Bonita

Sawadeeka!
I can not sleep, so i thought i would post! Greetings from Bangkok, and I am staying at Centre Point Silom. I often alternate between the Somersets, The Ascott, and Centre Point. I figured comming back to BKK i definately wanted a "riverfix" and this is my choice for that!

Centre POint is certainly open for business. No reservatins as of yet. They say they will start in the New Year, floor by floor. Personally, it seemed like the staff did not even know, but i wll investigate further, as I too plan to come back throughout the year.

Anyways,I am here a few days before i return to India where i live.work for the next6/7 months, but still manage to take many trips to Bangkok! I love India, but also love to come here, and this year i am considereing keeping BKK as my base between my trips/tours. As many of you know, i lead/manage tours of India.

Anyways, the situation. I arrived back in Bangkok last night from jfk, premium economy! Again,very happy with this class of service. Plenty of food, drinks and entertainment!~

The new aiport! A pleasure to enter. I fond it quite user-friendly and had a good feel too. Big high ceilings, white, glass, chrome, modern and flowing and very spacious. There were plants scattered about, even a few huge trees right before you get to immigration.

There are endless signgs of where to go, transit, immigration, etc, so every easy to follow. It was quite a distance to walk to immigration, maybe 15 minutes or so, but they had luggage trolleys and the walking escalators(whatever is the name for those things)..so no problem..There are restrooms every so often, smokers rooms, murals on the walls, and just a generally good feeling about the place!

iMMIGRATION WAS A BREEZE, once i finally arrived.They have many more booths then old airport and it is all electronic and moves very fast. They have lines for foreign passport and Thai passport as usual. They must have had about 20 booths opened and it took a big five minutes to go thru!

And then, just as u pass thru immigration, actually right behind immigration on the very same floor is the baggage claim..So the second u get u little passport stamped u just look up on the big board and u can see where u bags are comming in..Very easy...And this too is very computerized. Each baggage carasol handles a few flights and it says first bags from so and so flight, last bags from so and so flight, etc, etc..

Once u get bags it is thru the green or the red channel of customs, and then into the airport..This is the only place i did not love, the arrival hall. Very crowded the second u enter and very little space to walk until all the signs calling the passengers to their hotels and cars..Also, this is where the car and limosine touts come in for the kill to sell their services..

In the old days i walked right outside and took a local meter taxi.* However, here u actually NEED TO GO DOWNSTAIRS TO get TO THE street level if u want to take local transportation! This is not very clear as it is very crowded in arrivals..So if anyone wants just to take a meter taxi into Bangkok which will cost with service charge and highway tolls about 350 plus bhat dependng on where u are going, u need to go downstairs..

If u have alot of luggage, do not worry. U can still go down stairs by either elevator or they have agai a pedestrain walk-way escalator that goes down to the street level.

Once u get downstairs, go outside and there are two taxi stands right next to each other...Look for the one with less people, and then u are home free!

It cost me about 370 bhat with highway tolls to get to the riverside location of Cente Point silom..And good news, it only took 45 minutes and we started at 5pm, so it was not bad at all..I was expecting worse..so yea, very nice..

Okay, that is a brief update for now..i will post a bit more at a later date. I am off to Delhi on Sunday so have alot of roaming and shopping and eating to do tommorow so hopefully i can now get some sleep.

I will post more from Delhi, and again will be back in Bkk sometime in Delhi. My first tour actually starts Oct 30 in Delhi so i am a bit cutting it..It is a two week trip of North India with Doctors, so tourist sights and hospital visits too.

Sawadeeka and Namaste. And again, anyone passing thru India in the next months or who has any questions feel free to drop me a line!

Bonita

I just read thur my blog and yes it is close to 3:30 a.m Bkk time and i can hardly keep my eyes open.

But just wanted to be clear that there are no Renovations thus far at Centre POInt Silom. They are set to begin sometime 2007. Anymore info i will let u know..

Craig

Thanks for posting Bonita. This is great information.

eurotraveller

Thank you for this update, Bonita!

I have a friend picking me up at the airport when I arrive on Oct. 30th. Do you know where I need to go to have him pick me up?

Thanks!

Bonita

HI CRaig! Glad it was helpful. I will keep you posted of any more info/or tidbits that come up! Again, I am leaving in a few days to Delhi, so i will experince the International airpor for departures, from BKK to India so will post with any folloup!

And by the way, the "paragraphs" were created with you in mind. Sawadeeka.

Scotters

Thanks for the Airport report and your observations. I guess they are fixing things up as the reports I got back last week were quite different - airy but a feeling of being dirty (floor tiles), considerable time to get to immigration from arrival gate, lack of signs and toilets and some of those available dirty, unfinished work every where, much too small arrival hall (as you observed) and lack of directions to taxi stand down one floor. Glad to hear things are improving.

