mardhi

That site had been said was leased/bought by Land&House PLC (Centrepoint, Terminal 21 owners). Presumably sub let it while the lengthy environmental impact studies get done (yes apparently they do them, not that there is much evidence of it). Good idea to bring bit life back to that area.

That site had been said was leased/bought by Land&House PLC (Centrepoint, Terminal 21 owners). Presumably sub let it while the lengthy environmental impact studies get done (yes apparently they do them, not that there is much evidence of it). Good idea to bring bit life back to that area.

Considering 6 months had passed since our last culinary excursion to Le Normandie, Shyguyuk and I decided last week that it was high time to once again make our way to the Oriental Hotel and indulge in Le Normandie's 8 course Menu Gastronomique accompanied by a Wine Arrangement. I'll let the pics speak for themselves, save to say I needed a nap after this lunch!  
 

Just finishing a 7-night stay at the Citrus Suites Soi 6. Overall, my impressions are very positive.
I was upgraded to an executive suite, which is quite spacious. Lots of pictures to follow.
My room was on the backside of the hotel, so virtually no noise from Soi 6. The walks from the hotel to NEP, Chaos 9 and CIB are all short and easily done. Never saw the need for a taxi, and the girls I brought back were fine with the short walk. And speaking of girls, there were no issues bringing the girls up to the room. We'd drop her ID off at the desk and hop on the elevator located directly across from the desk.
The executive suite has two rooms--living room and bedroom--separated by a bathroom. Both the living and bed areas have their own AC units which are controlled with an LED touchpad. There's a door that can be closed between the living and bedroom areas.
The living area has a decent LED TV, a medium-sized refrigerator, and lots of seating and lighting options. I made good use of the chairs in front of the one large mirror with a couple of the girls.
The bathroom has both a shower and a tub. I had no issues with water flow or temperature with the shower. The amenities provided (shampoo/conditioner, bath gel, etc.) are basic, but I bring my own, so not a demerit as far as I'm concerned.
The generously large bed was very comfortable, and I'm picky about beds. There was a second smaller LED TV in the bedroom. Again, lots of lighting options for setting the mood. Additionally, there is a desk and chair, and lots of plugs and a dedicated USB port for all the devices we bring. I often run short of plugs for my e-goodies, but not here.
The view from my room (8th floor) was uninspiring, but not something I care about. I use the room for sleeping and fucking, and I'm out and about the rest of the time.
The pool area on the 10th floor is small, but had the advantage of being barely used by others. There were umbrellas and lounge chairs and towels. One night my guest and I went up and jumped into the jacuzzi, having the place to ourselves.
The hotel staff seemed attentive. I didn't place many demands on them, but all my requests were immediately respond to. I tipped the housekeeping staff daily and asked for extra towel...no problem. They left me 6 towels every day.
I was a bit disappointed with the breakfast buffet. After having stayed at the Majestic Grande for the past 10 years, this buffet seemed fairly basic. They do have a chef making eggs to order, but the rest of the buffet is run of the mill. By my last two mornings I was heading out to have breakfast elsewhere (expensive, but the JW Marriott has a great buffet).
I would happily return to this hotel. For my purposes, the location can't be beat. It's a short walk to my favorite LB shopping locations, and a quick walk to the Nana BTS station. There are some fabulous restaurants in the basement and on the 6th floor of Central Embassy, which is just a 10-15 minute walk away (if you like serious Neapolitan-style pizza, Peppina is the real deal, with 4 locations in BKK).

The bus station in Pattaya while in the city is not on the 'strip'. I can't think of anything worse than walking it even without a suitcase.  Just use the baht bus for probably 20-50b to get to your hotel. The bus from Ekamai is fine and safe. Allow 2-3 hours though. Ive never done it any quicker (aside from a car direct). 

I walked past the location one afternoon maybe 2 months ago after stop at Villa supermarket. I was surprised they are still going.  Have to say though that wooden entrance door is awesome. Need to find wood shop able to make similar for my house.

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.

While Cathay is my favourite overall airline, it has to be said it is not because of the legroom in economy. Its terrible. Seat comfortable but space is poor. Great if your small but not ideal for western frame.  No idea though about Asiana as comparison as never flown them.
 
Cathay scores highly for me in air crew, cabin crew, aircraft, premium classes. Economy doesn't make the grade.

While Cathay is my favourite overall airline, it has to be said it is not because of the legroom in economy. Its terrible. Seat comfortable but space is poor. Great if your small but not ideal for western frame.  No idea though about Asiana as comparison as never flown them.
 
Cathay scores highly for me in air crew, cabin crew, aircraft, premium classes. Economy doesn't make the grade.

They are 6 foot wide/2m beds - that is King size in most countries but not all.

I stayed at Cozy @ Ten this last weekend for 2 nights. For the price (1400b net) I was impressed. I'd been allocated a 6th floor room on a smoking floor. The bonus was it has a balcony which are only in 6th floor rooms. Non smoking floors are 2,3,4. The room I got was at the rear, so overlooked CIB. Rooms at front (1600b) overlook Chuwit Park and are larger.
 
Comfortable bed, Decent aircon, free wifi, decent hot shower. Had everything I look for. Also had safe in the room. Onsite Italian restaurant is decent and very cheap. I had Pasta Carbonara and it was 170 baht and pretty decent to eat.
 
Hotel has some neat lift which is basically a moving floor and doors that lock until the floor arrives on your floor. Reminded me of a French apartment building from years ago, albeit this lift system looks brand new.
 
I'd stay here again without 2nd thought. The missus loved the bed and rated it almost as good as the one in our house.
 
