If you’re going to stay at B2 hotel in Chiang rai, be aware that there are 2 locations. Unbeknownst to us, we booked the sketchy location. But it was crazy cheap and we were only there for a couple nights so no huge deal.
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Aloft Studio 03 On Nut Airbnb tour
Deciding where to stay in Bangkok can be a challenge because there are so many great options. You can stay in some really cheap hostels with bare bones amenities all the way up to luxury hotels and great serviced apartments. It all depends on your budget and needs. We decided to stay again in the On Nut neighborhood. It’s a great neighborhood with lots ofstreet food and easy BTS access. You’re also right by major shopping areas like Lotus and Big C.
We were invited to take a seat and enjoy welcome drinks while we checked in. A sweet, young muslim girl walked us through a folder of information. You know, the usual, resort map, restaurant information, pool hours, shuttle hours, and so on. She explained that with our deal voucher we would receive unlimited use of the water taxi shuttle to the mainland (yay!), a glass of sparkling wine in our jacuzzi room, a pizza/pasta meal, day trip for 2 to Koh Rang Yai, 30% off spa services ad 20% off food and drinks at the hotel. Tropical Jacuzzi SuiteAfter spending time in Bangkok and Chiang Mai, we wanted to go south and have some time to relax at the beach. We decided to go to Phuket after we found a great deal on Travelzoo (like Groupon, but more travel oriented ) for a place to stay called The Village at Coconut Island, but more about that in the next post. I love that everywhere you go in Thailand is only a short flight away, if you choose to fly! When we landed at Phuket Airport it was nice that our voucher included roundtrip airport transfers, so we didn't have to arrange and pay for them on our own. In the car we enjoyed bottles of water and chatting with the driver while looking at maps of Phuket. You can see in the map below that Maphrao (Coconut) Island is on the right, about halfway up the map. The airport is quite north, so there was a bit of a drive. You must take a water taxi from the Royal Phuket Marina to Koh Maphrao where the hotel/resort is located. I had over-romanticized the idea of being away from the main Phuket crowd and being able to relax and explore this little island while also having that option to take a boat back to the mainland to explore there as well. More on that later. Waiting for the Water TaxiIf you want a great location, the Duangtawan Hotel may be for you! It is primely positioned to be in the center of the action - Chiang Mai's Night Bazaar. This is a hugely famous shopping area of Chiang Mai and really all of Thailand and it's not to be missed. Getting There From The AirportThe hotel has a shuttle service you can request or you can get a taxi. I would recommend a taxi - cheaper! RoomsDuangtawan Hotel has different rooms and rates and it seems that a lot of this has to do with what floor you are on. We chose a room on the 20th floor. It had an amazing view. (see photo above). The curtains just kept pulling back and back and the window was immense and glorious. There was a desk by the window - what a great backdrop to get some work done or make some FaceTime calls back home. Our room had a large bed, two nightstands, a small round table and chairs, a TV stand/drawers/refrigerator, a vanity with two drawers, a comfy bench seat, another bench, a closet with hanging room and place to leave your luggage as well as a safe. The bathroom was equipped with a glass stand up shower as well as a soaking tub, hair dryer, and some toiletries. I really enjoyed the style in our room as it has some lovely Lisu fabric accents. Very cool! Feeling like a VIP in the Horizon Lounge
Following a couple of weeks of glorious travel throughout Thailand, the sad moment came when it was our last night in Thailand! *cries*
We had an early morning flight so we had to fly into Bangkok from Phuket the day before and we needed some place to stay for just one night. There are SO many places to stay in Bangkok from hostels at a couple bucks a night to very upscale hotels and condos with incredible views. It can be overwhelming. We had a feeling we would be really tired at this point in our trip, so we wanted to book something that was going to be simple, have some nice amenities, and give us the option of doing more in Bangkok on our last night or contentedly relaxing in the room or on the premises. We went with a place called U-Tiny Boutique Home. Have you heard of it? It really feels like home. They pick you up from the airport and had some water waiting for us in the car. Nice. When we got toU-Tiny, we checked in. They gave us a welcome beverage which.. I am not sure what it even was, but it was intriguing. They gave us a map with some handy information including photos of currency which is helpful. We went up to our room and I was quite impressed. The first thing I saw was the HUGE bed situation. Granted, it is two separate mattresses. But still, surface area was grandiose and ideal for sprawling out and hogging as much of the covers as you want to. The AC worked great. Which meant it would be cold in the room and I would definitely want to hoard covers. ;-) Each side of the bed had a little night stand with an outlet. Convenient for plugging in and charging up your necessities. All of that was to the right when you walk in the door. To the left was the combination entertainment center/desk? First you'll see a welcome tray complete with an electric kettle, tea, coffee (not a fan of the instant, Thailand) and some snacks including peanuts and Lays! In the fridge you could enjoy some coke and water! This was all complimentary and much appreciated. There was a little shelf under the TV which you could use when unpacking. Also some tissues and a classic pen and pad for jotting down the life-altering workings of your brain before said brain fails you and you forget the key to your big break. ;-p You'll notice in the photos more outlets! YAY! There can never be enough! There's an outlet on the far left behind the electric kettle and behind thee TV as well. Opposite the bathroom was a spacious wardrobe with room for hanging, folding, and placing your luggage. And before you entered the bathroom there was a lovely welcoming array of items: * Fresh towels * Shampoo * Conditioner * Body Wash * Lotion * Bar Soap * Shower Cap * Cotton Swabs ( Q Tips -- NOT FOR CLEANING YOUR EARS!) [don't worry, we all know you use them to clean your ears - we wont' tell] * Sanitary bags * Cups I was quite pleased with this. I can't say that I loved the lotion. I think that was what smelled like baby powder. But hey, that's a risk you take when you choose to rely on the complimentary