Phuket/bambooclub bad choice? where else I stay?

Hey guys I will travel to phuket next sunday and booked at club bamboo but is this a good place to stay?
I'am looking for relaxed place not middle of the scene..anyone good advise? I can still cancel booking I guess:)
thnx!

[jinks]

Club bamboo is quite a way out from everything.

I stay at two places that are not in the middle of the scene.
They are friendly and a matter of choice.

http://www.cluboneseven.net/ is small with basic facilities.

http://www.patongbeachbungalows.com/ is ON the beach and the price reflects that fact.

If you over stay I'll be there in the bungalows for the New Year.
Dec 28 - Jan 2 2007.

[Smiles]

" ... BTW: Dinner at the Sea Hag in Patong, is well worth while... "
. . . and just down at the end of Soi Wattana (easy to find, just off the Beach Road) as The Sea Hag is another choice little restaurant called Lair Lay Dong. Always packed, the Thai food there is quite excellent, their sweet little spring rolls are The Best. You can't go wrong with either of these eating spots.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v18/sawatdeephotos/Images2/soiwattana.jpg


Cheers ...

Try the siam palm , its owned by a british guy called Allan and its about 7 mins walk from the paradise centre, Try the weeb site www.siam-palm (http://www.siam-palm) .com

[Smiles]

Second the choice of Siam Palm Hotel mentioned by Aot in the post above. We've stayed there often and it's very quiet and quite a lovely place with a breezy bar/restaurant for relaxing over breakfast (which they do well ... included in price). Last time we were there a sexy young waiter named Somchai chatted us up everytime we sat down . . . a gentle guy in pain over the loss of his German boyfriend. He's gotten over it by now I'm sure.

Very clean hotel, no elevator but it's only 3 floors. Rooms are pretty standard size, but good size bathroom, and spotless.

Place is very 'gay friendly' (whatever that means to you . . . . for me it means they don't give a particular damn and you are treated the same as everyone else), though not specifically a gay hotel. As mentioned it's only a few minutes walk to the paradise complex, downtown, and the beach.

The link in Aot's post is not quite right ... here it is: http://www.siam-palm.com/index1.html To get there by taxi/tuktuk/song taoew just say you want to go to Aroonsom Square, which is the complex of small buildings in which the hotel is located.

Cheers ...

[bucknaway]

I enjoyed Club One Seven when I was there last year.

It was just opening when I arrived and the hot-tub on the roof was not ready. The wireless Internet in the rooms was not successful for me and there seem to be a communication problem with the staff in solving the problem. I chalked it up to their just opening.

The room was very nice and comfortable. The walls were lined with silk as if it were wallpaper. The bathroom was truly basic and reminded me of a cinder-block high school shower room.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a337/blkcuteguy/P1010082.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a337/blkcuteguy/P1010083.jpg

[paulg]

Hey guys I will travel to phuket next sunday and booked at club bamboo but is this a good place to stay?
I'am looking for relaxed place not middle of the scene..anyone good advise? I can still cancel booking I guess:)
thnx!

Jinks suggests Club1-7 and Patong Beach Bungalows and mentions the price

It is low season and the Bungalows are virtually on the beach. If it is still hot then a great place to be

There are a many new shops and restaurants all around and the area has a great ambience.

Check the website it is worthwhile. Have stayed at both but prefer the Bungalows

your so helpfull! I will try to change booking from clubbamboo to beachbungalow or siamhotel.
any other good suggestions about excursions? what should I really visit and also clubs/bars with guys
not charging money? (i'am dutch :) ))

[catawampuscat]

I didn't care for Bamboo and the waterfall was out of order when I was there..also very buggy in the bungalows with mosquitos but I can
see how some would find it romantic.. also not a gay place but gay friendly and mostly straights when I was there several years ago... Difficult to
get back at nite and the baht bus/taxis are relatively expensive as I recall... :cat:

