Bangkok Hotel Tips by DarkRay

When I visited Bangkok in October 2006, it was sort of on a whim. Thus, while I had intended to stay at the ever popular Pathumwan Princess, I could not get a room at all since I gave only a very short notice of less than a week.

As it turns out, it was actually a blessing of sorts, as during my search for a replacement hotel, I came across "The Davis Bangkok", which looked truly spectacular from the photos and was price very competitively (I booked a twin sharing superior room for only about US$105 per room per night) considering its facilities and class. Do note that there are 2 wings at The David Bangkok, the Main Wing, and the newer Corner Wing. I recommend booking a room at the Main Wing, because all the facilities such as pool and restaurants are within the Main Wing.

Often, the photos Thai hotels employ on their websites and that of their agents are often glammed up ones that are quite different from the actual (usually much sadder) situation at the hotel. I am very happy to report that The Davis Bangkok actually looked better in real life! The courtyard at Baan Davis was also truly an oasis within the heart of Bangkok.

My room within the main wing was very tastefully decorated, cosy and spacious. Besides frills such as a lounger, there was even a large working desk and a microwave! I was kind of amused that they actually made customized leather cases to house the remote controls for the TV and sound system - certainly a very elegant touch.

The rooftop pool was quite nice as well, but can get a little crowded at times since it is kind of small. Same goes for the unheated jacuzzi besides the pool.

The included welcome drink was a sugar laden affair that was better left forgotten. Breakfast was another story and offered a very good spread of American breakfast fares like hashbrown, muffins, and ham, as well as local fares such as fried noodles, curries and desserts. The range was good and there were even variations in items on different days. I loved that fried bacon strips were served daily.

Unique Qualities: Many hotels in Bangkok claim to be "Boutique Hotels", but are often actually badly-kept budget hotels. This is definitely not the case with The Davis Bangkok and the establishment definitely lives up to their claim of being "the first boutique hotel in Bangkok". Everything about the hotel from the facade, room decor, staff uniform and even the clinical looking toiletry bottles screamed designer chic.

Apparently, different rooms (even within the same class) within the hotel also feature different themes. So, even if you are a regular at the hotel, you can be assured of something new during each stay.

If there is anything to fault, it will be that the location of the hotel is actually a little "off" along Sukhumvit Road, which is a really long road. To walk from the nearest BTS station, Prompong, will take about 20 minutes and it can be quite an unpleasant walk due to Bangkok's swattering heat, and the amount of construction work that were going on along the road in. Going out, they do provide a courtesy Tuk Tuk though.

But all these are actually moot points since taxis in Bangkok are really cheap. Considering the prices of the rooms, the cost of taxis are quite negligible by comparison.

Service wise, it was fantastic as well with all the staff being ever ready with a smile. After staying for 2 days before in Bossotel Inn Bangkok, where their staff were not particularly great in their command of the English language, it was a real joy for me to find most of the service staff at The Davis Bangkok speaking very good English. One minor fault was that the reception staff gave me one piece of wrong information. When I stayed at the hotel in October 2006, the departure tax at the airport was actually 500 baht, but I was told that it would be 700 baht. As it turned out, the information they got was incomplete, and the tax would only be raised to 700 baht from February 2007. But this is just nitpicking.

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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$80-120  » Currency Converter
Phone: +66 2 2608000
Address: 88 Sukhumvit 24 Klongton Klong
Website: http://www.davisbangkok.net
Other Contact: Email: info@davisbangkok.net

I have stayed at a number of hotels in Bangkok before, and Bossotel Inn has to be the most value-for-money hotel I have ever stayed at. Considering its price during my time of booking (US$42 per deluxe twin room per night in October 2006) I was surprise at how nice and new the hotel actually looks. Usually, Bangkok hotels within this price range are old, musty and badly-maintained.

Even more surprisingly, the hotel actually has a very nice lap pool and a fitness centre (consisting of basically a multi-gym). It was not a lot, but for a hotel that rated itself as a 2-star one, it was still a very pleasant surprise.

