Taking boys back to hotels in Bangkok?

[paulfort]

I am returning to Thailand again in November, over time I have come to discover that Baan Souy in Pattaya is ideal for me, having tried the Ambiance once then Caf├й Royal and Mosiak many times before.

Whilst the bulk of my holiday will be in Pattaya I will spend a few nights as always in Bangkok. My first stay in Bangkok years ago, whilst absolutely fantastic as it was my first ever trip to Thailand was a nightmare so far as the hotel was concerned, I stayed at the Holiday Inn Silom (which to be fair was otherwise a perfectly acceptable hotel) but had to dodge security/reception every time I took a boy back or if caught was effectively escorted to reception feeling like a convict to pay a joiner fee of from memory about 1,000BHT, though it was more the embarrassment of the whole process that bugged me!

Since then I have stayed many times at initially Tarntawan Place but felt whilst OK and very gay friendly was a bit dated, basic bathrooms, no safes in the rooms and not really worth the price, more recently I have used the Rose Hotel, again very gay friendly, no issue in taking a boy back and the pool and restaurant is great but the rooms are pretty small and really need a bit of investment.

I have recently noticed that some of the larger hotels high end hotels in that area are now offering pretty good deals that are certainly reasonably competitive to either of the above, however my fear is that I just don't want to endure the "interrogation" on returning with a boy, however a nicer room and decent pool would be a great attraction for me.

So effectively I don't want to have to stagger to far from Soi Twilight when returning with who ever I may find for the evening, but would love a decent four star hotel in that area, ideally with a pool, but without any likely risk of embarrassment and a joiner fee, has anyone got any suggestions?

[egel]

Since then I have stayed many times at initially Tarntawan Place but felt whilst OK and very gay friendly was a bit dated, basic bathrooms, no safes in the rooms and not really worth the price,

I stayed at the Tarntawan the other day for a few nights. The rooms now all have safes.

The price has droppped dramatically and was only 1500 Bt per night including all taxes but no breakfast (was 2300). How long this reduction will apply I dont know, but all the hotels are struggling at the moment. I booked it thru some consolidator but the same price is on their website.

Dont go anywhere near the Montien if you are planning to take a boy back.

I cannot speak for any other hotels in the area.

[Oliver]

Another "plus" at Tarntawan is that the security at the lift (not reception desk) handles the ID of your visitor unobtrusively and phones when he leaves to check that all is in order.

[corky]

I have friends who stay at the Silom Serene hotel which is in Soi Pipat, Silom Soi 3, next to the Bangkok Bank head office. They are delighted every time they use it. No joiners fee and has a swimming pool.
http://www.silom-serene.com/
It's walking distance to Silom Soi 4 and Soi 2

[Jellybean]

Your reference to the Holiday Inn on Silom brought back some mixed, but mainly bad, memories paulfort. I too stayed at the Holiday Inn, quite a few years ago now. I had booked a room for 2 people. I was seeing a Thai guy at the time and registered him when he arrived to join me. We flew down to Phuket where things didnтАЩt exactly go as planned. When we returned to Bangkok, I decided he wasnтАЩt тАШthe oneтАЩ for me and we parted on a reasonably amicable basis.

The first night I brought another guy back to the hotel, we were stopped by security and escorted to reception, where I was asked to pay a joinerтАЩs fee of 1,000 baht. I pointed out that the room was registered for two people, but they replied it was in the name of a different person. They reluctantly waived the joinerтАЩs fee that night, but it was, as you said, embarrassing. I spoke with the manager the next day and he explained that it was the hotelтАЩs policy to charge a joinerтАЩs fee and I should pay without being requested to do so. Fair enough, I said, but I wonтАЩt be coming back.

The hotel, its rooms and dining facilities were all very good, but their security policy was off-putting. At the time they had a large number of security staff, who looked like тАШmen in blackтАЩ roaming around the hotel lobby acting as if they were expecting a visit from the President of the United States! It just seemed too over the top and unnecessary to me, but perhaps it was simply reassuring to others. But I felt uncomfortable and I didnтАЩt want to risk further embarrassment so every time I brought a new boy back, I paid over an extra 1,000 baht in joinerтАЩs fees in order to avoid any unpleasantness or challenge from the security staff.

I have also stayed at the Tarntawan Hotel, fairly recently in fact, when my condo was being rented out. It is as you described it, but for the short time I was staying there and the convenience of its location, it suited me just fine.

A more upmarket hotel, which you might like to consider, and is ideally located on the corner of Silom Road and Rama IV Road, is the Dusit Thani. I recommended a friend stay there and visited him in his room, which I was rather impressed with. I believe Beachlover has also reported on staying there. I donтАЩt recall my friend complaining about being stopped by security when bringing a boy back or being asked to pay a joinerтАЩs fee, but you may like to check their website before committing to booking a room.

The hotel does have a swimming pool with some rather gorgeous poolside staff in attendance. I used to have lunch at the hotel, while waiting on the 3:15pm Dusit sprinter back to Hua Hin, before I started driving the route myself. The staff were very friendly and told me I was welcome to use the pool, which I did on several occasions. It helped pass the time while I was waiting on the bus. Good luck and I hope you find somewhere to your liking.

