Kasalong Phuket Resort, Nai Yang Beach

Kasalong Phuket Resort, Nai Yang Beach

During our stay in Phuket during the Laguna Phuket International Marathon in which I participated, we stayed at the Kasalong and enjoyed it a lot.

The rooms are all suites with a living room which holds a fridge and a microwave and a bed room with connecting bathroom. There's a nice pool and the staff is very friendly and accommodating.

The Nai Yang area is also very nice and makes for a nice change compared to Kata, Karon and let alone Patong! The surrounding scenery is lush and very green with the ocean nearby. It's also near the airport, which is less than 10 minutes away.

The downside may be that it is relatively far away from any kind of shopping, like Central Festival. The upside is that the a newly opened water park is very nearby again.

The rooms are very nicely priced and I can recommend staying here.

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Booking by Hotels Combined

Bed room

Bungalow exterior

Resort complex

Reception area

Swimming pool

Kaew Samui Resort, Surat Thani

Kaew Samui Resort, Surat Thani

Is located on the 401 ring road that leads around the city and is a good choice if you're 'stuck' in Surat Thani on your way to the islands or on your way to Bangkok coming from the South. Shopping malls are nearby, the city is nearby and the ferries in Donsak to Koh Samui and the other islands are just under an hour away. The hotel (it's really not a resort!) is located in an industrial area though and is mainly catering to Thai business people. Without means of transportation it will be hard to get around.

The restaurant is nice and free wifi is available, ask at check in and it's a newly build hotel.

Low prices are a plus, it's convenient and just what you need for a night's stay in Surat if you don't want or need to be in the city!

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Booking by Hotels Combined

Guest room

Guest room

Guest room

Reception

Restaurant

S31 Sukhumvit Hotel, Sukhumvit, Soi 31, Bangkok

S31 Sukhumvit Hotel, Sukhumvit, Soi 31, Bangkok

Looking for convenience, central location and that little touch of luxury, S31 has it for the tourist and the business person.

Designed by by award winning architect Sumej Jumsai, he really put in the 'works', including a roof top restaurant with a great view over Bangkok and a nice swimming pool using the latest eco friendly salt system.

Located in-between two BTS stations, Asoke and Prom Phong, near the Emporium luxury shopping mall and the Queen Sirikit Convention Center, just 2 km's away from the Bangkok Cityair Terminal “Makkasan Station” (airport link) or a 30 minute drive from Suvarnabhumi airport and near to the vibrating night life of Bangkok, it's hard to beat this location.

The rooms feature; 8 foot beds, full-frame windows for glorious unobstructed city views and lots of delightful natural lights, double-door refrigerator, in keeping with the in-room catering possibilities implicit in the pantry, 42” wide screen digital-format LCD TV (in all suites) and best of all; show bathrooms with special glazing system that allows you to enjoy the view while you bathe without being seen! How exciting can it get?

More pictures are posted of my stay at the S31 on my Samui info blog.

More than five star, better than Boutique, according to a review in the Bangkok Post (Thailand's biggest English newspaper), this pretty much sums it up! Currently special deals are available so get them whilst they last!

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Booking by Hotels Combined

Deluxe room with 8 foot bed

Executive Suite

Duplex suite

Swimming pool

Lobby

Phuket Airport Hotel, Airport

Phuket Airport Hotel, Airport

It's location is excellent, within about 600 meters of the entrance of Phuket Airport, almost walking distance. Yeah right, not very appealing with a lot of luggage. The staff however is very friendly and accommodating and they offer pick ups at the airport for 100,-THB and free transfers in the morning to the airport. Easy peasy.

The hotel itself is rather small with just 12 rooms, a pool and a restaurant. Around the corner is a 7-11 and a few restaurants but why bother if you can eat on location? The beach is just 600 meters away but for most travelers; transit passengers, layovers and short-stay guests the hotel is just for a night or a day room and it fulfills this purpose excellently. There's free wifi but make sure you check the rooms near the restaurant where the router is. I had bad reception in my room and was offered an alternative room.

