CanadaVisitor

I heard that there is a Canuck involved in this restaurant (part owner, manager?) so yes, more of a North American breakfast. (I've never understood how the Brits can eat beans for breakfast, haha) I haven't tried one there yet, but heard that they sell beaver tails there. If you have a sweet tooth this might be for you. Fried dough in the shape of a (you guessed it) beaver tail, covered in cinnamon sugar and being a Canadian tradition there is always maple syrup involved. Haha. I haven't had one for decades...since I was last skating on the Rideau canal in Ottawa.

In the end I did not bother to buy an onward ticket. I arrived in BKK on Thursday on a one way ticket and there were no issues whatsoever. The customs agent took my boarding pass and passport and motioned me to scan my right hand fingerprints. Didn't even bother scanning my thumbs or my left hand. (I guess they're already on file from my 3 other trips in the last year and a half?) He stamped my passport showing me good for 60 days and that was that.

I've never stayed in that particular hotel before, but any of the ALL Accor brands I've stayed at haven't charged me a joiner fee. I'd fire off a quick email like @oliver17 suggested just to make sure. Booking for two (at least with the major chains) doesn't mean what a lot of people think it does anymore. Bringing a girl back with you after a night out is a guest and not the second person on your reservation. Book for 1, 2 or 3 or whatever and if their guest policy is to charge a joiners fee for overnight guests then you will have to pay that regardless. The only way around that is if you check in your date. (Not the girl leaving her ID at a security desk...but actually checking her in just like you did when you arrived). I usually book for 2 people when it doesn't cost extra...just a habit I guess. Even with a reservation for 2 sometimes I get charged when my girl from the night before joins me for the free breakfast. Technically I could always be charged, but about half the time I don't. I only check my friend in when she is actually staying with me for the entire duration of my reservation. Some hotels I have stayed at do not allow guests to use the facilities...(gym, swimming pool, etc.), but if she is checked in then there's no problem. You need an extra layer of trust with that girl to do this of course. Have fun!

I'm probably going to do a Visa run by land. (Aprx 8 hours from Bangkok to the Cambodian border and back). Last time I checked immigration requires onward air travel booking and they didn't accept land tours or a booking on a speed boat (from Phuket to Malaysia for example)

Thanks @oliver17, but I haven't had to fill out any arrival forms for a few trips now. Usually immigration just asks to see your passport and boarding pass. Get your fingerprints taken and maybe a question or two..."How many days are you here for?" "Where will you be staying?" Etc. Yeah, maybe I'll just book something that is either super cheap or refundable that departs before my 60 days are up

Has anyone been required to show their return ticket at immigration to prove that they weren't going to stay longer than their Visa allowed? I'm now allowed to stay for 60 days under the Visa exemption agreement. I've never been asked to show my return ticket in 4 trips. On my last trip the immigration officer just asked me how many days I was staying. I'm going to spend almost 6 months in Thailand my next trip. My plan would be to travel to other countries/do border runs to make sure I stay legal. I read that immigration officers can tell if you arrived on a one-way ticket. That is the case for me this upcoming trip. I'm arriving on a one-way ticket because I was able to get it using points. My return ticket is also a one-way ticket with a different carrier but my departure date from Thailand is 6 months after my arrival. So if I get checked it would look like I am deliberately planning on illegally overstaying. It wouldn't be that big of a deal for me to buy an onward ticket and cancel it or to use the website that @katana57 and @pennybridge mentioned, but if I don't need to do those things I would rather not go through the extra hassle. So...has anyone been asked for proof of onward travel when arriving?

Sorry. I see now that the DTV is different from the LTR. (Even though the LTR has a remote workers category). So my comment above isn't really relevant to this thread.

The LTR (Long Term Residents) Visa is a welcome addition to Thai Visas. I have no desire to do "digital work" from the Kingdom, but also with the LTR program is a new 10 year retirement Visa and it sounds great. You don't even have to leave the Country every 90 days or do the 90 day reporting. Instead you just report once a year. Considering the 10 year (Platinum) Thai Elite Visa is 1,500,000 Baht, this is a much cheaper option if you qualify.

