Any Sukumvit and Saphan Kwai Hotel Recommendations?

[adman5000]

On my next trip to Thailand I plan to rotate hotels and try some different hotels in different areas of the city away from the Silom/Surawong/Soi Ngham Duplee area. Normally I stay in the same hotel while in BKK but I want to try staying in several different areas for a shorter time. I have become bored with the area I stay in and find myself travelling around to see and explore different areas. I still want to be able to bring someone back to my hotel so they must allow joiners. My target rate is around 2000 baht +/-. I want a comfortable and decent sized room and don't care about a pool, the quality of the breakfast, TV, color scheme, etc.

My areas of interest include Chinatown, Sukumvit (near Nana or Asoke BTS), and Saphan Kwai.

Can anyone recommend hotels in these areas based on personal experiences?

Does anyone have suggestions on additional interesting areas within BKK to stay? I spend most of my trip travelling outside BKK.

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[Smiles]

For Saphan Kwai, perhaps try the Karnmanee Hotel on Pradiphat Rd << http://www.agoda.com/asia/thailand/bang ... hotel.html >> (this link is to Agoda booking service, but most of the main Thailand internet booking places list the Karnmanee. It also has it's own webpage at << http://www.karnmanee.com/home.php >> but the prices there are somewhat higher).
The Karnmanee's location to the Saphan Kwai gay venues is just about perfect ... 5 minutes walk to all. Has a pool and breakfast included.
Walk to the Saphan Kwai skytrain station is about 15 minutes, and Chatachuk Market is about 30 minute walk ... or one station up the road to Mo Chit.

We've stayed there many times over the years, but to be honest, haven't bunked over at the Karnmanee in about 4 years ... so who knows how it has fared since. But it was comfortable, clean, quite large rooms, and prices under your 2000 baht.

[newalaan]

Yes I would recommend the Karnmanee Palace Hotel for the Saphan Kwai area. Probably a couple of years since I stayed there, I had planned a return to Saphan Kwai on my last trip but could'nt fit it in. I had visited the Karnmanee many times in the previous 8 years and nothing ever seemed to change there during that time, so I wouldn't anticipate any major changes. The rooms are not as plush as they seem on the website, but they are huge.

Being outside of the silom/suriwong area it's more like the Thai hotels in other Thai cities like Ayutthaya and Korat, e.g. very few other westerners, mostly Thais. Reception folk very nice, joiners no problems at all. All the staff were fine with any guys I took back, i don't think they took ID cards but the memory doesn't serve me too well as more recently I checked in together with my bf, the staff were always nice and courteous to him. The only very small annoying thing was, like the Tarntawan, no room safe but safety deposit boxes in reception.

One good thing about it's location is that right outside the hotel is a main through road and taxis are very plentiful.

The Karnmanee's location to the Saphan Kwai gay venues is just about perfect ... 5 minutes walk to all.

Can anyone confirm if there are any gay venues still open in Saphan Kwai. Last time I was there there was 1 very aged gogo bar and 2 karaoke bars.

[dorayme]

I've stayed at the following hotels (but not recently):

Liberty Garden 215 Pradipat road Tel 02 618-6000 thru 6003 email libertygargenhotel@hotmail.com
Pradipat Hotel 173/1 Pradipat Road 02 278 1470 thru 7 (cheaper less quality)
Elizageth Hotel 169/51 Pradipat Road 02 271 0204, 02 271 4188 thru 9, 02 279 5523 (better)
Washington Suite 26 Soi Sutthisan Winitchai 3 02 616 6920 thru 4, 02 616 9881 thru 6

[adman5000]

Thank you all for the useful information.

Has anyone stayed at the Ambassador Hotel in Sukumvit?

[Smiles]

The Karnmanee's location to the Saphan Kwai gay venues is just about perfect ... 5 minutes walk to all.

Can anyone confirm if there are any gay venues still open in Saphan Kwai. Last time I was there there was 1 very aged gogo bar and 2 karaoke bars.

Getting current information on Saphan Kwai area gay venues has always been quite difficult. There's a Saphan Kwai map on Dreaded Neds, but the thing seems not to have changed much in 5 years . . . and I've read a few times on this Board and others that Saphan Kwai is but a shadow of it's former self. Yet the maps seem to stay rather static year over year.

Be nice to get some up to date info on the Saphan Kwai neighbourhood from some folks who go there regularly. Surely to god there's a few around who do that.

[adman5000]

My limited experience there is that the area is mostly geared to Thai-speaking customers. All the guys I met from places there spoke no English and either I had to speak Thai to them or use a go-between to assist me. When I did off someone, all went fine and I think it was a welcome change to them from their normal Thai customers. But our communication was 100% Thai language.

I will try to write a trip report about the places next time I visit. The last time I visited the area the Dreaded Ned map was still generally accurate. I visited two of the Karaoke places and a bar. I knew someone at the Karaoke places, so it was a bit easier for me. It would not be comfortable for a Farang who doesn't speak Thai to visit there alone IMO.

[pong]

Spn Kwai=Buffalo bridge, support-for this price range, the KarnManee. The others mentioned (like Liberty) are certainly a class down. But that KM is about the furthest from the gay soi away. It may have faded a little bit, but in this level it gets regular renovations.
On my last visit (3-4 month ago there were the usual 1 gogo (be HIGH) and 5 or so KaraOK bars. There is also an awful long running Charmming-bar, in another soi. The area is more famous lately becse of its active sauna's [total 4) and a naughty cinema-near beside 1 of those sauna's.
AMBsdr on Sukhumvity; NOR recmdd since 2000. Enormously big and now caters mainly/only to giant big tourgroups from such interesting countries as Iran, Kuwait, Pakistan and India. if you fancy a little more privacy, are not averse to more travel by BTS-on the current end of the BTS, Onnut (will be extended from 12/8-trains are test-running already) there are 2: the BEDROOMs (a little away-behind the carrefour) and ?-trendy new (recent discovery by shamelessmack)-both in the 1000/1500 THBrange, more serviced apartmts (with a tiny kitchen) as a real HTL. In a side-soi there, toward the Carrefour from Sukhvt, are a dozen or more masageshops, all for 100 bt/Thai or 250 bt/oil, with extra's in some very possible-some openly advertise in Thai gay sites.
Bringing in guests is hardly ever the problem that so many of you seem to fear in these places.