sydney69er

@Unavowed Nice one! Thanks for sharing your thoughts in Grand Hyatt. I used to stay there (been maybe 5 years since last time). It is definitely a Grand hotel and only 1 stop on the BTS down to Nana so not too far from the action.

I have been trying to cancel a Thai Airways flight from Bangkok to Sydney. I guess I am not surprised that a SEAsian company has very bad customer support! I also had a Qantas flight from Sydney to Bangkok booked using Frequent Flyer points. That took about 1 minute and a few clicks to cancel. Just logged into my account, click click click, cancelled. The frequent flyer points were back in my account next day less 6000 points Cancel Fee as expected. Thai Airways! I have flown them a few times and it is a nice airline when things go well. First of all, I am a Royal Orchid Plus account member but only basic status. In my ROP account, I cannot see my flight booked. So unable to cancel via my account. When I go to Manage My Booking from the original flight email confirmation, there is no way to Cancel a flight. I can Modify Flight and choose a different flight but no Cancel Option. I emailed service@thaiairways.com as per instructions on their website. Still waiting for a response to that email after 10 days. I tried emailing the Sydney Thai Airways office at customer.service@thaiairways.com.au - no reponse so far. I called the Sydney call centre. They said they cannot help as the flight leaves from Bangkok, I have to call the Bangkok call centre. They did say I could also email contact@service.thaiairways.com. I tried that email, it doesn't exist! Great work Sydney customer service! I have tried calling the Bangkok call Centre 3 times. Supposively open 24 hours a day 7 days a week. When i call I get a long message in Thai. It then says for English press 9. I press 9, then get a long message in Thai then it disconnects. I will keep trying but the way things are going Thai Airways will be added to my No Fly List: 1. Malaysia Airlines - had same issue getting refund for a flight they cancelled - Business class ticket only a few hundred dollars, from KL to Bali. Never got a refund. Long long story, many calls, long waits in queue, many emails. Waste of time. BANNED. 2. British Airlines - attrocious service and food (but have not flown with them for over 20 years). Got snapped at by one of the fat pasty English bitches for asking for a 2nd drink during the meal from London to Singapore. 3. United Airlines - flown them 4 times Business Class between Sydney and US. Business Class only has cranky, old American bitches and terrible food! Never again. 4. Thai Airways TBC

Crazy stuff! Atrocious service. I booked my flight in November for an April departure. In January I got an email from Thai Airways titled Seat Change. The wording in the email: Dear Valued Customer, Due to operation reason THAI would like to inform that your seat has been changed from 51K to 51K on TG475. WTF? That doesn't look like a seat change. Then 3 days later I got an email titled with my name and reference number - totally different email format, with the message: DEAR CUSTOMER, WITH REGARDS TO YOUR FLIGHT TG475. WE REGRET HAVING TO INFORM YOU THAT THE AIRCRAFT IS CHANGED DUE TO TECHNICAL REASON. YOUR SEAT ASSIGNMENT IS CHANGE FROM 50A TO 52A. I changed from a Valued Customer to just Customer. Not sure how my seat changed from 51K to 50A...then to change to 52A? Makes no sense, and this is about 4 months before the flight. Do they know about technical issues with the plane so far in advance? Makes no sense. Thai Airways - TIT

