briguy

40 minutes ago, Xr5adam said:

Recently saw a massage shop that opened at 8am by appointment, was thinking that would be a good start however for the life of me can not find it any more.

https://www.hunnybunnybkk.com/

What do you mean you can't find it? Are you saying when you walk by the location, the parlor is not there? These directions on their website seem pretty clear:

14/4 Sukhumvit Soi 33, Bangkok Thailand

Enter from soi 33 or through the discrete rear entrance  behind in the sub-soi

(next door to Hoja Taiwanese Noodles)

I find traffic worries are overblown. Stay near Nana and Cowboy and you can either walk to where you want to go or take the Skytrain. There's pedestrian bridges all along Sukhumvit, so crossing the street really isn't a problem. As far as escaping the tumult, most hotels that are a short ways down a soi are quiet.

The real reason I recommend staying near the action is for when you want to take a lady back to your hotel from a bar or club. It's just easier to have your hotel nearby.

5 hours ago, LoafOfBread said:

I feel it will be too overwhelming right on 4

Then don't stay on Soi 4. There are some decent hotels around the corner on Soi 2. I like Hotel Icon, Decent rooms and a rooftop pool. If you want something more upscale, there's the Doubletree or the JW Marriott.

I've never heard of any of these hotels. None of them are near the section of Sukhumvit between Nana Plaza and Soi Cowboy that guys on this website tend to frequent. And Al Meroz Hotel bills itself as Muslim friendly and is alcohol free and doesn't let women and men use the pool at the same time, which for most guys on this site would rule it out.

I stayed at Hotel Icon on Soi 2. Just one soi away from Soi 4/Nana Plaza. Not overly fancy, but nice enough. I'm not one for eating breakfast, but they do have a restaurant in the lobby. There's a rooftop pool that wasn't getting much use on my trips, but is fine for laying out.

Other hotels on Soi 2 are the far fancier JW Marriott and Doubletree by Hilton.

Is she a girl that likes to go to the beach, that likes to lay out in the sun? If not, I wouldn't go to Phuket!

Normally I would recommend staying in Patong Beach near Bangla Road where the bars and dance clubs are. But you might want to stay at a more laid back, romantic resort like those found in nearby Karon or Kata.

I really enjoyed the James Bond Island day trip. It includes a look at the island from The Man In The Golden Gun as well as canoeing, lunch at a Muslim fishing village and some beach time and of course endless beautiful limestone cliffs to look at along the way.

It's not a question of whether it is a good hotel or not. It's all about location, location, location! You want to stay along Sukumvit somewhere between the Nana Plaza area (Nana is on Soi 4, I've always stayed on Soi 2) and the Soi Cowboy area (Soi 21). That way you can easily walk to the nightlife areas and be right near the Skytrain if you want to explore more of Bangkok. Plus there are plenty of upscale hotels in that area that would match the Berkeley.

I've stayed at Hotel Icon just down the street from the Marriott on Soi 2. Nice room, decent restaurant and rooftop pool for around $ 50 US on Agoda. I have read that due to construction, you can no longer cut through the Rajah Hotel parking lot to Soi 4, which was very fast.

My advice is to go ask this question on Pattaya Addicts, where you'll get plenty of replies. And while you're there, take a look at Lottellee Winna's hotel reviews, which are excellent.

Don't have a review, but did want to point out that no alcohol is served at any of the Grand Center Point hotels, although you can bring your own in.

4 hours ago, Martin67 said:

I may however try to book by phoning them directly to see how that goes.

It might not go well, but you won't know that until you arrive. You might think everything is fine with a reservation you made over the phone, but the language barrier and human error enter the picture if you try to book by phone.

Considering how cheap LOS hotels are post-Covid, I see nothing wrong with using the online agencies like Agoda or hotels.com. I've done two three week long trips to Thailand and had zero problems with booking ahead of time. As a newbie, there's no reason to make things more stressful than they need to be. It's easy enough to pick good places to stay using the reviews here and on Pattaya Addicts as a guide. Before my trips, I read all of Lottellee Winna's reviews on PA, which were a big help.

I often see newbies trying to reinvent the wheel, asking about obscure hotels there are no reviews of. There's a reason people recommend certain places over and over again and that's because they can be counted on to be good.

