Guest Aussiebi14 Posted July 5, 2014 Posted July 5, 2014 I have stayed at page 10 Nice hotel but I only had one boy visit me It's more for hetro people Quote
paulfort Posted July 5, 2014 Posted July 5, 2014 You could do a lot worst than trying Baan Souy, initially I was concerned ref the location, but it is a fairly pleasant walk to Jomtien beach via the water park place during the day and motor bike taxis make it easy to get in to boys town and back. The rooms are a decent size, with a good bathroom, the pool area fantastic to relax and all the staff are great, it is also pretty well 100% gay! I have tried the Ambiance, Café Royal and Mosiak in the past, no real problem with any of them, but for me now the pool, room quality and staff, means Baan Souy is now my firm favourite! Quote
traveller123 Posted July 14, 2014 Posted July 14, 2014 Agree with the previous poster about Baan Souy. It's not the cheapest hotel around but you get what you pay for in terms of large comfortable rooms, very nice pool, well run and pleasant staff. Mainly but not exclusively gay. Take a look at the reports on Trip Advisor Quote
Up2u Posted July 14, 2014 Posted July 14, 2014 Surprised more people haven't mentioned Baan Souy, the action around the pool could be interesting. Easy baht bus ride to Jomtien, BT or Sunee. Quote
Guest cuirmichael Posted July 15, 2014 Posted July 15, 2014 Have you checked out the Ganymede in Jomtien? Literally 5 mins walk from the gay beach, gay bars/clubs/masseurs in the area, and come the evening 20 mins (10 Baht) bus ride to the heart of Pattaya. I'm staying there for the first time next January on the strong advice of friends and locals. You'll find video of it (on YouTube I think). Quote
Up2u Posted July 15, 2014 Posted July 15, 2014 Gandymede no longer promotes itself as a gay hotel. There business model is now straights and families. There is absolutely nobody drinking there, all the action is on the adjacent sois. Suggest the Venue and East Suites, poseidon is pricier. Gandymede has been delisted from nickysgaypattaya website after they talked to the Gandymede management. Quote
kokopelli Posted July 15, 2014 Posted July 15, 2014 You could do a lot worst than trying Baan Souy, initially I was concerned ref the location, but it is a fairly pleasant walk to Jomtien beach via the water park place during the day Hmmmm! maybe a pleasant walk in the Winter months but walking anywhere during the day in the hotter months is like a stroll through Hell. Quote
Up2u Posted July 16, 2014 Posted July 16, 2014 Hmmmm! maybe a pleasant walk in the Winter months but walking anywhere during the day in the hotter months is like a stroll through Hell. Then just grab a baht bus practically at your doorstep. Quote
paulfort Posted July 17, 2014 Posted July 17, 2014 To be honest my two visits to Baan Souy so far were in Nov and March, plan to return this November, so yes I accept a bit cooler than the middle of summer, but to wander to the beach is almost down hill all the way and a hell of a lot of very pleasant Russian eye caddy to enjoy on route! Quote
Travellerdave Posted July 21, 2014 Posted July 21, 2014 For my next trip in a couple of weeks i am contemplating staying either at Baan Souy or Samsuk Sauna. I wonder if anyone could give me pointers as to which would be the best choice. They are close together in a quiet location which i would prefer. I could hire a motor bike for visiting Jomtien during the day and i have no difficulty walking from there to BT or Sunee and i use motor bike taxis. Both places have good reports on Tripadviser. The pool at Samsuk is tiny but the one at Baan Souy is much bigger, although i know the gym at the former is OK. I enjoy the scene at Samsuk in the early evening. I suppose i could book initially for a couple of days and maybe move as its low season. Price isn't much of an issue. Quote
vinapu Posted July 21, 2014 Posted July 21, 2014 ... good reports on Tripadviser. Since you mentioned this I have general question to everybody: do you guys really pick up your accommodation or other treats when travelling based on reviews by complete strangers on sites like Tripadvisor etc? I feel antisocial as I completely ignore those, logic behind it being that not knowing persons I can't assess their judgement. I would follow advice of fellow posters here as at least I have some idea what people like and don't like or their spending and travelling habits from reading their posts. At times I entertain myself by reading assessments on agoda or booking.com for hotels I know and must say if I took them for face value I would never use quite a few places I was very happy with, Just curious what others say Quote
Guest anonone Posted July 22, 2014 Posted July 22, 2014 TripAdvisor is not very useful to me. There are much better sites for REAL reviews and better information about hotels. Quote