[bjbjboy]

Interestingly I'm also seeing "Tarntawan Apartments" which is located in Soi Tarntawan, managed by the same group (Moana Group) as the Tarntawan Place. It's showing US$40 for regular room and $48 for a 1-bedroom apartment. Seems like a great deal.
That said, I'm staying (on points now but paid next week) at the Crowne Plaza SIlom/Lumpini and it's only US$93 for upcoming dates. I've never really seen it that cheap!
I have Platinum status with IHG hotels (Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, etc) and they give automatic Club Room upgrade, breakfast, free internet, etc. No problems with the "several" guests I've had :D
Also the Holiday Inn Express Sathorn is like US$45. Plenty of choice!

[morse]

Over my many trips to Thailand in during the last 15 years, I have never found an issue on taking a boy back to my room. I always book the room for two people. That being said, I also did not have a parade of different boys each night during my stay and have usually had just one or two during a stay. I usually stay in hotels outside of the gay areas and it may be they have so few joiners that the occasional one they just ignore. I don't know. I have had my bf for the past two years and now, of course, when I check in I give the desk his ID so that when he shows up he can come and go as he pleases and not have any hassles.

Also the Holiday Inn Express Sathorn is like US$45!How like US$45 is it exactly? An exact copy? A close resemblance? Would pass muster in the dark?

[firecat69]

Funny I had the same experience at that Holiday Inn on my first visit and discovered the back way into the Hotel and no further problems. Since then 15 years ago, I have stayed at all the Marriotts, Hiltons, IHG's etc and have never been questioned even once .

I don't even think about it!!!

[Jellybean]

Oh, just one further thought paulfort. I definitely do not recommend that you stay at the Atlanta Hotel on Sukumvit, Soi 2.

Late last year I went to the Atlanta with a friend to meet her son and his fianc├й who were staying at the hotel. I was aware of the hotelтАЩs reputation and had read that they once possessed a dog that was trained to detect unwelcome guests such as sex tourists, gays or even gay sex tourists. LOL!

We stood outside waiting on our hosts to return from a massage. I could see through the glass door a small dog. It noticed us and walked across the lobby and sat by the door. тАЬOh, no!тАЭ I said to my friend, тАЬI think the dog has already sussed me out. I donтАЩt think IтАЩll be allowed in.тАЭ She told me not to be so silly. Hmm тАж I wasnтАЩt sure, the dog did seem to be looking directly at me.

When our hosts turned up we entered the hotel, the dog looked up at me, I patted it gently, but thankfully it didnтАЩt bark, but walked back to the reception desk. Phew! Maybe being with a female friend had thrown the dog (and the hotel staff) off the scent?

The hotel felt very strange, I almost expected to bump into one of Agatha ChristieтАЩs characters. The d├йcor looked like it was from the 1920s, although the hotel was established in 1952, but it didnтАЩt look like it had changed since then.

We had dinner, which was served by a severe looking Mrs Danvers lookalike of a waitress who, occasionally and rather unsettlingly, looked at me suspiciously. The food was nothing special, but then again the price, if I remember correctly, wasnтАЩt expensive either. And, just in case we had forgotten, the coasters also reminded us of the hotelтАЩs policy, namely:

Zero tolerance & Sex Free Zone, No Sex Tourists, Junkies, Louts & Other Degenerates

When leaving I almost wanted to point out they had let someone on their тАШexclusion listтАЩ into their hotel, but being a rather polite, well-mannered degenerate, I behaved perfectly properly and did not kick up a fuss. But I did pinch one of their coasters, a photo of which is below. :)

So paulfort, if you thought being asked to pay a joinerтАЩs fee at the Holiday Inn was embarrassing, can you imagine what reception youтАЩd get if you tried taking a Thai boy back to your room at the Atlanta?

[PeterUK]

Very amusing post, Jellybean. I once had an evening meal at the Atlanta, lured by the self-proclaimed excellence of its cuisine (not warranted). The only other diner, I seem to recall, was a butch blonde who looked as if she might have been an ex-concentration camp guard. She was certainly in keeping with the rather sinister, uptight atmosphere of the place.

The only other diner, I seem to recall, was a butch blonde...Theresa May (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theresa_May) perhaps?

[Alex303]

You could try the Pinnacle Hotel Lumpinee....
http://www.pinnaclehotels.com/hotelsite ... /lumpinee/ (http://www.pinnaclehotels.com/hotelsite/pinnacle/lumpinee/)

Its only about 5 minutes away from Silom in a taxi...no drama's about taking friends back to your 'loom' (my room was busy enough :)) ) so long as they have ID cards if asked (or passport if Laos etc). I was never charged a joiners fee...but I did say when booking that my room would have 2 occupants for each visit.

Stayed in BKK for 3 weekends (Friday-Sunday) as I'm a fan of DJ Station etc

Decent enough rooms, some are a bit dated but some have been more recently refurbished.

Major discounts / promotion available thru Jimmy First at present for advance booking, but don't turn up on the day just expecting to get a room as with the promotion they were very busy.

There is a small Pool & Jacuzzi on the 14th flr, but both are small...nice to chill out in with a cocktail though.

[Dalewood]

You got me. The first time I read through this, I wondered what hotel in [i]Atlanta[I] Georgia that this could possibly be :))