Thailand Travel Guide
Tags: Hotel Key Cards / Thailand Hotels / Bangkok Hotels / Hotel Technology / → All Tags
Bangkok's Chaophya Park Hotel Has The Best Multi-Use Key Cards Ever
Security issues aside for the moment, Chaophya Park Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand has what are possibly the best hotel room key cards ever: they also function as one-day subway passes. It's the first hotel in Bangkok to offer the amenity of hotel-keys-as-subway-passes since it lies along the MRT route of public transportation. But it won't be the last; the MRT is looking to partner up with further hotels in Bangkok and make this a regular perk.
Still, the Chaophya Park might look like your typical business hotel in the picture above, but judging from this new feature and the fact that they've got iPod docking stations in the rooms, have greening initiatives, and are the first hotel in Thailand to offer free internet, the Chaophya Park is more dynamic than boring.
Now let's talk security...
Tags: Hotel Bathrooms / Hotel Bathtubs / Bangkok Hotels / Sofitel Hotels / → All Tags
Centara Bangkok's Circular Soaking Tub Would Round Out Our Week
We don't know about you, but we feel like it's been a long week. And one of our favorite ways to unwind at week's end? A soak in the tub. One of the first things we do when entering a hotel room is to duck into the bathroom to check the shower/bath situation. Tubs—or rain showers and extra jets in shower-only setups—usually elicit whoops of glee. So when we saw this photo of the tub from a guest room at the Centara Grand Bangkok we swooned. We may have seen bigger tubs in our hotel travels, but this one is just so damn cute in its roundness. (All that space around it is pretty appealing, too.)
Tags: Hotel Openings / Langham Hotels / Thailand Hotels / Hotel News / → All Tags
The Langham Place Samui Will Open in November
We usually find plenty of good things to say about Langham Hotels and the Langham Place Samui looks like it will follow the good reputation when it opens later this year. With 77 villas and suites suitable for private getaways or arranged together for group vacations, the Langham gang are promising the same good service we expect along with a few interesting innovations.
One is their idea of "borderless dining" which means you can have a romantic meal in "specially-designed dining retreats scattered in the grounds". We also like the sound of the Portal Surf & Play area, which sounds like a combined WiFi zone and cocktail bar, plus they also have the Splash Bar poolside where you can keep a cocktail handy while watching a poolside movie.
Tags: Wellness Retreats / Thailand Resorts / Mandarin Oriental Hotels / → All Tags
Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi's Retreats Will Magically Heal You
If inspiration and wellness are what are missing in your life, then it just might be that a trip to Thailand is what you need. More specifically, you should try the all-very-different wellness retreats that Chiang Mai's Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi have got on offer.
Scheduled to run at various dates between November this year and February 2010, the retreats each have a different focus but a common goal: to get you living a healthier and fulfilling life. Of course we think our life will be pretty fulfilling just by having a vacation in Thailand, but if you want more, then take your pick from one of the four.
Tags: Edition Hotels / Hotel Hype / Hotel News / Bangkok Hotels / → All Tags
Edition Bangkok: It's On, Baby
Edition lives! A website called Architectural Record has announced that the Marriott-Schrager hybrid — which has yet to open a single property — is going to be coming to Bangkok as a component of the forthcoming MahaNakhon tower and plaza.
Inside the 1.6 million-square-foot, $515 million complex will be 200 apartments and a 150-room Edition hotel, as well as "mixed-use public and commercial space." Construction on the tower won't be starting until later this year, so the expected (fairly generous, we think) completion date is going to be in late 2012.
Some deets about the 77-story "centerpiece" tower:
A spiraling incision of “architectural pixels” travels up the building, interrupting the curtain wall to reveal a series of terraces for larger units and shared spaces. This frenetic expression, according to Scheeren, came out of the psyche of Bangkok itself, which he describes as “the most intense and chaotic” of Southeast Asian cities. Throughout the “pixels,” the tower’s conventional glass curtain wall is disintegrated into cubes that will feature a variety of vegetation circling up the building, reflecting what Scheeren calls “the constant struggle between civilization and nature” in the tropical city.
Okay then. Edition is moving, at least. Slowly — very slowly — but surely. Hooray!