Up2u Posted July 22, 2014 Posted July 22, 2014 For my next trip in a couple of weeks i am contemplating staying either at Baan Souy or Samsuk Sauna. I wonder if anyone could give me pointers as to which would be the best choice. They are close together in a quiet location which i would prefer. I could hire a motor bike for visiting Jomtien during the day and i have no difficulty walking from there to BT or Sunee and i use motor bike taxis. Both places have good reports on Tripadviser. The pool at Samsuk is tiny but the one at Baan Souy is much bigger, although i know the gym at the former is OK. I enjoy the scene at Samsuk in the early evening. I suppose i could book initially for a couple of days and maybe move as its low season. Price isn't much of an issue. My recommendation would be Baan Souy based on a friend's experience. Sanuk is down the steep hill and requires a taxi but BS is right on the song taeo route - 10 baht to Jomtien or BT, no dangerous motorbike taxi. SS will be an easy visit for you. Quote
firecat69 Posted July 22, 2014 Posted July 22, 2014 I find Trip Advisor very useful . They have rarely let me down all over Europe, South Africa and Asia. It helps to look beyond the basic list of reviews and look for reviews by people who have posted many reviews in many different locations. More likely those reviews will be real guests. Also I look for responses by management to anything negative. This tells you a lot about how much management cares . Possibly better for 4 and 5 star properties but used in conjunction with reviews on booking .com where you must have had a reservation with them and actually stayed there, you can get a good idea about the Hotel. Vinapu for the most part ,here everyone is also a stranger and I give no more credence to their recommendations on Hotels then any other site. I think you look at as many review sites as possible and you will get useful information. Not perfect but some help in decision making. Quote
ChristianPFC Posted July 22, 2014 Posted July 22, 2014 do you guys really pick up your accommodation or other treats when travelling based on reviews by complete strangers on sites like Tripadvisor etc? I don't pick any accommodation from internet. I haven't booked a hotel for two years, only walk-in. Did some preparatory reading for Phom Penh and Siem Reap, but preferences are price and location, not others' comments. Quote
firecat69 Posted July 22, 2014 Posted July 22, 2014 I don't pick any accommodation from internet. I haven't booked a hotel for two years, only walk-in. Did some preparatory reading for Phom Penh and Siem Reap, but preferences are price and location, not others' comments. Totally different at your price point! When you are willing to spend a fair amount of money on Hotels , research is imperative!! Quote
Guest LoveThailand Posted July 22, 2014 Posted July 22, 2014 Since you mentioned this I have general question to everybody: do you guys really pick up your accommodation or other treats when travelling based on reviews by complete strangers on sites like Tripadvisor etc? Just curious what others say I travel a lot (work related) in Europe, Asia and Africa - and find information from Trip Advisor very useful. Usually places will have quite a lot of reviews and one can get a rather accurate opinion of the hotel averaging the opinions + paying attention to factual infortamtion shared by reviewers. No guarantee it is 100% objective, but provides enough grounds to make a choice. Quote
vinapu Posted July 22, 2014 Posted July 22, 2014 Possibly better for 4 and 5 star properties ..... Vinapu for the most part ,here everyone is also a stranger and I give no more credence to their recommendations on Hotels then any other site. With ' star' properties I agree ., more money at stake , one wants to make sure money will be well spent. As for members here , yes we are strangers but we know thing or two about fellow posters. Take me, if somebody reads my posts with statements like " I love BBB Inn " , ' Tarntawan for me is ultimate luxury " etc chances are reader will figure correctly that for whatever reason fancy hotels are not my thing. So if at one point I will start singing praises for say Dusit Thani or Conrad you may be tempted to think ' this guy usually sleeps in low market places so may be he is just unduly impressed and this hotel may not be as excellent as he is extolling' and probably rightly so. On another hand if you like better places and fate puts you to sleep in say Niagara Hotel, Silom soi 9 and you start complaining about water not being wet enough. etc I may be tempted to say ' he sleeps in better places so possibly he is just exaggerating , let's see for myself " This is why I think I will put more credence to fellow posters here than complete strangers on some travel forum. / good example, first bar I peek into in PTY was A-bomb because in one of threads you mused that I should not waste time on Vassa as boys will not be type I like / Quote
