Bangkok Hotels popular with Gays

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werner99
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Bangkok Hotels popular with Gays

Post by werner99 »

Does anyone know how the small and medium-sized Bangkok hotels popular with Gays have been faring during the pandemic--e.g., Rose Hotel, Malaysia Hotel, Pinnacle? Also, is Jimmy at Pinnacle still offering great deals? I emailed him but got no reply.

I have read that some such hotels have gone bankrupt or have been sold to Chinese interests. Sorry, I do not have a specific reference or link.

Thailand seems to be opening up a bit, and I might book a trip.
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Undaunted
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Re: Bangkok Hotels popular with Gays

Post by Undaunted »

Some years back Jimmy had a stroke and I think he stopped working, as for Pinnacle etc. I suggest you try to contact them directly by email or phone….Google their info as many hotels have temporarily or permanently closed due to Covid.
"In the land of the blind the one eyed man is king"
Jun

Re: Bangkok Hotels popular with Gays

Post by Jun »

Some hotels have been closed & others have remained open.

If you want to find out which hotels are open, just go to Booking.com and search hotels in Silom for a specific date. Then either browse the hotels or put it in map view. Obviously this is not an exhaustive list, but it's a good start.

Places like Baan Silom, Rose etc are taking bookings. I haven't been to Bangkok since March, but back then Rose looked closed and Baan Silom was definitely open.

Currently, there are some superb bargains to be had with Bangkok hotels, like half normal rates or better. Rather than a reason not to go, hotel availability is a reason to get the trip booked in my view.

This trip is likely to cost me less than in normal times.
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Re: Bangkok Hotels popular with Gays

Post by werner99 »

I know that Jimmy of Pinnacle Hotel had a stroke about five or six years ago, but he was still working when I last visited Bangkok in late 2019. He had aged significantly because of the stroke, but he offered great deals. I liked Jimmy very much. Yes, he was talkative and verbose, but he provided useful information about gay venues and had interesting stories to tell.
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Undaunted
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Re: Bangkok Hotels popular with Gays

Post by Undaunted »

Jun wrote: Wed Nov 10, 2021 6:20 pm If you want to find out which hotels are open, just go to Booking.com and search hotels in Silom for a specific date.
Booking.com will only say these dates are not available but will not give you the current status of the hotel…..Once again your best option is direct contact with the hotel. If you do a Google search of a specific hotel you will get their contact info whether it be their phone# and or email address.
"In the land of the blind the one eyed man is king"
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Re: Bangkok Hotels popular with Gays

Post by Gaybutton »

If it were me, I would be following Undaunted's advice on this. With all the current confusion and uncertainty I would not be staking an expensive holiday trip on a web site, no matter how reliable it normally is, unless it was the hotel's own web site clearly showing a "We Are Open" announcement. Nothing other than that would be good enough for me.

The most reliable way to find out if the hotel you want is open is by direct contact - and for me that would be a telephone call to ask them what is going on.

Don't forget, even hotels that are open now could decide to close again later if they are not getting enough business to warrant remaining open. And if even one hotel guest tests positive for Covid, what do you think will happen then?

At this time I don't think anyone is in a position yet to be certain about much of anything. At the time of this post Thailand has now been open 10 days and so far I'm seeing more news about what is going wrong than anything else.

I would also be concerned about what Thailand is not telling you. Very little is mentioned about what happens if upon arrival you test positive for Covid. That has happened to a Russian man who arrived with his family. He tested positive. He is showing no symptoms, but has been sent to a hospital anyway. His family is now under quarantine. Unless he has insurance that will cover his Covid hospitalization, the news reports are saying he is looking at a bill likely to exceed 350,000 baht. That's well over US $10,000 folks.

I know how anxious some of you are to have a holiday in Thailand, but I urge you to be realistic about it. I hope you have better sense than to rush into it before knowing what really to expect. I suggest waiting until things get settled down, sorted out, and you can count on the reliability of the information you're getting.

Speaking only for myself, you all know I live in Pattaya and have access to much more information than many, but even I cannot yet guarantee a thing. For instance, everybody seems to be assuming the bars will all have permission to reopen on December 1. I hate to break the news, but even that is not yet engraved in stone.
werner99
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Re: Bangkok Hotels popular with Gays

Post by werner99 »

Yes. Direct calls to the hotels are important. I checked the website of one hotel and called several times, but no one answered. This is NOT a good sign....

Yes, Yes. As GB has noted, it is probably best to wait until things have settled down and stabilized before even thinking about trips to Thailand.
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Re: Bangkok Hotels popular with Gays

Post by RichLB »

Gaybutton wrote: Wed Nov 10, 2021 8:13 pmFor instance, everybody seems to be assuming the bars will all have permission to reopen on December 1. I hate to break the news, but even that is not yet engraved in stone.
It looks worse than not being engraved in stone. The link below is from Pattaya Mail and suggests they MAY delay opening of bars until after the new year. But, as always, nothing is clear yet.

https://www.pattayamail.com/latestnews/ ... ear-378789
Jun

Re: Bangkok Hotels popular with Gays

Post by Jun »

Undaunted wrote: Wed Nov 10, 2021 7:42 pm Booking.com will only say these dates are not available but will not give you the current status of the hotel…..Once again your best option is direct contact with the hotel.
Strictly speaking you are correct.

However, if Booking.com gives me the option of booking a particular hotel for a stay TODAY, it's highly likely that the hotel is open for business.
There might just be the odd exception that is in the process of failing and hasn't yet been removed from the platform, however any hotel that takes bookings and isn't open to receive guests will be quickly removed from a reputable platform.
In practice, I'll bet that comfortably over 99% of the hotels that take bookings for today will be open.

I also agree that e-mailing the hotel is probably more reliable, but not all Thai hotels are particularly good at replying to e-mails, so this is not an instant answer.

Even if I wanted to book the hotel directly, I wouldn't do that without consulting the booking site prices first. Sometimes the direct quote is higher than the booking site quote.

In 2021 I'll have booked almost 100 days accommodation in Thai hotels or apartments. Even where booked directly, I'll have made a comparison against booking sites.
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Re: Bangkok Hotels popular with Gays

Post by Bangkokian »

RichLB wrote: Wed Nov 10, 2021 8:32 pm
Gaybutton wrote: Wed Nov 10, 2021 8:13 pmFor instance, everybody seems to be assuming the bars will all have permission to reopen on December 1. I hate to break the news, but even that is not yet engraved in stone.
It looks worse than not being engraved in stone.
The only thing engraved in stone (Royal Gazette) is that pubs , bars, karaokes etc. will NOT open before the 16th of January and only then subject to a review.
On the other hand Pinocchio tells more lies and does more U-turns than Boris.
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