Hello,<BR><BR>I'll be travelling to Thailand in late Apr/early May. Has anyone stayed at any terrific, affordable hotels in Koh Phi Phi or Koh Pha Ngan? In particular, has anyone stayed at Ton Sai Village in Phi Phi? Or Mai Pen Rai in Pha Ngan?<BR><BR>Any recos on nice, smaller hotels in Bangkok would also be appreciated.<BR><BR>Thanks,<BR>Lana

Lana, don't know what your budget is, but on Phi Phi I would try to stay away from Tonsai Bay. The town is an overdeveloped mess. We have stayed at PP Coral on Laem Tong beach and really liked it. About $50 for a double bungalow including breakfast. A few dollars extra for beachfront -- well worth it. There is a recent thread on here about the PP Princess -- someone really liked it a lot but I don't know the price range.<BR><BR>In Bangkok there are a lot of inexpensive smaller hotels. We particularly like the Centre Point Silom which is great value for the money. Good location, great staff, etc. Do a search using that name and see if you can pull up previous posts on it.

Marilyn,<BR><BR>Thanks for the info. I found the posts and website for Centre Point Silom, but it doesn't mention anything about rates. Do you remember how much a studio cost?<BR><BR>Thanks.

Lana, we paid about US$45 for the studio size room a couple of years ago. I went to the Centre Point Silom website recently and it looked like the rates had gone up a bit, but it is still a good deal, believe me.<BR><BR>You can go for the cheapest room and still have a full kitchen with washer/dryer and plenty of space. The 1-BR accommodations are huge. Prices include breakfast. Location is superb, 5 min. walk to skytrain and river taxi, department store attached to hotel with supermarket in basement (VERY convenient!). Internet access in lobby. Pool, workout room, great staff. We just love the place. It's hard to imagine spending $200 a night for something like the Oriental, which is almost next door. The Centre Point is on top of our list of great hotel bargains worldwide.<BR><BR>What did you decide about Koh Phi Phi? Did you find the thread on the PP Princess?

Hi Marilyn,<BR><BR>Sorry for the late reply. I think I've decided to stay in Railay instead of Phi Phi and take a longboat to visit Phi Phi. Of course, I'll probably change my mind again!

Railey is supposed to be nice, but I've never been there. Friends are going next month and plan to stay at the PP Island Village which looks fabulous. It's about $130/night which might be too rich for your blood, but it's on its own private beach and looks like a wonderful resort.