When to book hotels in Thailand

6ix

I'm trying to plan a trip for a few weeks to Thailand in October. I've got a good deal on flights with Qatar airways, and I'm just wondering if I'd be better off booking a hotel now or closer to the time.

I know it's low season, so I'm thinking there might be bargains closer to the time. However, there are some good deals on various websites for good hotels at the moment - e.g.

5 nights in an amazing 5 star place (as per trip advisor and pictures) in Phuket for €200 per person.

Can anyone speculate as to which way to go?

As an aside, I'm finding that booking the whole lot by myself rather than going through Trailfinders or whoever means that I'm getting much better flights/accomodation for the same/less money as I would've paid through an agent. If this is the case, why is Trailfinders so busy all the time?!

sheepshagger

Try www.hostelworld.com (they do budget hotels aswell as hostels) or www.activehotels.com

When you see something you like, check reviews on www.tripadvisor and go from there.

6ix

Cheers for that, but I was wondering more about when to book, rather than where.

Louise1003

id say closer to the time esp as it will be low season u cud get a few cheap deals! are you thinkin of staying in 4 to 5 star hotels or doing it cheaper bcoz if u want to do it on a budget, my advice would be to leave as close to the time as possible or even wait til you get there!

Lawros Tache

Hi there OP,
i went to thailand for a month last Sept/Oct and the only room i had booked was the first night i arrived. You'll get better deals over there at that time of the year (low season) and also will give more flexibility to your plans. I'd recommend checking out the hotels online, finding one you like and then maybe book the first night online to give yourself some reassurance or just arrive and ask them to do a deal on a number of nights (much more likely to be successful than here, almost all will work out something with you). €200 per night is a massive amount of money for a hotel in thailand, if you're willing to spend that kind of dosh then i'd recommend doing some serious research, there's probably nowhere out of your price range at that time of the year, and you could negotiate a serious deal for yourself. There are many, many seriously luxiourious hotels in thailand, far superiour to those here so dont be afraid to look around. If i can be any more help then let me know.

EDIT: Sorry, i only just noticed that €200 is for 5 nights, that's more like it! Although it seems like a contradiction to what i just said however, i'd check out that phuket hotel a little more. Some of those "resort" hotels have had some serious photography done which can cover a multitude...

Aurora Borealis

I wouldn't book anymore than your first few nights in Bangkok or somewhere for the Full Moon Party ( if you're going..) in advance. Much better to assess the accomodation in person when you get there. You should not have any difficulties with availability at that time of year.

6ix

Thanks for all of your advice. I'm looking more toward the 4/5 star hotels purely because they're so cheap, and I'll probably rarely ever stay in 5 star hotels anywhere else in the world, so now's a good chance. It's not essential though - just thought it would be a nice extra to my stay.

I might do what some of you have suggested, book a night or two in Bangkok and then take it from there. It's handy to have somewhere booked though, I'll only be there for less than 3 weeks and I dont want to spend too much time wandering from hotel to hotel!

I'm not really basing my opinions on the photos either, it's more what people are saying in Trip Advisor.

Does €40 a night per person for a 5 star place (with great TA reviews) sound good or bad for that time of year? Would the higher class hotels be willing to bargain prices too? Sounds good if they are

stackerman

Lawros Tache has it right. If I was you and going in low season I would only book first night. Even if you really like the first place and want to stay, you will get much better deal from front desk to get you to stay. You are lucky with time of year and cost, I am going for Xmas and new years (only time can make trip) and prices are MUCH higher. Most good/nice places are already booked out !
You will have a great time, the Thai people really are fantastic.
Enjoy

mackey087

we stayed in the deevana spa resort last year for 2 weeks. booked it about 5 months before we went. friends who were there before told us to book 1 or 2 nights and then look for the rest over there. because it was our first time we were a bit nervous doing this. when we were there, there were loads of places advertising accomadition. we met a few people who had booked tickets to bangkok and then bought air tickets to phuket. (60 euro each)
we have booked tickets both early and late. prices were good. just keep checking sites