vinapu Posted July 22, 2014 Posted July 22, 2014 I don't pick any accommodation from internet. I haven't booked a hotel for two years, only walk-in. Did some preparatory reading for Phom Penh and Siem Reap, but preferences are price and location, not others' comments. Not suitable for every case, it's different if you go for few days mid-week with light backpack from your BKK home to Pattaya to arrival past midnight with two suitcases after 24 hour flight from say, Nashville , Tennessee. / most North American flights arrive late at night and depart early in the morning/. Last thing in mind in such a case is to make taxi errands looking for a room although I know quite a few cases when in order to save money travellers were waiting in the Swampy until dawn and then resumed their search, not insensible for younger, cash strapped backpacker types, saw that , been there. By the way in such a case I recommend Nasa Vegas hotel at City Link Ramkhaeng / spelling ? / station, half way from Swampy to the city so taxi cost won't be prohibitive even at night and deal at 15$ / night can be had on agoda at short notice and in the morning CityLinktrain can be used to access city easy. Warning - they want 1500 baht returnable deposit on check-in . As for the rest I'm with you in order location and price as I'm prepared to pay sensible premium to be close to what I consider main attraction of the place, I'm not on vacation in order to commute, have enough of that at home. It's why I never cease to wonder about what draws so many to Khao San. Hence my love for BBBInn and Om Yim. I live on busy street so street noise is not my concern and both mentioned are surprisingly quiet considering locations. In Pattya Cafe Royale fits the bill of being in the middle of action as well, cheaper than Ambiance and Copa. Quote
vinapu Posted July 22, 2014 Posted July 22, 2014 Totally different at your price point! When you are willing to spend a fair amount of money on Hotels , research is imperative!! Again agree but on another hand somebody may ask ' what can possibly be wrong with 150/night hotel in a city where good comfortable, centrally located room can be had for 50$ or less ' Quote
firecat69 Posted July 22, 2014 Posted July 22, 2014 Again agree but on another hand somebody may ask ' what can possibly be wrong with 150/night hotel in a city where good comfortable, centrally located room can be had for 50$ or less ' That would only be asked by someone who travels little and stays in inexpensive hotels. I want to know how strong the WIFi and consistent. I want to know if room service is fairly priced and the food and service acceptable. I want to know if the walls are thin and I want to know what side of the Hotel might be best to have a room. I want to know if the included breakfast is good and if not included how expensive it might be. And many other things that I can get by spending 10 minutes reading reviews. Well worth my time!!! ChristianPFC and vinapu 2 Quote
vinapu Posted July 22, 2014 Posted July 22, 2014 I found interesting set of criteria listed by firecat above, they can be divided in two sections, one objective - WIFI quality and consistency, price of breakfast, thinness of walls, on which I'd consider opinion of complete strangers, one subjective - fair price and quality of food and service and choice of side of hotel, on whose I'd consider only input of somebody I know as really each of us has own measurements of those things. You are right about time input, researching trip before departure is half of fun of travelling. Quote
ChristianPFC Posted July 23, 2014 Posted July 23, 2014 My standards are so low, I have a look at the room (in once case recently I noticed smell of cigarette smoke, so I asked for a non-smoking room) and take it. I plan my travels to arrive in the afternoon with light luggage, so I can walk around in daylight and look for free rooms. Waiting in the airport? Oh yes, I did this once in Paris Orly. Had a morning flight before public transport started, so in order to save estimated 30 to 50 Euro for taxi, I took the last bus and slept at the airport. Fortunately, they didn't kick us (there were more) out, because the airport is closed at night. This raises the question: is it appropriate for a Christian who is not Christian to sleep in the Muslim prayer room? I often drive past Nasa Vegas. It has direct connection to Ramkhamhaeng station, but there are no trains at night. Quote
vinapu Posted July 23, 2014 Posted July 23, 2014 This raises the question: is it appropriate for a Christian who is not Christian to sleep in the Muslim prayer room? I often drive past Nasa Vegas. It has direct connection to Ramkhamhaeng station, but there are no trains at night. in my opinion sleeping in airport prayer room is disrespectful No trains 12-6 at night but since Nasa is not that far from airport and rates are cheap I recommended it as an alternative to sleeping in the airport even if taxi cost is accounted for. Used my own advice in May 2013, no complains Quote
baobao Posted July 23, 2014 Posted July 23, 2014 This raises the question: is it appropriate for a Christian who is not Christian to sleep in the Muslim prayer room? It's inappropriate for a person of any faith to sleep in a Muslim prayer room. Quote