• Alternative State Quarantine reviews

[farmerjo]

2 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

Note to self: Belaire: The ‘No 7-11 requests allowed' is a show stopper.

Especially when the 7/11 was 30 metres from hotel entrance.

[treetops]

6 hours ago, farmerjo said:

. . . no 7/11 requests allowed.

Did you (or anyone) attempt a 7/11 delivery order?  That might have been a way round it.

[eastbaybob]

On 10/31/2020 at 12:39 PM, Sheryl said:

Could you elaborate on the bed? 

As the other guy mentioned, the bed is soft and they put a cover on top of the mattress that has fluffiness also.  I think it’s in the top 5 most comfortable beds I used in Thailand.

[Sheryl]

1 hour ago, eastbaybob said:

As the other guy mentioned, the bed is soft and they put a cover on top of the mattress that has fluffiness also.  I think it’s in the top 5 most comfortable beds I used in Thailand.

Thanks, very good to know. In >30 years in Thailand I have not stayed anywhere with a bed that could be called soft (to put it mildly).

 

Even if I never have to use this for quarantine (as I hope I don't) I'llk certainly try it in future.

[BKKBike09]

A friend of mine did ASQ at the Anantara Riverside (THB 77,000). He took 'partial river view' room and said it was ideal because it's a decent sized room with a good balcony, from which both gardens and river can be seen so plenty to look at. Food was good and property is very large which means that when you are let out for the daily exercise period, there is actually somewhere to go rather than corridor to lift, lift to lobby, pace around, go back to room etc. Sure it's not cheap but he said it was *almost* like being on holiday. Friends are also allowed to drop off care packages including food [according to hotel FAQ though items prohibited for delivery include "alcohol, narcotics, weapons and ammunition", so no Hemingway-inspired care packages then ...].

 

IMHO spending to stay somewhere like this sounds way more attractive than saving USD 1000 to be locked in a tiny room without human contact or a window that opens, killing time waiting for luke warm food court 'food', for two weeks.

[TimBKK]

On 10/31/2020 at 7:17 AM, jte said:

My wife is staying at the Pullman G. It was 60000 baht for the package.

She says the rooms are very nice and the food is too much, and if you have every seen a Thai lady eat you know that is saying something.

She has had Thai and Falang food both and says everything is hot and tasty and too much.

Three meals a day as well as afternoon tea.

Another reason I chose it for her is I only had to put down 5000 baht. They changed the reservation for me without any problem when I thought that she needed a covid test, she is Thai so only needed the fit to fly certificate.

Did the wife have access to fitness/gym or outdoor space - if yes presume it was after the first covid test?

[cjinchiangrai]

On 10/30/2020 at 9:10 PM, Polaky said:

Plenty of reviews on facebook, *Thailand asq hotels*, you can also put a request in with your dates and budget to get quotes.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/298606387906884/

There is an ASQ review page that is not the marketing driven stuff from the hotels.

 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1859391754195276/

[verticalift]

A  The Anantara Riverside is excellent. I’m now into day 13 of my ASQ here...... I could easily do another 2 weeks here.
 

Minivan from the airport to the hotel on arrival. Included in ASQ package. (Normal price: 1,500B). 
 

The Riverside Room (77,000B incl Tax) overlooking the Chao Phraya River with access to the balcony. Can watch the boats and barges all day long if you want. No getting bored here.
 

Nurse comes to your door twice per day to check your temps. Two (2) Covid Tests included (Normal price 3,200 ea if you had to pay yourself) 

 

Housekeeping every third day.

 

High thread count bed sheets. View of the river from the bed. Good WiFi. Good TV. Good Food..... First 3 days meals are served in plastic containers. No problem... still good quality. After that, on normal chinaware with normal silverware. Meal selection is good and included in ASQ package. Size of meals are perfect and what you would expect at a 4/5 star hotel.  Can also order from the normal Room Service menu if you want...... at normal prices. Looking at the Room Service menu, I estimated that if the ASQ meals had to be paid for, I would be averaging 3,500B/day + Tax, just for the meals.
Do the math.....over 15 days.

 

Complimentary Coffee/Tea cart comes around to your room every afternoon. Sadly, no Heineken or Tiger.

 

Unlimited bottled water.

Mini Refrigerator and Kettle for coffee/tea. Bring your own coffee machine, or press for morning coffee. I brought a small Nespresso Machine.
 

