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Posted

Hi all there, I tried to search but cannot find an updated reviews about a GF hotel or other accomodation i.e. serviced apartment in Chang Mai.

Can anyone please recommend it ?

thank you

Posted (edited)

Once in a while, I used to stay in one on my birthday, but when I realized that 200 -300 dollars a night was not enough for them - that they would stop guests in the lobby and demand a guest fee for having a visitor for an hour or so - I decided to stick with more reasonable places.

Edited by Ulysses G.
Posted
Once in a while, I used to stay in one on my birthday, but when I realized that 200 -300 dollars a night was not enough for them - that they would stop guests in the lobby demand a guest fee for having a visitor for an hour or so - I decided to stick with more reasonable places.

Shock horror- posh hotels don't like short-time. :o

Actually from these reports, I guess they don't care; as long as they can screw you for more money, you can screw for as long (or short) as you like.

Posted (edited)

We did not have that trouble in Shanghai at a Holiday Inn. Or at reasonably cheap and even 3,300 baht/night hotels in Bangkok. Oh, well.I would not know about US$200/night hotels. :o

///added: I got an informal inquiry that this thread seems to be unreasonable. Report it if you wish.

Edited by PeaceBlondie
added comments
Posted

There's a place up from Kathaam Corner of the moat on Moonmuang behind the karaoke place where all the girls sit outside. It's a legit hotel, but with different renting options.

And btw, don't think a lady about town won't know where the places are. Just ask for a reco. They know all the hotels and their policies. (...And the drapes, and the windows, and the tv's that they stare at while at work.)

But likely, unless this guy IS a gluten-free traveler, I give this thread: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6.......

Posted (edited)

I think this is a valid topic. I understand that a workperson is worth their pay but I detest those who add extra to make money from them whether it be hotels or barowners.

Edited by harrry
Posted

Mandala House is GF friendly - in Chiang Mai the vast majority will be - not same in BKK these days where you DO have to ask the question about any additional charges for 'guests'

Posted
If you're looking for something a little more interesting than the run of the mill CM hotel, check this out :o

Too much text.......

ell, how was I to know? Adventure Hotel? Sounds like the kind of place I used to end up staying at in the back streets of Athens on my way out to Santorini or Mykanos about forty years ago. Since moving to Nong Hoi I’ve been passing this larger than life styled building improbably sited next to a flyover on Mahidol Road twice a day and was intrigued. I’d never actually seen anyone entering or leaving either; “Serves them right for putting a backpacker hotel in the middle of nowhere” I thought as I marched into the empty reception area.

It took about five seconds for the penny (or should that be baht?) to drop as I registered the wide selection of themed rooms on offer to adventure seeking guests and so picking up a brochure “for future reference”, I returned home to see what was on offer. Although the Adventure Hotel turned out to be something rather unique and not quite the place I first imagined, it got me thinking about the Love Hotel phenomena - here’s how it goes . . .

The 1930s were turbulent times for Thailand. It began the decade as the absolute monarchy known as Siam, introduced parliamentary rule in 1932 after a coup, changed its name to The Kingdom of Thailand in 1939 and opted to join the wrong side in the Second World War. In the midst of all this, the newly established democracy found time to reform the traditional marriage laws which had allowed polygamy for several hundred years although attempts had been made to change things as far back as 1912.

Up until 1936 it had been the custom for men with sufficient means to keep more than one wife and, as you might expect in a country full of rituals, things followed a fairly set face-saving social protocol. A mia luang (major wife) would usually be a man’s first marriage, the principal child bearer and manager of the household. While she was busy, the man might take one or more mia noi (minor wives), more or less a trophy wife who would be openly paraded at social functions although not in front of the mia luang. The real influence rested with mia luang but you can be sure that there were many internecine power struggles of the kind played out nightly on today’s melodramatic Thai TV soaps.

The law might have changed but social habits have a lot more momentum and the status of keeping a mia noi never really diminished in the way that perhaps the legislators had hoped. A man bragging about or showing off his mistress in most western countries would generally be regarded by his peers as gauche, an unprincipled cad or, in the case of John Bobbit asking for trouble, whereas in Thailand it’s none of these. Little seems to have altered in the world of the rich and powerful, still able to keep their peccadilloes in stylish apartments, but the emergence of a new middle class created a demand for the kind of instant mia noi as could be found in the karaoke bars and massage establishments sprouting up throughout the Kingdom. Frequenting these places in most countries tends to be a solitary activity that most are reluctant to admit to (the word prostitution being wholly pejorative to all but those who indulge) but here is regarded in an entirely different light and groups of men can be seen out on the town playing the one-upmanship game for the status of ‘entertaining’ the most attractive, hence most expensive, companion for the evening.

