mardhi

I know people who have stayed at paradiso and Cosy @Ten - both in front of CIB. The consensus seems to be Cosy at Ten is better and it is where I stay whenever they have rooms available. However I have not stayed at Paradiso. 6th floor rooms have balcony as well. lower floors do not. http://www.cozyatten.com/ The booking engine on the website is not live but they come back with reply quickly.

I never use WiFi in hotels preferring 4G on my phone. They deffo have it but no idea of speed. I do remember my GF once shouting out from bathroom "fucking WiFi". That indicates to me she weren't so impressed.

I should add that the rate included breakfast. Not sure if that applies through Agoda though as I just call/email hotel. Breakfast is nothing to get excited about. Best bit is the decent boncafe coffee. It's served until about 10.30am from memory. You get paper token on that morning and breakfast has basic or premium. Premium adds sausages and ham. As I say pretty basic by any measure.

If you are under 50 (which I am), it is about the only viable option aside from annual work permit extension that allows you to stay here. The extras are just nice to have IMHO. I bought the 5 year visa essentially and have little/no need for the perks. Edit, Just as an aside, couple days ago coming back from Laos, the Laos officer when I left was very interested in the gold visa sticker as he'd never seen one before. The Thai officer claimed she knew all about it - then had to go and ask a colleague what to do with it. Got my 364day permission to stay eventually but for sure they are not common knowledge even among visa officers at the various borders. I believe there are only something like 5000 of said visa been issued. So they are very rare.

Correct. No age restriction and easiest way of staying in Thailand by far. Imho nothing else comes close visa wise. Just got to pay 500000 baht for the privilege.

I use AIS and I pay about 900b month for my plan. But they'd have no idea how long you will be using it as it's pre-paid service. They'll load up the 12 gb from day 1. Should last you a week or so even with heavy use. I can't say enough good things about this latest 4G revolution in Thailand. Much more stable as well than my home service. 25mg download speed is normal and 5mg upload. The only downer is the limit on data, hence writing this on my laptop using my home connection. I use the AIS service with a new Samsung J7 and it all works perfectly even when USB toggling onto my laptop. Maybe try it when you're here and keep it in mind for next time you're over and you can save on the hotel bill.

4g is rocket fast these days. I get faster speeds on that than my home connection. You need to sort out large data plan though. I get 12gb month on mine. I'd use that and book cheaper hotel.

The street level entrance of the Sheraton Grande is also discreet. The lobby is on the floor above. You can go to the ground floor lift and their is only one suited security guy (as opposed to in uniform). You can then go directly to your room avoiding the lobby. The security guy never says anything other than good morning etc and holds the lift open. Pretty sure you can do the same at the Landmark by entering into the Basement and walking around that level (same as Huntsman Pub) to the main elevator bank. Lobby is also on floor above but you don't need to stop there.

Room was clean, just felt old. Towels and bed linen had seen better days but nothing explicitly wrong with it. From memory, our room was on the front overlooking soi 11. Pretty sure it was double glazed and I don't recall any noise.

I stayed in a one bedroom suite back in January for a night. Spacious but very old fashioned. Had small kitchen, table, sofa etc. We got upgraded for free, but I believe they are not very expensive if you are paying for that room level. Have to say it seemed a high stress hotel. Every time I went past reception somebody was complaining about something to the reception staff.

I assumed they (the police) could track anyone already via their mobile number. Can't see AIS etc turning them down when they want to know the whereabouts of whomever.

In hindsight I should have ordered something cooked to order from the menu. Previous meal was fine, just seems the carvery is best eaten as soon as they start. or otherwise ask them to microwave it lol. Aside from the wrongly described beef, the rest was very good, just cold.

I'm not wholly able to recall ever having had Carbonara in Italy, but my impression is that the egg yolk added at the end is supposed to mop up most of the remaining cream. So the end dish is not swimming in sauce. Well this one is sort of swimming but not as badly as many I have had. Not wholly convinced any Thai Italian will be using fresh cream either and probably find they use Nestle Carnation milk or some other such substitute.... It was though probably the best I have eaten in Thailand, aside from making it myself.

The plan for this are already pretty advanced and by look of things will be opening quicker than anyone expected. This is what I have been told and also what some guys are trying to influence June so it works well. The CIB building is at least 30 years old and has all the main plumbing at the back of the building. The rooms were previously rented out to Thai's in price range of 3,000-5,000b month. They were in terrible state. Floor by floor, everything is being ripped out and done again. When CIB opens it will comprise the first 2 floors (Ground and mezzanine). There are two rooms on the mezzanine which will be used for hourly rentals. On each of the floors above, there will end up being 3 rooms and one suite. The suite takes up half the floor space and has a fully integrated bathroom with walk in shower etc. Separate bedroom then at the front is the living area with windows etc. The 3 rooms will have their own shower but not an integrated toilet within the room. Only one of these 3 rooms has a window. Two rooms are internal. The toilets are on each floor at the back of the building. As a result, the prices will be pitched accordingly. Some guys maybe OK with that, some not so cool. The plan for rooms is king size beds, powerful aircon, powerful water supply and sound proofed rooms. Beds and linen will be 100% cotton and very good quality. Prices expected to be somewhere around 800-1000 baht per night. The suites will be somewhere in the 2,500-3,000b night range and drop down the more nights you stay. i.e., this is not full service hotel, the preference is for guests to stay longer and pricing will reflect that in the suites & rooms. There will likely only be 2 suites converted, but that could increase to 4 if it is a success. It is being looked at now if the suites can create a balcony as well, no word on if this can be done. The 1st floor (Ground, mezzanine, 1st, 2nd etc) rooms will likely be ready in September. At this stage I have no idea how bookings will be made and June is focussed on getting the bar ready first and then move onto the rooms. For guys planning trips this autumn/winter may find this useful. The rooms have their own access into the building seperate from the bar with key code access. The 1st floor and 2nd floor are walkable easily, any higher and I can't see people walking up. There are 6 floors in total. There is no lift. That is what I know so far.

