Discount hotel thailand

Hotels * b&bs * homedays * apartments

The following is a listing of some of the hotels, B&Bs, etc., in which ITN readers have stayed over the past year or so plus restaurants or sights nearby. Prices are those paid at the time of the visit and conversion rates are approximate.

When writing to ITN about accommodations, always include the PRICES and addresses/locations, along with the date (month/year) of your visit. Also, please state whether the price, is per person or per room and, Wit is per room, whether it's for a double or single room.

Lastly, we welcome pictures with your write-up, whether they are interior or exterior shots of the hotel or just sights in the area. Color or B&W prints or slides are fine. Thank you.

Great Britain & Ireland

My wife and I took a trip in May '02 to East Anglia, ENGLAND. We headquartered. in Bury. St. Edmunds and stayed four nights at South Hill House B&B (43 Southgate St., Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, IP33 2AZ, England; phone +44. [0] 1284 755650, fax +44 [0] 1284 752718, e-mail sputhill@lineone.net or visit www.southillfreeserve.co.uk).

We highly recommend this B&B to ITN readers for the following reasons: 1) it has a king-sized bed in a very spacious room accompanied by a large bath/shower room (at least 1.0 by 10 feet) as well as a normal double bedroom with adjoining spacious bath/shower; 2) the hosts accept credit cards; 3) it's within an easy 5- to 8-minute walk of downtown Bury St. Edmunds; 4) it has parking; 5) the building, a former girls' school, is supposed to have a historical connection to Charles Dickens and, last but not least, 6) the host and hostess, Sarah and Anthony Green, are absolutely charming and their breakfast is excellent.

The cost was [pounds sterling]45 ($66) per room per night for the double bed and [pounds sterling]54 ($79) per room per night for the king-sized bed: For stays of longer than three nights, the latter room can be had for a 10% discount per night.

Bury St. Edmunds is about 1 1/2 hours' drive from Heathrow using the M25 and Ml1. Bury is about, a half hour from Cambridge and Levenham (a medieval town) and about an hour to Constable country, Ipswich, Ely, Norwich and the seacoast.

In addition to the many attractions offered in the above-mentioned cities, WWII Air Force veterans will find many reminders of the American Air Force presence in this area, along with the museum at Duxford, the American cemetery near Cambridge and other less-publicized collections (e.g., Flixton).

WES LINGREN, Bellevue, WA

In April '02 my wife and I spent four days in southwest ENGLAND (south of Bath) with Village Vacations (Brookmead, Rimpton, Yeovil, Somerset BA22 8AQ, England; phone +44 1935 8502451 or, in the U.S., 800/227-5550, e-mail villagevac@aol.com or visit www.villagevacations.co.uk).

David and Christine Hale couldn't have been more accommodating at their B&B.

We defined our areas of interest -- churches, castles, Thomas Hardy country, etc. -- and David spent the next four days showing us the sights, including many recommended by him. He is very knowledgeable about history, which made our daily tours most interesting. We went by the backroads and were able to see part of England that we could not have seen otherwise.

In the evenings, after a glass of wine, we thoroughly enjoyed the excellent meals prepared by Christine.

Total cost for the both of us for the four days was $1,400, which included a room for three nights, all meals, sightseeing (eight hours a day), entrance fees, pickup at Gatwick and dropoff in London. Our only out-of-pocket expenses were for souvenirs.

Our plans are to return for a second visit since we did not begin to see all that the area had to offer.

FRANK SEALE, Allen, TX

Asia

(First of two parts)

In January and February '02, we and another couple, traveled for 37 days in Viet-Nam, Laos, Cambodia and Burma (Myanmar). I created our 19-day Viet-Nam itinerary and we combined it with the standard Diethelm tour of Laos, Cambodia and Burma on a private basis.

Diethelm Travel, in Bangkok, Thailand (e-mail dto@dto.co.th), priced our Viet-Nam itinerary, made the arrangements, reserved the other tours and made our flight arrangements within Indochina. Everything went as scheduled and we had excellent guides throughout. We stayed in some delightful hotels plus three that were "the best available" but subpar.

