Novotel Centara, Hat Yai

Novotel Centara, Hat Yai

The Novotel Centara Hat Yai Hotel, is in the heart of the city's commercial and shopping districts, within easy reach of the airport, connections to Bangkok, and the Malaysian border.

With this in mind, it's ideally located if you're doing a visa/border run or if you're just visiting this bustling Southern Thai city.

With five meeting rooms able to accommodate up to 300 people, the Novotel Centara Hat Yai Hotel offers an ideal venue for business and social gatherings of every kind. The business center provides Internet access, fax/photocopying services, translation facilities, and secretarial services. The four restaurants and the bar at the Novotel Centara Hat Yai Hotel serve a variety of different cuisines. The 237 well-appointed guestrooms and suites offer a range of amenities to ensure a relaxing stay. Recreational facilities include a swimming pool, a fully equipped fitness center, a sauna, and traditional Thai massage treatments.

If you don't want to try out some excellent restaurants, lining the bustling city streets, you can try one of these indoor restaurants;

Lobby Lounge Enjoy cocktails and live music. Opening hours: 4pm-1am on weekdays, 4pm-2am on weekends.

Cappuccino Corner Relax with coffee, tea, fruit juice or delicious baked goods. Opening hours: 9am-9.30pm.

Saneha Cafe Restaurant Authentic Thai and selected international cuisine. Open hours: 6.30am-11.30pm.

Hagi Japanese Corner Fine Japanese cuisine. Opening hours: 11.30am – 9.30pm.

Ginger Authentic Thai, Japanese and Chinese cuisine with a wine bar and live music. Opening hours: 11.30am - 2pm for lunch and 6pm to 11pm for dinner.

Good rates and great location, if in Hat Yai, definitely worth wile looking into with affordable rates.

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Deluxe room

Dynasty Club Room; Spacious 36 sqm. room featuring air-conditioning, private bathroom bath/shower, Satellite TV/ Movies, Minibar, In-room safe, Internet Access, etc. Dynasty Club lounge and benefits included.

One of the restaurants

Exterior view of the Novotel Centara Hotel in Hat Yai.

Xen Suites, Don Muang, Bangkok

Xen Suites, Don Muang, Bangkok

My parents stayed here during the airport closures in Bangkok at the end of 2008 in November for two nights, during the protests that made world wide news.

The hotel is very conveniently located near Bangkok's domestic Don Muang airport and the Impact Exhibition & Convention center, the largest exhibition and convention center in Thailand.

An IT center is also within walking distance and two big shopping malls are within easy taxi reach at Chaeng Wattana, a well known road in Bangkok.

Xen Suites is formerly and probably better known by taxi drives as Quality Suites.

The price and quality of the rooms are good and if you need to be in this area, it's excellent value for money.

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Imperial Queen's Park Hotel, Bangkok

Imperial Queen's Park Hotel, Bangkok

Imperial Queen's Park is the only hotel in Bangkok with direct access to a park. Fresh-air, lush gardens, ponds, badminton, and a playground are, just down the steps from the Parkview Restaurant, in Benjasiri Park. Nearby find a driving range and tennis courts. Imperial Queen's Park is located on Soi 22, in the middle of the bustling Sukhumvit restaurant and entertainment district. Prom Phong BTS Skytrain stop, Emporium Shopping Center and the famous Queen Sirikit Conference Center are all a few minutes walk away. Designed to appeal to all guests, one pool will be in the shade while the other is in the sun, there are pools on the 4th and the 9th floor.

A magnificent 37-storey, twin tower hotel, The Imperial Queen's Park Hotel dominantly graces Bangkok's beautiful skyline, from its downtown Sukhumvit Road location. With its outstanding first-class facilities and services, this grand hotel is destined for legendary status.

