely overpriced, it still is only worth 1500/night in my opinion.

[flashkiwi 24]

I just booked in 2 days ago, my first time in Pattaya, Areca Lodge Hotel is average, friendly staff, Breakfast is very good, you are correct about the Wifi sucks big time, crap speed and a real pain to use, I will look around in the next 2 weeks for a better Hotel closer to walking street.

Fun town, some cute girls around 12 days of learning.

[Glynn 10]

Hi

 

I will be there tomorrow afternoon, never had any problems with the wifi at the Areca but the wifi in perth is really slow,

will report on how I find it this time there.

[The_Fat_Controller 25]

I stay 3 or 4 times a year, the WiFi on Floor 4 of the Areca building is currently awful, constant disconnections.

 

Have spoken to them, but no resolution since when I arrived on Monday, problem is on both my smartphone and Windows laptop.

[bastos60 2]

Good luck getting them to fix it.

[flashkiwi 24]

WiFi better today, no drop outs, I asked them to have a look yesterday, Good Hotel for the price Bt1920, then down to Bt1749 for a week for there super Deluxe rooms, might try Hotel Baraquda on my next trip, went in yesterday to have a look.

[flashkiwi 24]

Found a small bar with super fast internet , Rock house on LK Metro, 2 min from Areca.

Edited March 26, 2017 by flashkiwi

[Glynn 10]

Hi

I am on the 3rd floor Evergreen wing internet was dropping out, spoke to the girls at the desk and they sent a guy round to fix it within an hour looks a lot better now

[Glynn 10]

Rock house has some great music too

[Bullfrog 2,224]

Rock house has some great music too

I was in there last week....well, sitting outside....I couldn't finish my drink with the boom boom music above my head and the doors were wide open.....