Raya Hotel

[musgrave]

Returning to Thailand later in the year and thought I might try the Raya. i have stayed at Tarntawan, Triple 8 and Glow Trinity in the past. I know a few on the forum have stayed at Raya and would be interested to hear from them. I have checked out their web site and also read reviews on travel forums. Particularly interested to hear about noise, outside view, communal area, room set up, breakfast - with thanks

[Nasherich]

I stayed at the Raya in April. It's a good location, the rooms were large, clean, with comfortable beds (although with an annoying plinth around them), with a peculiar shower and toilet based in a glass box so you're in full view of the occupants of the room, if any.

 

There are blinds but it struck me as odd nonetheless.

 

I don't recall looking out of the window so I cannot comment on the view.

 

Breakfast was a bit sparse and stops being served quite early (maybe 10) so I stopped bothering and went to the Bunfe cafe over the road.

 

Check-in was ok but they didn't seem to want to accommodate early or late arrival or departure, even if rooms might have been available. I'm basing this on the fact that agoda was showing rooms available even though they did there weren't.

 

Wi-Fi was good. Depending on what floor you are on, you don't have to go past reception.

 

I would stay there again, although I've just tried Glow this time around. That was comparable (I had an upgraded room but WiFi was unsatisfactory)

[vinapu]

Typing this message at Raya, as far as I'm concerned Raya is an excellent choice, it may be complains

about water not being wet enough but this will not be coming from me,

will elaborate at length tomorrow after church perhaps

[steveboy]

will elaborate at length tomorrow after church perhaps

 

I didn't know that Tawan has a chapel.

[Guest abang1961]

Tawan is a place to worship heavenly bodies ...

or in Paul Simon's The Sound of Silence, there are many who bowed and prayed to the (neon) gods they made .. 

don't ever end up Crying in the chapel...if the boys aint your type ...

[vinapu]

I just read what Nasherih said above and I agree.

As for shower area in the glass this is odd but try to tell it to somebody sitting in the room

and watching boy taking shower. Blinds in the shower are for a reason and can be easily drawn - watching

Even most adorable boy taking a dump is not sexy at all.

 

This trip I changed rooms and have both on the same floor but on different sides, there's what can be

called city view , roofs and high-rises but there's view , not a wall.

 

No noise from soil Twilight nor Suriwong seeping in.

Breakfast is served 6.30-10.30 depending on personal view choice is limited or adequate. This is not

big hotel with their lavish buffets and setting such would not be economical but definitely there are choices and even some daily changes.

 

Wi-fi is excellent, rooms are big but for me it's just location which makes it great, to soil Twilight it's just 20 steps, Jupiter is literally across the street, all modes of transport are at door step and if you catch one of Agoda's or Expedia promotions you may have it all for less than 2000.

 

standard room without breakfast , prepaid but non- refundable can be caught for 1400. To put it in

perspective, BBB Inn charges 1320 with tired rooms and no breakfast but with massage boys returned.

[musgrave]

The feedback was greatly appreciated - thanks - just got to wait patiently till November!!!!!!

[ay709394]

The price of Raya has been up alot compare with last year, it is now almost double the price of glow for Nov schedule. Not sure it is still worth it.

[vinapu]

The price of Raya has been up alot compare with last year, it is now almost double the price of glow for Nov schedule. Not sure it is still worth it.

as always it will be not worth for some and good deal for others.

 

It always depend of what one is looking for but certainly location is perfect, rooms are spacious and everything is new.

 

Anyone interested  keeps looking for deals on at least two-three websites, for my last trip I booked on Expedia and the same deal was not available on Agoda, I checked immediately out of curiosity  

[macaroni21]

I am resurrecting this topic because the Raya is one of the two hotels I have never stayed in and would like to give it a try. The other is Quarter Silom. Both have received pretty good reviews, but I would be grateful if anyone who has stayed at both could offer a comparison and perhaps updated information. (As can be seen above, this thread is from 2016).

1. It's been mentioned in some other posts that Raya's rooms are bigger and better appointed than Quarter's. From the photos on their website, Quarter's aren't too small and quite habitable, but would these pictures be inaccurate or misleading? 

2. They both seem to have a glass window from the room into the bathroom. Is this the case in all the rooms you've stayed in in either of the hotels? Or do only some rooms have this feature?

3. Wifi in Raya has been reported to be excellent. What about the wifi in Quarter?

4. Has anyone ever noticed package tourists in either of these two hotels?

5. With its new facade, I wonder if Raya's rooms get daylight. Do their windows let in light? I don't expect much of a view, but would not want to admire a blank wall one metre from the window sill. Vinapu reported sometime back that he didn't get a blank wall, but what about others who might have stayed in different rooms? I am assuming (from its location) that Quarter's rooms have decent light.

