Swiimming Pools For Serious Swimmers

[trader1]

WE can use this thread to list hotels/sport clubs with good training pools.

this article gives a good intro. with locations.

http://www.offtherails.com/bigsplash.html

Among the many area pools, two stand out for their combination of decent length with lush resort settings. The Pathumwan Princess Hotel boasts a 25m by 16m pool amidst a spacious rooftop setting. Serious swimmers will be happy to know the Club actually reserves four lanes for lap swimming only. Access to the pool and fitness centre runs 450 Baht (US$12) for the day or 22,000 Baht (US$579) for a year.

Just off South Sathorn Road on Soi 1, Pantip Court has a unique L-shaped pool that runs 25m long and 5.5m wide on each leg and is set in an extravagant garden. You can enjoy the pool and fitness centre for a daily fee of 321 Baht (US$8.50) or a promotional membership fee of 22,000 Baht (US$579) for 15 months.

Nearby the Pathumwan Princess Hotel, next to MBK Shopping Centre, the National Stadium, offers use of its 50m pool to members only at 30 Baht (US$.80) per day. Yearly membership is only 300 Baht (US$8) along with a photocopy of your passport, two photos, and 50 metre swimming test. Unfortunately, the pool is often sectioned off for swimming lessons during the summer months (March-May), turning it into an extremely wide 25m pool. The pool opens for one-and-a-half hour intervals weekdays from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm, and weekends from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm. Although the pool complex is not luxurious, the stadium seats, diving tower and time clock add a dramatic touch to your laps. For true stadium inspiration, head to the beautiful 50m pool at the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) complex at Hua Mark on Ramkamhaeng Road. You can swim past the rows of bleachers as the pool’s floodlights and the concrete hulk of Rajamangala Stadium loom above you. The pool opens at 6:00 am until 8:00 am and then for two-and-a-half hour intervals until 8:30 pm. Access is 30 Baht (US.80) and 15 Baht (US$.40) for members. A swimming-only SAT membership will cost you 370 Baht (US$10) for the year, and access to the entire complex costs 570 Baht (US$17).

The peaceful setting at the JW Marriott

If you’re looking for an affordable pool in a more intimate setting, you can try the 30m pool at the Lawn Tennis Sports Club in the Muang Thong Thani complex on Chaeng Wattana Road. The suburban, fresh air setting offers open space, tennis courts next door and flower petals blowing into the pool for 30 Baht (US$.80) per visit. Members pay 1,500 Baht (US$40) per year and 20 Baht (US$.70) per visit. The pool is open daily from 10:00 am to 8:30 pm.

Plenty of room to swim or bask in the sun at the Pathumwan Princess Pool

If the aforementioned pools are too big or serious for your swimming style, there are many other choices around Bangkok. Lap swimming is usually possible at these other locations but you may need to do some swerving with your stroke. Just off of Soi Thonglor, the Grand Tower has a 24m pool in their courtyard. The charge for a day is only 150 Baht (US$4) or 300 Baht (US$8) for pool and fitness centre access. The daily fee is not a great value compared to some of the more up-market facilities but yearly membership of 5,500 Baht (US$145) is a terrific deal. Close to the centre of town on Petchburi Soi 6, the recently refurbished 24m pool at Diana Sports Club costs only 60 Baht (US$1.50) for non-members and 30 Baht (US$.75) for members. Memberships run 1,000 Baht (US$26) for the year.

Edited August 2, 2007 by trader1

[THAILIBAN]

PYIAROM SPORTS CLUB at Sukhumvit near 101/1 (Bangchak) has an excellent 50-meter-pool and its entire sporting and Gym facilities are probably the best to be had in bangkok.

Not really a Cheapo, though

[trader1]

It sounds perfect. I found somemore but no details:

Soi Klang Racquet Club (25m)

Queen Sirikit Park Pool (25m)

Grand Tower Guest House (25m)

Pantip Court (25m)

71 Sports Club (25m)

Piyarom Sports Club (50m)

The Olympic Club at the Pathumwan Princess Hotel (25m)

Trinity Fitness Center (25m)

Kasetsart University (50m)

National Stadium (50m)

Nawasri Place Apartments (25m)

Sport Authority of Thailand (50m)

[trader1]

25 M pool http://www.trinitycorp.com/html/fitness_center.html

Annual Membership Fees

15,900 Bt./Individual./Year.

