New Silom hotel opens

[reader]

Walking on Rama 4 just now and noticed that “Squirrel House” is open for business. It’s located steps from Surawong rd., next to what was once Take-a-Nap.

[vinapu]

great location and great prices (so far ) . Going from Suriwong it's before Take a Nap or past it (that  would be former BBB inn location )

[reader]

It’s just after so it’s the former site of BBB Inn.

When walking back to my place I dropped in and was shown three rooms ranging from 899 to 2499.

it appears the interior was gutted with new stairwells and flooring.

The least expensive rooms are similar to smallest Ibis and Quarter Silom rooms. The mid-range (1299) was a rear facing room with queen bed, larger bathroom. It would be my value choice. The front facing rooms (2499) are most spacious but may prove nosier because of traffic.

All rooms I was shown had windows.

The plan to be listing on Agoda within a month or so. They have no website at this time.

Mid-range room.

[vinapu]

5 minutes ago, reader said:

 

The plan to be listing on Agoda within a month or so. They have no website at this time.

 

I know nothing about hotel business  but wonder  how they want to attract traffic without sites like Agoda or own website. This is not particularly busy pedestrian stretch. 

New Dusit Thani and Nishitetsu (spelling?) were posting  room offers before they even opened.

[vinapu]

I think it's matter of few days before Squirrel House will start offering reservations on Agoda. They  are already there, I checked earlier today but seem to to have allocation worked out as for any date there's not room available yet .

Only thing I noticed is they offer 24 hrs front desk but check-in up to 11.00 pm only. What is somebody arrives at say 10.47 pm or 1.13 am  at Swampy ?

[jason1975]

14 minutes ago, vinapu said:

I think it's matter of few days before Squirrel House will start offering reservations on Agoda. They  are already there, I checked earlier today but seem to to have allocation worked out as for any date there's not room available yet .

Only thing I noticed is they offer 24 hrs front desk but check-in up to 11.00 pm only. What is somebody arrives at say 10.47 pm or 1.13 am  at Swampy ?

Maybe you send them an email to ask?

Knowing you, you will only stay one or two nights. Maybe you don't book Squirrel for your first hotel.

Raya is a good option for first hotel bekoz it's opposite Moonlight!

[vinapu]

1 hour ago, jason1975 said:

 

Raya is a good option for first hotel bekoz it's opposite Moonlight!

I have legs , I can walk to Moonlight even from far

[vinapu]

On my recently finished trip I decided to walk memory lane and try newly opened Squrrel House  for one night just to see how it is. Memory lane simply because it occupies

former premises of BBBInn which used to be my favorite hotel for great many trips.

Indeed climbing stairs to my room triggered a lot of memories. 

While stairs are still the same interior is completely redone and there's something about staying in brand new, fresh smelling place. It's one of those minimalistic designs , similar to Quarter Silom, Ibis Styles, 56 Suriwong and Red Planet. Forget about closet  but they provide few hangers. My room was one of cheapest and smallest and while comfortable I missed three things: 

elevator - while I don't have problem climbing stairs (this trip climbed 1260 of them to Tiger Cave temple in Krabi) those with mobility problem or heavy luggage may find it bit hard.

safety deposit box in the room 

and window in the room was locked. I  could use sleep with open window in Januray in Bangkok.

Other than that,  everything worked perfectly and I don't mind staying there in the future as long as price will be competitive which may be an issue  - I paid a bit more than for Baan Silom room which possessed all three items I listed above. Night I stay there I felt bit under water, not as bad as not to visit bar but bad enough to refrain from taking boy from there but I doubt I would be any issue with visitors as there was only bell on reception when I passing by in the evening and in the morning . Certainly great location, just around the corner from Raya

beautiful view from the window but at least there was window

[colmx]

Just spotted Squirrel house when looking on booking.com for a pre-songkran room for my April trip. On my dates:

• Squirrel is €107 for a standard room
• Raya is €127
• 56 Surawong is €97

So seems pretty poor value against 56 and Raya

Not stayed in 56 yet, but think i might give it a try. Raya has been our go to Silom hotel since ~2017, but the last room we had (711 last month) was awful with a smell of must/damp, evidence of water egress in multiple places and peeling paint everywhere. Also a pretty dangerous layout with awkward steps close to the key card slot for power. It was a very disappointing stay.

