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Sebastien

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  1. Like
    Sebastien got a reaction from Bwana_LB in Mercure Soi 11 Review   
    Thanks for the review. I think lighting might often be one of the most overlooked and strangely set up situations in Thai hotels in general.
    The switches are either everywhere or in one place and it's often not intuitive. Dimming or mood-lighting is not a thing. They're often either bright or nothing. I think that's the worst thing about ST hotels to me is I feel like I'm doing the deed in a dental office (and that's not my thing.)
    Any hotel that has this figured out usually is better at all the finer points. Dream and Galleria 10 both seem to understand this.
  2. Like
    Sebastien got a reaction from Bwana_LB in Mercure Soi 11 Review   
    Thanks for the review. I think lighting might often be one of the most overlooked and strangely set up situations in Thai hotels in general.
    The switches are either everywhere or in one place and it's often not intuitive. Dimming or mood-lighting is not a thing. They're often either bright or nothing. I think that's the worst thing about ST hotels to me is I feel like I'm doing the deed in a dental office (and that's not my thing.)
    Any hotel that has this figured out usually is better at all the finer points. Dream and Galleria 10 both seem to understand this.
  3. Thanks
    Sebastien reacted to Bwana_LB in Mercure Soi 11 Review   
    Just spent 8 nights at the Mercure on Soi 11 and thought I'd offer up my take.
    I had a King room with shower and bathtub, one of several options. It's not their largest or their smallest room, but was plenty large for my needs (photos below).
    I arrived at midnight, and check-in was quick and simple. I purchased a room without the breakfast add-on, as I like to explore various breakfast options around town. I booked well in advance, while prices were still depressed by Covid, so got a rate of about $86/night. When I checked in, the rate being offered at that time was about $112.
    My room was on the 16th floor and away from Soi 11, so as quiet as a room will get in that part of town. I had no issues with noise
    A funny moment: I was only interested in sleeping after a 27 hour trip with a 15 hour time change, but could not figure out how to turn off the room lights. I searched everywhere (I thought) for the switches, finally calling the front desk to send someone up. The control for the room lights (nearly all of them) was in the middle of the bed headboard, hiding behind a stack of pillows.
    Description of room:
    The room was plenty spacious, and had pretty much everything I would want. The king bed was comfortable and the bed linens were high quality. Four large pillows. There was a desk with two chairs, and an additional two guest chairs with a small table. Opposite the bed there was a small storage unit with two drawers for clothes, and a flat screen TV above it. TV worked fine and was decent sized, but I never watched any TV. To the left of this, towards the door to the room and the door to the bathroom, was a platform to set luggage on, a small fridge (not a minibar), and then a closet with a decent sized safe (big enough for a laptop). Across from the closet was the door to the bathroom. As mentioned, the bathroom had both a glass-enclosed shower, with adjustable/handheld shower head and a rainfall shower head. Across from the shower was a full tub with an adjustable/handheld shower head (for some reason, many Thai girls seem to prefer to shower in the tub...I don't get it). Tub had a wall mounted soap dispenser, shower had wall mounted soap, shampoo, and conditioner dispensers. Next to the shower was a toilet with the essential bum gun, and next to it a shower and sink with ample room for storage of toiletries.
    Pros: 
    Comfortable bed Good AC that was easy to control air speed and room temp Great hot water. It was easy to control, and never ran low. Two large bath sheets and two smaller bath towels Plenty of seating for guests. Chairs came in handy for sex as well. Housekeeping was responsive to requests for extra towels, hangers, etc. I tipped daily. Good reading lights by the bed. Cons:
