THAI Airways

My first flight ever was with Thai, an inter-European one, and I was impressed. I thought that this would be the standard of all airlines. I felt from Cloud 9 in my next flight. Thai had just started operating in Europe, and doing small well-known routes and offered first-class service and excellent prices. I was mesmerised by the colour scheme of the upholstery and design of the aircraft, the little orchid on each seat, the hot towels before take-off, the nice meal, the classy beautiful flight attendants.

Since then I have flown quite a bit with Thai, for continental and intercontinental flights. They still have good comfortable planes, good meals, a good entertainment program, the usual gods and goddesses as flight attendants, and a good customer service overall.

I have never ever had a problem with them regarding delays, lost luggage or missed connections. Service is not as good as used to be for Economy, the attention to detail perhaps gone, but they are still a good airline and one of my favourite to fly. 

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Vismaya Luxury Resort (Bangkok, Thailand)

Vismaya Suvarnabhumi Luxury Resort
98 Moo 15 Soi King Kaew 43,
Bang Phli, Samut Prakan,
10540 Thailand
Phone: 66 (2) 738 49 88
Website

Vismaya Budget Transit Hotel is what the hotel should be called, because this what Vismaya is. You get what you pay and you cannot get luxury for 50 bucks the night, right? Still, the words work magic on you psyche especially if the hotel has flattering images of the rooms and a pool in them. 

This is a very convenient transit hotel, especially good if you just have to spend a few hours sleeping without any wanderings in Bangkok between your flights: the hotel is pleasant, has spacious rooms, a nice pool, bar/restaurant/cafe, free buffet breakfast, free hourly transfer to the airport, free Wi-Fi at awesome prices. All what you need.

If you are going to stay for a few days or for an extra day, you might want go elsewhere, as the location is not good to wander round but in taxi. On the other hand, if you decide to stay, you will find that place relaxing, and you will save a good deal of money you can spend the way you like.

I think the hotel is backpackers friendly, and an upgrade from a normal backpacker place, with many facilities you find in good hotels minus the price.    

 My "deluxe" room was very spacious and luminous, facing the pool, with lots of storage room, flat TV, with a very comfortable firm bed. There was a long benched table, an armchair and a desk chair. The bathroom was spotless clean and shiny with separate bathtub and shower. However, both areas were Spartan regarding everything else, bare concrete floors, run out furniture and appliances in need of an overhaul.

The staff were polite but a bit abrupt at times. This is due, mostly, to their poor English and difficulty at communicating properly. Lost in translation has a meaning here. I found that the ladies at reception softened with Thai greetings and thankyouses, and relaxed enough to be smiley and way friendlier. 

POINT MAKERS
+ The hotel offers an hourly free shuttle to/from the airport. The transfer trakes about 10 minutes if the traffic is good.
+ Free Wifi all around the hotel, both in the rooms and lobby. Mine was fast and reliable, and it is remarkable in such a cheap hotel.
+ ATM in the premises.
+ Storage room for your luggage if you want to go to the city after check out.
+ Buffet breakfast is included.
+ The Lobby is an open space used as lobby, cafe, restaurant and bar. During the day is very luminous and relaxes, but it lives up once the night lights and music are on. They have a decent selection of Western and Thai favourites, and of soft and alcoholic drinks, at medium prices.

SO SO 
> Muggy room despite the air-con. You need the air-con to run for a while to get it right. The room was really hot and muggy when I arrived. The hotel gives guests one key card that is used both to open the door and operate the electric system; if you go out for a while, the room will be left without air-con and will be muggy at your return. It would cost little giving guests two key cards, especially to those staying more than a few hours overnight. 
> Air-con is noisy.
> The bedside tables were at floor level, way below the bed, so they were of no use! 
> Slow drainage in the shower. 
> Minimal toiletries.
>There are tons of TV channels to choose from. Most of them in Thai. Only Channel 896 *You2Play" had some music in English. This is a transit hotel full of Westerners, why not including a few channels at least in English?
>  The buffet breakfast was varied but a bit tasteless. There was a mix of cooked Asian and Western favourites, fruit and salad plates, plus coffee, tea, juice, fresh fruit, cereals, etc. I thought that the cold part of the breakfast should be covered as flies were binging on the fruit. It does not cost much placing the cold food in covered containers. 
> Several cabs at the door. They are not metered so you will paying about double than you would with a metered one. However, they are affordable for most Western main currencies, and they come handy to go to the city. The pricing chart for the main destinations is clearly visible and written in English at the reception desk.