I finally got thru to Thai Airways customer support. Went through the same number. pressed 9 for English but listened to the Thai (I know next to no Thai but I do know numbers) I heard neung, then later heard Song, so presume they were giving me options to press. 1 for x, 2 for y. I pressed 1 and got on hold music. Within 1 minute someone answered in Thai, I asked if they could speak English They just said hold on. More on hold music. 30 seconds later girl answers in English. Took minutes to read out my flight confirmation number, her mistaking every letter for a number and every number for a letter. 'Reference number is '3' she says did you say P, no 3, the number, Sam. Oh Sam OK sir. Then next letter is F. She said did you say S? on and on through 5 digits. I even used the Phoenetic Alaphet which is standard in aviation industry. F is for Foxtrot. She had no idea what I was saying. She finally repeated back and found my flight details. She then said she would check my flight conditions. On hold for 2 minutes. Came back and said I could cancel but cancel fee 6000 Thb = A$250 Aussie dollars (fuck that's 3 STs!). OK. Think the flight was only about $750 so atleast will get $500 back. Better than nothing. She then says it will take up to 180 to get the refund. 6 months seriously? How can they bill your card in seconds, but refunds take 6 months? Things that make you go hmmmmm. Last year I had ANA cancel a flight in Japan, was due to Thyphon. Called their call centre. Did take 15 minutes to get through but that day many flights had been canceled. They gave me options to either reschedule, get a credit or get refund. I went for refund. Money was back on my credit card next day. No fee. I guess it is different as ANA cancelled that flight, and I cancelled this flight but seriously, it has been a mission to contact them, zero responses to emails. I'm done. Thai Aiways. BANNED. You are on the No Fly List! Makes me remember, more than 20 years ago, I was at Lumphini Stadium to watch Thai kick boxing. Sat next to an American guy who lived in Bangkok. He was telling me all the stuff the Thai Governement own, told me back then Thai Airways was actually owned by the Thai Miliatry. Any profilts went to feed their Generals. hahahahaha. TIT.

Think they'll definitely make it to my No Fly list! I could just imagine the Thai employess having no idea what to do! many airlines just go into melt down when a flight is cancelled.

Most will be versatile if you are paying them! But they will have their preference, so ask first. Best to go to the bar, talk with them to make sure you have a connection, tell them what you want to do, they will let you know if they are OK with it. Don't be shy! They have heard it all before. I think for a first timer, Cindy's has a very relaxed environment for your first experience. Not sure about rooms at $50 (USD or A$ should be too hard to find). Start looking for rooms close to Soi 11 Sukhumvit, best location for access to the LB scene. ENJOY Bangkok! Hope your share your experiences!

I saw a few shows in Patpong back in the 90's. Ping Pongs, razors, bananas, opening beer bottles and shooting the darts out to pop balloons tied to the roof. Very educational. Saw one girl squirt half a banana out and a guy in the front row caught it in his mouth and ate it. Quality entertainment.

I stayed at the Hilton Millennium probably about 8 - 9 years ago. Really nice hotel. As you mentioned, only thumbs down from me is the distance from the Sukhumvit nightlife area. Really not that far, probably 25 minutes in a taxi late at night. I do prefer walking distance these days. I tried 4 of the restaurants in the hotel, Buffet breakfast is sensational. The Chinese Restaurant for Dim Sum very good. American steak restaurant very fancy smancy, top quality steaks at very expensive prices. Best of the bunch was the Thai restaurant right at the top of the building. Was a set course (think 8 courses) and they had a traditional Thai performance, dancing etc which was very entertaining. My room had a fantastic view straight down the Chao Phraya River. They had a free barge that took you across the river, directly out the front of the Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel. I brought a few GGs back to my room during my stay, no issues so definitely Guest Friendly

It's been more than 5 years since I stayed at Grand Hyatt Erawan. Since Hyatt Regency opened in 2018, corner of Soi 13/Sukhumvit, I will only stay there. Best location in the LB triangle. Grand Hyatt was nice. Only 1 stop on BTS to get to Nana station, so easily accessible to the good stuff. Spasso was an awesome pickup joint and a fairly decent Italian restaurant, sad to hear that it has gone.

Red Lion has some good English Breakfasts too. Last time I was in town they had a Baht Buster deal 129 Baht for an English Breakfast, eggs, bacon, sausage, hashbrown, tomato, baked beans, mushroom, toast, coffee, juice. Not a bad feed.

How much? Any pics?