For the four of us, our 19 days in Viet-Nam cost $1,615 per person, including internal flight, van, driver, guide, accommodations, all breakfasts, eight other meals, Ha Long Bay boat tour, all admissions and more. The 5-day private tour of Laos, including van, driver, guides, internal flights and lunches, was $620 per person. The 5-day Cambodia tour, with all of the above and all meals included, was $637 per person. The 8-day Burma tour, including all of the above and a 2-day Irawaddy River cruise, was $1,061 per person. Flights between countries totaled $765.

* Our three transit nights were spent at the very comfortable Rama Gardens Hotel (9/9 Vibhavadi Rangsit Road, Laksi, Bangkok, 10210 THAILAND; visit www.ethaihotel. corn), near the airport in Bangkok. It cost $52 per night, double, including a lavish buffet breakfast and transfers to and from the airport.

I don't have individual prides for the rest of hotels in which we stayed but wanted to describe them.

* The Grand Hotel (8 Dong Khoi St., District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, VIET-NAM) was in a perfect location -- easy walking distance from the main sights.

This is a 19:30s colonial building just reopened and renovated. 150 units. The rooms were large, each with air-conditioning, a mini-bar, satellite TV and hair dryer. Coffee makers upon request. 24-hour room, service. There's a big outdoor pool, a health club with sauna and massage, and a business center with Internet access. The restored iron elevator, which runs past stunning original stained-glass walls, is a bonus.

Caveat -- we stayed here twice, and while the newer wing was very comfortable, when we were "upgraded" to a suite in the old wing the mold set off our allergies.

* In the Mekong Delta town of Can Tho in VIET-NAM, we stayed at a really super hotel, the Victoria Cantho Hotel (Cai Khe Ward, Can Tho City, Viet-Nam; phone [84 71] 810 111 or 810 930, fax [84 71] 829 259, e-mail victoriact@hcm.vnn.vn or visit www.victoriahotels-asia.com).

It opened in October 199& as the flagship of the Victoria Hotels & Resorts chain in the Mekong Delta. Surrounded by gardens, this colonialsytle hotel is situated on the banks of the Hau River. We reached it traveling" overland, but you can also arrive by boat from Ho Chi Minh City.

Our dinner was included here, unlike on most days of our tour. We had a "set" menu with choices, but the German chef came out (we were sitting out on the patio) and chatted with us and said to order anything on the menu.

Everything is made on site -- bread, jams, etc. I had hot-and-sour fish soup, a crepe with vegetable and shrimp and chicken in it and, for dessert, a banana crepe with chocolate sauce -- all excellent!

Our room was very elegant with wood floors, nice lamps and nice furniture, including a couch, a table with a fruit basket, a long dresser/desk and a small TV.

* We also stayed at the Victoria Chau Doc Hotel (32 Le Loi St., Chau Doc Town, An Giang Province, Viet-Nam; phone [66-2] 677 6240 or fax [66-2] 677 6246), which was equally pleasant. It was situated on the riverside but facing a rather noisy street.

* In the resort town of Dalat, in the highlands, we stayed at Novotel Dalat Hotel (Tran Phu Street; phone [+84] 063/825777, fax [+84] 063/825666 or e-mail novatel@netnam2.org.vn).

Built in 1930 and renovated by Novotel from 1995 to 1997, it was very comfortable. Our room had satellite TV and a hair dryer.

It is near its 5-star sister hotel, Novotel Dalat Palace, which is much more expensive.

* Traveling to Buon Ma Thot to see the ethnic groups, we stayed at the unlovely Cao Nguyen Hotel (phone 84-50-851913), a "flashy, government-run hotel" which faced a noisy street and was not very clean, had no shower curtain, bath mat, hand towels nor rugs and had a mini-bar that was not turned on and smelled mildewy. But the village Visits were worth the sacrifice.

* Along the South China Sea we stayed at the very pleasant Nha Trang Lodge Hotel (42 Tran Phu St., Na Trang, Viet-Nam; phone 84-58-810500, fax 84-58-828800 or visit vietnamadventures.com) a highrise that sits across the boulevard from the beach and its many seafood restaurants.

We had a sea view from our small balcony. There was a new pool.

* In Danang we stayed at Bamboo Green Hotel (158 Phan Chu Trinh St.; fax 0511-822-998,) -- in the center of town and a 5-minute walk from the Chain Museum.

It's new and has large, tastefully decorated rooms, each with satellite TV, bar, hair dryer and mini-bar.