checkinn99 to close after 60 years

[ev1lchris]

Sucks.

That's one of the places I could walk in and have women throw themselves on me.

[Monkeyrobot]

No surprise whatsoever,always empty,ridiculously overpriced for a beer it's not rocket science is it?Probably run on the expert marketing strategy so prevalent in Thailand that the emptier you are the more you charge for a beer,just to make up the shortfall TiT!

It's closing because they are ripping down the block and erecting a department store there ,even the old passage between Soi 5 and Soi 7 is also demolished. It started with the New Wave bar and all those small Thai seafood places , they are slowly closing them as the leases run out. As for the Check Inn being overpriced and no customers you must have been there at the wrong time, nothing wrong with the dink price ,you can always buy your drink at 7/11 and sit out the front with the A team if you think the price is too expensive for table service and a live band.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

No surprise whatsoever,always empty,ridiculously overpriced for a beer it's not rocket science is it?Probably run on the expert marketing strategy so prevalent in Thailand that the emptier you are the more you charge for a beer,just to make up the shortfall TiT!

It's closing because they are ripping down the block and erecting a department store there ,even the old passage between Soi 5 and Soi 7 is also demolished. It started with the New Wave bar and all those small Thai seafood places , they are slowly closing them as the leases run out. As for the Check Inn being overpriced and no customers you must have been there at the wrong time, nothing wrong with the dink price ,you can always buy your drink at 7/11 and sit out the front with the A team if you think the price is too expensive for table service and a live band.

In addition to all you mention, the ladyboy massage-salon place Nuch's Salon on the main road between Sois 5 and 7 also has closed recently.

Yet, there still are a lot of small shop businesses operating along that stretch of the road. Including some that have only recently opened, like the Middle Eastern restaurant at the corner of Soi 5, and a small girlie bar nearby.

[thai3]

stick says the Indian landlord is doing a market in the passage and opening a hostel above where the bar is with a hotel group.

Edited June 6, 2016 by thai3

[PMZ]

No surprise whatsoever,always empty,ridiculously overpriced for a beer it's not rocket science is it?Probably run on the expert marketing strategy so prevalent in Thailand that the emptier you are the more you charge for a beer,just to make up the shortfall TiT!

I am a regular at CheckInn99 and I can assure you that you are very wrong about the pricing and the volume of customers.

The beers and wines there are in most cases, cheaper than other bars. Plus you get music and good service to boot...

The place is virtually full, seven nights per week.

The food is great.

The band is great and high in entertainment value.

[Misterwhisper]

I just loved CheckInn 99. I always thought it good value. What a shame.

Same goes for The Coffee Shop. Thermae on Sukhumvit, down the Sleaziest back alley. It was F A N T A S T I C......

I'm surprised no has mentioned the hotel on Petchaburi Rd, Gee can't remember the name. Had a "Coffee shop" at the front and always full, live bands and plenty of food. It was notorious in the late Nineties for Uni students to to work off their Uni fees.

Heading down town it was on the right side in between Asoke and Prayathai. Really old styled Thai hotel.

You mean Prince Hotel? I think it's gone, too. Replaced with a huge condominium some years ago.

[thai3]

No it was the Siam, Prince was still there a couple of years ago

[thai3]

No surprise whatsoever,always empty,ridiculously overpriced for a beer it's not rocket science is it?Probably run on the expert marketing strategy so prevalent in Thailand that the emptier you are the more you charge for a beer,just to make up the shortfall TiT!

I am a regular at CheckInn99 and I can assure you that you are very wrong about the pricing and the volume of customers.

The beers and wines there are in most cases, cheaper than other bars. Plus you get music and good service to boot...

The place is virtually full, seven nights per week.

The food is great.

The band is great and high in entertainment value.

I doubt if he had actually ever been in there

[Misterwhisper]

Sad to hear that another venue of Bangkok's great old days as an entertainment city is about to vanish for good. Why do they have to close? Lease running out? Or is the land lord going to bulldoze the entire block in order to build yet another boring shopping center?

I remember the old Thermae. What a bizarre place - and that was exactly what made it so interesting. I stopped frequenting it after it moved a couple of blocks down the road. It just wasn't the same anymore.

Then there was of course the original Napoleon Lounge in Patpong (it later moved to Sukhumvit Soi 33 and never really kicked off there).