6. I am a little perplexed by reports that after hours, entry into Raya is not by the main entrance but via a service elevator in the car park at the back. What time do they close the main entrance? Does this mean that check-in reception is also closed after a certain hour, creating a problem for late-nght flight arrivals?

7. Members have reported no issues bringing boys back to rooms in Quarter. However, I am conscious that policies change and wonder if anyone who has staye there recently can confirm this? Do they take or check the boys' IDs -- not that this bothers me, but just wondering whether the practice is to register them or simply to pretend they never saw the boy? At Raya, reports here are that the security guard at the service elevator has no issues with boys being brought in. Are the boys registered or ignored?

8. Reports here have spoken about Raya's 5th floor rooms. Whilst the service elevator can go straight to rooms are higher levels, if one is given a room on the 5th floor -- the same floor as reception -- then one will have to walk the boy past reception nonetheless even though ascent was via the service elevator. Has anyone ever had issues with reception regarding bringing back a boy?

9. Has anyone experienced issues with cleanliness or the state of repair at either of these two hotels, e.g. low water pressure, choked drainage, noisy airconditioning, un-adjustable airconitioning, etc?

10. Raya has discontinued its breakfast and I don't see any breakfast option in the booking form. What's the situation in Quarter from your experience? It offers breakfast deals but from your experience, is it a basic breakfast with, say limited options, or a reasoable buffet?

Thanks for any information you can help with.

[Guest]

I can only comment on the Quarter.

 

1   Rooms are compact, but fine for my needs.      There is no proper wardrobe and if you are the type to arrive with 2 large suitcases, luggage storage might not be ideal.

2   The glass window to the bathroom is sadly not fully transparent.

3    WiFi is excellent.

4   I haven't noticed package tourists, but it's had a diverse range of local customers when rates were discounted during covid.

5   Quarter rooms usually get decent light.    I would pick one with a balcony (the balcony is very small)

6   The Quarter has never checked a boys ID, except for when I deliberately sent the first boy there to test policy.    The hotel has 3 blocks & I have stayed in them all.   For blocks 2 and 3, you don't need to even walk past reception.    You do need a keycard for the lift.

9    Cleanliness is excellent.    The showers are also very good.

10   The Quarter was charging 300 baht for breakfast booked in advance, which would be 600 as I book for 2 people.    However, with special offers, you could buy breakfast at the hotel for 99 baht and then 129 baht.    So much lower and only necessary to buy one breakfast, if you don't have a LT boy.     I found the breakfast to be rather good value for 99~129 baht.    However, it didn't look worth 300 baht.

 

 

[flashbarryallen]

To add to these questions, does the 5th floor have all room types, or only a few? I have booked some of the bigger rooms for this trip and I wonder if that means I won't be on 5th floor. 

[reader]

Although I don’t know how many types of rooms on the 5th,  I stayed on that floor the first of three stays and desk clerk took no notice of my guests.  All the rooms I stayed in were quite satisfactory. Some rooms do not have a window.

[Jimbillp]

On the quarter:

Modern and clean.  Room is compact and a bit short of clothes storage space.  Super fast Wi-Fi and good shower.  Balcony is tiny. 

Good gym with modern equipment.  Swimming pool a bit goldfish bowl alongside restaurant.  Very small sauna and steam.
 

I got a great rate in May.  At their full rack rate I’d probably judge the room a bit too small but the Wi-Fi was fantastic for working.  

[xpaulo]

This glass shower in the room has become a thing I think. I first saw it in a room in a new hotel in Vienna, with a full view, and was glad I wasn't sharing a room with my mother or sister. A couple of years later I noticed they had frosted the lower part... customer complaints no doubt. Same type shower in a nice hotel in Spain. As an aside I think western Europeans are much more comfortable about separating nudity from sex. Body type doesn't seem so important there either.

[spoon]

Ive stayed at raya multiple times pre-covid. The glass shower in the room i took (not the cheapest, maybe grand deluxe) is glass on the side of the bedroom but the entrance is on the other side, but there are blinds to close it. This room also have windows, if i recalled was facing soi twilight. 

While i dont recalled tours buses around pre-covid, there are plenty of japanese golfers staying there, which is not surprising as the hotel is an easy access to soi thaniya as well. 

[macaroni21]

Thanks, all. The combined knowledge and experiences are really helpful. That's the asset of this board. 

The one concerning thing that's emerged is that some Raya rooms have no windows. Clearly, to avoid this, one has to choose a better grade of rooms.