    Lighting was hard to control. No dimming, and ceiling lights were either all on or all off. No power outlets next to the bed! Charging phones had to be done at the desk or on top of the fridge. This was a nuisance. Aside from liquid soap, shampoo, conditioner and body lotion, there were no other amenities in the bathroom. No plastic hair cover for the girls, etc. Fridge was on the small side. Room for a few drinks and not much else. The Hotel:
    The lobby is nothing fancy. From the driveway you walk through sliding glass doors, across a seating area with a concierge stand, past the elevators (one left, one right), and to the actual reception desks. One of the two hotel restaurants (Lily Fu's) is on the ground floor to the right of the hotel entrance, and can be entered from inside or outside the hotel. Another restaurant (Gaucho Argentinean Steakhouse) is loosely affiliated with the hotel and is just to the left of the hotel.
    The hotel has a parking garage (4 levels), a pool, bar, and gym that sit above the parking garage, and 16 floors of rooms (1-16, minus 13th, plus a Penthouse level). I spent a fair amount of time at the pool. One of the better pools I've used. There are actually two pools: a smaller and very shallow splash pool for kids and a larger pool, still fairly shallow (1.2 meters) for swimming. The pool is surround by ample seating of various sorts with shade for the sun-averse. The bar sits at one end of the pool, and has a decent drink and food menu. Neither cheap nor overpriced. The gym, glass enclosed and looking out over the pool, was also very good, with plenty of cardio and weight machines.
    Pros:
    Lobby easy to negotiate. It's a decent walk (of shame?) to the elevators, but you have the option of skipping the desk and taking your guests straight to your room. Elevators require a room key to get to a particular floor, so no surprise guests will appear at your door (as has happened to me at other hotels). Breakfast buffet at Lily Fu's is excellent, at 299 baht. Egg station, all the usual options for American/English breakfast, tons of Asian options, good selection of fruit, juices, breads and pastries, coffees and teas, etc. One can sit open air in the front of the restaurant facing Soi 11 or sit back further inside or at the bar. In the evening, Lily Fu's is a bar/restaurant and is pretty active. Good drink options, reasonably priced, and usually quite crowded. The food is primarily pan-Asian and good, but there are better options, so I only had a quick meal there one time when convenience was key. Gym was great and never crowded. Pool would get busy, but there was always ample seating. Cons:
    The hotel is definitely a family hotel. Not exclusively so, but if you're a shy monger just know that you'll be dealing with lots of couples on vacation, families with kids, and so forth. The clients were incredibly diverse, a little United Nations. Didn't bother me at all, but I know some here prefer hotels that cater primarily to mongers. I'm afraid there are fewer and fewer of those, and they are generally not the best hotels. Pool area could get noisy when a few families with kids would show up. The pool is my reading area, and shouting kids are distracting. Come on the early side for breakfast. At least while I was in town the restaurant got quite crowded by 9:30. Fortunately, I'm an early riser. Conclusion:
    Depending on the rate I can get, I'd definitely stay again. Did I mention that Cindy's Secrets is about 100 yards from the hotel, and that it's a short walk to Check In Bar? And that Soi 11 really has lots of options for food at any time of day, and plenty of nightlife. By 9 pm freelancers show up along Soi 11 closer to Sukhumvit. I definitely preferred staying here over Soi 4. Soi 11 is now also the hub for the mobile marijuana dispensaries. There were at least ten vans selling marijuana along Soi 11 (and tons of dispensaries along Sukhumvit), including two vans parked in front of the Mercure in the evenings. Didn't imbibe. I liked getting in walks to the skytrain from the hotel (maybe 5 minutes), and Terminal 21 is just a 10 minute walk.
    The morning I left, at 5 am, there were four girls from Cindy's sitting in front of my hotel, so I went out and chatted with them. The street was still pretty active, but mostly filled with bargirls and freelancers ending their nights by getting something to eat or drink. I don't think Soi 11 ever sleeps.
     