Access to the Hotel patio and gardens alongside the river after 1st -‘ve Covid Test for 1 1/2/Hrs per day.

You choose the timings of your walkabout.....

Anantara Riverside is great value at only 77,000B given that everything is included and there are no taxes.

 

The balcony access is what makes the ASQ very do-able and relaxing here. Treat it like a long overdue Detox getaway and enjoy......

 

Highly recommended.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[georgey]

On 11/3/2020 at 5:26 AM, soidog2 said:

As far as I can tell it's Movenpick only

I think in fact it's down to the hospital with which the hotel is tied in. Movenpick uses Bangkok Hospital, as does Royal Suites, which I used. Being 60+ I had to spend night 1 in hospital. The difference for me was that while Movenpick tells you over 60s have to go to hospital (& that was the reason I didn't use it), RS doesn't make this clear, & only told me a couple of days before departure, & charged me another B3,500 for the privilege. Otherwise RS, at B44,000, was quite decent, as older-style hotels go (lots of dark wood, etc.). Big room, cooking facilities, balcony. Food a bit ordinary though, but microwave helped. I had a lot of films, TV series downloaded onto an external drive, which helped a lot.

[ReLo]

On 10/29/2020 at 10:27 PM, soidog2 said:

There are many ways to express opinions without insulting anyone; also PMs work well.

yes, and very useful for the rest of the readers !

please all, grow some and post anything you want !

 

[ronaldo0]

There is a list someone put on a post I wrote the other day that has all the included parts in packages and costs . Most have internet , tv food , tests etc but I noted some had 24hr doctor and nurse assistance if needed and one place had two packages extra which would have taken in a second. First was exercise equipment for 1600 bht for some weights , exercise mat and something else . Second was a PlayStation 4 with games which was 3600 bht rental for the two weeks . Also I noted that some places listed mini bar and room service above the basic 3 meals a day and others also had a la carte menu as well as set menu .

Depends how easy you find it to be stuck in a room for two weeks but as someone who has spent 6 months in hospital beds before without going outside then two weeks in a room is a walk in the park to me ! 

[DrPhibes]

O2 was very much an average hotel at 38,000 for the 2 weeks that also had a balcony with a chair (not much of a view but somewhere to sit with coffee as the sun rose).  They had a C-19/general health screen set up in a room off from the hotel entrance and you were tested on the way in.  Food was street food quality and you did get a choice of 3 for each meal and one was always vegetarian but all Thai food, no western.  There was an optional menu you pay extra for but it was more of the same.  Portions were meager, heavy on rice.  They start you off with a bunch of water and instant coffee/creamer/sugar but it all ran out about the last 3 days of quarantine and you had to purchase more (trivial amounts).  The TV was strictly Thai channels, half of which were educational during the day.  Actually sat in on some physics, organic chemistry, and material science classes, no such thing as an ex-engineer.  I also had work/Netflix/video with the family/exercising to keep me busy.  The two weeks actually flew by.

[jimn]

On 10/30/2020 at 8:07 PM, EVENKEEL said:

The way I understand it you have to pay for ASQ and flight before you can get COE I think that's the right acronym. But, some drinking buddies were telling me different.

 

Thanks for clarification.

Correct

[jimn]

No reviews on here but its an excellent site to choose your ASQ

https://asq.wanderthai.com/

[Piscis]

Arrived yesterday in ASQ Hotel Chor Cher, SE BKK Airport. Just a 15 Minute ride from BKK.

 

I choose this ASQ facility because of:

 

• Balcony to the south (i requested that early)

• 100% - 5 days cancelation policy.

• 37.000THB was in the lower price segment, though a 4 Star facility

• well outside BKK in the green.

 

After the first 24 hours in ASQ, a short overview:

 

Food: You can choose from a couple of Thai and intl. Food. Taste is very good, ammount OK.

 

Room: I did not opt for the upgraded suite. For me it was more important to have a balcony that can be opend to the south... and it is just like that. Big sliding window, full size access to southern balcony. Very nice! Rom has a modern interior, Flatscreen TV. I was able to connect the TV via HDMI to my Laptop. So Netflix and Co no problem!

 

Ammenities: Lots of Water, Fruit Juice, Milk, Coffee, Sugar, Shampoo, Soap. Bowl and dishwash soap. Big fridge...

 

All communication via Phone and Line APP (a must here!). 2 COVID Tests, daily temp. Check twice.