NOT GOOD ENOUGH
> Minimal decoration. The paintings in my room were three empty frames, framing the crack on the wall (see photo). It made me smile, though. 
> The towels are old and ratty (see the photo).
> Repairs badly done in the bathtub base (see photos). 
> Check out was not extended for a late departure despite me checking at 5 pm the previous day. 
> Staff at the bar/cafe were polite but totally disinterested in attending to customers. I tried to get their attention 3 times, by hand gestures and "excuse me" without success and I had to get up and approach the bar to get my bill.
> The notepad had not been refilled, just one leaf left. No pen. 
> There are geckos everywhere, especially the corridors, in the evening and night. One of them welcomed me in my room (see photo). They eat insects and, in a way, they are a natural insecticide, but 1/ they are very noisy 2/ they move fast, 3/ they come out at night, 4/ you want to go to sleep without having to worry about closing your bags or your eyes.  I like geckos, but no hotel should have them around, especially in the rooms. Otherwise, market them as a charming environmental insecticide, tell customers that they aren't dangerous, so visitors are prepared.   

MIND
> The surroundings of the hotel are not inviting to have a walk. 
> The place is located away from the main road, in a lateral side street, not easy to find by taxi, unless you are familiar with the area and you can direct the driver or they have the hotel card in Thai.

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Best Western Premier Amaranth (Bangkok, Thailand)

Best Western Premier Amaranth
Suvarnabhumi Airport
68 Moo 2 Kingkaew Road,
Bang Phli, Samut Prakan,
10540 Thailand
Phone: 66 (23) 159393
Website

I stayed a couple of days at the Best Western Amaranth to have a rest between my busy flying schedule, and I am was happy with its convenient location, great facilities, good price and great service. The hotel is located in a quiet area, with not much happening around beyond the traffic, a fact that turns it into an oasis of peace in the middle of the always busy Bangkok.

The hotel is located at about 10-15 minutes drive from the airport. It is very spacious, with a shiny uber-clean lobby and common toilets, a restaurant, a spa, and a pool with bar included. There are separate premises for conferences and business meetings, as well. The common gardened areas are beautiful, with lovely ponds full of water lilies and the Amaranth dragon sculptures. The hotel is by a big road, and there isn't much to see around. However, this is a transit hotel and if you are coming on holidays, you would probably want to go elsewhere. However, the concierge and tour desk have a nice selection of day and half day tours around Bangkok.

My room was huge, with a wonderfully firm King Size bed, work and rest areas, plenty of storage room and natural light, a decently sized flat screen with plenty of local and international channels, coffee/tea making facilities, and an alarm clock. The toilet was rather average regarding size and facilities, but spotless clean, and with a complete set of toiletries, as it used to be before hotels decided that the less is more. For most travellers, the more toiletries the better, and the Amaranth understands that, so you can fin anything you might need, from a toothbrush to a mini-sewing kit.

All the staff at the hotel are just wonderful. My special thanks to the people at the reception desk, shuttle transfer van and to the Spa ladies, who are the quintessence of what Thai people are: serviceable, chilled out, kind, competent and smiley.

THE RESTAURANT
The restaurant has a huge selection of classic favourites of the European, Chinese, Japanese and Thai cuisines, the last being my favourite while in Thailand (and good in this hotel). Buffet breakfast, included in my room price, was varied and satisfying with plenty of cold and hot, sweet and savoury options, but a bit bland in taste. They have also a huge selection of International wines, mocktails (I loved the ginger one) and smoothies. Prices are high according to Thai standards or high for what you pay in the city eateries and posh restaurants for better food, but it comes handy if you are staying just for a few days or in transit.  

THE POOL
The pool area is located at the back of the hotel, behind the gym area, and it is wonderfully relaxing, very clean and good looking, with plenty of lying seats, and a small bar-cafe attached to it.

THE SPA
The in-hotel spa Amaspa is just awesome. Despite its small size, the place is wonderfully stylish and relaxing, with Thai classy style decor and a very attentive staff. You are welcomed in the place with a bell flower cold tea (a stunning herbal tea that I would have bought if it had been for sale) and farewelled with a hot tea; their tea pottery is gorgeous. The pots they use, the flowers, the mini-pond, the lighting, everything is soothing and beautiful. But it not just the looks. Amaspa delivers. Thai massage therapists are among my favourite in the world because of their technique and ability to read your body and fulminate your pains and aches with their tiny hands and broad smile. The masseuses here apply a medium-strong pressure, which I found extremely hard, as they are stronger than any of my physiotherapist or remedial masseuses in Australia! You better tell them in advance which sort of pressure you want. I had the Ama Sampler package done, and it is just fabulous regarding the quality of the products they use, the mastery of the therapists, and the state of your skin when you leave Amaspa's premises. The foot massage was also amazing. Prices are not cheap, but nothing comparable to what we would pay in Australia for such a quality package.