I've got my next trip booked and I chose this hotel again for 25 of my 29 nights. Four reasons for this decision: The better beds and bedding, the much better breakfast (even though I might only eat breakfast half the time), the Marriott Bonvoy points program seems to be the best overall fit for me, and I was able to negotiate a better nightly rate. The downsides are that it doesn't have a lounge for the freebie early evening drinks and snacks and both the pool itself and the pool area aren't that big. I will definitely do as you and @whiteshirt suggested this time...get the mini bar emptied and fill it with my own supplies.

Yes...I remember your posts on that thread were spot on and a MUST read for anyone planning a holiday girlfriend type of date.

If I'm doing an afternoon date I might mention the pool and that she can bring a suit if she wants to swim or hang out. Note...all my afternoon dates have been with girls from CIB and Cindy's. No one has ever taken me up on it. I think for 4 reasons: 1. They don't want to be in the sun and get their skin darker, 2. They don't want to get their hair wet, 3. They still have to work that night and need to go back to their room and get some more sleep and get ready for work. 4. They are sex workers and I'm just a customer for them. They don't really want to hang out after the job is done. It would be different if your date was with a girl from TF or whatever and not full time pay for play. Or if it was a long long time date. In Thailand I've found that almost all the ladies will take you up on going for a bite to eat either before or after fun in the room, but that's about the extent of extra curricular socializing I've experienced. Totally different from Las Vegas. If you ask a stripper to hang out at your poolside cabana, 90% will take you up on it.

I have found this now, but haven't stopped in yet. I did have an "aha" moment. The reason I can't remember walking past Leks before is because I probably didn't. When I'm walking down Soi 11 and am going to go left on Suk I never walk all the way to the corner. Instead I take the shortcut through the Ambassador to get onto Soi 13 which has considerably less traffic. Mystery solved.

I look forward to your arrival @Bwana_LB...just note that there have been a few changes here since I stayed back in April. They are attempting to be a lot more family friendly...they do not allow the weed trucks to park in front of the hotel anymore. They have also put up a railing in front of the hotel so that freelancers can't sit there anymore. That was a shame for me because I actually became friendly with one of the girls who posted herself there by the name of May. Haven't seen her so far this trip Also, breakfast is pretty bad now. They still have an egg station, but fried and scrambled eggs are waiting for you under a heat lamp. They still do omelettes to order and you can also shame them into making you fresh fried eggs. There is no coconut water like they used to have. And the buffet is now mostly halal. (I think I got that right...Indian food). They have 2 choices for western dishes and that's it. One day the choices were broccoli in cream sauce and fried tomatoes. Haha...not a potato in sight! And this is room dependent...even though the outlets should accept N.American plugs I found that I needed to use an adapter to make a proper connection. I look forward to your thoughts when you return. Cheers

Yeah, I might have been too harsh on this place after now staying in three different hotels. The beds and bedding at Aloft have been by far the best. Same with the breakfast...way better than Mercure or the Holiday Inn Suk 22 where I am now. They also have a free shuttle to Nana BTS and to Terminal 21. That meant that I didn't build up too much of a sweat when I walked the rest of the way to NEP or CIB. I might take some more contract work this year. If I do I would happily stay here again using those points. Shame they don't have a lounge though...I'm quite enjoying the 2 hour free drinks and snacks I get at the other hotel chains in the early evening.

Another final few points. The bed and bedding are very comfortable. The mattress is firm, but not too firm and the sheets and pillows are quite nice. The shower is big enough for two and the shower head easily adjusts to many different positions. The first time I tried sex in the shower was almost a disaster because the floor is too slippery. However it’s plenty big so it’s good enough to soap each other. And if you are determined (like I was) to have shower sex, just bring the bath mat in for traction.