offerings. Beggars can't be choosers. Go ahead, baby it up! So the room was great. It met and exceeded my expectations. The staff was tremendous. They arranged a taxi to take us to the Airport Link and Lad Krabang because we were going at an off time when the shuttle wasn't available. When we needed help, they got on the phone to translate for us and describe where to go. Our taxi coming home had trouble locating U-Tiny, so they explained over the phone and all was well. At this place they will give you a free meal each day. Breakfast or if you have an early flight out dinner the night before. Well, as it turned out we got back in from Bangkok really late, tired, not hungry. And we got up super early and had to rush off to our flight, so sadly we did not benefit from that this time, however it's a great amenity! We enjoyed our Lays, peanuts, and coke sustenance, though. ;-) They have a variety of room types and rates. They even have family & friend rooms which have bunk beds etc. So the major perks are: * Roundtrip Airport Transfers 24 Hours * Free Breakfast or Dinner Daily * Great Rooms * Great Staff * Free Wifi * Close to Rail Link ( Connects to BTS) * Pool I wish we had spent more time chilling there, but it was all quite a fast operation. Still, it was worth it! I just found out they are now offering day use/transit stay. So for a huge discount you can get a room for a short period of time to freshen up before or after your flight or between flights. That's a nice option! Cons: * The only con about this place is that if you want to be right downtown and in the action of Bangkok, street food stalls and markets, etc. This is not your place. But then again, if that's what you wanted and needed you wouldn't be looking into Suvarnabhumi Airport Hotels, would you? You definitely can get into Bangkok's bustling energy from this hotel. We did. Anyone can. But this is better for someone before or after a flight, or who mainly use wants to relax and enjoy a BNB kind of style here. Maybe do some golfing, maybe some go in to Bangkok one day, etc. Just a more leisure pace. Overall, I think this is an outstanding choice and a nice value for all the service and perks you get. Love it! Bangkok is a super cool city and also our touch down point when we arrived in Thailand. As with many international arrivals, we showed up in Bangkok after midnight local time on the day we arrived. I had pre-booked a place on Airbnb to stay because I did not want to deal with finding a place after traveling for ~24 hours and arriving late at night. (compare booking.com here and compare Agoda.com here ) I was SO happy with my choice. The Ideo Mobi condo was located super close to the BTS, the On Nut Station. There were awesome street food stalls and items for purchase convenient to the apartment. Come take a tour of the apartment! So most apartments are relatively small in size, but when they are as nicely decorated and when the space is used strategically as with this unit, you will feel right at home. When you walk in the room, to your immediate right you will find the TV. We did not end up watching TV as we were mostly out and about or using the internet when we got back to the room. To the left you will find a nice little desk with chair. Above the door is the AC unit which works excellently and is a welcome reprieve after a day in Bangkok's heat and humidity. There is a small couch with a coffee table beside the bed. At the foot of the bed is a large mirror/closet with some drawers and doors on either side. There is hanging space and there is room behind the mirror as well. To the left is a huge window which you can close the curtains to, if you wish, or leave them open for a great view at any time of day. Across from the coffee table is the doorway to the kitchen area and bathroom. The bathroom, to the right, had very nice fixtures. The shower was hot and the owner supplies all toiletries including body wash, shampoo, conditioner, hand soap, and toilet paper. Much appreciated by any short term guest. The little "kitchen" space to the left consisted of a fridge, a single basin sink, 2 burner cook-top, electric water heater pitcher, microwave, and clothes washer. The far wall is a sliding glass door to the "balcony" which is very small, but still gives you space to step outside, and to hang laundry to dry. There is a hanging rack there, although it only holds a few items. The refrigerator had some bottled water in it upon arrival, and as you can see in the photos, the counter top had a basket of coffee, snacks, dried noodle soups, so we could get our days going in the room. The view from here, I personally loved. You can watch the BTS go by. And you will hear it 24 hours. It's not disturbing, but it's almost therapeutic, methodical. I liked it. The building also has some other great amenities. Go up to the roof for an even higher vantage point. Enjoy a dip in the beautiful pool that seemed to always be empty. Next to the pool is a little room you can hang out in. There are couches, a pool table, another sink, oven, table. I was imagining popping in some cookies and sharing them with friends. There is also a gym and a laundry room. In the laundry room you can also fill up a bottle of water for a cheap rate. FYI the dryer only takes 10 baht coins so be sure you have them on hand if you need to use the dryer. (It takes quite a while for everything to dry outside) There is a 24/7 mart on premises which we benefited from for convenience and shelter when there was a torrential downpour one night. You can buy 1.5 liters of drinking water for around 10-14 baht. A huge selection of packaged noodle soups in a variety of flavors, various snacks, etc are available here. We LOVED the roti guy who was close to the On Nut BTS station. We found him every day on a street corner between the Ideo Mobi building and the BTS station. I think he was close to a bank/atm. We tried Roti all throughout our trip to Thailand and his was our favorite. Hands down. Shout out! Wish we knew his name or could go back and tell him how awesome his Rotis are... Maybe we will get to some day... I found this unit on Airbnb. Compare prices on Booking.com and Agoda.com If you have never used Airbnb before, get a $20 credit when you sign up. The link to the unit I stayed in is here. City Living 32 Meters to Bangkok BTS I definitely recommend it. I would go back any time! Have you stayed anywhere interesting in Bangkok? Pin Me Now To Find Me Later!Tags: USA Travel Blog, Thailand Travel Blog, Japan Travel Blog, Sri Lanka Travel Blog, London Travel Blog, Portugal Travel Blog, Cruise Travel Blog, Travel Hacking Blog, Credit Card Blog, Lifestyle Blog, Simplify Blog, Declutter Blog, Downsize Blog, Less Stuff More Travel Blog
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