Also in Patpong was Crown Royal, a delightful drinking place with an ingenious owner (Izzy).

Not sure if other classic Patpong venues like Gaslight, Mizu's Kitchen or Madrid still exist. Haven't been to Patpong in more than a decade.

Madrid(where I was the manager in 1984)still exist with the same owner Kung Dang.Now run by her daughter Jennie..On their birthday celebration on November 28th I think the price of drinks and beer is how old the place is,so this year it will be about 45 or 46 baht a drink.The oldest bar on the street still standing is the Safari Bar.The original owner was Tiger Piss Thompson (moved to the PI I think.).Some of the bars that George Papas and ? built like the The Texxan on Patpong Two are still there.The Other Office (original owner Nick) later owner Bill Mallory now owned and run by Pawn Is still there also.When Ole Patpong died his daughter ruined (for us drinkers) it by having the night market there.Quite a few memories from there in the 70s.....Dirty Jim

And who would forget the great times at Grand Prix (which was right next to Safari), supposedly the first "real" go-go bar to open on Patpong in 1969 (after it had closed in 1990, I continued to meet the owner, Ric Menard, and his former manager, Somsak, on several occasions). And then of course there was Mississippi Queen roughly opposite, and Superstar with its popular disco upstairs. All gone now. Nowadays Patpong is really just a huge tourist trap (one of the reasons why I stopped going there about 15 years ago).

[Misterwhisper]

No it was the Siam, Prince was still there a couple of years ago

You're right. But I've always mixed those two up. The Prince is further down Petchburi towards Klongtan.

[rgs2001uk]

No it was the Siam, Prince was still there a couple of years ago

You're right. But I've always mixed those two up. The Prince is further down Petchburi towards Klongtan.

If we are talking about the same place, its nowhere near Klong Tan.

The Prince I refer to is on Petchaburi Rd almost beside Suk soi 3 turn off.

[Jeffkp]

This is fascinating. Thanks for sharing your stories.

[HerbalEd]

No surprise whatsoever,always empty,ridiculously overpriced for a beer it's not rocket science is it?Probably run on the expert marketing strategy so prevalent in Thailand that the emptier you are the more you charge for a beer,just to make up the shortfall TiT!

"Always" empty?? "Overpriced" beer??? Sounds like you've never actually been there. Did you read that they've managed to stay in business for almost sixty years?

Edited June 6, 2016 by HerbalEd

[andyww]

What was it, a short time sex motel?

Upstairs it was, yes.

It became more respectable in recent years. But I managed to persuade my wife and son to come along there a year or so ago. They didnt really want to, but in the end we ventured there.

We were hoping to see some jazz or rock but unfortunately some terrible ultra-cheesy girl singers were performing, absolutely dreadful and I have no idea what kind of market they were aimed at. Something from Butlins in the 60s. We stuck it out and ordered food. The food was terrible.

Since then I have never been allowed to choose evening entertainment venues.

I am hoping the Londoner reopens although not holding my breath after all this time. Expensive but outstanding food, good beer and competent bands.

[mcfish]

Best priced steak house in Bangkok and eaten there many times. The Philippina singers were pretty decent to.

This is once place I will actually miss

[thai3]

What was it, a short time sex motel?

Upstairs it was, yes.

It became more respectable in recent years. But I managed to persuade my wife and son to come along there a year or so ago. They didnt really want to, but in the end we ventured there.

We were hoping to see some jazz or rock but unfortunately some terrible ultra-cheesy girl singers were performing, absolutely dreadful and I have no idea what kind of market they were aimed at. Something from Butlins in the 60s. We stuck it out and ordered food. The food was terrible.

Since then I have never been allowed to choose evening entertainment venues.

I am hoping the Londoner reopens although not holding my breath after all this time. Expensive but outstanding food, good beer and competent bands.

Jazz is on sundays

[Bangkok Barry]

What was it, a short time sex motel?

Why don't you Google to find out instead of making a comment that makes you look like an idiot.

[Bangkok Barry]

Sad to hear that another venue of Bangkok's great old days as an entertainment city is about to vanish for good. Why do they have to close? Lease running out? Or is the land lord going to bulldoze the entire block in order to build yet another boring shopping center?

If you read the link your questions will be answered. In one word, greed.

[Bangkok Barry]

I am hoping the Londoner reopens although not holding my breath after all this time. Expensive but outstanding food, good beer and competent bands.

