Youngone

Great location for sure... Shama is at least 1 grade better than The Phachara, the rooms are larger and more modern whilst the rooftop pool is far superior as well. There were 2 minus points when I stayed there around 3 years ago: the wifi sucked big time and the choice of TV channels was very limited + mainly dominated by Arab stations. Not a surprise given that the majority of clientele were Arabs, but still a bit of an annoyance to me. The poor wifi was however the main reason for not returning. The room itself and the onsite amenities were excellent. Enjoy your stay and, like Boomerang, I look forward to an up to date Shama review.

Thanks for the review... Have you found an alternative to the Phachara for a long term stay?

Perhaps they've changes their policy as I've stayed there 3 times during the last 12 months and never had an issue bringing back (multiple) guests. Both LB's and GG's were met with a friendly nod by the doormen whilst the reception girls didn't even glance up. The Sofitel gets a big thumbs up as far as I'm concerned.

Looks great, thanks for taking the time to post the review! 6-7K Baht/night for a room/villa with private pool is quite a good deal I reckon, especially when compared to similar properties in Phuket or Samui.

Thanks for that tip, it's quite close to where I usually stay so will give them a try. After all, good coffee in BKK is hard to find...

It seems the 6 months validity starts from the date of entry according to this info from the Thai Embassy in London, although it's not worded particularly clearly in FAQ #1: http://thaiembassyuk.org.uk/?q=faq/1 Personally I would just renew now and not risk it.

Just turn up.

Sukhumvit 11 Clinic, located in the sub soi of soi 11 where Cheap Charlie's is located.

The Thai Red Cross clinic on Ratchadamri Road ( 5min walk from Rajdamri BTS) would be my choice: http://en.trcarc.org/Homepage/?page_id=632

Great review Oliver, thanks for making the effort. The lunch buffet in the main lobby used to be excellent quality and real value for money, did you try it? Personally I'm not too keen on the location of the hotel because getting to Sukhumvit from there by taxi is a bit of a pain in the ass due to not being able to just turn right onto Sukhumvit. Getting back home is easy peasy as it's just a straight drive. @Mardhi: I used to be a Spasso regular as well for quite a long period of time. Nowadays my visits are limited to around 3 a year, mostly in the company of a couple of GG's ( I find it easier to bring more than 1 so they can entertain each other, rather than me having to go through the root canal treatment of having to make small talk). They usually have really good live bands which rotate every 6 weeks, the food is good but overpriced as you'd expect from a venue that's part of a 5 star hotel, the service is impeccable and ordering a bottle is surprisingly good value. I've never taken a LB there though and I don't recall ever seeing one, are they LB friendly? If yes, we should go there next month as it will make a nice change from the usual haunts.

Up to about 18 months ago I used to buy 6 First class LHR-BKK round tickets in one go from Thai's BKK HQ at a special discounted rate, i.e. I paid for them straight away in January and used them up through the year. A bean counter, in all his/her wisdom, decided at some point that secured upfront cash was less important than a potential higher margin and cancelled the advance purchase option for me. As a result of this decision I started looking around at various booking portals and have flown with EVA instead of Thai 3 times in 2015. I find that travelsupermarket.com gives a pretty good overview of the available options in all booking classes for direct flights ( only EVA, Thai and BA fly direct)and indirect flights between LHR and BKK. From a pricing perspective EVA and BA seems to offer equal and sometimes better fares than the various 3d party sellers, whilst Thai consistently offers prices in C/F class that are £100-£150 more expensive. I tend to purchase direct from the airline, even if the price is slightly higher, because it's easier to make changes to the booking that way. A call to the airline is much quicker and more efficient in my experience than calling a 3d party seller's call centre where there are often long queues to get through and more often than not they need to call me back as they're not able to confirm the changes on the spot. As for the bean counters commercially insane decision: I used to spend in the region of £20K/year with Thai, which in 2015 dropped to around £9K for 3 flights. The other 3 flights were booked with EVA for around £2K per ticket, so as a result Thai was £11K worse off, EVA was £6K better off and most importantly I saved £5K. I must admit that service and comfort in Thai's First class is far better than EVA's or BA's Business class though and my next 3 flights will be with them, but only because I've got 2 free upgrades from C to F and a 50% promo offer on miles to use ( 90K miles instead of 180K). Some pics from Thai's First class on their A380 on the LHR-BKK route.

I'm not a huge fan of Mexican food and don't know much about it, but I found the portions a bit small as well for the price charged. The drink prices were out of sync though, 410 Baht for a Bloody Mary and 270 Baht for a rum & coke is plain expensive. Those are prices I'd expect to pay in Central London but not in Bangkok's soi 4 area. Mardhi's beef fajita's Shyguyuk's pulled pork taco's My chicken burrito

The food and drink menu is on their facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/1500219286936955/menu/?p_ref=pa It pretty much looks like standard restaurant prices for soft drinks, beers and wine; cocktails however seem rather expensive. I'll definitely give the place a try later this month.