[reader]

8 minutes ago, macaroni21 said:

Thanks, all. The combined knowledge and experiences are really helpful. That's the asset of this board. 

The one concerning thing that's emerged is that some Raya rooms have no windows. Clearly, to avoid this, one has to choose a better grade of rooms.

Best way to avoid lack of window is personal advance email or call to hotel.

[Guest]

When I've been booking at some hotels in the past, the websites have clearly split out the rooms with no windows.  

So I don't recall ever unexpectedly having a room with no windows.   However, The Raya doesn't seem to follow this convention of listing such rooms seperately, which is poor when the photos show rooms with windows.

 

I rarely stay in rooms without windows & can only recall 3 in the last 15 years, all known at the time of booking.  

The biggest disaster was booking into a hotel in Singapore.   It was part of a chain, so I thought I'd be OK.  The first problem was that the aircon was set far too low for my liking and even after switching it off, the room didn't warm up, which is a big problem for windowless hotels.   The second problem was their sideline in hiring rooms by the hour & the associated noise.    Lesson:  Don't assume all hotel chains are good.   Read the reviews.  

 

 

[reader]

In the Raya room without actual an actual window they installed an artificial window simply for aesthetics. No, I don’t get it but  I’m no interior designer.

[Milk78]

I stayed at the Raya in April. I had a Grand Deluxe Room which i think was on the 7th floor? It was large, clean, and bright. The room cost me 1450 BHT for the night. They did not do breakfast. 

After a certain time the main entrance does close and you have to go to the elevator in the car park, but I am sure it went to a higher floor than reception - it took me to my floor and I was definitely higher than the 5th floor. I had a boy come back, the security on the car park gate didn't say anything or even look in my direction. 

I suspect the price may have gone up a bit now. 

I found it to be an outstanding choice. The location is pretty unbeatable and even if the price has gone up a bit, I suspect it is still one of the better value options. 

One think I did like was the ability to extend your check out time for only a small amount. I wish I could remember the exact price (I may have mentioned it in my trip report at the time?) but it was only something like 100 BHT per additional hour. As I had a late flight the ability to stay in the room for another 4 hours for a nominal amount was really welcome! The prices were clearly on display at the reception desk. 

[ichigo]

I stayed at the Raya back in 2019 and quite liked it. The rooms were spacious, and the location is convenient. The only drawback (for me) was crossing Surawong Road.. there just seemed to be an endless stream of traffic and it was difficult to cross. I can't remember what sort of room I booked but I had a window, and a balcony. Not sure if it was meant to be used as a balcony as I had to climb out the window to use it, but it was there nonetheless. 

[macaroni21]

4 hours ago, z909 said:

When I've been booking at some hotels in the past, the websites have clearly split out the rooms with no windows.  

So I don't recall ever unexpectedly having a room with no windows.   However, The Raya doesn't seem to follow this convention of listing such rooms seperately, which is poor when the photos show rooms with windows.

Indeed, customers would consider windowless rooms to be a different category from rooms with windows even if the size is the same and they are fitted out in the same way. So, by that measure, hotels should display windowless rooms as a class by itself -- and say so plainly.

[macaroni21]

6 hours ago, reader said:

Best way to avoid lack of window is personal advance email or call to hotel.

I can recall at least two occasions when getting assurances from hotels in advance didn't work. Both instances were several years ago. In those times, hotels had smoking floors and non-smoking floors, and I specifically asked for a non-smoking floor. There was even an acknowledgement of my request. But when I checked in, I could detect stale tobacco and when I asked, I was told by reception that it couldn't be helped since it was a room on the smoking floor. I don't remember the details now but it took much effort on my part to make them acknowledge that I had firstly made a specific request and secondly, that they had replied in the affirmative.

The other occasion was with a hotel where I was quite a regular visitor, so I knew that their rooms facing the pool tended to be a bit noisy -- children squealing in the day and poolside barbecues (with entertainment) in the evenings. It's a low-rise hotel so there were no rooms high enough to escape the noise. I asked in advance to be reserved a room on the other side. Of course they didn't assign me such a room, nor did the check-iin clerk have any access to the email exchange -- "I cannot access my manager's email, sir". The hotel was full too which made an immediate solution difficult however apologetic they were, but fortunately, a top-floor suite became available the next day, the manager returned from leave (thankfully) and I was given an upgrade.

It's good to try getting assurances, as reader suggested, but I remain a little skeptical, scarred by experience.

[iendo]

42 minutes ago, macaroni21 said:

 

It's good to try getting assurances, as reader suggested, but I remain a little skeptical, scarred by experience.

I find that Booking.com and agoda are very helpfull in such cases. I just booked on agoda and asked the property to confirm that i would have a balcony via the booking system.