Looking for a fair price near Phuket airport, this may be just it, convenient, simple yet effective and easy, as long as you don't expect luxury. Very nice staff, did I mention that yet?

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Booking by Hotels Combined

Room with king size and single bed

Room with king size and single bed

Room exterior

Restaurant

Pool

Mystic Place, Bangkok

Mystic Place, Bangkok

This is at last a hotel that gives meaning to the word 'boutique hotel'. Located in the Saphan Kwai area of Bangkok, near the Chatuchak weekend market and near the Saphan Kwai BTS Station, Mystic Place is a perfect hotspot for guests who love Art and Fantasy, and desire a different out-of-the-ordinary experience when staying in Bangkok. Forget those "ordinary" hotels; Mystic Place is definitely one-of-a-kind destination.

Each of the 36 rooms have been uniquely designed centering around a theme by Thailand's most talented artists and gives this hotel a uniqueness that hasn't been matched yet in Bangkok.

There's a free Shuttle Tuk Tuk to BTS, MRT and Chatuchak Market for the guests which makes it convenient and easy to get around.

Although I haven't stayed here myself, it's high on my list of places to stay at during a next trip to Bangkok. This hotel was brought under my attention by a fellow blogger, Talen of Thailand Land of Smiles and during his stay he had a great time. One of the nice features of the hotel is that when you book on line, where you can see pictures of all 36 rooms, but you don't like the room upon, you can change rooms daily for a 200,-THB surcharge, unless you stay for more than 3 nights and the surcharge is dropped.

If in Bangkok and you're in for something different within a very reasonable price range, Mystic Place is your stop!

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Booking by Hotels Combined

Superior room

Deluxe room

Superior double bed

Lobby

Front desk

The Heart Inn, Saladan, Koh Lanta

The Heart Inn, Saladan, Koh Lanta

The Heart Inn is one of those places that reminds me why travelling around Thailand can be so nice, clean and cheap rooms with all mod cons! During my last IDC that I conducted on Koh Lanta, during February/March 2011 I stayed here and for the up and coming IDC for March/April 2011 I will stay here again!

The room I stayed in had a/c, a mini fridge, cable TV, wifi and a shower with hot and cold water for well under 1.000,-THB per night!

The reception/lobby area also offers internet service.

Fair enough, it's not on the beach, although walk out the reception, hang a left and walk 500 meters and you're on a beach! The Heart doesn't have a pool neither, which I never use during when stay somewhere during work, so this comes at no big loss to me. The bathroom was interesting and funny though, some real creativity was used, have a look here.

One other real benefit of this Inn is that you're within walking distance of pretty much all restaurants, banks and shopping in Saladan and the motorbike taxis take you for a few Baht to the nearby Long Beach where there are even more restaurant options. The Inn's location is also in a very quiet small street off the main road pretty much in 'downtown' Saladan.

For people leaving with the ferries, it's also within walking distance of said ferries, location is everything!

All in all, great location and excellent value, what else can I say?

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Booking by Hotels Combined

Guest room

Guest room

Guest room

Guest room

Reception/lobby area

Ananda Lanta Resort, Klong Dao, Koh Lanta

Ananda Lanta Resort, Klong Dao, Koh Lanta

Koh Lanta is becoming a hot spot during my current travels and it's easy to check out the hotels on this lovely island. One of my current March 2011 IDC candidates is staying at this hotel and he's pleased with it.

Good to know is that resort is not at the beach side of the road, however, within 3 minutes you can be at the beach if you just cross the road. On the up side, the hotel boosts one of the bigger pools on the island.

All 48 rooms have their own balcony and the resort is located near Saladan, the busiest part of the island. Restaurants are plenty full near the hotel, combining a quiet and relaxed environment with plenty of things to do and see very nearby.

Booking with Agoda

Booking with Hotels Combined

Superior room

Superior seview

Deluxe seaview

Swimming pool

Exterior