Around November of 2012, some of my bestest college buddies booked a BKK trip because Tiger Airway was on sale. They asked us if we wanted to go with them. I patiently waited for Cebu Pacific's Piso Fare sale. The timing was perfect. Just in time for Sabby's birthday. We wanted to go before her birthday so that we only pay Php200 for her airfare. Hahaha.
So I got us a round trip ticket for almost Php9000 only. That is for 2 adults, 1 infant and a total of 40kg baggage. A really good deal for a BKK ticket since the original price is like Php14000 per person. Our departure date is 2 days earlier than my friends' and I thought it was okay so we can spend some alone time as a family.
We all decided to stay in Pratunam area so that it's more convenient for us who wants to go shopping and knows a Filipino tour person in the area. For our first 2 nights, we tried
Grand Alpine Hotel. It's not really easy to find because it's almost at the end of the street. Mind you, we arrived around 12mn and we were all tired because we had a long flight, big luggage, a baby and got lost too because of Google map.
TIP: Don't rely on Google map. Almost every place I searched in Thailand were inaccurately plotted in Google map. For hotels, better ask the customer service the exact address and landmarks.
GRAND ALPINE HOTEL
Here are the only photos we have. The reception and lobby lounge.
I grabbed some photos from their website:
http://www.grandalpinehotel.com/
The entrance. This is not the front view of the hotel. There's a driveway and this entrance is located at the side. Though there's an entrance in front, most guests use this entrance.
The reception and lobby. The same spots where I took my personal photos. I love how this area is well lit and it's always like that even around midnight. Also, there's a Filipino receptionist, making it easy for us to communicate our requests.
There's business area which we did not even bother to check out since there's wifi in our room and we brought an iPad with us. There's also a deck/lounge area but we were not able to go here. I didn't know that there's such nice chill spot.
We booked for the cheapest room which is is the Superior. This is enough for a couple with a baby. I chose this hotel because it looks like very new and clean and I was not disappointed. Everything you see in the hotel's website is just like that in person. We got the usuals: coffee/tea sets, refrigerator, toiletries, LCD tv and most importantly free wifi! One more beautiful thing about this hotel is their bathroom. I know it looks ordinary but it's clean! And that matters to me the most. This is not a 5 star hotel but I was pleased with their rooms! Very spacious for a budget hotel.
GRAND ALPINE HOTEL 9.0
I cannot give a perfect 10 because of the location and the same breakfast buffet every single day. It's like in the area where most Indians (if I'm not mistaken) were in and they own most of the hotels there plus it's almost the dead end of that street. Though it's just a pretty 5min walk from the Pratunam Market. And there's a lot going in this street. The breakfast that came with the hotel booking is not bad but we had to eat the same food for 2 days. Food taste good but very few choices.
For 2 nights, we paid Php3863.70 through
Agoda.
After 2 days, we had to move to our second hotel with my friends.
METZ Pratunam was the winner of the majority game. So we booked for 3 nights and we chose the Absolute Window Double Bed with Breakfast. We don't have any room or hotel picture in METZ so I checked out their website and Agoda's to show you how our room and the hotel looked like.
METZ PRATUNAM
METZ Pratunam facade. Cute and modern boutique hotel.
The cafe area which serves as the breakfast area too. It's not really a buffet breakfast. We choose what plated breakfast we want and I can only remember two of the 3 I guess: sausage and bacon. The serving was small and not good for a person who eats a lot. But, you get to eat all you can with bread, salad, cerals, and noodles (or pancit- stir fried noodles, as familiar to us Filipinos).
This is a smaller space compared to the Grand Alpine room. The bathroom was not big as the first hotel too. The shower and toilet are separated. Shower gels and shampoo were in pump bottles (I remember having the same pump bottles in Hop Inn in Hong Kong). Towels were clean and that's nice.
The double bed was big enough for us. The headboard was more like of a wall with a mini shelf. There's a small lighting to it with very hot bulb and burnt my baby's finger. I was not able to inform the hotel about it so that they can put a warning or note. I am happy though that we got the Absolute Window room because it makes me feel like we have a bigger room even if we didn't. LCD tv check, small space for our stuff, good air conditioning.
METZ PRATUNAM 9.0
The location is better than Grand Alpine, like the street was not too crowded. Very helpful receptionist. Smaller room with smaller space for taking a bath. Better breakfast definitely. I will still stay here next time I visit Bangkok. There are many spa/massage shops in this area but we never had the energy to try.
For 3 nights we paid, Php
6,025.81 through Agoda as well.
We normally book boutique hotels because we only need the rooms for sleeping and cleaning/taking a bath. Most of the time, we have itineraries that eat up the whole day. What I noticed with these two hotels was that there were sinks outside the bathroom which was weird.
I think we made a good deal for getting rooms at average of Php2000 per night considering that these hotels look new and very clean.
I normally book with
AGODA because most of the time rates are cheaper even with taxes. But before I book, I also check with the hotel's direct booking just to make sure I'm getting the better deal. If rates are the same, I still choose Agoda because I earn points for booking with them and these points can be used on your next booking/s.
TIP: If you don't have itineraries/tour schedules/plans for your Bangkok trips, inquire at your hotel's lobby. Most of the hotels offer good deals with tours in and nearby cities. They even offer fixed taxi rate if you don't have airport transfers.
Fabulously,
DanieMae
