Thailand Accommodation

boredatwork82

I have justbooked flights to Thailand.

I have 11nights flying in and out of Bangkok in the middle of June.

Everybodyis telling me not to book any accommodation, but to just walk in and book.

Is theremuch of a difference in price between online & walk-ins?

I am justtrying to budget.
The placesI am currently looking at are.
A couple ofnights in Chiang Mai (possibly a trek- so may not need a hotel), a couple ofnights in Bangkok & then finishing off with a few relaxing days on the beachin Koh Samet.

I wouldlike a little bit of comfort in my hotels, and a little bit of luxury for myfew days relaxing on the beach before I get back to the rat race!
I amtravelling on my own.

Any ideas,and thanks in advance for your help?

Conbhar

If your staying on Khao San Road in Bangkok there's a hostel/hotel that's called the D&D Inn which is pretty good value. It has two places you can eat, a bar, a swimming pool, a pool table and an area where you can sun lounge at the top.

boredatwork82

Conbhar wrote: »

If your staying on Khao San Road in Bangkok there's a hostel/hotel that's called the D&D Inn which is pretty good value. It has two places you can eat, a bar, a swimming pool, a pool table and an area where you can sun lounge at the top.

Thanks Conbhar.
What kind of prices did you pay? And when?

Tipperary animal lover

If I was you and you see some hotel/ hostel on line you like book it, a lot of the good cheap places will be booked up, it's fine to arrive to place and walk around looking for a hotel but remember it'll be hot as hell and the jetlag won't help, especially in Bangkok and if you do book on line see if they do airport collection it'll take a lot hassle away from you when you arrive. Bangkok airport is full of taxi touts and they'll spot you(fresh meat just of the plane) a mile off.

Conbhar

boredatwork82 wrote: »

Thanks Conbhar.
What kind of prices did you pay? And when?

No probs. That was back in 08 and there was three of us staying in a room and I think it cost something like €8 per person. We had a place booked before we headed over but when we got to the airport taxi rank we were surrounded by taxi drivers who wanted us to go to hostels they knew of (probably cause they were touts for the hostels) But we didn't regret staying where we did. Khao San Road is a great spot that's full of bars and places to eat. You can also plan the rest of your trip there as there's a few places you can book trips away from and book bus and airline trips also.

Be prepared to be hassled by the locals trying to sell ya everything you could possibly want as soon as ya step out on he street. We had a great laugh with them as we engaged with them instead of just flat out ignoring them. I swear to god there there was guy trying to sell us suits that knew more of the Irish language than us

Royale with Cheese

I stayed in D&D a couple of months back. It's around €20 for a single room, as far as I know prices in Thailand have shot up in recent years. The single rooms are quite small and mine had no windows, did have its own bathroom though. My first few nights I think I paid a bit extra and got a double, which was quite nice. Make sure you don't get a room that overlooks Khaosan Road itself, or you won't be getting any sleep. If there's a disclaimer on the room you're trying to book about it being potentially noisy then avoid it. Also the restaurant was closed when I was there, they're renovating it. The pool was a welcome break from the Bangkok heat though. It'll get booked fairly quickly if you try and just turn up on the day, if you know you want to stay there you're best off booking ahead. I don't really see the point in turning up and booking at the desk in order to try and save yourself a couple of quid, it usually leads to disappointment. As previously said in this thread, it'll be hot as hell and you don't really want to be wandering around looking for a place to stay for too long. Especially not on the Khaosan road, the place is a bit mental and you'll be hassled by people trying to sell you something every five metres.

Stayed in a place called Deejai backpackers in Chiang Mai. It was fairly nice as far as hostels go and had good aircon. Accommodation in Chiang Mai is much cheaper than Bangkok or the islands, so there'll be plenty of options available to you.

Gatica

we stayed at Rambuttri Inn off Khao San. It was 18 Euro per night for 2 of us in September/October. Clean room, air con. Great access to all restaurants in the area...
We didn't bother with breakfast there. Went to Starbucks (yes, Starbucks) for something familiar - a coffee and a croissant. No point testing the stomach early in the morning.

snowey07

im just back from bangkok, chiang mai and ko samet. I stayed in Rambuttri Inn in Bangkok ( €18 for a double room for one person) Oh my cod cafe next door is unreal.

