Has anyone heard the rumors that Babylon might close in a few years? I heard this from two people who visited Bangkok before the lockdown. The last time I was there was in 2018, but would love to go again once travel and tourism resumes.
Has anyone heard the rumors that Babylon might close in a few years? I heard this from two people who visited Bangkok before the lockdown. The last time I was there was in 2018, but would love to go again once travel and tourism resumes.
Patanawet probably attends their staff meetings so he'd be the most reliable source of information about something that might happen in a few years from now.
It's been talked-about for two or three years. I would suspect that its situation in an up-market neighbourhood makes it vulnerable to redevelopment. At the same time, older posters will be aware of how much the clientele numbers have declined over the past two decades.
I shall refrain from any trips down memory lane to avoid tempting fate.
It has been closed for a year and will not be reopening.
Any link ?
No link, I asked a Thai friend in BKK recently...
Q. Is Babylon open again?
A. No, it is closed for good.
The same information. Closed, sold to developer/condo.
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There was nothing on their website to indicate they are closed, but when I viewed their facebook page there is a notice stating they are “Temporarily closed due to the COVID situation”. The notice is dated January 3rd, 2021, so maybe gerefan2's friend has more up-to-date information. See screenshot below:
Babylon.jpg
http://www.babylonbangkok.com/en/accommodations
PS I did not see Moses' post when I posted this message. So two sources saying it is permanently closed.
Remember: Coughs and sneezes spread diseases
It is truly sad to hear confirmation of this closing. You know we often talk about how unique and special "the Thai experience is" but there is no more true saying of Babylon than that. In my mind it is/was truly unique in the world. No other sauna/spa could ever come even close to matching it -- artful, friendly, clean yet "lusty" as its website describes it. Why it was almost a place you could take your mother to for dinner!?Originally Posted by Moses
Frankly I had never noticed a downward trend in attendance. It seemed to be always brimming with its special mix of nationalities, races, ages and sexual preferences.
What does this mean for this ilk post-COVID? Are all such establishments doomed? What about Pattaya's Sansuk (not that it could ever hold a candle to Babylon)? Is it inevitable that the "gay scene" will fade into the past? To be replaced by what, that is the question: apps, metrosexual bars and little else, perhaps?
The news of Babylon's closing has been around since last summer. But it definitely reopened some time after the lockdown. I sometimes go down Soi Nanta/Mozart to visit friends who live in the Sukhothai Residences across the road from Babylon. I usually see some guys walking to or from Babylon. Looking into the garden in front of the complex, it does seem as though there is some activity.
My friends told me that the land area which includes Babylon is a lot larger. Seems it is owned by two mega-rich brothers. One wants to sell and the other who owns the Babylon part does not. Besides, land prices are significantly down even in that area. They reckon Babylon will remain open for a while yet. But I do stress this is second hand info.
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