POINT MAKERS

•  Free shuttle to the airport running every half an hour and, in the wee hours of the night, every hour. If you have breakfast prepaid and are departing before the restaurant opens, you will be provided with a breakfast pack, one of the best I have had to take away in my last travels! 
• 24/7 Room Service.
• Two bottles of complimentary drinking water per day.
• Free Wi-Fi. User name and password are provided when you check in.
• Complimentary non-alcoholic drink at the bar. 
• There is a 7eleven supermarket at five minutes walking distance. They sell a bit of everything (from packed meals to batteries, snacks, toiletries, etc.), it is extremely clean, well organised and has wonderful staff. If you bother to say anything in Thai, they will display their best smile.
• Several street eateries are located at a few minutes from the hotel, too, the nicest one by the 7eleven.  

DOWNSIDES
> The room was a bit run down, with one of the power boards a bit detached from the wall and with not enough power to feed my computer, but OK for my tablet.

> There were just two power points in the whole room, and one of them wasn't in good condition, with those sparks that you get when you plug something to a defective socket.

> Tap water in the room is NOT drinkable. You won't notice or know unless you ask the staff or read the hotel booklet in the room. It might be too late by then.
> The body wash smelled of laundry soap!

>  The air-conditioning was very noisy.
> The walls aren't that thick, so you can listen to your next-door neighbour's conversation easily. 

IF THIS WERE MY HOTEL I WOULD ...

# I would revamp a bit the rooms furniture.

# I would include channels in French, Italian and Spanish and Thailand receives plenty of tourists from these three countries. 
# I would provide a few more sachets of coffee and creamer. The cleaning ladies gave me a few spare ones when I requested  them, but it is just natural to expect a person staying more than six hours to have more than two coffees, no?
# I would add a box of tissues in the main room area.
# A must. If the tap water is not drinkable, a sign should be placed in the toilet saying so.

# I would show the pricing of the spa treatments in net prices, taxes included.

# I would revamp the restaurant, making the breakfast area and the night dinning areas clearly distinct in decoration and settings. At the moment, everything is one space, too dark until the artificial lighting is on.

 MIND
-- There are plenty of mosquitoes around, especially around the pool in the late hours of the day, but also in most outside areas and some of the common areas as well. These mosquitoes like you, guaranteed.  The staff work hard to get rid of them in the indoor areas with some super-duper electric racquets, but they are still around everywhere outside the air-conditioned indoor areas, especially around the pond and pool. 
-- Prices showed in the spa brochure do not include taxes, and 500 bath were added to my final bill.

Good hotel, close to the airport, with lots of features or guests, and with great staff. This not a flashy posh place, but very welcoming and comfortable, decently priced and with great service. 

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Mega Bangna Shopping Mall (Bangkok, Thailand)

Head photo courtesy of Bankok.com 

39 Moo 6 Bangna-Trad Rd. Km.8
Bangkaew, Bangplee,
Samutprakarn,
Bangkok 10540, 
Thailand 
Phone: 2-105-1000
Facebook (mostly in Thai)
Website

I spent one of my transit days in Bangkok at this shopping mall after a lady at reception in my hotel told me that, "if you like shopping, you have to go there".

The shopping mall is massive, and you will need a big amount of time to visit all the shops you are interested in advance, and those that will captivate your attention. Despite the size, the mall does not feel overwhelmingly big or unmanageable.The place is very spacious, trendy, luminous, with ample corridors, fancy toilets, shiny and squeaky clean. It has harmony and style, and mix of fashion, home and, electronics, electric and health shops, stunning jewellers and jewel stands, gym, cinema, Ikea and what is not. 

That day, I had a simple plan, that turned out better than expected:
1/ Finding a Thai place to eat. To my surprise there is a Food Walk, like a outdoors food hall around the building, with a considerable number of restaurants with different world cuisines. I did choose an authentic Thai restaurant, though, very cheap and yummy, and I was enchanted by the conversation of the lady owner, the yummy dishes that the chef cooked for me, and the pop arty cool decoration on the walls. 