I stayed in DJs Backpackers in Chiang Mai - €10 for a double -great , really buzzy spot

and Sunrise Villa in koh Samet - €27 a night but one of the best spots Ive even stayed in.

All had air con and were booked in advance. More for convienience as I only had 17 days and didnt want to waste time looking for accomodation.

boredatwork82

snowey07 wrote: »

im just back from bangkok, chiang mai and ko samet. I stayed in Rambuttri Inn in Bangkok ( €18 for a double room for one person) Oh my cod cafe next door is unreal.

I stayed in DJs Backpackers in Chiang Mai - €10 for a double -great , really buzzy spot

and Sunrise Villa in koh Samet - €27 a night but one of the best spots Ive even stayed in.

All had air con and were booked in advance. More for convienience as I only had 17 days and didnt want to waste time looking for accomodation.

Rambuttri Inn seems to be popping up a good bit, but that D&D place sounds good. I like the idea of an auld dip for 5 or 10 minutes after a sweaty horrible day walking round bangkok!

Hey Snowey, Thats my trip down to a tee, although still deciding whether to bangkok in the middle or the end!

How long did you go for?

What did you get up to in Chiang Mai?

Koh Samet seems to be the tricky one. There is so many different reviews of each resort, and seen as you are planning to spend a few days doing nothing but lazing round (and from what it seems there is nothing else to do!), I kind of want to make sure I get a nice place.
I had kind of narrowed it down to Samed Villa, but I will check out SUnrise Villa.

How did you travel between chiang mai and the rest, fly, sleeper train or bus?

snowey07

I did a night in Bangkok at the start and 3 nights at the end but it was songkran so saw none of bangkok. Went for 17 nights in total. BTW rambutrri inn has a pool. Its a handy spot as its on a side road away from the madness. Staff are a bit crap tho

Chiang Mai was fantastic , went to loads of temples, the night market , weekends markets and up to Wat Doi Suthep Also went on a one day tour up to the Burmese border and around the Golden Triangle which was a bit of a waste to be honest. Looking back Id rather have done a two day/one night trek some where. Theres lots of brilliant restaurants and bars too. You can mingle with backpackers or just got to Thai bars depending on what mood youre in.

I got the night train to and from CM. Its great craic, the beds are comfy and the restaurant car turns into a disco :-) I booked it well in advance through thailandtrainticket.com and got the tickets delivered to my first hotel in Bangkok. I think it was 50euro return.

Ko Samet is great for relaxing but theres not much else to do. You need to get away from the first two beaches as there full of day trippers and package holiday folk. I got the train from chiang mai and went straight to the ekami bus station to get the bus to KS. It takes about 3.5 hours and was I think about a tenner return. If you like swimming KS is a stunning spot. Sunrise Villas is just about 20 minutes walk from the east coast main beaches but there is lovely empty beaches right near it. They also do food and have a bar. The water laps right up to the bar and in front of most of the bungalows.

any more questions fire away

snowey07

also went on a boat trip for the day in KS brilliant fun, you get to snorkel with shoals of tropical fish and visit a few islands and chill . It was 11 - 5 and cost €16

boredatwork82

Cool, Thanks Snowey.
I was thinking about doing a trek in Chiang Mai, but from the sounds of it, there is enough to do there so I might leave the trek, as I wouldn't have time for anything else.

I like the look of Koh Samet, lazing around and unwinding before heading home.

Thanks a million for all the advice.

snowey07

have a brilliant time and book the train tickets as soon as theyre released (bout 6 weeks in advance) they sell out really quickly.

Im very jealous - Im only back a week and it feels like 6 months :-(

boredatwork82

I am going to go book them now in a few minutes - wallet is upstairs, so I will book them when I go up to bed!

Sure I will tell them all ya said hello!