Chiang Mai - Lotus Hotel

[Krazy4thai]

The Lotus has been my preferred accommodation in Chiang Mai for a number of visits to that city. That preferential status is now being re-evaluated following my recent sojourn. Why?? It is the 17% they add to everything purchased at the hotel. 7% VAT, surely that is the cost of doing business and if they want to recoup it it should be reflected in their various price list/menus. 10% "service charge" in other words mandatory tipping. In whose pocket does this end up? the staff?, based on Thai practices, doubtful. I am a generous tipper in my own right and know that tip will usually end up in the intended staff pocket almost str8 away, or in the case of general/tip-box tips the end of the working day.
1 week discounted room advertised 840B in actuality 982.8B, 160B meal 187.2B, an expected 500B at the bar (based on drink list prices) 585B. Trivial amounts you may think but over the course of a week or 2 not so trivial.
I have not seen these taxes so blatantly applied in any other hotel I have stayed at, sorry Lotus you've done your dash with me.

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[thaiguest]

Even after tax 982 is a good rate in this hotel but I take your point re add-on charges. I've always enjoyed my stay there. The garden pagoda bar is where I first enjoined with real mosquitoes and Adam's Apple the venue for my first delightful trysts with real hill-tribe boys. I can't but be wistful when I recall the boyscout routine.
And the beautiful wood and bronze side-entrance gates; where did they come from I wonder.

[scottish-guy]

Stayed there once a number of years ago when the Lebanese guy owned it (maybe he still does?).

Liked the hotel well enough, liked the staff, liked the garden bar.

Disliked the cliquey nature of the garden bar ex-pat customers who gathered there nightly to make a beer last 2 hours and demand that everybody pay attention to them.

[BonTong]

Stayed there once a number of years ago when the Lebanese guy owned it (maybe he still does?).

Yes he does.

Disliked the cliquey nature of the garden bar ex-pat customers who gathered there nightly to make a beer last 2 hours and demand that everybody pay attention to them.

Don't worry, since the introduction of the 17% charges most of the "cheap clique" have disappeared.

But a benefit of the 17% is the cabaret show, watching the bar staff trying to calculate the price, then explain why the bill for two beers is not twice the bill for one beer. :sign5:

[bucknaway]

Thanks for the info, I was thinking of booking my friend there this trip but I think I will give it a pass.
I was going to book them there so they could be close to Adam's Apple and I was going to stay at PJ's Place. Now I will probably book them at a hotel I liked at the night market

[BonTong]

I was going to book them there so they could be close to Adam's Apple

Plenty of other accommodation options now close to Adam's Apple (Chiang Mai has changed enormously the last few years):
Places to stay in Chang Puek and Santitham
Or try Mansfield Residence for an upmarket gay experience - similar to PJs but closer to the bars.

The places mentioned above are also close to G-Star Vintage which is now THE place where all the younger gay Thais go in Chiang Mai.

[bucknaway]

Thanks BonTong, I had a look at Mansfield and it seems like a very uptight place. I am looking for a place where I can freely come and go without having my my companion feel uncomfortable. With mansfield I think I would feel as if I was imprisoned in a walled garden keeping all the fun out while inside we would sip cool juice while listening to the pitter-patter of the fountain in the flower garden.

This may be my final visit to Chiang Mai. I'm only going there to show a friend around the place and once he visits there will be little reason for me to ever return there. So if you have a suggestion as to a nice hotel that does not go over 2,000 baht a night, I would be interested in hearing about it and what you think it has going for it.

Thanks for the advice you have already provided! :occasion5:

[BonTong]

So if you have a suggestion as to a nice hotel that does not go over 2,000 baht a night, I would be interested in hearing about it and what you think it has going for it.

Ah, A challenge...

If you wanna stay at PJs an obvious solution is to put your friends in the Dome (See link above). In the same soi, great location,modern, smart and inexpensive. The Dome has become the replacement for many ex Viangbua Mansion customers. (BTW , depending on when you are visiting, Viangbua is undergoing a refit - could be an option but don't know when it will be finished, or the results).

The place that is proving very popular now is The Opium, (Again, see article above). Close to both go-go and several gay bars, restaurants/cafes.

My hot tip would be the bungalows at The Pub, close to both to Nimaanhaeminda Road, and Santitham/Chang Puek. Depending on when you vist, the new mall, Maya (opposite) may be open, and there is the Harbour Mall just up the road, which has become a popular hang out for younger gay Thais earlier in the evening. At The Pub you get autonomous access to your Bungalow and have the Pub itself for great breakfasts or farang food if you want it. AND, See Man Pub is straight up Huay Kaew Road, or G-star Vintage is just round the super highway.

[bucknaway]

Thanks for the information. I will have to check it out. The bars being close will be great because my friend is not that adventurous and I think he would in up staying in his room when I leave him to his own devices. I don't want to stay in the safe place as him so that he will feel free to enjoy himself any way he likes without me looking over his shoulders.

[ceejay]

The Dome is good. I have stayed there myself and had a friend stay in another room there. It is a bit short on facilities for a holiday stay though - there is no restaurant, for example. There is a new place, completed within the last year, in the same soi. It's called Sakulchai Place. It's two minutes walk from PJ's and has a restaurant where I have eaten, which is hardly a fine dining experience but is fine for an "everyday" meal. It also has a pool. I haven't stayed there myself, but I met one gay American who was staying there, and he was perfectly happy with it.
http://www.sakulchaiplace.com/