Where to take her . . . where to take her? Let’s get real - with the price of gas and all who can afford their own little love nest to retreat to? Naturally, it wasn’t long before a bunch of entrepreneurs saw the potential and Love Hotels - offering privacy by the hour, they started to spring up all over. Actually, transport seems to have played a major part in the design of these places which are loosely based on the concept of the ubiquitous US motel with a drive in bay directly linked to the room. To this day, the term motel is taken to mean a short time place in Thailand - in fact the Adventure Hotel was at great pains to point out to me that despite the drive-up-to-the-room format, it’s really trying to be a new kind of theme motel catering to customers looking for a fun place to stay, not simply to play. The majority of their guests are visitors to Chiang Mai and many bring families but I include it here because the rooms are masterpieces of kitsch and if you’re planning to stay all night it would be a perfect place to take that special person although at the weekends you’d better book or you might end up in the Aladdin Suite rather than the Space Station that you were fantasising about.

OK, so here’s the dirt - I mean low down . . .

We were told that there are about a hundred establishments in the Chiang Mai area and in the course of researching this article my girlfriend and I visited almost a dozen with loads more still on the map so this number seems feasible. All of the places were happy to talk to us with the exception of the Monument, who were downright hostile but since they’re only a stone’s throw from the Love Boat (my pick of the bunch), there was no need to press them for an interview.

It seems as if the vintage variety are fifteen to twenty years old, and many have rooms that haven’t been upgraded for most of that time. Most are based around a central court with drive in bays having either saloon type doors or a blind that keeps the vehicle registration number hidden while the customers slip discreetly into their room.

Charges vary but are based on the format of a price for the first hour (100 - 200 baht) depending on the luxury of the room and then a price (60 - 100) per extra hour. Most bookings last about an hour and a half we were told, although if you’re having a ball floating plastic ducks on the little stream that runs round your bed in the Dolphin Room at Love Boat, time might just fly and you’ll end up with a bigger bill. Rooms in all but the most basic joints have a TV and DVD player complete with, shall we say, stimulating material. Sadly, I thought, they missed a glorious opportunity to leave a copy of Flipper playing in the aforementioned Dolphin Room but I guess that might not be to everyone’s taste.

In most places room service is on hand to bring drinks or even a simple meal to your door and the provision of these is an important part of the operator’s income. Customers are mainly Thai and mostly arrive by car, although younger people on bikes frequent the older and cheaper establishments. I’d heard tell of a mahout arriving with his girlfriend and elephant after what must have been a successful evening’s trade down on Loi Kroh but as no-one can confirm the story it’ll have to keep its status as an urban legend.

All the managements we talked to have rigid policies with regards to the age of their customers, not only because these laws tend to be enforced with more vigour than, shall we say, those relating to motorbike safety but there’s a general feeling that kids are getting too active too early and it’s not to be encouraged. Although the level of underage pregnancies is growing in Thailand, it’s still way behind the UK who shamefully top the European tables despite educated kids who should at least know how to take precautions.

It seems like business is strong for the newer and more imaginative venues but that the old timers are losing their customers since there’s not that much difference in the pricing. Look out for those that don’t upgrade their facilities soon to be replaced by yet another ubiquitous apartment building or even simply convert the existing accommodation for long term rental as in the case of Flora House in Soi Chang Khian. Here you can set up residence for a very reasonable price in one of the small suites that probably still echo to the sounds of countless couples er...coupling, although should you notice that your new girlfriend unerringly finds her way to the bathroom in the pitch dark it might give you reason to ponder whether she’s quite as fresh off the bus from Udon as you thought...

Posted (edited)

Some of us older farts lose interest after 2 lines of text.

If you're looking for something a little more interesting than the run of the mill CM hotel, check this out :o

Too much text......

ell, how was I to know? Adventure Hotel? Sounds like the kind of place I used to end up staying at in the back streets of Athens on my way out to Santorini or Mykanos about forty years ago. Since moving to Nong Hoi I’ve been passing this larger than life styled building improbably sited next to a flyover on Mahidol Road twice a day and was intrigued. I’d never actually seen anyone entering or leaving either; “Serves them right for putting a backpacker hotel in the middle of nowhere” I thought as I marched into the empty reception area.