Craig

Thanks for the paragraphs, Bonita - looking forward to your next report.

janev

Hi Bonita
We shall be staying at Centre Point Silom later this week (coming from UK) - if rooms need refurbishing does this mean that the current rooms don't look so good (old)...just a little worry in my mind.
We have boooked a riverview one bedroom - what is best location of room (floor level etc) if we have a choice?
Thanks.

Bonita

Greetings again from Bangkok!
To answer your question about Centre POint, the high floors are much much better for the expanisve River Views..u defiantely want to be above say floor 11. There are about 26 floors!

In terms of quality and price, this is the place! The rooms might not be the most modern, but in terms of size, location, facilites and amenities, Centre Point has it. I guess they are just revamping the rooms a bit, and that is always a good thing, but still, the state of things today seems fine to me, again, in terms of value for price and location, par excellence.

Today i was just about over my jetlag and that is a real good thing as tommorow i am off to Delhi and will begin work the following night!

When i finally felt sober i wandered about this area of Bangrak, bought all my room essentails like orchids, Roses, candles, wines, incense, even though i am only here one more night..I just love to create a good atmospher in my room. And i have a lovely huge high floor corner riveside room with a wall of windows too..

A great thing about Centre POint is that it is attatched to Robinson Department Store and Tops Grocery Store, so by taking the elevator simply down to the lobby, u have almost everything u need/don;t need at your fingertips..

I went to Robinsons this afternoon and in one swoop bought shoes, sun glasses, earings, scarves, and then had a Thai iced Coffee..

Then i went downstairs to Tops Grocery store and bought wines, fruits, nuts, and some other Apt. essentials..Love the conveniences..

then i mustered the energy to go swimming and the reward, a 'sauna".

Anyways, i am going to call it a night and just waiting on my room service thai din..I am off to Delhi tommorow and then will be on the Indian roads for the next 12 days or so, Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, orcha, Khajurao, and Varanasi.

I a defiantely not ready to leave BKK, but will be back in a few weeks so no worries. And it is high time i get back to India and back to my work too as it has been many months in the States. And lucky for me, my work is more my passion than anything, so all looks good!..

Okay room service dinner has come! Spicy tom Yun Koong and BAsil shrimp and rice too..

Sawadeeka.and Namaste..I will post more from India. Again, anyone wanting to be in touch about things Thai or later my speciality India, feel free to drop me a line..

janev

Thanks very much Bonita - feel very reassured by your reply. Have a good onward journey!

eurotraveller

Bonita, hearing you talk about the Centre Point Silom brings back such nice memories!

Janey, it is a wonderful place! It just has a warm homey feel to it! Very large apartments with lots of amenities!

peacheysmokey

Bonita,

I'm glad the renovations at the Centre Point Silom haven't started yet. I booked a 2 bedroom for December 24.

The info on the airport and taxis was very helpful.

Mandilulur

(If this is a duplicate, please forgive.)Thank you again, Bonita, for all your help with premium economy and Center Point Silom. One more question, should we go for a studio, or a one-bedroom? There's just the two of us, and we've never had a problem with bumping into each other in a regular hotel room. I wondered if maybe the type of room determined the floor number, or the larger rooms were somehow better appointed. I did read on the huahin24 reservations web-site that renovations are scheduled to start March 1, 2007, but I'm sure that's an estimate. We are hoping to travel in January/February. That is, I am. My husband is beginning to make "too far" noises. I know, I know. That's the disdvantage of being back in the States. We were in the Gulf until August and it was a breeze!
Mandi

Bonita

HI Mandi!
Go for a 1 Bedroom. NUmber one they are about double the size and you will have a seperate sleeping area and eating/living room area so u certainly can have your space. Also, they are not that much more than the Studios, and well worth it..

Also, there are not that many Studios in the complex, about two on every floor and they are mostly taken up by long-termers anyways. So u will have better luck in that respect reserving a one bedroom, as they studios are few and far between.

It has nothing to do with the floors. There are about two studios on every floor, very limited selection and again, they are ususally occupied anyways..

Have fun. Again, simply request a high floor room. Oh, some rooms are carpeted and some have wood floors, but it is hard hard to specify any particular room as the place is so busy and has such a turnover and basically u get what is available at your check in....*However, u can always request to change the next day.

Alright, i gotta go pack again. I am leaving for Delhi in a hour or so. I will report more about travel out of the new Bkk airport at a later date, and some updates on India too..
Sawadeeka..

Guenmai

Thanks Bonita for the report. Thank goodness the immigration lines are FINALLY fast...as it took me 55 minutes to get through it at the old airport on my August trip. I used to DREAD getting off the plane and having to stand in those snail-slow lines. Happy Travels!