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Nichada International Country Club Tel: +66 (0) 2583 5333- Olympic Sized swimming pools

Edited August 2, 2007 by trader1

[trader1]

Fitness centers, but only a few of these have pools

Fitness Centers

Body System Sports Centre Tel: +66 (0) 2661-0007-8

Cardio Kick Paul Bailey

Tel: +66 (0) 1697-3669

email

Chi Ball Tel: +66 (0) 2260-5630

email

Clark Hatch Physical Fitness Centres Tel: +66 (0) 2308-2779-81

Gold Gym Tel: +66 (0) 2619-0460-2

Imperial Queen's Park Hotel Tel: +66 (0) 2261-9000-99

Karuehaad Thyat Sports Club Tel: +66 (0) 2583-4461-5

Olympic Club Tel: +66 (0) 2216-3700-29 http://www.theolympic-club.com/swimming.asp?language=en

Pacific City Club Tel: +66 (0) 2653-2450-63

Pantip Court Health & Fitness Training Tel: +66 (0) 2679-8679, 2285-0169 x6800

Philip Wain International Tel: +66 (0) 2254-5071-3

Profit Professional Fitness Training Tel: +66 (0) 2262-0520-2

Rama Gardens Hotel Tel: +66 (0) 2561-0022

71 Sports Club Tel: +66 (0) 2391-6773

Slim & Swim Spa Tel: +66 (0) 2393-0889

Silom Fitness Centre Tel: +66 (0) 2636-0667-9

The Aspara Tel: +66 (0) 2650-8800 x5010

The Grande Spa & Fitness Club Tel: +66 (0) 2653-0333

YMCA Tel: +66 (0) 2287-1900, 2287-2727

YWCA Tel: +66 (0) 2679-1281

email

Edited August 2, 2007 by trader1

[trader1]

http://www.clarkhatchthailand.com/EN_BR_nichada.htm

[Old Man River]

PYIAROM SPORTS CLUB at Sukhumvit near 101/1 (Bangchak) has an excellent 50-meter-pool and its entire sporting and Gym facilities are probably the best to be had in bangkok.

Not really a Cheapo, though

A cheapo when compared to RBSC. Nice people, a pool that is 50 meters by 25 meters so lanes stay open for lap swimmers, first class gym facilities, tennis courts, squash courts etc. Really a nice place.

[sibeymai]

If in the Prachin Buri area the Tawaravadee Resort near the 304 Industrial Park has a near 25m pool in a nice setting for 100bt a day or 4,000bt a year (swimming only). Also golf driving range, tennis courts, gym and massage for that "full body" workout.

[samran]

Patumwan princess is a great salt water pool but it best when there is no body there either early in the morning or an hour before closing. I used to be a member there but got sick of the old ladies with big hair getting in the way and incredibly bad swimmers using the fast lane. Yes, I am a pool nazi.

[zzdocxx]

Nice thread, just bumping it for my own benefit.

The daily prices at some of those hotels seems kinda steep! I swam at the YMCA several years ago, but had to take a taxi from my Sukhumvit area hotel. It was kinda crowded but fun because there was a Thai age group team working out, just kids actually. They had sort of a weird system for fitting everyone into the lanes, rather chaotic actually!

Some old timers also took me to nearby hotel (north side of Sukhumvit?) which had sort of a roof top pool, I guess it was about 25m in length. We just kinda "sneaked in" there and I did my laps. (Trying to remember the name, the hotel was showing its age but great real pool!) BTW this pool was way more serious than the MG or the Marriott. (Could it have been the Ambassador?)

Swam at Majestic Grande when I stayed there, not super for swimming laps but it is possible to get a workout in.

Paid to swim at the Marriot one day, the pool was a little better than the MG, again it was enough to get in some yardage.

In Pattaya of course I had to stay at the Novatel Lodge. Great pool! I believe I also visited it but I did not stay there several years ago. The hotel itself is a little run down but serviceable.

Wow, great to know there are other serious swimmers here! How in shape I am varies from year to year and from month to month! (Lately not as good.)

I like the idea of the SAT pool. Funny how much time one can spend going to and from plus working out. I suppose it is time well spent though, probably better than surfing the net!

Well I am an infrequent visitor to Thailand so I can't contribute too much here. Funny though, thinking of all the places I swam in my short time there!

Edited September 1, 2007 by zzdocxx

[THAILIBAN]

PYIAROM SPORTS CLUB at Sukhumvit near 101/1 (Bangchak) has an excellent 50-meter-pool and its entire sporting and Gym facilities are probably the best to be had in bangkok.

Not really a Cheapo, though

A cheapo when compared to RBSC. Nice people, a pool that is 50 meters by 25 meters so lanes stay open for lap swimmers, first class gym facilities, tennis courts, squash courts etc. Really a nice place.

are you a member there ? how much is your annual fee ? I lived just a stone-throw away til March 2007, and went to their office that time to ask for details...... if I remember that right, they asked for around 30.000 Baht a year.... which I found was not really a bargain, compared to what I would have to pay in my European home country...

[Old Man River]

PYIAROM SPORTS CLUB at Sukhumvit near 101/1 (Bangchak) has an excellent 50-meter-pool and its entire sporting and Gym facilities are probably the best to be had in bangkok.