It took about five seconds for the penny (or should that be baht?) to drop as I registered the wide selection of themed rooms on offer to adventure seeking guests and so picking up a brochure “for future reference”, I returned home to see what was on offer. Although the Adventure Hotel turned out to be something rather unique and not quite the place I first imagined, it got me thinking about the Love Hotel phenomena - here’s how it goes . . .

The 1930s were turbulent times for Thailand. It began the decade as the absolute monarchy known as Siam, introduced parliamentary rule in 1932 after a coup, changed its name to The Kingdom of Thailand in 1939 and opted to join the wrong side in the Second World War. In the midst of all this, the newly established democracy found time to reform the traditional marriage laws which had allowed polygamy for several hundred years although attempts had been made to change things as far back as 1912.

Up until 1936 it had been the custom for men with sufficient means to keep more than one wife and, as you might expect in a country full of rituals, things followed a fairly set face-saving social protocol. A mia luang (major wife) would usually be a man’s first marriage, the principal child bearer and manager of the household. While she was busy, the man might take one or more mia noi (minor wives), more or less a trophy wife who would be openly paraded at social functions although not in front of the mia luang. The real influence rested with mia luang but you can be sure that there were many internecine power struggles of the kind played out nightly on today’s melodramatic Thai TV soaps.

The law might have changed but social habits have a lot more momentum and the status of keeping a mia noi never really diminished in the way that perhaps the legislators had hoped. A man bragging about or showing off his mistress in most western countries would generally be regarded by his peers as gauche, an unprincipled cad or, in the case of John Bobbit asking for trouble, whereas in Thailand it’s none of these. Little seems to have altered in the world of the rich and powerful, still able to keep their peccadilloes in stylish apartments, but the emergence of a new middle class created a demand for the kind of instant mia noi as could be found in the karaoke bars and massage establishments sprouting up throughout the Kingdom. Frequenting these places in most countries tends to be a solitary activity that most are reluctant to admit to (the word prostitution being wholly pejorative to all but those who indulge) but here is regarded in an entirely different light and groups of men can be seen out on the town playing the one-upmanship game for the status of ‘entertaining’ the most attractive, hence most expensive, companion for the evening.

Where to take her . . . where to take her? Let’s get real - with the price of gas and all who can afford their own little love nest to retreat to? Naturally, it wasn’t long before a bunch of entrepreneurs saw the potential and Love Hotels - offering privacy by the hour, they started to spring up all over. Actually, transport seems to have played a major part in the design of these places which are loosely based on the concept of the ubiquitous US motel with a drive in bay directly linked to the room. To this day, the term motel is taken to mean a short time place in Thailand - in fact the Adventure Hotel was at great pains to point out to me that despite the drive-up-to-the-room format, it’s really trying to be a new kind of theme motel catering to customers looking for a fun place to stay, not simply to play. The majority of their guests are visitors to Chiang Mai and many bring families but I include it here because the rooms are masterpieces of kitsch and if you’re planning to stay all night it would be a perfect place to take that special person although at the weekends you’d better book or you might end up in the Aladdin Suite rather than the Space Station that you were fantasising about.

OK, so here’s the dirt - I mean low down . . .

We were told that there are about a hundred establishments in the Chiang Mai area and in the course of researching this article my girlfriend and I visited almost a dozen with loads more still on the map so this number seems feasible. All of the places were happy to talk to us with the exception of the Monument, who were downright hostile but since they’re only a stone’s throw from the Love Boat (my pick of the bunch), there was no need to press them for an interview.

It seems as if the vintage variety are fifteen to twenty years old, and many have rooms that haven’t been upgraded for most of that time. Most are based around a central court with drive in bays having either saloon type doors or a blind that keeps the vehicle registration number hidden while the customers slip discreetly into their room.

Charges vary but are based on the format of a price for the first hour (100 - 200 baht) depending on the luxury of the room and then a price (60 - 100) per extra hour. Most bookings last about an hour and a half we were told, although if you’re having a ball floating plastic ducks on the little stream that runs round your bed in the Dolphin Room at Love Boat, time might just fly and you’ll end up with a bigger bill. Rooms in all but the most basic joints have a TV and DVD player complete with, shall we say, stimulating material. Sadly, I thought, they missed a glorious opportunity to leave a copy of Flipper playing in the aforementioned Dolphin Room but I guess that might not be to everyone’s taste.