 

WiFi is OK. Enough to stream movies. Login via extra website. Sometimes a bit pita... but works OK. Can only connect 2 devices at the same time. But can switch easily.

 

TV: Many Thai channels. 3-4 englisch. CNN and a Movie Channel. Which is OK.

 

Staff: At Phone and Line very friendly and helpfull. Immidiate response. Can order food and other stuff from 7-11 using online order document. Really nothing to complain here!

 

After first neg. test, can leave room. Not sure how long and what to do... Will see then in 5 days.

 

I would come here again? So far: Yes!

 

Best regards,

 

John

[Piscis]

One more thing to add. The Rooms on the south site of the Hotel offers view to a little green sump and next to it a parking lot. During the last days i was able to see (not meet) my gf on that lot, and other guests seem to use that parking lot too. If you have a room on the lower floors, you might be able to talk without a phone...

 

John

[jacko45k]

4 hours ago, Piscis said:

One more thing to add. The Rooms on the south site of the Hotel offers view to a little green sump and next to it a parking lot. During the last days i was able to see (not meet) my gf on that lot, and other guests seem to use that parking lot too. If you have a room on the lower floors, you might be able to talk without a phone...

 

John

Aww, how sad.

[peterdwje2]

Wondering  -- do none of the ASQ hotels in Bangkok allow you to order meals or groceries from Grab, etc.? 

[Salerno]

Plenty of reports of staff going to 7-11 for people.

[richard_smith237]

5 minutes ago, peterdwje2 said:

Wondering  -- do none of the ASQ hotels in Bangkok allow you to order meals or groceries from Grab, etc.? 

 

None that I know of do. There’s a fairly solid reason why. 

 

People in quarantine present a potentially elevated level of risk to medical employees in hospitals etc. 

Thus, if an ASQ resident was to order some food from an outside vendor and became unwell, they’d present greater risk to the hospital staff. 

 

Unfortunately the regulation is based upon the lowest common denominator as policing a flexible policy would be impossible. Thus, any outside ‘fresh’ food is banned - this prevents people from ordering som-tam or any street food etc or from unlicensed or unchecked and vendors with poor hygiene standards. 

 

Alcohol is also banned as some will just make a nuisance of themselves when drunk and make unreasonable demands to go out etc. 

 

-----

 

That said - Staff will go to 7-11 for you for ’non-fresh’ items, chocolate, sweets, Crisps etc. 

They even got me fresh milk for my coffee. 

 

There was reports from one poster who mentioned that the Staff would not go to 7-11 for him (I can’t remember the hotel name and don’t want to guess incorrectly).

 

[Kiujunn]

On 11/13/2020 at 5:28 PM, Piscis said:

15 Minute ride from BKK.

45 min (25 km) from airport, 50km from downtown

On 11/13/2020 at 5:28 PM, Piscis said:

Balcony

Size of "balcony": 60cm x 260cm

BTW room size 28 sqm, this includes bathroom and various place-consuming built-in furniture

 

Balcony goes onto a busy road, except for the green and the parking lot as described,  quite noisy

On 11/13/2020 at 5:28 PM, Piscis said:

37.000THB

Can get 31000

If you want to confirm that you are the only passenger in transport from airport (in theory,  it should be like this anyway) they charge 3000

On 11/13/2020 at 5:28 PM, Piscis said:

4 Star

Maybe 3 star, a bit run down

terrible old mattresses, much too soft

On 11/13/2020 at 5:28 PM, Piscis said:

Lots of Water

Cheapo bottled water, Crystal brand, for me undrinkable

On 11/13/2020 at 5:28 PM, Piscis said:

Juice

Colored sugar water

 

On 11/13/2020 at 5:28 PM, Piscis said:

Coffee

Nescafe

 

On 11/13/2020 at 5:28 PM, Piscis said:

come here again?

Not sure

Price and cancellation policy are very good

Room is definitely small,  noisy

Mattress is a disaster

 

Their first meal gave me diarrhea. I hope otherwise their hygiene is ok.

 

[Kiujunn]

PS meals are lukewarm (most ASQ meals in cheaper hotels are cold), that's a  plus

Tasty and big enough

 

TV has Fox movies, CNN, true wild, true Asia Films, rest is Thai

 

During the night,  it's quiet

[edwardandtubs]

On 2/13/2021 at 1:15 PM, Kiujunn said:

 

Cheapo bottled water, Crystal brand, for me undrinkable

 

 

 

It's just purified water. How is that "undrinkable" unless you're a complete diva?