2/ Visiting some of my medium priced favourite brands to check my fav  products, like Yves Rocher, Body Shop, Zara, New, Mango, and places of that sort. These and many more were all there.
3/ Checking out the shops in general. I was gladly surprised at finding a mix of medium brands and very posh ones, designer shops included, elegantly blended together without a sense of mismatch.
3/ Looking for a beauty salon and a massage salon. I was gladly surprised at finding an humongous number (I mean, many...) of beauty salons, some of them very exclusive, offering treatments that were affordable for foreigners but very posh, as they use the latest technologies and the poshest of the poshest of products. The parlours of some of them were fabulous. There were also several hair and nail salons, and several Thai massage places. I had a great experience at the place I visited for manicure-pedicure, and at the massage place where I had my foot massage done.

Everyone I found in the shopping mall and I asked for help (directions, prices, or whatever) was mega-lovely! Really, they treated me  like a queen (despite me wearing unflattering backpacker clothing), with the kindness and class that Thai people are known for.

There is a taxi stop (metered taxis, thank Gosh!) at one of the exits of the building, which comes handy to return to your hotel or to the airport. Most of them do not speak English or just several words, so have your hotel card at hand - in Thai!

The Free Shuttle Bus from the BTS Sky train Udomsuk station stops at one of the sides of the mall, and you can get from/to the airport from here, easily at a fraction of the price you will pay if you take a taxi. The shuttle passes by many hotels in the area, so check at your hotel if you can benefit from it.

The day flew by fast and I had to leave in a hurry because I was late for my airport transfer. My only regret at leaving the shopping mall was not having gone there earlier in the day, and not having an extra day to continue my bangnaning! I take note. Next time I visit Bangkok, I will expend a bit of time at this shopping mall, this is a promise I make to myself, as I have visited the city and Thailand several times and I'm done with sightseeing. 

Most recommended, especially if you are lady.

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Louis' Tavern Transit Hotel Dayrooms (Bangkok, Thailand)

Louis' Tavern Transit Hotel Dayrooms 

Level 4, Concourse G (West Side)

Suvarnabhumi International Airport, 
Bangkok, Thailand
Ph: +66-2-134-6565-6
Website
Email

If you have a lot of waiting between flights, need to have a rest and take a shower, this might be your place.

 

 PROS
+ Located within the Airport and seconds away from restaurants and cafes.
+ Easy to drop by or book online.
+ Bookings by hours (2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12) or overnight.
+ Simple but very clean and pleasant rooms. There is an offer of standard, superior and suite rooms.
+ Free all-day self-service light breakfast included.
+ Basic Toiletries provided, as well as two complimentary bottles of water and two mini-snacks.
+ Super-friendly and helpful cleaners and housekeeping ladies.
+ Spotless clean facilities.
+ Free unlimited Internet.
+ Electric adaptors provided if required.
+ Good selection of International TV channels.
+ TV includes monitor of flight departures and arrivals.
+ Very pleasant and quiet dinning area.
+ There is a massage shop, spa, and hairdresser's within the hotel. 
+ They have the coolest water taps on the planet.

CONS
- Service at the desk is sometimes unfriendly and/or lacking. I didn't feel welcome in my two visits. Desk staff can also misinform. Example, I asked for my flight's gate, as the TV display in the dinning area only showed the flights departing the following hour. I was told that my flight's gate wasn't displayed because it was too early. I went to my room, and try to verify that in my flights monitor to find that the gate was already displayed.
- This is an average three star hotel, but it is way overpriced for Thailand, especially if you pay for a small number of hours.
- Booking online doesn't guarantee that your room will be available at the time you specified when booked it. My experience. I was informed that my room was being cleaned when I arrived.
- Money Deposit of 500 Baths (20 bucks, approximately) required as a key deposit.
- The breakfast is not good. The sort of thing you find in backpackers hotels - continental bad quality breakfast. 

MIND
& Although you provide your credit card when you book online, your card won't be charged, and you'll have to pay at arrival.
& There are several Louis' Tavern VIP lounges scattered throughout the airport, but the hotel is on the 4th floor.
 
RECOMMENDATION
If you need to stay overnight, better go to any of the hotels within the airport area. They all offer free transfer shuttle, you pay about the same price, but you get a de-luxe hotel by the same price. I've stayed at one of them in the past, and it was fantastic.

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