In most places room service is on hand to bring drinks or even a simple meal to your door and the provision of these is an important part of the operator’s income. Customers are mainly Thai and mostly arrive by car, although younger people on bikes frequent the older and cheaper establishments. I’d heard tell of a mahout arriving with his girlfriend and elephant after what must have been a successful evening’s trade down on Loi Kroh but as no-one can confirm the story it’ll have to keep its status as an urban legend.

All the managements we talked to have rigid policies with regards to the age of their customers, not only because these laws tend to be enforced with more vigour than, shall we say, those relating to motorbike safety but there’s a general feeling that kids are getting too active too early and it’s not to be encouraged. Although the level of underage pregnancies is growing in Thailand, it’s still way behind the UK who shamefully top the European tables despite educated kids who should at least know how to take precautions.

It seems like business is strong for the newer and more imaginative venues but that the old timers are losing their customers since there’s not that much difference in the pricing. Look out for those that don’t upgrade their facilities soon to be replaced by yet another ubiquitous apartment building or even simply convert the existing accommodation for long term rental as in the case of Flora House in Soi Chang Khian. Here you can set up residence for a very reasonable price in one of the small suites that probably still echo to the sounds of countless couples er...coupling, although should you notice that your new girlfriend unerringly finds her way to the bathroom in the pitch dark it might give you reason to ponder whether she’s quite as fresh off the bus from Udon as you thought...

Edited by Blinky Bill
Posted (edited)
Some of us older farts lose interest after 2 lines of text.

Err... that's why I didn't cut and paste it. :o Twice.

Edited by Greenside
Posted

BB has an accute case of cut-n-paste-aphelia. Or maybe it's called quote function-phelia. But that's ok. It's a wordy piece, but that's 'cause it was a City Life article. And one that makes you think.... where to go have some thematic fun.

Posted

I enjoyed Wyndham Hollis' article in CityLife when I read it in the magazine. I noticed over the years that CMai is chockablock with these love motels. And there is no lobby that I can tell; they are motor hotels. I know one that has a fancy room for several different countries. If you frequent a place, you find variety. This one has a shower, the next one a separate shower stall, then a bathtub, then a spa without directions for operating. The TV channels include the usual Thai media, some music channels, and men and women doing things in a room that would be illegal on a street corner. You seldom see gay sex on the screen. In fact, I never have.

I remember more than one night on one of the top floors of a hotel in Bangkok, so high you could leave the drapes open. Wow, and he was training to become a nurse. One night in Bangkok makes a hard man humble.

Posted

It's pretty obvious what this thread is really about; GF in this instance means Guest Friendly and not girlfriend. Aren't there other places away from the wholesome, well moderated pages of ThaiVisa more suitable for this kind of discussion?

You will not use thaivisa.com to post any material which is knowingly or can be reasonably construed as false, defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, referencing prostitution (including bargirls and barboys), referencing suicide, threatening, invasive of a person's privacy, or otherwise in violation of any law.

JxP

Posted

Not to sound like Mr. Church Lady....but there is a kernel of truth in the above.

Also, I don't think it is OK to quote an entire article from Citylife, without attributing it to the publication....little matter called copyright law.

I don't own a car here, so visiting a love motel on a Wave just doesn't cut it. :o

Posted (edited)
Not to sound like Mr. Church Lady....but there is a kernel of truth in the above.

Also, I don't think it is OK to quote an entire article from Citylife, without attributing it to the publication....little matter called copyright law.

I don't own a car here, so visiting a love motel on a Wave just doesn't cut it. :o

Maybe you will just have to visit a normal hotel that is gf rather than a love hotel that makes its profits that way:P

Also the article was originally posted as a link to Citylife .

Edited by harrry
Posted

There are several short-stay "love motels" catering to Thai clientele on a soi parallel to Huay Kaew Road - kind of in between where the Grand View is and Huay Kaew Road. I've never frequented these type of establishments mind you... :o I just happened to notice them one night when I was out jogging in that area.

Posted

One of my friends, not me of course, suggests the Thapae Place Hotel. 590 baht per night, nice rooms.

Also the Lai Thai guest house.

They always turn a blind eye providing you are descrete.

Nudge nudge, wnk, wink, keep this to yourself.

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