Everything in this 1,400 guest room hotel is on a grand scale; The 1,600 square metre bobby is four times the size of those in ordinary hotels; deluxe rooms are a spacious 38 to 40 sq.m. and a grand 700 sq.m. Penthouse; luxury suites range in size from 240 to 350 sq.m.: there are over 2,500 sq.m. of convention space; two swimming pools set in roof-top gardens; and six exquisitely designed restaurants specializing in Thai, Japanese, Chinese Continental, Vietnamese cuisines which have numerous private rooms for business functions and intimate dining.

It's also part of the Imperial group that houses the Imperial Boathouse and Imperial Samui on Koh Samui.

Although this is a top end hotel, I find the rates rather affordable and excellent value for money.

The hotel supports also various restaurants;

Parkview Restaurant

Located on the ground floor with direct access to Benjasiri Park, this round-the-clock restaurant offers a wide selection of meals. From 6am-10am a buffet breakfast which features Western and Oriental favorites is available. Lunch and dinner buffets have carving stations and dessert counters.

Lai Thong Thai Restaurant

Lai Thong Thai Restaurant is located on the lobby level and offers Royal Thai Cuisine in a modern Thai setting. The restaurant features a wide selection of entrees as well as set menus on special occasions. Open for dinner only from 6pm-10pm. lobby level

Les Nymphéas French Restaurant

Located on the 4th floor overlooking the pool, 'Les Nymphéas' delights guests with authentic French cuisine and large Monet reproductions. Open for lunch 11:30am-2pm and dinner 6pm-10pm.

The Uncle Ho Vietnamese Restaurant

Located on the 4th floor, this well known and popular restaurant serves Vietnamese meals in a relaxed atmosphere. Lunch 11.30-2pm, dinner 6-10pm.

Shabu-Shabu

Located on the 9th floor, this is a favorite restaurant for those who enjoy the traditional Japanese experience of cooking raw ingredients at the table in a shabu-shabu or crockpot. A lot of fun for youngsters as well as grown-ups. Open 6-10pm.

Kacho Japanese Restaurant

Located on the top (37th) floor, Kacho offers lunch and dinner guests a spectacular view of Bangkok in elegant high-end surroundings. For a traditional Japanese experience try one of the seven private dining rooms. Lunch 11:30am-2pm, dinner 6-10pm.

The Lobby Lounge

You can sit leisurely or order snacks and drinks all day. In the afternoon there is an elaborate tea set up and a pianist to lend a pleasant sound to your mood. Open daily 10.30am-10.30pm.

The Sundowner's Jazz Club

Meet friends and business associates while listening to the eclectic sounds of a live band. The Sundowner's Jazz Bar is a pleasurable venue to meet at. Open Daily 5pm-2am.

The Imperial China Chinese Restaurant

Also situated on the 4th floor, this restaurant serves Cantonese cuisine in a luxurious setting. There are eight private rooms as well as a special room for a private party of up to 120. As well as the popular a la carte favorites, Dim Sum is served at lunchtimes.

Great location in Bangkok and excellent value for money thus receiving my recommendation.

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Amari Nova Platinum, Pattaya

Amari Nova Platinum, Pattaya

Is located very conveniently on Pratamnal Road which is just a few minutes walking distance from famous Walking Street and near the road leading to Jomtien.

More importantly for me was the location near the Bali Hai pier, where the dive shop is located that I used for my wreck dive trips to Pattaya but also the close proximity to all other locations that I use for diving makes it very convenient.

The hotel has been freshly renovated in 2008 and is slightly more expensive than the average 1.000,-THB per night room that can be had in Pattaya. The Amari Nova Platinum starts around 2.000,-THB per night pending on special offers that can make the room slightly cheaper. Breakfast is not included though! On a recent stay in May 2010 the rooms were around 1.200,-THB per night + 10% service charge + 7% tax.

This Pattaya hotel has 78 guestrooms, featuring a 32” flatscreen television, a DVD player, free wireless Internet access and an array of modern facilities. Guests will enjoy a tropical garden, a large swimming pool, a jacuzzi and waterslide. The hotel offers all-day dining at Zia Restaurant, serving a great selection of delicious Mediterranean and Asian favourites. The pool bar also provides guests with refreshing tropical drinks and snacks.