  4. Like
    Sebastien got a reaction from Knobby in Was the Grand Swiss   
    It's been in dire need of an update. Stayed there 1 night and loved the location but the room was very oldschool, and not in a cool way.
  5. Like
    Sebastien reacted to Denbosch1971 in Sukhumvit nightclubs   
    Yeah sure ... try Bobo (near BTS Nana) or Mixx (near BTS Chit Lom). Or Candy Club or Sugar Club in Soi 11. Looks like Insanity didn't make it after Covid, place still closed.
     
  6. Like
    Sebastien reacted to happyone69 in Sukhumvit nightclubs   
    Insanity got hit with I think a five year ban for opening during Covid lockdowns/drug use.
    I’d add Levels on soi 11 to the list above, it’s very close to sugar and candy club.
    Penny Black on soi cowboy is a good after hours spot as well.  Pack as shit though and heaps and heaps of freelancers 
     
    By the way Mixx fucking stinks of mould, they need to clean the place.  For me it’s a total turn off, I couldn’t wait to get out of the place.
  7. Haha
    Sebastien reacted to KendoUK in Sukhumvit nightclubs   
    Levels is very "fancy", they won't let you in looking like a scruff, wear long pants too. An LB took me there a few years before Covid, at that time she told me the bouncers limited LB numbers and her little clique was one of the only groups allowed in. It was 250B a beer back then, dread to think what it is now.... I think they have some kind of promotion on some nights where the girls drink free to try and get more girls in there, not sure if LB's qualify too. If you want a cheap night in there, slap on some lipstick and a nice cocktail dress and try your luck. 
  8. Thanks
    Sebastien reacted to Knobby in Miami Hotel Soi 13   
    It was fine for me.
    Room over looked the pool on the 3rd floor.
    Kettle and cups but no coffee provided.
    Small fridge and safe.
    Shower was fine.
    Bed a little on the hard side for my liking but I manged to sleep.
    Joining fee,
    The higher cost room you book the more guests you can have with less cost.
    Room I booked meant 1 guest free but second guest was 500 baht.
    If I had booked the top level room then 2 guests free.
    I had no problems during my stay. Good location. 7-11 right there and places like the red lion for food and of course a short walk to any action and BTS.


    Sent from my SM-A805F using Tapatalk


  9. Like
    Sebastien reacted to Knobby in Miami Hotel Soi 13   
    I looked on Google maps and the reviews there and also Agoda. Both list good ratings hence me booking.
    IF the room I end up with looks like that one that will do me well for 3 nights.
  10. Like
    Sebastien reacted to OneTrueSaxon in Flight Credit. Anybody got a refund?   
    Thank you that reminds me I must get in touch with KLM as my voucher runs out on the 4th March
  11. Like
    Sebastien reacted to ssmurry in Advanced Membership   
    Funnily I actually started there first- my account on there is from 2010 (shit that's 10 years ago).
    Much busier than here but the bitching that goes on between a few long-timers that derails every other thread is annoying, plus the general "old man yells at cloud" feel of the place- like ThaiVisa forums if you've ever had the misfortune of visiting. Not that there's anything wrong with the experienced crowd but a few seem to miss the irony of the whole "young people are ruining everything, anyway I wanna fuck this young person"
  12. Like
    Sebastien reacted to Ropey in Advanced Membership   
    The review process has ceased since the borders closed. Because the criteria includes things like an on the ground trip report, hotel review etc generally being able to help others based on your reports which can't really happen at the moment. Fingers crossed for March, Thailand is experiencing a wave of infections currently and Thai logic dictates some random OTT policies will be introduced in the coming weeks. 
  13. Like
    Sebastien got a reaction from Thanks in ❎ Poll ➡️ What are Your Favorite Pubs, Bars and Restaurants on Soi 4 Nana? ❌   
    Oh man, I missed this thread. Will have to check out Bully's.
    1. Krua Khun Puk on Soi 11/1 - Very good cheap Thai food, nice atmosphere, lots of Thai girls and LB's go to eat here.
    2. Balcony Bar, 2nd floor of Nana Plaza - Decent prized and nice view of NEP show
    3. Hooters on Soi 4 - Watching the spectacle, and the wings
    Honourable mentions for Hillary 2 for after hours partying and picking up FL's, and the bar out Tilac on Soi Cowboy for people watching.
     