Not really a Cheapo, though

A cheapo when compared to RBSC. Nice people, a pool that is 50 meters by 25 meters so lanes stay open for lap swimmers, first class gym facilities, tennis courts, squash courts etc. Really a nice place.

are you a member there ? how much is your annual fee ? I lived just a stone-throw away til March 2007, and went to their office that time to ask for details...... if I remember that right, they asked for around 30.000 Baht a year.... which I found was not really a bargain, compared to what I would have to pay in my European home country...

I have been an lifetime member (lifetime of their lease) now for several years, after finding it much cheaper than what I was paying for RBSC. Still, compared to Europe and the US it is expensive and I am afraid getting more so. They are just finishing an improvement program (new locker rooms etc.) and from what I remember of the prices being advertised at their entrance on Sukhumvit it looks like it is now much more expensive than before. I am remembering something like THB 24,000 for a family membership for 3 months. While still cheaper than RBSC, it is starting to price itself nearer to that level.

[zzdocxx]

Just wondering if any of you guys can confirm about the Ambassador, I looked at some pics on the internet and it does look familiar.

As I said, I sneaked in there, but am wondering if they have a day use fee. Great pool BTW and I think it has been "remodeled", from the look of the recent photos.

John

[trader1]

Just wondering if any of you guys can confirm about the Ambassador, I looked at some pics on the internet and it does look familiar.

As I said, I sneaked in there, but am wondering if they have a day use fee. Great pool BTW and I think it has been "remodeled", from the look of the recent photos.

John

I think the day fee is about 100 baht, which includes use of gym.

[zzdocxx]

To me, that sounds like a good deal compared to the $8 - 12 US that it costs for the fancy hotels.

Thanks!

[trader1]

went to ambassdor last week. prices are now 100 baht for hotel guests for gym and pool and 300 baht for non guests.

[jfchandler]

Regarding the Ambassador pool, I like it very much after having joined there in the past couple weeks.

I concur with some comments stated above: the hotel's fitness center is a bit worn, though the staff is friendly and helpful, and it includes indoor steam rooms and jacuzzis. The outdoor pool is 17 meters, very clean and fresh, and has adjoining bar for drinks and health center for Thai massage, which they'll also do poolside.

I didn't check about pool only acccess. But for fitness center and pool combined, Ambassador is now offering memberships of either 1) a special of two people, one month for 1,100 baht, or 2) a year for about 6,000 baht. I started with the one month trial, but now intend to renew that as annual for access to the pool and fitness center.

The price is great, especially compared to fitness center places like California WOW where you get blasted by techno music. It's also not nearly so pricey as other hotels like the Westin or Sheraton. They certainly have the usual treadmills, bicycles and various weigh machines. It's also rarely busy except with some Thai locals and hotel guests, meaning I can swim and work out in relative peace.

Because the pool is in a hotel setting, the hours are long -- from early morning until night every day, a bit longer on weekdays, and a bit shorter on weekends. But still until 8 pm at night for the pool, and 9 pm weekends and 10 pm weekdays for the fitness center.

Another nice advantage: the Ambassador is just a very short, minutes walk from Nana BTS.

PS - This is my first post as a new member and longtime reader, recently and permanently arrived from Los Angeles. All the coment and advice here, always taken with some degree of caution, has been very valuable to me as I prepared and executed my move here.

Thanks, John

[trader1]

Did a couple of km at the Thammasart University (rangsit campus)pool last night. They have two 50m X25 pools. Clear, clean, cool water . 50baht entry fee. Outstanding facility.

[trader1]

25 meter pools

Racquet Club, Soi Klang, Sukhumvit Soi 49

Lumpini Park (on end closer to Rama 4) and Benjasiri Park (next to Emporium, pool is at back of park)

Annual membership is B100 and per hour is about B25/40. As in most public pools in Bangkok you need a medical certificate and two passport photos.

They have set times which are:

15:00-16:00 /16:30-17:30 / 18:00-19:00…and so on….

50 meter pools

National Stadium

Chulalongkorn University

Between Henri Dunang and Phaythai roads and is about a 5-10 min walk

from the MRT station on Rama 4.

Monthly membership of B1000, annual B5,000

Need a medical certificate and two passport photos.

Hours: weekdays -08:30-21:00 /weekends -08:30-18:00

Thai-Japan Youth Centre in Din Daeng.

The centre is on Mitrimatri Road, which runs off Din Daeng (and is parallel

to Vibhavadi). The Information Desk is at Gate 2 and the pool is at Gate

3. The nearest BTS is Victory Monument. Its probably a little far and

unpleasant to walk from the BTS, but there are buses along Ding Daeng (#13)

and taxis all seem to know ‘Thai-Yippon Din Daeng‘.

There is a marginally-useful map available at:

http://www.thaiaikikai.com/eng/location_tj.html

Annual membership is 40 Baht, and then it’s 15 Baht per swim. As in most public pools in Bangkok you need a medical certificate and two passport photos.

The pool is open every day except for Mondays.

[zzdocxx]

Bump.