I can recommend this hotel for your stays in Pattaya and the latest update after my stay in October 2009 is that there is construction under way which will see more rooms. That construction is almost finished, a new building has been completed already and by August 2010 a third building should be completed, where each room will have it's own PC.

Great location and excellent value.

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Entrance

Swimming Pool

Lobby

Standard room

Diamond Plaza, Surat Thani town

Diamond Plaza, Surat Thani town

Whenever we travel to the main land and we end up in Surat Thani for a night, we stay at this hotel, near the center of Surat Thani town.

The Diamond Plaza is fairly no nonsense hotel, but it has clean rooms, over 400 deluxe and suite guestrooms and they have wifi on most floors. Very convenient.

Their American breakfast is nothing special but has the basics but there's a wide selection of Asian breaky food.

The hotel further supports a gym and a swimming pool and is very popular during the week for business meetings and in the weekends for weddings.

Excellent value for money but not very charming.

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Centara Kata Resort, Phuket

Centara Kata Resort, Phuket

My family and me stayed a few times in this resort during our almost yearly Phuket holidays and although it has no beach location, we really liked a lot. We prefer quiet Kata Beach over busy Patong in Phuket, so that made it also an easy choice. Since we always visit Phuket during their rainy season, the Resort has very good deals during that time frame! You may also want to check out the Centara Karon Resort by the same Centara Chain.

The Resort has a big pool with a slide and Jacuzzi's, which the children loved a lot and the breakfast is very good as well, with a good mix between Thai (Asian) and Western food.

We stayed in Deluxe rooms with baby cots and there was still plenty of room and we also stayed in the Family Suites, which was excellent. The children slept in the living room and we in the 'masters' bedroom.

Centara Kata Resort Phuket is located in the tranquil heart of Kata Beach, set in its own tropical gardens. Centara Kata Resort is functional and tastefully decorated in contemporary style, creating a relaxed atmosphere. Centara Kata Resort offers 158 large guestrooms, suites and apartments, all of which have a private balcony or terrace overlooking the pool areas or the garden. Centara Kata Resort also provides a restaurant and bar for fine dining and a drink. Recreational facilities at Centara Kata Resort include three magnificent pools and sundecks, a small spa and fitness room.

The resort comprises 158 rooms and suites spread out in a cluster of 2 and 3 storey low-rise buildings. All units are very spacious, comfortable, functional and tastefully decorated in traditional Thai and contemporary style architecture to create a family friendly resort.

If you travel with children, I can highly recommend this Resort in quiet and relaxed Kata Beach.

Prices range drastically from season to season as everything and everywhere in Phuket does, during low season it's very affordable but in high season it's priced in the medium range.

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The pool

The slide at the big pool

The restaurant overlooking the big pool

Deluxe room

Family suite

Charoensri Grand Royal Hotel, Udon Thani

Charoensri Grand Royal Hotel, Udon Thani

Is one of those classic hotels that breath that 'old style' grandeur. Also, once in Udon, there's not that much choice and the Charoensri is conveniently located in the thickst of it all, next to a big shopping mall with cafes, restaurants and various shops.

It's located in absolutely the middle of downtown Udon.

One of the other nice features of this hotel is that it's reasonably cheap for what it offers, big enough rooms with all amenities.

The Charoensri offers 234 Deluxe rooms and 18 Senior suites for very reasonable rates.

All rooms are air-conditioned and are equipped with individual thermostat controls.

Baby sitting service is available - We take good care of important little guest with kind and gentle care and Baby cots are available free of charge.

Charoensri Complex Shopping Mall - The mall, the largest one of the northeastern, is only one minute walk from the hotel with over 200 shops, Robinson Department store, Food center, Major Cineplex & Major Bowl.

Television Entertainment - The hotel provides you with a wide range of local and satellite channels.

During a trip earlier this year we went to Udon Thani and had a grand time there.

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