Thailand 1st timers
 

Well we booked air flights today for Feb so we need to fill in the trip. 6 adults all family members.
Need advise on: Hotels(moderate$$)
Restaurants, Massage spas, kick boxing events
Also same in Phuket.
All of you are life savers I don't know what I would do without ya.
Thanks

Are Bangkok and Phuket your two destinations in Thailand?

How much do you consider moderate? Give us a dollar amount.

What kinds of restaurants are you looking for?

Hi Katie,
Well we have two weeks and as I mentioned in a previous post have the option to travel to Chaing Mai, Phuket and Phnom Penh but Bangkok is our fly out hub. We can do day trips or overnighters
Moderate hotels $100 per night of maybe a 3 bedroom villa.

Sorry,
restaurants traditional Thai would be preferable

take a look at the listings for hotels on:

www.huahin.20m.com
and you will see the price ranges...

generally you will need 3 bedrooms...they don't usually have family rooms in thailand...

take a look at the serviced apartments in bangkok....the center point group might work for you...they have mutliple bedrooms...

the ascott group might also work...

i have a bkk rest. listing if you want it:

[email protected]
international and thai choices...most upscale

Sorry, I don't connect your name to the previous post. I went back and read that post. so I now remember your planning process.

With two weeks, choose not more than 3 locations. The usual first time Thailand trip is Bangkok, a location in northern Thailand (Chiang Mai or Golden Triangle) and a southern beach. For February, you'll find the best weather on the Phuket side (Phuket, Krabi, etc) or at Hua Hin.

However, if you want to visit the temples at Angkor, which are truly one of the wonders of the world, opt for two Thai locations (Bangkok and somewhere else) plus Siem Reap, Cambodia. It takes a minimum of three days just to see the major temples. If you want to go to Cambodia, this is the must-see place, not Phnom Penh. The caveat is that the flight (Bangkok Air is your only option) is expensive.

I'd suggest you learn a bit about Angkor so you can decide whether to go there. You are welcome to view our photos at www.marlandc.com

For hotels, you might consider a serviced apartment in Bangkok. Look for instance at the Centrepoint Silom which is very well located. I'm not sure if you would be better off with three separate apartments or a three bedroom apartment.

In Chiang Mai, the Baan Orapin gets rave reviews. It's small and family-owned. It's well below your price range, so you can save some money there and splash out a bit in Bangkok or at the beach. Do a search here to read more about it.

You guys are great I'll do some homework and get back with any questions.
Thanks
Al

Nice photo's Katie.
Can anyone tell me if it is an option to hire out a car and driver to take us from Bangkok to Chaing Mai or Phuket or is it better to fly. The flights are about an hour and about $100
Thanks

Definitely better to fly!

Fly. You'll spend (waste) a day driving from place to place. And I would expect the price of a car and driver to be at least $100, probably more. It's a looong drive. You can also find cheaper flights if you wish. The cheapest flights are likely Air Asia, but Nok is a better budget airline. Bangkok Air (with it's Discovery Pass) is one other option. And Thai Air also has a pass.

We can help out with the boxing part. There are 2 main stadiums in bkk, and they have fights on alternate nights, so when you figure out which night you want to go, it will be easy to pick the stadium! We went to lumpini and it was great! Its right by the night market and the joe lewis puppet theatre. We took a taxi, but the mrt station is right there also.

You can also take an overnight sleeper to Chiang Mai too! This would save you paying another night in a hotel in Bangkok.

The overnight sleeper will bring you into Chiang Mai early in the morning around 7 or 8 a.m.

You should get your tickets a few days before your train trip.

In regard to hotels when you say $100 a night do you mean for all six people or for several rooms at 100 each.

The Somerset suwan Park is a apt. type hotel in a great location and a 3 bedroom is around 8100 baht.

Centre Ponte Silom does not have a 3 bedroom but 3 studios would be about 8000 baht.

Cheaper would be the Evergreen Place Apts also in a good location and a 2BR plus a 1BR would be 4200 baht with breakfast extra.

Thanks for your input. To clarify I meant $100 per room or $300 to $375 per night for 6 people.
We were looking for something traditional instead of a hotel, like a villa.
Boxing sounds great, is it difficult to get front row seats and how much?
How about a spa. I would like to treat my family to a day at the spa I guess that's arount 3 to 4 hours
I plan to have no brain wave when I leave. Any suggestions? I have lookes at the Face Spa

Thanks guys

Face can only accommodate 4 people at a time in two treatment rooms. There are zillions of spas in Bangkok. Your hotel will likely have one, but there are lots of free standing spas.

Someone recently reported on one called "healthland." Google it, as I remember they had a website. I'm sure others will have ideas.

There have been a couple of reports on boxing... if you search this site you should find some posts.

Thanks Katie,
I found Heartland, a two hour session for 350 bath.
I also found www.thaioasis.com/mb/bkkdayspasoverview.php
This web sit wit many more. I heard of the Penninsula Spa but don't know where it is. Google doesn't identify location. I would like treatments for couples.
Your great to respond so frequently, are you in the travel business?
Al

The Peninsula Spa is in the Peninsula Hotel on the river.

Oasis should be very nice. I used them in Chiang Mai.

Virtually all of the spas will have treatment rooms for couples. I've never been to one that did not.

No, I'm not in the travel biz. Travel to Asia is pure pleasure for me! I've been traveling to Asia (especially Bangkok, which I usually use as an entry/exit point) for over twenty years and I still find lots of new things to do and see.

Front fow seats are not a problem at all! Usually, the first 2 sections are all tourists, and the third section is all Thai. The third section is where all the betting goes on, it was just as much fun to watch all that as it was to watch the match itself!

Well this trip is starting to form up. We have a plan for the 3 areas we will visit,4 days in Bangkok, 4 days in Phuket, 4 days in Chang Mai.
Next Hotels it seems that Bangkok has areas to it Suvarnabhumi, Don Muang, Banglampoo etc. is that true.If it is, is one area better, nicer,safer,central located than any other? I feel confident I can find a hotel I just want to make sure it's in the rignt place.
Will the hotels help events we want to go to? Will hotels pick up at airport or do we hire a car?
Thanks
Al

BKK does have many areas. Lots of us on this forum recommend that you stay on the river. It is a pleasant respite from the frantic nature of BKK. In ascending price order they are Royal Orchid Sheraton and Marriott Resort, then Shangri-la, then Peninsula and finally, the Oriental.