First stay at the Nysa Hotel, which belongs to the same ownership group (Kingston) as the Solitaire, Pipa, Samala, Aira, Eleven, and many others in BKK. First impressions: Check-in was smooth and courteous. Took just a few minutes, but I checked i at 10pm. I saw a crowd of 30 mid-morning the next day. Glad I missed that. Room (see pics below) Positives- --Spacious, lots of light for rooms on the upper floors (I'm on 6 of 7) --Very comfortable bed, with good quality linens --Room was spotless when I checked in --Lots of closet space and room for luggage storage --Lighting is good, controls are accessible --AC is great and easy to control --Plenty of electrical outlets for charging devices --Good TV across from the bed, with Netflix access if you have an account. --Minibar, free water (4 bottles/day), coffee and tea maker --Great bathroom, with separate tub and shower (rainfall and handheld wand) --Controls in shower are easy to use, plenty of hot water, excellent adjustable water pressure --Very good bathroom amenities (shower gel, shampoo, conditioner, hand/body lotion, toothbrushes for guests) Minuses- --Desk/Work space. There's no desk in the Pool View room, just a table and a chair. Limited workspace on that table. --Odd furniture. Look at the pictures below. Along the wall opposite the bed there's a long hard surface, presumably for luggage, and a long bench that strikes me as useless, and not especially comfortable to sit on. The chaise to the side of the bed is also a bit odd, but at least I can have some fun with the girls on it. I'd much prefer a small sofa or a couple of chairs. --Internet. It is often slow, slow, slow! There's no excuse for such shitty service at a nice hotel   The Hotel more generally Location: Just around the corner from CIB11, so easy access to all that Soi 11 has to offer. Walking back to the hotel from CIB11 or Cindy's Secrets is a breeze. This section of Soi 13 is very quiet, with almost no traffic. You can cross the street without taking your life into your hands. And consequently the rooms are very quiet. I've not heard any street noise. Access- The hotel is entered trough doors off of the driveway on Soi 13. To the left is the concierge desk and to the right the check-in desks. Both elevators to guest rooms are accessed by going past the check-in desks. One set of rooms are reached by the elevator just past check-in, the other set by an elevator located near the restaurant entrances. If you return with a guest there;s a good chance you'll see other hotel guests on your way to the elevator. I'm shameless, so I don't care. Gym- is located on the ground floor, just beyond the check-in area and to the right. The gym is basic, with the usual cardio and free weights, but otherwise somewhat limited (The gym at the Mercure is smaller but better equipped). One odd aspect is that you are visible to people walking by the hotel while you work out. Pool- is very nice, located on the first floor with the entrance near the restaurants. I've noticed that in the early afternoon the lounges and seating are sometimes completely occupied. Most of the seating is well shaded for most of the day. Towels are available at the pool. Most people bring a bathrobe from their room with them to wear when they make the trek back to their rooms. Breakfast- My room rate came with complimentary breakfast (as special offered at the time I reserved). I normally wouldn't pay for hotel breakfasts. This buffet was a bit disappointing, heavy on the Asian and Indian offerings, light on the Western ones. It was the standard egg station, and places to get breakfast meats, potatoes, breads, pastries, juices, fruit, and drinks. Most everything was underwhelming. Pastry and bread offerings were minimal, same with fresh fruit. Pretty ordinary for such an otherwise nice hotel. I'll be skipping the free breakfast often. Clientele- The place feels less like a BKK monger hotel than, say, the Mercure. While there's a mixed clientele, I'd say it's probably 50% Indian/South Asian, with a healthy smattering of Europeans. Also there' are lots of couples and quite a few families with kids in the mix, more than I've seen at the nearby Mercure. I have seen very few of the Indian customers at the pool or in the breakfast restaurant. I mainly see them in the lobby and elevators. (photos to come)        