[lonelywombat]

your so helpfull! I will try to change booking from clubbamboo to beachbungalow or siamhotel.
any other good suggestions about excursions? what should I really visit and also clubs/bars with guys
not charging money? (i'am dutch :) ))

In the gaypattayan newsletter the Connect day trip to kai Island on saturdays was mentioned
http://www.beachpatong.com/connect/conn ... _info.html (http://www.beachpatong.com/connect/connect_gay_info.html)
I suggest you check the temp before making your booking

[llz]

A Phuket accomodation review could not be complete without mentionning Rendez-Vous Inn which is in the same time cheap, well-located, quiet and ruled by a welcoming guy.
Link to Rendez-Vous Inn (http://www.boontarika.com/)

oke guys thanks for the advise I changed to beachbungolow and bargained the price! so good deal...
hope I can smuggle some nice guys in the house but right at the beach wont be a problem I guess..
you all think this stupid dutch (but blond dude...) :geek:

[Sen Yai]

hope I can smuggle some nice guys in the house but right at the beach wont be a problem I guess..
you all think this stupid dutch (but blond dude...) :geek:
No need to smuggle anyone in though the main entrance. The security guard sometimes asks to see ID but there is never any problem or joiners fee.

You would have a problem trying the smuggle someone in from the beach at night as the gate to the property is locked, for your own security, to keep out any 'undesireables' that may be roaming the beach at night.

Enjoy your stay at Patong Beach Bungalows!

[Smiles]

" ... any other good suggestions about excursions? what should I really visit and also clubs/bars with guys not charging money? (i'am dutch ) ... "
"... Not charging money ..." Good luck! :blackeye: Try The Boat Bar at the end of the 'Gay Soi' in the Paradise Centre. If there are any non-money guys on the street they might hang out there. It's a small disco which I remember can get pretty wild, but on my last trip to Patong (2 years ago) it was dead as a doornail even late on Friday night. (But we went there only 3 months after the tsunami and everything was very quiet. I'm sure Patong is back to it's gregarious self by now).

Most of the other businesses in the Paradise are either GoGo bars or Host bars and you'd be very lucky to get freebies there. You could hang out at the Connect Hotel bar or James Dean Hotel bar (both of these bars spill out into the soi, and are a quite pleasant people-watching stage. You WILL be approached if you sit by yourself long enough (sometimes, not so long!), but the chances of the encounter being "free" (in the end) is not high. Same same goes for the gay beach scene.

" ... any other good suggestions about excursions? ... " Take a trip down to Nai Harn Beach at the southern tip of Phuket. A beautiful spot which often is sparcely populated. Great beach with excellent white sand and waving tropical grasses growin in the dunes behind the beach. Water extremely clean and when the surf's up and the sun's setting the place can be magic. The undertow there has been known to take unsuspecting Hollanders out to sea ... never to be heard from again.

Also you might try FantaSea-Phuket. Totally touristy but actually ~ and surprisingly ~ the show itself was quite good. Most hotels in Patong have an all-inclusive ticket to FantaSea which includes the 20 minute drive out there by mini-bus. Kind of an kitsch extravaganza of Thai cultural stuff which you should not take too seriously, but just enjoy the fireworks. Elephants walking down the narrow aisles of the theatre are part of the action and can be startling if you're not expecting a trunk reaching over your shoulder without warning. Fun for an evening out ... take a Thai guy!! ( http://www.phuket-fantasea.com/ )


Cheers ...

[atri1666]

My number one is also Rendez-Vous Hotel-will stay there again from monday for 3 weeks. Only short walk to the fun and about 5 min to the beach. The hotel has prices i can accept and good service.

beachbungalow charge 300 extra for overnight guest is that normal?

[Brad the Impala]

beachbungalow charge 300 extra for overnight guest is that normal?

Stayed there regularly, although not since the tsunami, when I was booked into a seafront bungalow, but couldn't get a connecting flight from Bangkok, and never been charged a joiners fee, and never had any problem with guests day or night.