Transport - BTS Skytrain Review

Convinient

4*

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We stayed at the Ibis Styles Bangkok Sukhumvit Phra Khanong so we had to use the Sky Train boarding from Phra Khanong station almost everyday. It was a convenient mode of transport and reaches most of the main locations within Bangkok. Its connectivity with the Airport Express also meant we could get from the airport to the hotel cheaply and with little hassle. That being said, it is slightly expensive in terms of Asain transport systems, especially when having to buy individual tickets for every journey, though it's nowhere near western prices, for instance in London, so we can't really complain. We did utilise the 'day pass' on one occasion which was 140 baht per person and we made several journeys so that was okay value for money. Also the self serve machines take notes and coins which was useful. The trains themselves certainly get crowded, we stood up on almost every journey and it was a rare occurrence to get on a relatively non-cramped train. The carriages had lovely air conditioning and were quite clean, also they serve foreigners with English signposting and announcements on board so no worry about missing your stop etc. Security at the stations is pretty relaxed. The service itself is quite quick, it took as about 40 minutes to get from Phra Khanong to Mo Chit which is 15 stops and cost 44 baht per person. We also got the metro which was a roughly similar experience.

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Attraction - Patpong Night Market Review

"You want ping pong?"

4*

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Patpong lived up to its name; vibrant, lively, full of fake products, laser pointers & knives, and no shortage of over enthusiastic ping pong show touts trying to lure you into their layers... We didn't actually buy anything or haggle for any items so as for pricing I cannot comment. The range of products was good though, obviously nowhere near say Chatuchak weekend market, but enough to most likely enable you to find what you're looking for. It was bright and busy, but there was plenty of walking space, something other markets lack. As for locating it, that was easy, we just got the BTS to Sala Daeng, followed the signposting in the station ['Patpong'] and walked south a few hundred metres and it is directly off the main street. The only nuisance but equally funny aspect of Patpong is the ping pong show touts, speak to them if you dare, we mostly ignored them but did take a look at one of their show lists out of interest... very disturbing.

Overall, a staple visit of any trip to Bangkok.

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g293916-d447439-r732537537-Patpong_Night_Market-Bangkok.html

Accommodation - Beautiful Saigon 3 Hotel Review

Refuse room 101!

1*

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From the moment we eventually found this hotel (there are three on the same street and all just say 'Beautiful Saigon' so your odds are 33%) and entered our room it was a disappointment. At first glance the standard of the room looked okay but it was filthy.

Our bed was covered in sugar granules and black hair. We then asked reception if they could change these dirty bed sheets and they put new sheets on which were covered in orange stains instead! Not to mention the mattress protector also had blood stains on.

The filth continued as our towels also had stains on them and our room was full of ants.

The final straw for me was the blocked shower drain which was full of hair and grime from previous guests - which I had to unblock myself to prevent the shower from flooding. It was absolutely vile. It's embarrassing that a hotel can't even provide hygienic rooms for guests even being on a budget.

I also had to purchase ear plugs from a local pharmacy to even attempt to sleep. We were given room 101 which is 1 floor above reception overlooking the street; the street was so loud and the windows are terrible at blocking any noise; if anything they seemed to amplify it?! It was louder than any clubbing strip I have stayed on. We asked to move rooms which they did allow, and we moved to the 4th floor (room 401) the next day which was slightly quieter but I still needed ear plugs.

We used their laundry service during our stay and we were given our clothes back, along with other guests clothes. They thus tried to charge us for an extra kilo of clothing which wasn't ours but fairly refunded 1kg worth when we informed them of their/washing-companies mistake.

One of the receptionists was very pushy in trying to get us to book tours through the hotel. I had barely looked at the tour info she provided before she was rushing me to book it. She also called our room 30 minutes after giving me the brochure to tell me I needed to book with her ASAP. I told her numerous times that I wanted to think about it and everytime we entered and left the hotel she made us feel uncomfortable that we hadn't booked it yet. I booked the tours independently with another company (Vietnam Adventure Tours) as a result of the pushiness from the hotel staff.

The only positives of this hotel is that the breakfast is decent (in another hotel about 20 metres away so no problem) and the swimming pool looked okay but small, and it is shared between multiple hotels and the hostel opposite.

Lastly, on check out they refused to allow us to leave until a member of hotel staff had checked our room which shows total lack of respect and trust in hotel guests.

I would never recommend this hotel to anyone, the rooms are filthy and the customer service is awful. We don't expect a decent response from them, if any, but hopefully it offers an insight for potential guests, as well as the hotel itself so they can perhaps improve their overall standards.

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g293925-d2218493-r732541650-Beautiful_Saigon_3_Hotel-Ho_Chi_Minh_City.html