Hi, Three of us are travelling to Bangkok and Chiang Mai in May. I was wondering if anyone could help us out in trying to find good hotels that do not break the bank (max $100 per room per night), and are in good locations near the centre of the respective cities. Having never been its difficult to know what is a good location and what is not!<BR>Thanks in advance.

In Chiang Mai we stayed at the Riverview Lodge and liked it. I think it was about $45 a night for a double with bathroom and breakfast. It's on the river a short walk from the night bazaar. <BR> <BR>In Bangkok we stayed at the Siam Intercontinental for about $60, I think. It's at Siam Square, right by a Skytrain station. We thought the location was excellent.

Thanks for that Paige, did you book these in advance or when you got there?

I booked them in advance. I think the Riverview Lodge is fairly popular so if you want to stay there you probably have to book ahead. Here's their website:<BR>http://www.riverviewlodgch.com/<BR>The Pornping tower is also in a good location. I didn't go in there but a Thai friend recommended it.<BR>I booked the hotel in Bangkok through this website:<BR>http://www.planetholiday.com/Hotels/General/thailand.asp<BR>There are several websites you can use but this one offered a special deal on that hotel. I found out later that I could've gotten the same price if I had booked through my travel agent.

Paige, Thanks so much, you've been really helpful.<BR><BR>Aoife

Spent ten days in Thailand in January.<BR>Avoid the Pornping Tower. It is somewhat rundown and we were put in a room in the low rise building overlooking the parking lot and disco.<BR>Lots of scooter noise at 2am when the disco closed. A better choice is the Imperial Mae Ping. It is new (the Pornping was built in the 70s) and near the night market. There is a traditional Thai dinner show right on the grounds. We booked all of our hotels with asishotels.com Prices are dirt cheap in Chiang Mai. Book in advance. The hotels are filled with tour groups.

I also stayed in the Siam Intercontinental. I think we paid $99/nt in November for a suite. I thought it was excellent. Though it wasn't really close to the tourist attractions, we just took cabs everywhere (cheap). Funny, we thought we'd just walk everywhere (being NYers) but the air quality was AWFUL (enough to make your eyes burn) and there weren't always sidewalks. The Siam Intercontinental was right across the street from the train station (which we didn't get to try). Actually, the best thing about the hotel was its acres and acres of beautiful grounds, complete with peacocks, large trees, and a nice pool...it was quite a respite from the rest of the city. We spent more time at the hotel than sightseeing (it was awesome sleeping by the pool to get over that jet lag). <BR><BR>Sorry, I can't remember where I stayed in Chiang Mai...it was one of the high-rise hotels right next to the night bazaar.

Mary, two posters above, meant to say www.asiahotels.com<BR><BR>or www.asia-hotels.com<BR><BR>Best booking source for Thailand. Has writeups on what people thought of each hotel.<BR><BR>Avoid the PornPing in Chaing Mai

Concerning the Siam Intercontinental Hotel, it is due to be torn down in the first half of this year. The exact date has not yet been announced.

On our third visit to Chiang Mai, we had "chok dii" (good luck) and found a wonderful hotel in the old part of town while out walking: Tamarind Village. It was opening day and they offered a 50% discount,Baht 1700 or about $40/night for a "superior" room, including an excellent breakfast buffet. Other meals were delicious and not expensive. The hotel won an award for its architect. It is called a village because the two-story buildings are separated by large open spaces, all built around a lovely tamarind tree. The walls surrounding the "village" create a quiet atmosphere despite the location in the center of town. Everything about it is tasteful and serene, and the service is excellent. There is also a large swimming pool. It's worth a splurge. No TV; overhead fans + A/C, which we didn't use, preferring to open the balcony doors and keep the screens closed. Their website: www.tamarindvillage.com

Betty. This place looks absolutely fabulous, nice home page as well. Very special.<BR>I'll make a note of that, if ever I should go back to Chiang Mai. Thanks.

A good hotel to stay in Bangkok is the Indra Regent or Patuwan Princess. The Indra regent is the cheaper one and its location is very good if you want to go shopping. It is in the heart of the main day market style shopping where you must bargin. Its walking distance to the popular computer centre where you can buy mostly anything for any computers. Its a 3 minute ride to the trade centre and huge shopping mall.We paid $100 a night for 2 rooms last year through Flight Centre, a great price. I couldn't even come close to that price on the net anywhere.<BR>The Patuwan Princess is a lovely hotel, classy enough and it has one of the best shopping complexing attached to it. Great prices too. it is also attached to the MRT train ways. Don't pay anymore than 60 Baht for a tuk tuk(3 wheeler taxi) ride within the city district. You can catch a Tuk Tuk to go to the Patong night markets to.<BR>