First stay at the Nysa Hotel, which belongs to the same ownership group (Kingston) as the Solitaire, Pipa, Samala, Aira, Eleven, and many others in BKK. First impressions: Check-in was smooth and courteous. Took just a few minutes, but I checked i at 10pm. I saw a crowd of 30 mid-morning the next day. Glad I missed that. Room (see pics below) Positives- --Spacious, lots of light for rooms on the upper floors (I'm on 6 of 7) --Very comfortable bed, with good quality linens --Room was spotless when I checked in --Lots of closet space and room for luggage storage --Lighting is good, controls are accessible --AC is great and easy to control --Plenty of electrical outlets for charging devices --Good TV across from the bed, with Netflix access if you have an account. --Minibar, free water (4 bottles/day), coffee and tea maker --Great bathroom, with separate tub and shower (rainfall and handheld wand) --Controls in shower are easy to use, plenty of hot water, excellent adjustable water pressure --Very good bathroom amenities (shower gel, shampoo, conditioner, hand/body lotion, toothbrushes for guests) Minuses- --Desk/Work space. There's no desk in the Pool View room, just a table and a chair. Limited workspace on that table. --Odd furniture. Look at the pictures below. Along the wall opposite the bed there's a long hard surface, presumably for luggage, and a long bench that strikes me as useless, and not especially comfortable to sit on. The chaise to the side of the bed is also a bit odd, but at least I can have some fun with the girls on it. I'd much prefer a small sofa or a couple of chairs. --Internet. It is often slow, slow, slow! There's no excuse for such shitty service at a nice hotel   The Hotel more generally Location: Just around the corner from CIB11, so easy access to all that Soi 11 has to offer. Walking back to the hotel from CIB11 or Cindy's Secrets is a breeze. This section of Soi 13 is very quiet, with almost no traffic. You can cross the street without taking your life into your hands. And consequently the rooms are very quiet. I've not heard any street noise. Access- The hotel is entered trough doors off of the driveway on Soi 13. To the left is the concierge desk and to the right the check-in desks. Both elevators to guest rooms are accessed by going past the check-in desks. One set of rooms are reached by the elevator just past check-in, the other set by an elevator located near the restaurant entrances. If you return with a guest there;s a good chance you'll see other hotel guests on your way to the elevator. I'm shameless, so I don't care. Gym- is located on the ground floor, just beyond the check-in area and to the right. The gym is basic, with the usual cardio and free weights, but otherwise somewhat limited (The gym at the Mercure is smaller but better equipped). One odd aspect is that you are visible to people walking by the hotel while you work out. Pool- is very nice, located on the first floor with the entrance near the restaurants. I've noticed that in the early afternoon the lounges and seating are sometimes completely occupied. Most of the seating is well shaded for most of the day. Towels are available at the pool. Most people bring a bathrobe from their room with them to wear when they make the trek back to their rooms. Breakfast- My room rate came with complimentary breakfast (as special offered at the time I reserved). I normally wouldn't pay for hotel breakfasts. This buffet was a bit disappointing, heavy on the Asian and Indian offerings, light on the Western ones. It was the standard egg station, and places to get breakfast meats, potatoes, breads, pastries, juices, fruit, and drinks. Most everything was underwhelming. Pastry and bread offerings were minimal, same with fresh fruit. Pretty ordinary for such an otherwise nice hotel. I'll be skipping the free breakfast often. Clientele- The place feels less like a BKK monger hotel than, say, the Mercure. While there's a mixed clientele, I'd say it's probably 50% Indian/South Asian, with a healthy smattering of Europeans. Also there' are lots of couples and quite a few families with kids in the mix, more than I've seen at the nearby Mercure. I have seen very few of the Indian customers at the pool or in the breakfast restaurant. I mainly see them in the lobby and elevators. (photos to come)        

Here's a pic from Lek's. 160 Baht - double what you pay in KKP

Can I get a second go please?   This time I'll contain my 3 answers to just one very pleasant street along a canal in the old town and next to Romani Nat Park so this makes for a good day out with some of the best street food in the city too. HiSo Curry Rice PaEw does good curries, particularly the crab curry and crab stir-fry with chilli at bargain prices despite selling good seafood and other expensive ingredients. They're very popular so I go there prepared to fight for my crab curry when it's just been cooked and then sometimes do it again afterwards as it's addictive stuff despite the other tempting food a few steps away. https://maps.app.goo.gl/HMvDdxWrvQ5bd1At6 Jack's Chicken Rice serves some great chicken rice, they're lovely people too. It may be simple but it's good. I often go here after running in the park nearby and skip the additional fried chicken if trying to be good but that's difficult to resist. https://maps.app.goo.gl/Wft2NM4HYBX2NEmd6 Aunty Pien's noodle shop might be the best place of all the excellent options on this little strip. It's been there a long time and I love the ladies who run it, unfortunately they have refused to adopt me so far so I only get to eat their amazing noodles when they're open. Go here even if you're not in the area, get the chicken noodles, I have the additional squid and skip the red pork but the Mrs says I'm doing it all wrong. Anyway it's all excellent, she's a fantastic cook and you can smell the magic coming from her wok so people like me can be found standing around making a nuisance of ourselves while she cooks our food. I will be going there soon, guaranteed. https://maps.app.goo.gl/1oEUX57UaZXZ4wqa6   Honourable mention goes to the lovely Rad Na noodles a few more steps down the road and the moo ping stall at the start of the street  where the Mrs has been known to fill up before we even get to our planned destination.   If you're interested in going to these places they're very close to Sam Yot MRT so are simple to get to from Asoke.

Just fyi for those in town now or soon, Thai Niyom is currently being renovated. They closed on 10/7 and say they will reopen "in November." I was totally bummed when I got here, called to make a reservation, and learned that I''d arrived a few days too late.