I must admit to being rather curious about the maid service for cleaning the room......

The coffee was worse

Will be in BKK tomorrow for 2 nights and just found out my regular hotel (Ever Rich soi 7) is full !! So, will switch to the other side and give this place a try. It does sound a bit of a Fawlty Towers joint on the booking.com reviews so it maybe a short review if I ain't impressed. I walked past it the other day when looking for some places to eat in soi 10 (ended up in Galleria for coffee, very good). It is about the 3rd closest hotel to the new CIB and about a 100 metre walk, if that. More over the weekend....

Just a follow up after our stay. I can well understand the reviews. This is a rather odd hotel but strangely quite charming in its own way. First off, I will stay again as I liked it and have no need for guests to join me, so no idea if they actually invoke the 500b joiner fee advertised on a sign at the front desk. This is a typically old money business. Trends may change but little seems to have changed here. I found all the staff (well all two of them) to be very nice and both have great English. There is an old lady who sits in the lobby all day. I can only guess she is the original owner and that operational control has passed down to children/grand children. I did see an absolute stunning looking GG coming out of a back area. Deffo a top drawer Hi So and probably a grand daughter aged about 24. The rooms have modern air conditioners and work well. The deluxe rooms are on the two highest floors (8 & 9) and have crap water pressure. We moved to the 4th floor and had perfect pressure. Moral of the story is they need a pump on the roof to push the water. Breakfast from 7.30am to 10am and cooked by one of the receptionists. Coffee is instant and you make it yourself !! Breakfast set is only 100b. Probably all it's worth to be honest. Just to re-inforce the old fashioned odd style of the place, there is a probably 80/90 year old manual sewing machine set up in the restaurant and still being used as some linen was next to it waiting repair. Also the breakfast plate was Bone China and from a very expensive set that I looked at for my house about 15 years ago !!! Lovely view from the top floor rooms overlooking Chuwit Park and up over Sukhumvit. Has a small pool which we never used on the ground floor. If you look in the pics of the skyline, you can see where new CIB will be. Its in the building which has red & white telephone mast on the roof. Deluxe rooms (floor 8 & 9) are 1500b night. Regular (lower floor with carpet not laminate) was 1250 b night. Fantastic value for money if you're ok with the oddity about the place. My missus prefers this over the Ever Rich for some reason. no more than 125m walk from the main Sukhumvit Rd.

State railway has a website that is ok, but if you want to do a bit of reading about train travel in Thailand (or even any country, Burma for example), this is the site to read:- http://www.seat61.com The site is vast and on the left column you can select the region and then country you want to look at. this guy is a real railway buff and the detail on Thailand is as good as you will get anywhere. he details all the routes, the trains, the interiors by route and even the food they serve. If you ever wanted info on travelling within Thailand by rail, this is heaps better than the railway's own website.

The long distance routes are getting new carriages starting next year. Here is a link to a quick video:- http://www.bangkokpost.com/vdo/travel/1038469/thai-trains-going-modern

Located on the corner of the street with a prime position I ventured here with Mrs M the other week. First time visit and not impressed. I had a craving for a decent burger and had high expectations. Mrs M saw the pic of the rack of ribs and she was sold. The best part of the meal was a Mexican seafood (sort of) salad as the starter. My Wagyu burger was pretty inedible and I left at least half of it. The mincing they did meant that there were long strands of muscle still fully intact. One or more got stuck in my throat and it took me a good few beers to dislodge it. The Mrs thought her pork tender but pretty tasteless. I tried it and came to same conclusion. Service was prompt but disconcerting. Maybe 5 or 6 service and kitchen staff kept going outside and coming back in continually while talking to each other. There seemed to be no reason for it other than chatting with their friends. Predominantly Filipino service and pretty loud. Not exactly a quiet place as a result. Restaurant was 2/3rd empty albeit it was raining outside. Bill came to about 1800 baht from memory which was expensive for what we had. Prepared to give it another try but it won't be in a hurry.

So is it fair to say, there is no sandy beach at/outside the resort? If so, that would kill it for me at least. I am not a great beach fan, but when I go to a beach resort, I do expect to see a beach and walk along it for at least an initial 10 minutes !!! (I have a private pool at my house,so a paddling/plunge pool does not cut it for me). Otherwise, a great sounding resort and something to keep in mind for when they create a beach (I don't kid you).

I remember seeing a trip report about that hotel shortly after it opened. Looked fantastic room, albeit it was a suite type room and not regular baseline room. Can't remember where I saw it now.

Great summary thanks. Couple Q's:- a) Is the resort South of Hua Hin ?(i.e you drive through Hua Hin and then on for another 20 minutes) b) Did you by any chance get any pics of the beach by the resort and what was your opinion of it? Looks very nice but maybe bit isolated for many unless you have a vehicle or use the mafia taxis.

The new Sofitel on Sukhumvit Rd is getting of positive reviews and location is very good. It's also newly built about 2 years ago. Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit was newly built in 1998 just as all the financial woes were hitting Thailand. I used to be very frequent visitor as our office in Bangkok was next door. However seeing recent bathroom pics showing up on girls Facebook pages, it is evident the rooms have not been refitted in the the entire time. JW Marriott seems to be in similar position and for the most part is a pretty tired looking 5* property.