Anyone have any feedback on 56 Surawong??

[vinapu]

2 hours ago, colmx said:

 

Anyone have any feedback on 56 Surawong??

I stay there in Nov 2022. Room was quite big but sparsely furnished which seems to be modern fashion in hotel design . But at least there was a lot of room air. Being right across the mouth of Patpong 1 location cant be beaten. No problems with visitors and as it happened my all three there were very visible due to their looks and built. Only negative was lack of safety box in the room , they have row of those close to reception. For me it was non issue as it was end of trip and all visitors were/ still are/ trusted guys.

if you ask me, go for it compare with other two you mentioned. Check prices on Agoda for your dates as it is known to science they may offer the same for a bit less

[macaroni21]

In terms of the space and fittings, 56 Surawong is alright; in fact it is quite spacious. As @vinapu said, no safe. No closet either (not that it mattered to me) only hangers. Its front-facing rooms get a bit of noise from the road and Patpong soi 1 (especially when they are dismantling the stalls after midnight) so if you're a light sleeper who wants to go to bed early, ask for a rear-facing room.

On one of my two stays, there was a sewer smell coming into my rear-facing room. It was bad each time I entered the room, but disappeared after running the airconditioner for 15 - 20 minutes. I would have insisted on a change of room if I had been staying for more than one night.

[daydreamer]

22 hours ago, macaroni21 said:

On one of my two stays, there was a sewer smell coming into my rear-facing room. It was bad each time I entered the room, but disappeared after running the airconditioner for 15 - 20 minutes.

Plumbing systems vary widely in Thailand.  It's possible there is no P-trap in the sink or shower drain line, and/or the drain line is not properly vented to the outside.  I ran into this issue with a kitchen sink drain when I lived in Korea, and had to have it corrected.  

Thailand does have a building code, but, as with many laws and standards in the Kingdom, the building code is not uniformly enforced.  Another example  - very commonly, electric wall outlets in Thailand have no safety "ground" or "earth" wire attached.  The wall outlet may accept a three-prong plug, but often the third wire is missing behind the wall.

If you find there is no drain line sewer gas trap in any accommodation, it would be prudent to cut your stay short, and find other accommodations.  Not only does sewer gas smell very bad, but it is dangerous to breathe.  

Running the A/C will move the air, and may make the smell less noticeable, but the hazard remains, as gas will continue to vent into your room.  Better to be safe than sick or dead.

Here is a link to a post on Reddit about sink drains in Thailand entitled  "I just moved into a condo in Thailand and my kitchen stinks."   At the beginning of the post, there are two photos taken in the condo, one of a kitchen sink, and a laundry room sink, both without drain line traps:  

https://www.reddit.com/r/Plumbing/comments/1byv366/i_just_moved_into_a_condo_in_thailand_and_my/?rdt=64054

[Lucky]

I don't want to climb any more stairs.

[sydneyboy1]

I wonder if this Squirrel has short term rooms.

[reader]

12 minutes ago, sydneyboy1 said:

I wonder if this Squirrel has short term rooms.

I very much doubt it. It appears to be operating quite successfully as a standard hotel. When I first visited there to do the OP, it was clear that it was run by a young family. 

[vinapu]

when staying there i did not notice any sinister activities.

Suriwong hotel by Moonlight has short time rooms , also Pavilion hotel above Good Boys  has those

[sydneyboy1]

Strange that Squrrel House hasn’t got a website.

[vinapu]

but they are on booking platforms.

Having website makes only sense if they are resource to monitor and update it regularly. Otherwise it fast me become obsolete like some  websites of spas or bars where one can see pictures of guy who don't work there any longer

[floridarob]

19 hours ago, vinapu said:

when staying there i did not notice any sinister activities.

Can the other guests say the same 😁

[vinapu]

3 hours ago, floridarob said:

Can the other guests say the same 😁

during my stay there yes as I was behaving ( feeling bit sick and did not off anybody)