[Kiujunn]

4 hours ago, edwardandtubs said:

 

It's just purified water. How is that "undrinkable" unless you're a complete diva?

It's purified tap water,  and it tastes like purified tap water.

When I was a  backpacker, I drank tap water, purified tap water was too expensive.

There are much better alternatives, Mineré, Purra etc. They taste like water. 

[edwardandtubs]

1 hour ago, Kiujunn said:

It's purified tap water,  and it tastes like purified tap water.

When I was a  backpacker, I drank tap water, purified tap water was too expensive.

There are much better alternatives, Mineré, Purra etc. They taste like water. 

It uses reverse osmosis so there's no way you can taste anything. You're falling for the price as an indicator of quality fallacy.

[Kiujunn]

2 hours ago, edwardandtubs said:

It uses reverse osmosis so there's no way you can taste anything. You're falling for the price as an indicator of quality fallacy.

555

 

Like the monks telling Galilei that it wasn't possible he saw planets because there cannot be planets. So they needn't look through his telescope. 

 

Taste it yourself, better even,  have someone taste the difference who has a good sense of taste. 

 

[edwardandtubs]

1 hour ago, Kiujunn said:

555

 

Like the monks telling Galilei that it wasn't possible he saw planets because there cannot be planets. So they needn't look through his telescope. 

 

Taste it yourself, better even,  have someone taste the difference who has a good sense of taste. 

 

Of course there's a slight difference in taste because the reverse osmosis water is purer then the mineral water. You'd have to be slightly unhinged to consider it undrinkable though. It's just water.

[BritTim]

3 hours ago, Kiujunn said:

Like the monks telling Galilei that it wasn't possible he saw planets because there cannot be planets. So they needn't look through his telescope. 

 

Taste it yourself, better even,  have someone taste the difference who has a good sense of taste. 

 

For the most part, I agree with Edward. Reverse osmosis, as stated, produces purified water. However, unless equipment is well maintained, the purification may not be perfect. Also, and this is where I have some agreement with you, completely pure water does not test quite as good as water with some minerals that make the water harder. I am usually happy drinking pure water (which is certainly not undrinkable, even if fish do -uck in it) that may actually be healthier than mineral water when drunk in large quantities.

[Kiujunn]

6 hours ago, BritTim said:

 

For the most part, I agree with Edward. Reverse osmosis, as stated, produces purified water. However, unless equipment is well maintained, the purification may not be perfect. Also, and this is where I have some agreement with you, completely pure water does not test quite as good as water with some minerals that make the water harder. I am usually happy drinking pure water (which is certainly not undrinkable, even if fish do -uck in it) that may actually be healthier than mineral water when drunk in large quantities.

You are quite right. 

About the health benefits of drinking it in large quantities,  it's probably the other way round. 

 

Where I come from,  tap water is spring water. It's not mineral water,  but it's certainly not purified Chao-Phraya-water or something like that. It tastes like water,  whereas bottled reverse-osmosis water has this distinct rotten taste and I have to overcome a slight nausea to drink it. 

I don't know whether the reason is really just the absence of minerals. Maybe.

But there are differences in the taste of reverse-osmosis water, they don't taste all the same.

I don't know why. 

 

BTW as I said before,  as a backpacker I drank Bangkok tap water and it never occurred to me that the taste might not be perfect. 

 

[BritTim]

56 minutes ago, Kiujunn said:

Where I come from,  tap water is spring water. It's not mineral water,  but it's certainly not purified Chao-Phraya-water or something like that. It tastes like water,  whereas bottled reverse-osmosis water has this distinct rotten taste and I have to overcome a slight nausea to drink it.

Spring water (unless treated) usually has a lot of minerals. This sometimes makes it absolutely delicious, but it is not then "pure" and the taste varies tremendously depending on the minerals present which depends mainly on the predominant soil the water is filtered through. Water from artificial wells in Bangkok (where some of the tap water is sourced) was not terrible many years ago in spite of the predominant clay, but now is affected by both industrial pollution and (with the lower water table) salt water seepage. Even after treatment, Bangkok's tap water is typically high in sodium (unhealthy and not very good tasting). Reverse osmosis removes the sodium, but does not add minerals like calcium that improve the taste for drinking.