Krua Apsorn (locations in Samsand at 503 Thanon Samsen, Dusit, Dusit District, Bangkok and 169 Dinso Rd, Wat Bowon Niwet, Phra Nakhon, Bangkok, close to the Democracy Monument and Khao San Road) is also well known for their crab omelette.

15 hours ago, Vr669 said:

 Does anyone have previous experience with the Hansar ?

No personal experience. I will say I don't consider it close to the action as there are many hotels much closer to Nana and Cowboy. I also read some reviews. They praise the size of the suites, but complain about the strength of the wi-fi, so if that's important to you, you might think about staying somewhere else.

As you wrote, there are no public holidays in Thailand in November. While Loy Krathong will be celebrated as you noted on Nov. 9th, this is not a holiday the bars close for.

No, I haven't stayed here because one look at the map shows the location is nowhere close to the area I'd be interested in staying at. Stop trying to reinvent the wheel and just stay along Sukumvit where you've got Nana, Cowboy and easy access to the Skytrain...

47 minutes ago, NanAtSOL said:

Sukhumvit Soi 22 is pretty good

This area is good even if you're not chasing girls. Yes, it's close to Soi Cowboy, but you have the Terminal 21 mall right there as well as the Asok BTS station, making it easy to grab a train to tourist areas near the river like Khao San Road, Chinatown and the Grand Palace and various temples. Really any hotel on or close to Sukhumvit is fine from Soi 2 to 22. Many big hotel chains are represented, so keep that in mind if you want to earn some hotel points.

Tourist tip: Take the BTS skytrain to Saphan Taksin Station, where you can transfer to a boat on the Chao Phraya River that take you to the temples Wat Arun, Wat Pho, The Grand Palace and the new mall Iconsiam.

I'd be wary. If you're on a budget, it's certainly a good deal as you say, but you get what you pay for. It's a former guest house with ten rooms.

3 hours ago, kelp987 said:

Once out of Test&Go quarantine in BKK and free to roam, if I fly to Phuket domestically, can I leave Phuket anytime, or do I have to follow the same 7 days minimum stay as those who came to Phuket internationally?

Unfortunately Test & Go has been cancelled for the time being. The only way right now for international tourists to enter Thailand without 7 to 14 days hotel quarantine is through the Phuket Sandbox. Once you've stayed in Phuket for seven days, you can leave Phuket and travel where you want in Thailand. The current policy will be reviewed on January 4th.

5 hours ago, Fit2bThaid said:

As I understand it, the Pattaya Walking Street is nevermore.  I think they're not reissuing licenses to the entertainment venues there and plan to "Vegas-ize" it, turning it from adult entertainment to family entertainment.

I wouldn't be so sure. There have been rumors for years that the Pattaya city fathers want to do this and it hasn't happened yet. It would also be hard to do, given the various landlords on the street. They could rule the businesses on the sea side are illegal, but that also includes restaurants and discos, which count as resort entertainment, even if they are full of freelancers.

The real question is will clubs be allowed to reopen on January 15th.

Visakha Bucha Day (Buddah's birthday) is a holy day, so shops, bars and restaurants are barred from selling alcohol for 24 hours from midnight until midnight. All Government offices and many businesses will be closed.

Royal Ploughing Day is a holiday for civil servants and government offices will be closed. Banks and companies carry on as normal and the sale of alcohol is permitted.

Well, The Carlton Hotel page on booking.com answers the question if the hotel is guest friendly with the following, so I would think so:

"We are delighted to inform you regarding our joiner policy that there will not be extra charge for the joiner. However, in case of there is exceeding of maximum of the confirmed capacity in each room, there will be additional charge."

14 hours ago, battenburg_army said:

What’s the deal with this Phuket sandbox when it comes to flying in?

As of now, only direct flights from overseas are allowed to land in Phuket via international carriers such as Emirates, Etihad, Qatar Airways and Singapore Airlines. If you fly into Bangkok, you will need to do the ASQ 14 day quarantine.

The good news is the authorities are planning to create a special transit area in BKK Airport for passengers on their way to Phuket, so that rule may change in the near future.

I think more information is in order. Will you be going after the bars open back up? Will you be ordering in via Thai Friendly? For instance, while the Capella is upscale, it's near the river and nowhere near where the clubs and bars are on Sukhumvit. Sukhotai isn't near the main drag either, but maybe that doesn't mean as much if you're going when clubs and bars are closed.

If I had a time machine, I'd go back farther than January 2021! If you meant January 2022, I think the odds are good things will be sorted out by then!