Tags: Ritz-Carlton Reserve / Ritz-Carlton Hotels / Thailand Hotels / → All Tags
Ritz-Carlton Launches 'Ritz-Carlton Reserve' Brand This Month
When we hear announcements that luxe hotels are launching ritzier, more upscale amenities or properties in this recession, we cringe a bit because we've been hearing nothing but doom-and-gloom predictions and sad news out of the luxury sector — but, nevertheless, Ritz-Carlton Hotels has announced the launch of "a new exclusive brand extension for the most discerning global travelers" called Ritz-Carlton Reserve, complete with a website and everything.
Per a press release:
These unique resorts have been designed for those who seek to escape the stresses of everyday life by retreating to experience new cultures and adventures. Each exquisite destination will feature signature, one-of-a-kind low density resorts situated in choice settings, each with a distinctive personality and sense of place. Future development will be limited to select corners of the globe with upcoming locations to include Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Turks & Caicos and The United Arab Emirates.
These properties will mostly be low-rise suites and villas that allow guests "to experience a completely secluded environment, with as much or as little contact with the rest of humanity as they choose."
The first Ritz-Carlton Reserve property is in Phulay Bay in Krabi, Thailand an expansive (and expensive) resort looking out onto the Andaman Sea, made up of 54 one-bedroom villas that look seriously posh. The website says it's been taking rezzies since June 1, but we were unable to find any available rooms for June at all [UPDATE: That's because, a hotel rep tells us, they starting taking rezzies on June 1st for dates starting in September] — regardless, the rates are listed at around $575 and up.
Tags: International Hotel WiFi / Thailand Hotels / → All Tags
Email By The Pool At Pattaya's The Venue
In our neverending quest for finding hotels around the world with sensible WiFi — in other words, WiFi that not only works but is also free — we were daydreaming this week about vacationing near the beach in Thailand and we came across someone with a similar wish looking for WiFi in Pattaya.
Any beachside town will do, we figure, so Pattaya is an interesting spot for us, and according to the locals there are quite a few hotels with good WiFi. But the one that grabbed our attention is The Venue, a stylish and very gay-friendly hotel near the beach. What grabs us most is this:
The Venue [has] wireless throughout the hotel...very relaxing around the pool doing laptop work.
The Venue is a boutique hotel and the private pool is not huge, but if you're typing away you probably don't want too many people jumping into the pool and splashing you, so we figure it's a great combination. A standard room will cost you just 1,290 Baht ($40) in the low season, or you can splash out on a junior suite, which goes up to 2,390 Baht ($70) a night in high season.
Tags: Fashion Hotels / Four Seasons Hotels / Thailand Hotels / Hotel Swag / Christian Louboutin / → All Tags
Buy Some Louboutin Shoes and Save an Elephant With Four Seasons
Famous sexy shoe designer Christian Louboutin has dabbled with hotel partnerships before, making a One & Only Resorts line of sandals for One & Only Resorts, which we totally understand as well as covet. Happily, he's back at it again, but this time teaming up with Four Seasons to create an extremely limited-edition colorway of a stiletto sandal.
The "Rodita" sandal, a fashionista favorite of Christian's Spring 2008 line, has returned in hot pink specifically for the Four Seasons Tented Camp Golden Triangle in Thailand, with all proceeds going to the GTAEF charity (Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation). Yes that's right: sales from the $895 shoes are going to save elephants from the streets in Thailand, but there's only 50 pairs of the hot numbers to sell.
They're real showstoppers, but at $895 for the togs alone, we're wondering exactly how much it costs to stay at the Four Seasons Tented Camp itself? It's just as we expected: plan to shell out 70,200 THB ($1,995) for a one-night, all-inclusive stay at the luxury retreat. Thanks, but we think we'll just take the Louboutins as consolation. For those interested, the 50 pairs are only available for purchase on FootCandyShoes.com until they run out forever.
[Photos: Four Seasons]
Tags: Leading Hotels of the World / Hotel Deals / Thailand Hotels / Thailand Resorts / → All Tags
A Thailand Deal That Caters to Shopaholic Beach Bums
With the state of emergency lifted and mid-April's unrest easing, it's time to start looking at Thailand again. And one of the things we love about it is that it can be a shopping paradise as well as an R&R-on-the-beach vacation destination.