Not stayed at the Capella. I do like a nice 5 star hotel but not at A$900 per night. Few weeks back I saw a list of Top 50 hotels in the world from some travel company in the UK. They had 4 Bangkok hotels listed: 3. Four Seasons Chao Praya River, Bangkok 21,000 Thb per night A$900 per night 10. Mandarin Oriental Bangkok 34,000 Thb to night A$1463 per night 11. Capella Bangkok 21,000 Thb per night A$910 42. The Siam, Bangkok 19,800 Thb per night A$856 per night Other than the prohibitive price, I probably wouldn't stay in any of these hotels as none are in the LB Triangle in Sukhumvit

I am back staying at Hyatt Regency. I love this hotel. Best location on the corner of Suk and Soi 13, super modern (opened in 2018), great buffet breakfast, awesome Club Lounge on Level 27 with great view, very nice gym and swimming pool on Level 6. Only 280 meter walk to CIB, and about 450m to Cindy's. i doubt I will go any further than 450m in the next 5 nights. I booked standard room at 6800++ per night. Used a free Suite upgrade and let me tell you the Suite is SWEET! Separate lounge room and huge bathroom. In my small mind I thought this would impress the girls! last time I stayed in April, I also used Suite upgrade. Brought Patty from CIB back and she didn't mention anything. Brought Nutty from Cindy's, she didn't mention anything. Guess they seen it all before. Last night brought Gaga back and she did say 'Oh big room'. Funny thing is I stayed a 2nd time in April and brought Nutty back again. Was only in the standard room this time which is still very nice just not as big. Nutty mentioned on this one, just saying, oh you have different room this time!

When I was in Bangkok back in July, I visited Soi Thaniya in Silom, which is only 300 meters down from Patpong Road. Amazing how many times I had been to Patpong but didn't know about this place they refer to as 'Little Tokyo' or 'Little Japan' due to the entire street being lined with awesome Japanese restaurants, from Japanese BBQ, sushi, ramen shops and plenty of others. An entrance to BTS SkyTrain Sala Daeng station is just on the corner of Soi Thaniya. I just visited during the day for lunch but heard it is lit up like the streets of Tokyo at night. I just had a ramen noodle soup at a restaurant called Uchidaya Ramen. 270 baht for their Kyushu Tonkotsu 'Special' ramen. Best ramen I have ever eaten! If you love Japanese food then put this on your list of places to visit in Bangkok. Go there for dinner, then head down to Patpong to pick up your dessert. They do have some girlie bars here, located in the top floors above the restaurants at street level. I heard they are very much like the 'hostess bars in Tokyo'. These places cater to Japanese business men. I heard like in Japan, they pay a fee for a girl to sit with them and laugh at their jokes, tell them how wonderful they are and pour their drinks. I been to a few hostess bars in Tokyo and never saw the point of them as you can't bar fine the girls there in Tokyo but I believe you can bar fine the ones in Bangkok but at ridiculous Japanese prices, something like 5000 - 6000 Baht. Screw that! Get down to Patpong to pick up what you fancy for the night, GG or LB at proper Bangkok prices. Definitely worth a visit if you love Japanese food.

My dentist in Sydney told me I had to have root canal treatment on a tooth which was going to cost A$2500. I saw prices in Thailand were about 8000 Baht, A$250. I went to a dentist in Phuket, he walked in, looked like he was about 18 years old. He didn't say hello or introduce himself, just said what you want. I told him about my dentist wanting to do root canal. He looked at the tooth for a few seconds and said no, I extract it and give you implant. BS! I walked out, went back to Sydney and forked out the $2500 to have a professional do it! If you can find a good professional dentist in Thailand then it will save you a ton of money but good luck! I am sure there are some but plenty of shonky dentists there.

At BKK there are 2 taxi queues, 1 for standard taxi and 1 for large taxis for groups, usually minibus for large groups but they will handle any large luggage.