Service was good, but their staff should try to brush up on their English a bit because otherwise, trying to communicate with them on anything topic beyond their basic domain (i.e. reception issues) was quite a challenge. I tried to get directions from them to some places, but either it was that they had problems understanding what I had asked, or that I had problems trying to comprehend their replies. Still, they did try and were very sincere in their service.

The only minor issue I can fault the hotel was that probably in a bit to keep the cost down, some common areas such as the corridor leading to the rooms were non-air-conditioned. But that was okay.

Unique Qualities: Usually on my trips to Bangkok, I stay at the cheapest room at my hotel of choice. But I decided for this October 2006 trip to just give myself a little treat and so upgraded all my rooms during that trip to that of the next best tier. So instead of booking the superior room, I booked a deluxe room. Unfortunately, they were out of twin rooms and so had to assign me a double bed instead. Since my travelling companion was good buddy of mine, it was not so much of an issue.

My first impression upon stepping into the room was "lots of space". It was kind of immediately apparent, because unlike my stay at The Davis Bangkok, they did not try filling up the space with additional furnitures and just leave it as that. I had never stayed in a hotel room (even suites) with so much space before and so it felt kind of weird, but it was a nice kind of weird.

The location of the hotel was superb and within a 5 minutes walk from Saphan Taksin BTS Station. Being located near the Chao Phraya riverfront, this also meant easy accessibility to the Chao Phraya Express Boat. In fact, one of the piers was located right next to Saphan Taksin BTS. So basically, getting around, whether by riverboat, BTS, or taxis, was not an issue at all. There was also a Robinson Mall (at Centre Point Silom) near it for your basic shopping needs.

Just a short 3 minutes walk out of the hotel, there were also tons of locals shops and eateries to keep you occupied and amused. Some of the street food were really delicious!

The included breakfast was quite basic, but did included a nice range of items that included American breakfast fares such as ham and various toasts to local delights such as fried noodles and stir-fried items.

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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: US$40-80  » Currency Converter
Phone: +66 2 630-6120
Address: 55/8-14 Soi Charoenkrung 42/1, Bangrak Bangkok 10500 Thailand
Directions: It is near Shangri-La Hotel.
Website: http://www.bossotelinn.com/home.html
Other Contact: Email: bossbk@bossotelinn.com

The Ambassador Bangkok was probably a "higher class" hotel than it currently is some years ago. Despite its age, it has a grand reception area, and large built-up areas which included convention halls, its own attached shopping malls (although quite vacant) and even its own bird park! Most important of all, it has a very friendly bunch of service staff. All the staff which I had encountered during my stay, whether from reception or housekeeping were helpful and approachable.

That being said, I still must emphasis that due to the age of the hotel, one should stay in the slightly more expensive Tower Wing, as its room are newer. I had heard from fellow travellers that the rooms in the Main Wing were rather rundown. I had stayed with 2 other of my friends in a triple-sharing room of the Tower Wing when I was at Bangkok, and although the room was clean, it was obviously quite old and not very well-litted. Not a problem during the day as one side of the wall was a full height window. But at night, the electrical lightings could have been better.

My room was nevertheless spacious and a more than comfortable place to retire to every night.

My friends and I got the room via the internet and paid US$54 each night for our triple-sharing room in the Tower Wing, inclusive of breakfast for all 3 of us.

The included breakfast was good, consisting of a good spread of American breakfast items like ham and toast, among local delights such as fried noodles and porridge. Bacon strips were however only available during weekends.

Unique Qualities: The best features of the hotel are its fantastic location and recognition.

As I had mentioned earlier, it was probably a "higher class" and better known hotel before, and also due to its being around for a while already, almost every local (and most important the taxi drivers) know of its location once you mention "Ambassador Hotel".

Being located in Sukhumvit area and within the famous "Nana Entertainment Area", access to both orthodox and "alternative" entertainments are just as easy. And my favourite part was that the Nana BTS Station was only 5 minutes away and a 7-Eleven just a minute away!

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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: less than US$20  » Currency Converter
Phone: +66 2-2254-0444
Address: 171 Sukhumvit Road, Soi 11, Bangkok 10110
Directions: Near the Nana area, and very near the Nana BTS
Website: http://www.amtel.co.th/bangkok/