Re" US$3 - US$5 guesthouse room?

[Hazel]

Hi all,

I have been looking up Lonely Planet for some time, usually during the occasions when I am planning my trips. One thing strikes me that the guide books often mention guesthouse rooms that cost US$3 to US$5 per room per night in Thailand and Laos under "budget accomodation". I have never stayed in any sleeping holes of this price ranger, though I had certainly stayed in guesthouses very often.

Just a couple of questions:

1) Are these prices really for real - especially now when 2010 is slowly turning into 2011, when inflation must have surely eaten into the past few years since the guidebook was created and printed?

2) If they are for real, has anyone here stayed in one to be able to state the conditions of the room? Or is it purely luck i.e. some places are better than the others? I don't care for the deco of the room, but a clean bed free from bugs is a must for me... Will love to stay in one if the bugs are not there

Thanks..

[Admin_2]

Hi all,

I have been looking up Lonely Planet for some time, usually during the occasions when I am planning my trips. One thing strikes me that the guide books often mention guesthouse rooms that cost US$3 to US$5 per room per night in Thailand and Laos under "budget accomodation". I have never stayed in any sleeping holes of this price ranger, though I had certainly stayed in guesthouses very often.

Just a couple of questions:

1) Are these prices really for real - especially now when 2010 is slowly turning into 2011, when inflation must have surely eaten into the past few years since the guidebook was created and printed?

2) If they are for real, has anyone here stayed in one to be able to state the conditions of the room? Or is it purely luck i.e. some places are better than the others? I don't care for the deco of the room, but a clean bed free from bugs is a must for me... Will love to stay in one if the bugs are not there

Thanks..

My guess is that they are closer to $10 per night, or about 300 baht for a room. You might have to share a bathroom with 10 other people, but you have our own bed. My vision of the place is that it's good enough for 1 or 2 nights if you are on a budget.

[Hazel]

Thanks for the comments.

I once stayed in a THB500 room in Thaton and it was simply great - even came with a Mekong River view Better value for money compared to what I got for that same price in BKK, though of course I understand that BKK = Big City = higher living costs...

My cousin, friend and I had also stayed in a place called in Khao San for about that same price but it had three beds so we ended up paying much less per person but that experience was really not worth mentioning, to say the least as past midnight, one could hear all the clubbers staggering back to their rooms up and down the corridors etc as if they were just standing next to you. The beds were not that clean either.

There's one blogger from my hometown who stated on his webpage that they tried a THB300 room (or maybe it's a cheaper one) in Surin (if I remember correctly), and it felt like a room for someone on the run. Perhaps it was just his luck and there were better ones?

Still, it seemd quite fun to search around...

[Admin_2]

When I was replying to you I had Khao San Road in mind. It's a cheap area with a lot backpacker tourists looking for low low prices. Still, 300 baht for a room would be pretty hard to come by. Good luck!

[koolbreez]

You can still find some cheapo fan only small shared sleeping rooms in the area around KaoSan Road for bt200 a night, but there is no guarentee your valuables will be with you in the morning, or that you won't be eaten alive by bed bugs. When you take your shower is when most things of value disappear.

On KaoSan road itself is pretty expensive now. It's hard to find a room there under bt1000, with most rooms in the bt1500+ range.

[admin]

Yeah, my guess is that you really can't find much that I personally would find acceptable for under 900 - 1000 baht anywhere where there are a lot of farangs. And as KB said, cheaper than that and you're not always guaranteed that all of your stuff will be with you when you check out.

But 900 - 1000 baht can get you a fairly decent place. You don't even need to stay on Khao San. You can come close to that price at some places on Sukhumvit.

I stayed at Bourbon Street during the red shirt protests and I think my room rate was something around 1200 a night. Mind you, it's not exactly 5 stars or anything but it has all of the basics, aircon, shower, television, a bed, etc. And that included breakfast in the morning and Bourbon Street knows how to cook farang food. Probably one of the better farang restaurants in terms of getting it right.

For me, there is absolutely nothing that would make me want to save the extra 600 or 700 baht to share a room, not have a private bathroom, no air con, etc.

[Hazel]

Thanks for all the replies...

That's why I posted this message - which was to see how true iit was of the Lonely Planet guidebook in listing the $3-5 rooms; whether they still exist now and how sleepable they truly are as I am simply amazed that such prices do exist although I have never stayed in anything less than THB500/room but find it may be quite of an adventure to try stay in one, especially as some of the reviews given by LP of some of these rooms seem pretty decent So it is not to save costs but more of an adventure I guess

I do want to add that I find THB500 not much of a difference in quality compared to THB1000 rooms when further away from the tourist track, as I had stayed in Pahurat area's Guesthouse 238 (3mins' walk from Pak Klong Talat) on a few different occasions - each room cost THB500 during non-Chinese New Year periods, and it comes with a very clean double bed, private bathroom and is air-con. Better still, it is family-run and also within walking distance from all the heritage hotspots in BKK. But no breakfast provided.

One time, I stayed at Galaxy Guesthouse in Chiangmai for THB1000/room/night and it has all that Guesthouse 238 has, but nothing more, except free wireless (which perhaps add to the extra expense). But I guess I may be comparing apples to oranges as BKK is after all not CM.

And I have a terrible (though interesting) experience with Khao San Rd's guesthouse which I stayed with my cousin and friend, though what made it really value for money if one does not mind the shabby room and beds, was that it came with a free breakfast set for each guest in of each bed

Good to know that dorms and lowest end rooms may be places for thieving hands, so thanks lots for that info cos that is often something not mentioned on guidebooks etc I guess