The new Londoner is due to open shortly, in its new out-of-the-way location (see the same Stickman link). The old site is now a 7-11. Incredible.

[HerbalEd]

Sad to hear that another venue of Bangkok's great old days as an entertainment city is about to vanish for good. Why do they have to close? Lease running out? Or is the land lord going to bulldoze the entire block in order to build yet another boring shopping center?

If you read the link your questions will be answered. In one word, greed.

Did the link actually say the reason is "greed"? I must've missed that part.

[Jonmarleesco]

No surprise whatsoever,always empty,ridiculously overpriced for a beer it's not rocket science is it?Probably run on the expert marketing strategy so prevalent in Thailand that the emptier you are the more you charge for a beer,just to make up the shortfall TiT!

I was last there years ago, but it was hardly empty; nor do I recollect it being so on previous visits, though it would often be quiet early in the evening.

[ozyjon]

I remember the good old days,

no i don't, and don't care, time moves on,

dinosaurs get left behind.

[smokie36]

I don't see where it's closing?

The article is from 2013.

[thai3]

Not that article, this weeks stick weekly and checkinn fb pages, not sure if links can be posted

https://www.facebook.com/CheckInn99/?fref=ts

Edited June 6, 2016 by thai3

[thaihome]

I am hoping the Londoner reopens although not holding my breath after all this time. Expensive but outstanding food, good beer and competent bands.

The new Londoner is due to open shortly, in its new out-of-the-way location (see the same Stickman link). The old site is now a 7-11. Incredible.

Maybe out of the way for you or me, but new location is great for the owner.

TH

Edited June 6, 2016 by thaihome

[montrii]

No surprise whatsoever,always empty,ridiculously overpriced for a beer it's not rocket science is it?Probably run on the expert marketing strategy so prevalent in Thailand that the emptier you are the more you charge for a beer,just to make up the shortfall TiT!

Trying to see this response in any sort of positive light is impossible. MyFrenU, you obviously don't know anything about the scene there. Beers are about what they are everywhere else, the place is often packed, and besides the amazing nightly Filipina show band and the well-run Sunday jazz jam, there are cultural events . . . film showings, poetry readings, celebrity interviews, even the Vagina Monologues. Very near and dear to a lot of expats, and the management are some serious and dedicated folks, hard to find. "no surprise whatsoever," wow.

[montrii]

I don't see where it's closing?

The article is from 2013.

Unfortunately, the news is true, if sudden.

[MyFrenU]

All the people saying I've never been there I've walked in a couple of times,been handed the menu card,took one look and walked out again to the plethora of other better value,busier bars in that area.Had all the whingers coming out of the woodwork on here actually supported this dive it wouldn't be closing down now,would it?
How many bars that are fantastically priced,packed to the rafters with cheery expat folk as we're being led to believe,all smiling at each other and getting on,insisting on paying each other's bills while swapping Special Forces stories of incursions into enemy territory close down?
That's right the answer is a big,fat ZERO!

[montrii]

.

Edited June 6, 2016 by montrii

[montrii]

All the people saying I've never been there I've walked in a couple of times,been handed the menu card,took one look and walked out again to the plethora of other better value,busier bars in that area.Had all the whingers coming out of the woodwork on here actually supported this dive it wouldn't be closing down now,would it?

How many bars that are fantastically priced,packed to the rafters with cheery expat folk as we're being led to believe,all smiling at each other and getting on,insisting on paying each other's bills while swapping Special Forces stories of incursions into enemy territory close down?

That's right the answer is a big,fat ZERO!

MyFrenU, your ignorance is showing again. The place is not closing because business was bad. Business was fine. It was the building owner, who snapped up a big offer from a developer to put something else in. The Checkinn 99 management thought they had secured a 10-year lease from him, in fact, and he went back on his word to provide them with that. The race is on to find a replacement place.

I know it must be awful to say something nice and bitter like your empty posts and then have them cut down, but that's what they deserve. If you don't know what you're talking about, you shouldn't say anything. And think before you say something negative . . . your words seem designed to hurt. About the food, it's not a restaurant. They just have a few snack foods, I think 99baht. And the clientele is way multinational, not special forces.

Also never said you haven't been there. You just never learned anything about the place. That's OK, but then you don't have any business talking about it, either.