Hotel bungalow suggestion please

[thaitot]

Hello to all. My Thai wife and I will be returning to Thailand the end of November beginning of December. Can anyone offer me any suggestions on accommodations in the cha am Hua Hin area. Her brother and sister-in-law along with two kids 4 and 7 will be picking us up  We want to treat them to a 3 day holiday away from home. Preferably close to the beach something for kids to do easy access to Thai food and pool would be nice. We will have transportation. We are not high end travelers. My wife and I have been married for 14 years and reside in the USA she has a good job and wants to spend some money and splurge a little  we have visited Hua Hua in the past 3 times pre Covid. I will start a new thread for suggestions for purchasing a condo or house fully aware I can not own land. I am of the don’t invest more than you can stomach to loose theory and renting may be a better option. My wife has saved 2 million and I told here I would match that but we are not bound by those numbers.  But we just want to look around and see what is available so we will spend some extra days looking at new developments I search lazudi  bahtsold and Craigslist weekly viewing homes in these areas I am currently retired but months away from social security we own 4 homes and rentals in the USA and have savings 401k, so we are ok financially. I know there are other countries to settle down in. We are looking for a 6 month in Thailand 6 month USA situation. We spent 6 months in Chiang Mai and liked the area but I really do not want the smoke thing but I am aware it is everywhere. From here we will head south to Krabi and maybe Phuket , we have about 4 weeks to work with. Thanks in advance for any suggestions. 

[1FinickyOne]

You seem like a thoughtful guy - there are many beachfront across the street places to stay in Cha'am for a vacation. I have not been in years but used to enjoy Methavali which I believe has a refurbished newer wing, which would account for some of the mixed reviews I have seen... as the olld wing rates poorly - but nice pool, nice location. 

 

As for the rest of it, shop around - my opinion being the further south you go, the more beautiful but the less you feel like you are in Thailand... for worse, not better. I have enjoyed vacations there but not for living there. 

[Sparktrader]

Booking.com

 

 

[robertson468]

1 hour ago, Sparktrader said:

Booking.co

 

You may find that quite an expensive option as they add nearly 20% commission to the Owner's rates.  PM me and I might be able to help both with rental and purchase. 

 

I went down the same route you are thinking of by purchasing and building and putting the property in your Thai Wife's name.  In the end, we built six rental units and turned it into a little Resort, which handsomely compliments the various pensions I have, also once I leave this mortal earth, my lovely Wife has an ongoing income, either to continue running it or by selling it.  The value of the land alone has increased more than 300% since purchasing it 16 years ago.

 

Delighted to help if I can.  David.  

[Sparktrader]

2 minutes ago, robertson468 said:

You may find that quite an expensive option as they add nearly 20% commission to the Owner's rates.  PM me and I might be able to help both with rental and purchase. 

 

I went down the same route you are thinking of by purchasing and building and putting the property in your Thai Wife's name.  In the end, we built six rental units and turned it into a little Resort, which handsomely compliments the various pensions I have, also once I leave this mortal earth, my lovely Wife has an ongoing income, either to continue running it or by selling it.  The value of the land alone has increased more than 300% since purchasing it 16 years ago.

 

Delighted to help if I can.  David.  

1000 baht cheaper if 4 star and above. Been proven many times.

 

3 stars deal direct.

[robertson468]

1 minute ago, Sparktrader said:

1000 baht cheaper if 4 star and above. Been proven many times.

 

3 stars deal direct.

Sorry, I don't understand your post?

[Sparktrader]

1 minute ago, robertson468 said:

Sorry, I don't understand your post?

Written in English. 

[robertson468]

1 minute ago, Sparktrader said:

Written in English. 

?

[PaoloR]

37 minutes ago, robertson468 said:

?

I think what he is trying to say is:

The booking agencies (Agoda, Booking .com, Expedia etc.) charge varying rates to hotels. For 4 and 5 star they generally charge around 5% but for smaller hotels they charge anything up to 25%. For this reason booking directly with 3 star and lower hotels will normally get you a useful discount.

In addition in a smaller hotel will normally give you access to a manager who can authorise a discount, whereas the larger and more expensive hotels normally won't discount as you don't get access to a decision maker.

Small and medium hotels are increasingly disillusioned with the way they are treated by the major hotel booking agencies and are using airbnb and other such agencies who charge significantly lower rates. Savvy travelers use the major sites for information and planning, then book direct through the hotel's website or contact the hotel by phone

[thaitot]

Thanks for the responses. I can find a hotel using any of the online booking sites. Usually I prefer to land with a back pack then do my hotel search on foot. The only difference is I will  have an additional family with me so it requires a little more planning.  Thanks steve

[robertson468]

23 hours ago, PaoloR said:

I think what he is trying to say is:

The booking agencies (Agoda, Booking .com, Expedia etc.) charge varying rates to hotels. For 4 and 5 star they generally charge around 5% but for smaller hotels they charge anything up to 25%. For this reason booking directly with 3 star and lower hotels will normally get you a useful discount.

In addition in a smaller hotel will normally give you access to a manager who can authorise a discount, whereas the larger and more expensive hotels normally won't discount as you don't get access to a decision maker.

Small and medium hotels are increasingly disillusioned with the way they are treated by the major hotel booking agencies and are using airbnb and other such agencies who charge significantly lower rates. Savvy travelers use the major sites for information and planning, then book direct through the hotel's website or contact the hotel by phone

Many thanks for your clarification, much appreciated!  I notice that one person says they are happy to look up the hotel on the various websites and then arrive and go and look for them.  This only works if you have a location and of course Google Map can be very helpful, but if you mention Google Map on any of these websites, that part of the message will be blocked by the website, understandable.  You are also absolutely right that some website charges are exorbitant, which is rather sad during  this period of recovery when many have either received no bookings at all or have reduced the prices by as much as 60% to attract the few Tourists who are still traveling.  I don't think that Thailand Tourist Industry will fully recover until 2024, if then!