I stay very close to Soi 11, so working through the huge selection of restaurants. Had a Pork Katsu Burger at Artisan Craft Burgers, just a few doors down from Bang Bang Burgers (which I prefer) across the road from Hillary 11. The pork burger for 330Bant, not cheap, was so so. Nice slab of deep fried pork and some coleslaw which was pretty tasteless. I might go back and try their classic beef burger but plenty more restaurants to try

Landed yesterday at BKK Saturday 10am 7 minutes to walk from plane to immigration. 3 minutes through immigration 10 minutes to wait for my bag and bang in a taxi. No queues at immigration Taxi took just over 45 minutes from Old Swampy to Sukhumvit Soi 13, a bit of traffic on the highway. Taxi cost 275 Baht plus 2 tolls, 25 and 50 baht. Good to be back!

The bath got moved by the rocking in the tub!

I rate Hyatt Regency, not as the best hotel but the best location (for mongers), on corner of Soi 13 Sukhumvit. Price around 7000 THB per night depending on season. I have seen it cheaper but 7K seems to be the average. Suites go for 13,000 THB per night. Great buffet breakfast, nice swimming pool and gym on level 6 and very cool rooftop bar. I have stayed at Park Hyatt (over 16,000Thb per night for standard room) which was very nice but not the same awesome location as Hyatt Regency. Hyatt Regency is a very nice 5 star hotel. 1 minutes walk to Soi 11 with heaps of restaurants to choose from, and Cindy's Secret. 450 meters - 4 minutes walk to Check-in Bar. 8 minutes walk to Nana Entertainment Plaza, 9 minutes walk to Soi Cowboy. 2 minutes walk to Nana BTS if you want to venture out around Bangkok. Street walkers (GG and LB) right out the front most nights. When I stay there I very rarely venture further than 450 meters! Or Sofitel, just on next block past Soi 13. I have not stayed there but still great location. Pics of a King Deluxe Room from my stay at Hyatt Regency in July last yeat

I like to be the meat, in a ladyboy sandwich

Yep it is easy to search for hotels online but......I think the purpose of the OP is to get recommendations from fellow mongers. Agoda and booking.com don't tell you if the rooms are noisy or if they are guest friendly or how the staff treat you when you walk in with 2 ladyboys to take to your room or if the foyer is filled with families/kids who may have to ride the elevator with you and your 2 horn bag LBs. maybe educational for the children but I am sure some members may be embarrassed at those sort of hotels.

Awesome review! I love Soi 11. So many great restaurants and bars and weed vendors. I usually stay at Hyatt Regency which is just around the corner from Soi 11. I'll be back there in April. Like you said Soi 11, just a short walk to CIB. I had dinner at El Gaucho Argentinean Steakhouse a few years ago. Bloody good steak! International prices but top quality. I first went to El Gaucho in Saigon before I discovered this 1 on Soi 11. There are a few El Gaucho steakhouses in Bangkok, another on Soi 19 and a few other places. Hotel rooms light switches are a pet hate of mine too! Some hotel rooms have a central switches to turn off the main lights, then they have a few lamps that are not connected to the main switch. First night takes me ages to walk around and work out how to turn off all the lights. Power points next to the bed is key too. Got to have my laptop power! Another tip for food on Soi 11 - further down past Mercure you'll find Bang Bang Burgers which has some very tasty burgers!

I had the BahtBuster breakfast at Red Lion on Soi 13. Pretty good at only 129 Baht.

Yes I stayed at Hyatt Regency Sukhumvit in July. Had stayed there back in 2019 as well. I highly recommend it. Everything you need within a few blocks. It is on the corner of Soi 13 and less than 100 meters walk to Soi 11 and Nana BTS station just after that. Heaps of restaurants, beer bars and ofcourse Check In Bar only 280 meters walk away or short stumble back. There is an overpass over Sukhumvit which takes you straight into Hyatt Regency Level 1 but you have to go back down to Lobby to get up to the rooms. I spent 7 nights there and did not venture more than 280 meters away well i did get down to Nana Entertainment area too which is only 6 minutes walk. No dramas bringing guests back to your room. No questions asked. Buffet breakfast was very busy when i was there but still could get a table each morning. Big thumbs up for the swimming pool on level 6. The rooftop bar Spectrum Lounge is pretty cool for expensive drinks and great view. I visited there in 2019 but not in 2022.