  14. Like
    Sebastien got a reaction from Thanks in ❎ Poll ➡️ What are Your Favorite Pubs, Bars and Restaurants on Soi 4 Nana? ❌   
    Oh man, I missed this thread. Will have to check out Bully's.
    1. Krua Khun Puk on Soi 11/1 - Very good cheap Thai food, nice atmosphere, lots of Thai girls and LB's go to eat here.
    2. Balcony Bar, 2nd floor of Nana Plaza - Decent prized and nice view of NEP show
    3. Hooters on Soi 4 - Watching the spectacle, and the wings
    Honourable mentions for Hillary 2 for after hours partying and picking up FL's, and the bar out Tilac on Soi Cowboy for people watching.
     
  15. Like
    Sebastien reacted to Thanks in ❎ Poll ➡️ What are Your Favorite Pubs, Bars and Restaurants on Soi 4 Nana? ❌   
    My top three bars are:
    1. Stumble Inn: great people watching, great live music, open front, just a great place!
    2. Fitzgerald's: great food, great people watching, nice staff (usually)
    3. Bully's Pub: great Thai food, great selection of drinks, air conditioned, nice place to hang around for a while
  16. Like
    Sebastien reacted to OneTrueSaxon in ❎ Poll ➡️ What are Your Favorite Pubs, Bars and Restaurants on Soi 4 Nana? ❌   
    Big Dogs.... great for an early drink and watching the parade enter The Plaza on their way to work
    Bullys.... love the food there, though missed the succulent lamb chops after they were taken off the menu. Pub grub dose what it says on the tin
    (Barry) Fitzgerald’s formerly Hanrahans.... Like fact you can build your own breakfast there and they do a mean bacon butty as well. Plus it’s good to chill outside having a cigarette & a coffee 
  17. Like
    Sebastien reacted to ARI23 in ❎ Poll ➡️ What are Your Favorite Pubs, Bars and Restaurants on Soi 4 Nana? ❌   
    Big Dogs : same reason as OTS and Bwana_lb
    Bus Stop : in the morning  for the breakfast and the cute waitress
    Hillary 2 : I feel good there moving around bodies, enjoying the live music and the drinks, having fun with a ladyboy after or before a session, watching the players at pool
  18. Like
    Sebastien reacted to mespicy in ❎ Poll ➡️ What are Your Favorite Pubs, Bars and Restaurants on Soi 4 Nana? ❌   
    1 - Stumble Inn good atmosphere and play a good mix of good music
    2- Fitzgeralds ( hanrahanns) - Love the breakfast and just watching it all warming up
    3- Hooters - not because of the bar just like grabbing a stool at the front and watching the action from the other side of the road.
     
  19. Like
    Sebastien reacted to Elitist in ❎ Poll ➡️ What are Your Favorite Pubs, Bars and Restaurants on Soi 4 Nana? ❌   
    1)No Name Bar, across the street from Hillary 1. Always some LB freelancers there (ST rooms and a blue atm machine in the same Alley lol). Take extra care of your belongings here though! 
    2)The Tavern. However I liked it better with the previous owner. 
  20. Like
    Sebastien reacted to whiteshirt in Artbox Sukhumvit Soi 10 Chuvit Garden (CIB)   
    Had a wander through on my last trip , tree roots are a bit tricky down the bottom , but cool place , wandered out of checkin bar one evening stood by the fence opposite cozy at ten , and surprised to see a bloke carving a chicken on an old table and his mate stood next too him having a piss against a kiosk , needless too say I didn’t eat there  , but nice atmosphere too the place 
  21. Like
    Sebastien got a reaction from mike746 in Dream Hotel   
    People check out at 12 and then they need time to prepare the room. This is pretty standard. Just drop your bags there and go for a meal or a massage.
  22. Like
    Sebastien got a reaction from Thanks in Dream Hotel   
    I believe it's closed, but it wouldn't hurt to send them an email to check! Night time swim would be fun.
  23. Like
    Sebastien reacted to Thanks in Artbox Sukhumvit Soi 10 Chuvit Garden (CIB)   
  24. Like
    Sebastien got a reaction from taaseesanuk in Changing my Display Name   
    I see what you did there. Just keeping it simple. ;-)


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
  25. Like
    Sebastien reacted to taaseesanuk in Changing my Display Name   
    Did you give this some thought or was it on a whim?
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