You can see the 2 pics are different sized rooms. The smaller is same as we had (at the back) - the larger are at the front as I took a peek when a maid was cleaning one. Rooms at the front are likely quieter for quirky reason. At the back you can hear all the various aircon units and restaurant extractors going on like an ensemble. Not such an issue with window/balcony door closed but very noticeable when you step outside. No such vents at the front.
 
Apparently, This hotel is well used to CIB LB's visiting according to the info my GF fed me. So presumably it is very LB friendly. From the back door, it is about 25 feet away from CIB front door.
 
Room at the back (1400b)

 
Room at the front (1600b)

They are 6 foot wide/2m beds - that is King size in most countries but not all.

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.

Yes they have stocked mini bar/fridge plus safety box/safe in wardrobe. No idea about massage as never enquired.

I'm pretty sure as a multiple hundred time user of Don Muang airport that this only affects people using the free road. The expressway above it has its own ramp that comes out by the cargo terminal as indicated in the article. If anyone knows anymore feel free to correct my understanding, but if using the toll way, it appears nothing much if anything will change.

I'm pretty sure as a multiple hundred time user of Don Muang airport that this only affects people using the free road. The expressway above it has its own ramp that comes out by the cargo terminal as indicated in the article. If anyone knows anymore feel free to correct my understanding, but if using the toll way, it appears nothing much if anything will change.

The problem is not getting to the airport at that time, its easy 20-30 mins, it is getting through Immigration that maybe the headache. 4.30am is time, i'd leave. Hopefully immigration is light on queues and plenty time for coffee. On numerous flights out of Don Muang I came very close to missing flights in the past purely because of bottle necks at Immigration.

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.

No.

I stayed at Cozy @ Ten this last weekend for 2 nights. For the price (1400b net) I was impressed. I'd been allocated a 6th floor room on a smoking floor. The bonus was it has a balcony which are only in 6th floor rooms. Non smoking floors are 2,3,4. The room I got was at the rear, so overlooked CIB. Rooms at front (1600b) overlook Chuwit Park and are larger.
 
Comfortable bed, Decent aircon, free wifi, decent hot shower. Had everything I look for. Also had safe in the room. Onsite Italian restaurant is decent and very cheap. I had Pasta Carbonara and it was 170 baht and pretty decent to eat.
 
Hotel has some neat lift which is basically a moving floor and doors that lock until the floor arrives on your floor. Reminded me of a French apartment building from years ago, albeit this lift system looks brand new.
 
I'd stay here again without 2nd thought. The missus loved the bed and rated it almost as good as the one in our house.
 
You can see the 2 pics are different sized rooms. The smaller is same as we had (at the back) - the larger are at the front as I took a peek when a maid was cleaning one. Rooms at the front are likely quieter for quirky reason. At the back you can hear all the various aircon units and restaurant extractors going on like an ensemble. Not such an issue with window/balcony door closed but very noticeable when you step outside. No such vents at the front.
 
Apparently, This hotel is well used to CIB LB's visiting according to the info my GF fed me. So presumably it is very LB friendly. From the back door, it is about 25 feet away from CIB front door.
 
Room at the back (1400b)

 
Room at the front (1600b)

A quick review of this hotel as I stayed there for 2 nights last week.

I was contemplating on which hotel to stay as I usually stay in the Majestic Grande down near Nana but when I learned of the construction in front of Rajah complex which means the shortcut is no longer there (I did walk over to verify when I visited), I finally decided on Cozy Ten mainly because of it's proximity at CIRB, which I did spent two nights in.

Cozy is a basic, but clean place. Generally quiet, as my room faces the garden (as seen in picture 2) which is quite nice. Shower head is powerful and heater works very well for those that likes hot water. Towel are very soft and actually smells good. Air-conditioning is cool and the wifi works reasonably well, no problem for me doing emails or browsing. There's also a computer in the room (just remember to log out from your gmail before you check out... the previous chap left his login on...).

Location wise it's perfect for those that wants to spend most of your time at CIRB, as this hotel even has a backdoor right opposite the bar. It is also a nice 10-15 minutes walk to Nana Plaza, and easy 5-10 minutes walk to the Asok BTS and Terminal 21.

They give you the room key attached a large plastic keychain, which they expect you to deposit with them when you leave the hotel (you can of course carry it around in your pocket...). No problems with bringing girls back (obviously), although initially I was a bit uncomfortable as there was a family sitting upfront at the reception... but then again, I thought, I'm not the first and certainly not the last to bring guests back... LOL... Next morning, there's quite a cute receptionist too which I wouldn't mind to bring back to my room... soft spoken, slim lady.

I paid THB1,600 nett per night, which includes a breakfast at the cafe next door - serving scrambled eggs with toast and fruits.
 
 

Sheraton Grande is in the process of updating rooms, ongoing for about a year or so I think. I really like the lower entrance, which allows a person to bypass the (often very busy) main entrance lobby. Big advantage for bringing girls back if you want to be discrete...
 

I stayed there in January. The elevators do require a room key. BTW, the elevators play only one song, Eric Clapton's "I shot the Sheriff" (One True Saxon will verify this). I don't know about smoking rooms, but I do remember ashtrays were readily available all over the property, so I am guessing the answer is yes.
 
Galleria 10 is LB friendly, and the staff treated all girls I took there very well. They have a fun pool area on the roof with a pretty good bar / restaurant up there as well.
 
I stayed on the club level. The rooms up there have a decent view of the City, but really nothing special. I think it's probably a little overpriced. For about the same cost you can stay at their sister property Grand Swiss on Soi 11, which offers more bang for the buck.

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 doubt you can avoid having the stamp in your passport but do let us know how you get on. It would be a godsend to me, as I keep needing to replace my passport after about 4 years due to all those pesky stamps.