When I walked past last month it looked very swanky and a lot bigger than Paradise was. Have they also annexed part of the Rajah lobby?

Thanks guys... I'm still working through the details at the moment but I'm hoping to have everything finalized by Xmas. There is a possibility however that it'll take longer, which would shift the permanent move out to July. Fingers crossed that won't happen! 500K Baht is not cheap from an upfront payment perspective as it ties in cash. However, if you do the math on the cash needed for visa runs when you're on an education or multiple entry tourist visa you'll find that there isn't much difference, bar the cash flow. Regarding the 500 ST's: I've never been the type of guy that thinks in terms of 'or this or that', my thinking is usually 'and this and that'; which is why I fully intend to do those 500 ST's as well

I was originally booked into the JW for this trip, but about 3 weeks ago I received a marketing email from Accor announcing a fire sale with 40% discount on offer, downside was that it needed to be pre-paid. Out of interest I checked what they were offering and found quite a good deal for the Sofitel, so after some deliberation I decided to cancel my booking at the JW and bite the bullet in favour of a pre-paid room at the Sofitel. It is my first stay at this hotel and to be honest I'm wondering why I haven't stayed here before. The place is much better than The Landmark or the JW, there are no loud groups of kids around and the location is near perfect. The pool area is good with sun in the afternoon, the restaurants are top notch and the coffee shop on the ground level serves fantastic coffee. There is no joiner fee and on the 2 occasions I've had a guest there was no need for them to leave ID at reception. Pics below are of the 'Opera Suite'. Living room which is quite spacious. Wifi is free and fast. Bedroom with a very comfy king size bed. The place is totally noise free and the curtains black out any light. For a very light sleeper like myself there is no need for the usual earplugs. Nice bath in the massive bathroom. Large shower cubicle with rain shower. Water pressure is excellent. Double sinks with plenty of amenities. Pool area which is very relaxing with light music in the background.

Not yet, but it's only a matter of time as I did bring a small collection of toys for fun and frolics... Around 4K Baht/night including breakfast for a 'Luxury Room with King size bed'. For some reason I got upgraded to the Opera Suite even though I'm just a basic member with Accor.

There are so many excellent places, from very cheap to very costly, that it's hard to say which ones are favourites with me. For a special night out with a girl you feel special about you could go for pre-dinner drinks at Vertigo, the roof top bar of the Banyan Tree hotel, followed by mind boggling good food at Nahm in the Cosmopolitan Hotel. Don't make the mistake of eating at Vertigo though, it's mediocre at best. Make sure you invite a girl who is comfortable in these surroundings, as the majority of girls probably prefer a simple noodle stand by the road. http://www.banyantree.com/en/ap-thailand-bangkok/vertigo-and-moon-bar http://www.comohotels.com/metropolitanbangkok/dining/nahm

There are plenty of good Korean restaurants in the little Korean enclave next to soi 12. Last May I went with Mardhi to a Korean BBQ restaurant in Time Square (diagonally across from Terminal 21/next to Sheraton Grande) which was excellent, think it's called Korean BBQ @ Time Square; take the escalators to the 3d floor, it's in the right hand side corner. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Korean-Bar-BQ-Time-Square/197820810238654

I've stayed there twice during the last 6 months and was never charged a joiner fee either. Sounds like The Landmark is playing it safe...

I've had guest issues (GG&LB) at the following hotels: Mandarin Oriental: no problems during the day but my guest got refused at night, even the offer of leaving ID and paying for a second person got declined; the only option would have been to purchase a 2nd room for the night under my guests name. Considering the price I was paying for their 'Executive Suite' I was annoyed, checked out the next day and haven't been back since ( except to indulge in the lunch buffet at Lord Jim's from time to time). Dusit Thani (Silom): polite and discreet receptionists, but they did charge a 1000 Baht joiner fee to my room after taking my guests ID. I complained at check-out and it was withdrawn although I reckon it's their policy. The Sukhothai(Sathorn): just as polite and discreet as the Dusit, but they also charged a 1000 Baht joiner fee which wasn't withdrawn after complaining. The St.Regis: No joiner fee got charged, there was a lot of hassle with security to get her up to my room. Grand Hyatt Erawan ( where Spasso is in the basement): if you come in via reception chances are ID is taken and joiner fee charged. If you take the hidden elevator just outside Spasso in the basement you circumvent reception and you go straight up to your room without being asked for ID or charged.

The Emporium is my home away from home as I stay there around 10 weeks per year. Totally guest friendly and no need to leave I.D. at reception.

Terrific info Oliver! It's also really good to see that so far every hotel is guest friendly and not a single one has replied negatively towards Ladyboys...

Why not try the Mac Boutiques in soi 7? I've never stayed there but the rooms look good on their website and you can't beat the location in soi 7. http://www.macboutiquesuites.com/

Decently priced is all relative, but I thought Hong Bao and Din Tai Fung in the Central Embassy mall ( between Phloenchit and Chit Lom) were very good. I believe both are located on level 5.