JUST FYI:

We spent 3 nights at the Pinnacle Hotel last week (Troubles-in-Paradise ... my Nespresso 'frother' went south on me ~ talking about yer middle class problems ~ and was obviously in need of some mouth-to-mouth: the Thailand Nespresso Co. ('Repairs Dept') is just a 10 minute walk away on the corner of Silom & Rama 4), an hotel which has not been blessed by our dark shadows in many a year.

But a pleasant surprise it was: the lobby has been very nicely renovated since our last stay (around 2005!), the room was large, very comfy king-size bed (I like mine rather on the hard side), great view from the 9th floor out over Lumphini Park just across the road. Downside ... the hot water took forever to arrive and when it did I would not exactly call it 'hot', rather like lukewarm tea. But the days in muggy BKK were hot and I'm pretty used to cold showers in September, so small issue.
The included breakfast was quite a bit better than I remember with lots of variety of pretty decent Thai food, and the usual mediocre western fare ... you know, those silly hotdog things posing as sausages, and fried eggs (broken or not broken) waiting in a hot pan, with a smiling ~ yes, smiling, and it's early! ~ Thai lady willing to provide scrambled or omleteisized. Avoid the pineapple juice (very watered down it seemed), and I might add the coffee to that list as well .... Suphot had to run ~ at speed! ~ to the hong nam almost immediately after half a cup. Not good, but what's a tad of diarrhea among friends.
Oh, and the breakfast room was chock-a-block full of farangs-with-Thai-guys, having a sleep-over. How sweet ... (very) large-meets-slim over scrambled eggs and a side of pad thai. Obviously taking a boy off from a bar and stuffing him into your room is not an issue at the Pinnacle ... and one handsome guy I noticed over my orange juice had a big grin on his face for the entire time, obviously having enjoyed the stuffing.

For those who have not stayed at the Pinnacle before: the Bangkok subway is about a 30 second walk away, and it will take you to the Silom Station (Saladaeng( of the Skytrain in about 2 minutes. Lumphini Park is across the road and in fact, in the evening, the walk from Pinnacle to Silom/Surawong Central is quite pleasant, taking about 20 minutes.

And the price was right: 3200 baht (all in) for three nights which I think is quite a nice bargain for a hotel in the Silom district during low season (reservations booked over http://www.booking.com, one of whose adds pops up unannounced every so often on this message board at annoying intervals).

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It has become a habit these days during trips to Bangkok (Just FYI ... we live in Hua Hin which is about 140 miles south, so the Big Mango only pulls us into it's debauched bosom a few times a year) to try out a different restaurant every time, mostly ones found on 'lists' ~ you know the ones: 'Best 10 Restaurants in Bangkok' and such like.

So this time we touched base with a little joint right on the river ... if one was in the mood one could touch the water with one's fingertip. I did not. It's name is 'Steve', and finally finding the place is an adventure in itself. But we made it finally (after snapping a bit with the know-it-all I have for a partner) and ended up quite charmed with the location, the ambience, and the mood lighting twinkling out across the Chao Phraya.
Food was extremely well-served and some nice 'extra' takes on some pretty common dishes (the spring rolls were not oily in the least ~ that's hard to find by itself ~ and the dipping sauce home prepared). I would not say that I have never had a meal just as delicious right here in Hua Hin (we are loaded here with terrific restaurants), but just sitting at Steve's with good food in front of us, a cold bottle of beer, and the sun going down over the west shore of the river was a good reason to be there if all we had in front of us was a few chewy strands of 'moo dtat dieuw'.

Well recommended for easy going lazy evenings and excellent food: http://www.bangkok.com/magazine/steve-cafe.htm

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