We got tipped off about a clever "joint venture" hotel deal, put together by the Sukhothai Bangkok and the Rayavadee resort in Krabi. They've picked up on our shopping and beach combo desires and put together a five-night deal including two nights in the city at Sukhothai and three nights on the beach at Rayavadee. The package includes all kinds of extras like breakfast, a dinner at each location, shopping coupons in the city and a massage at the beach, transfers to both Bangkok and Krabi airports, and – in Bangkok only – free WiFi (once you get to the beach you should be keeping your laptop packed away).
The deal comes up to 86,900 Baht ($2,400) for a double for the entire five nights and inclusions. That's not bad considering both the Sukhothai and Rayavadee belong to the Leading Hotels of the World group and sound like above average places to stay.
Tags: 100 or Less / Dream Hotels / Bangkok Hotels / → All Tags
Hotels for $100 or Less: The Dream Bangkok
All this week, we'll be profiling hotels for $100 or less. Yay! Know of any other bargains? Send 'em to us.
While we're not sure what's happening with Vikram Chatwal's Chatwal Hotel in NYC, the Dream Bangkok is still alive and offering room rates for under $90.
A tipster let us know that room rates are currently at $86 but if you're an Amex card holder you can get your room for just $77.
We checked for a room on May 3 and indeedy, a $86 rate popped up for a classic room with a plasma TV, iPod nanos to use during your stay and an all-time HotelChatter fave, bathrobes! Wanna spend more to get more? The junior suite is available for only $162.
How much of a deal is this? Well, when the Dream opened up a few years ago, rooms were priced at $160 a night. It seems we're starting to like the recession more and more.
Tags: Thailand Resorts / Hotel Deals / → All Tags
Stay in Thailand for Free (For Real)
The global economic downturn can be a major vacation crasher and local political protests can put a damper on the idyllic. But those challenges can also bring travel expenses to the amazing price of...zero. It's almost like low season is the new high season! Case in point: the massive coastal resort area of Pattaya in Thailand.
Free hotel rooms are being offered to local and international travelers from May 1 to October 31 in an attempt to fill their 20,000 hotel rooms. Helping things along is Thai Airways: they're offering a free night to business-class passengers staying not only in Pattaya, but also in Bangkok, Samui, Krabi, Hua Hin, Phuket and Chiang Mai.
Economy class passengers get a free hotel stay if they book via the Royal Orchids Holidays program. Those flying from LA before May 20 can score a free domestic flight to use within Thailand.
With business slowing in a big way in tourism-dependent areas like this, hotels aren't the only price slashers: restaurants and shopping malls within these areas are also participating in the deep discounting. Guests can enjoy prices drops up to 50 percent. Get on it while you can.
Tags: Political Hotels / Thailand Hotels / Hotel News / → All Tags
Thailand Protests Apparently Not Affecting Hotel Stays in Pattaya
Judging by the headlines shouting about violent protests in Thailand and the danger to political leaders that forced the cancellation of the ASEAN Summit in Pattaya, you might feel inclined to stay away from the Royal Cliff Beach Resort where the Summit was due to be held. But the owners say that's not at all necessary.
Quick to put a halt to bad PR damage that this kind of event normally brings, the family owners of the Pattaya resort have already put a message online explaining that the protesters spent less than an hour at the hotel, no violent clashes took place there and no guests were affected. Well, apart from all those summit VIPs who were quickly whisked away and returned to their home countries.
The popular resort area of Pattaya is now trouble-free, with all the protests currently centered on Bangkok. The Royal Cliff Beach Resort rates really well according to recent guests, and apparently it was going to be good enough for all those Prime Ministers and Presidents.
Usual rates start from 6,400 Baht ($180) a night for a mini suite with a sea view. But if we were already in the Pattaya area we'd be dropping in to pick up a last-minute special — after all, they should suddenly have quite a few rooms free.
Hotels In: Africa | Asia | Australia | Caribbean | Europe | North America | South America
Our Publications:
Jaunted | HotelChatter | VegasChatter
