Nice 4 or 5 str hotel near Chulalongkorn Univ Vet School. Also Bars for Game of it Pool anyone?

[EBlair48]

Looking for nice place near the University Vet school also will be attending Symphony on Fri 8th at Cultural Centre, any where near both?

I'll be in town for 4 night, any recomm for cool bars with pool tables? ( Cool as in single women are OK..)

[eppic]

This in my neighborhood, and I sometimes advise friends on hotel choices, so let me give it a shot.

Chula (as it is known here) U's vet school is near the Siam Square / Paragon area, so any hotel in that area would be fine. Closest is maybe Novotel, although I personally think it is quite mediocre by Thai standards. Much more upscale, and in an ideal location (other than nasty traffic) next to Paragon, is Siam Kempinski, which I stayed at a couple of times before I moved here, but it's definitely on the more expensive side so it may bust your budget. It has a bit of an urban resort feel to it, but snooty European management. Others good ones that are still close but not immediately next to Chula include the Intercontinental (also expensive), also an ideal location because its directly connected to the skywalk (can get covered access to many malls and BTS). For a better bargain, the Renaissance nearby is nice and it's a very good value. I'd call the Novotel a 4 star, while the others would rate as 5 stars. There are plenty of others nearby, but I am not familiar with those on the lower end of the spectrum so perhaps someone else can give you a reco if price is a major factor.

The cultural center is a fair distance away and it would be best to stay in the Ratchaprasong / PathumWan district IMO, although I am biased since it's my neighborhood and I like it here.

I'm not aware of any places with pool tables in that area (maybe someone else can advise), you may want to look in other areas (perhaps Thonglor or other Sukhumvit) for that

[EBlair48]

Thanks for that, the Renaissance sounds good

However I have the vet school address as 254 Phayathai Rd and in Pathumwan, Am I misreading you or should I recheck that? Maybe a different campus than you know?

[eppic]

It should be the same, the one you gave is the the main Chula campus address...the Vet school is on the Northern part of the campus, adjacent to Siam Square:

http://www.vet.chula.ac.th/vet2007/eng/map.html

Note that the downside of Renaissance is that its a few minutes walk to Chula (first 200 meters or so is uncovered, then go up on skywalk), while the Siam Square hotels (Novotel and Siam Kempinsiki) are almost immediately adjacent. So if it rains you will be exposed for a bit -- in general you should avoid cabs around this vicinity, too congested.

Have a nice visit here.

[EBlair48]

Ok, Thanks again..