Phuket question... What is the general attitude of the larger resort hotels towards "guests" in Patong, or the other beach areas of Phuket? Is there any problem bringing girls back to the rooms at these hotels, or do they try to maintain some sort of image as family places and discourage (or prohibit outright) bringing girls back to the rooms? I'm headed down in August and any info on the larger hotels' policy on girls would be mucho appreciated.
NCsnake

F1, wow, an emphatic NO. There are so many places to meet girls on Phuket that I rarely go to strip clubs there. Walked by the Rock Hard (in Phuket) on my way to my hotel many times but never stopped in.

NCSnake, It really depend on the place. I would say most don't have a problem with it but you should probably get specific recommendations before you go. The small hotel in Patong I stayed at didn't have a problem with guests.

Oh BTW, I'm sure the girls at PP would want for me to visit them. I'll have to see what I can do. After all I don't want to disappoint them.

C-Ya,

Harry

I got hasselled at the Holiday inn on my very first vistit to patong beach. ( about 9 years ago).. easy solution, i checked out and went to another place ( holiday resort, just down the road from them). no hassell there, but still a little fancy for my tastes ( had a nice pool, but waaay too much clorine. they seemed to like dumping the clorine in while ppl were swimming.

I have found that most of the smaller places give quality service, and actually are pleased for getting customers. minimum of hassells, and plesant staff.

Most of the nicer places i have stayed in Thailand seemed to ( for lack of a better term) "look down" on me and my "friends"

I reccomend the Neptuna hotel in patong, nice rooms, easy internte access ( with your own computer), low cost, no hassell no matter how many ppl are in a room. ( dinky pool, but who cares).

almost in the center of the "funzone"

More "research" on my part starting in 2 weeks.


any one going to be in Phuket mid june/july? from this board?

ronkei

NCsnake - I really miss redsnake and finally set myself up here on this board. I was "facade" on the other board. In any case, I've enjoyed in Phuket four times in the last five years. Never done Bangkok, I always fly through Hong Kong and then hit Phuket.

I've stayed at the Holiday Inn the last three times in a row. I paid $65 to $85 depending on the time of year - in August it should be near the low range. On my most recent visit (Feb 2001), they upped my rate when I checked in to $110 and called it a "transient room". I'm pretty sure that they didn't do that to me before.

My first trip there, I stayed at some hi-rise joint called Andaman something. They jacked me up at checkout, rather than check-in. It was $50 US or more for what they called a "joiner fee". It was especially heinous when I brought two chicks up there - double joiner fee. I was able to get them to take some of them off but not all.

I know my buddy's have taken girls back to Le Meridien - not sure if you are considering that place but I'll check on the girl situation with them and get back to you.

Back to the Holiday Inn, if you don't mind paying a little extra to get "chick access", this isn't a bad place to stay. They have a nice breakfast set up and a nice pool (although they do not want you to bring your chick to breakfast or pool). It is right across from the beach and that is where I hung out with my "wife" for the day. I bought the thai dudes running the beach snack hut a couple rounds of beers ($15 US or so, there were six guys)and lived like a king for days. In the afternoon, I'd stroll back to the hotel with my wife and "relax" (i had a few wives on the trip).

You can easily walk from the hotel to the main road (you walk parallel to the beach) with all the bars (might take 5 minutes). I highly recommend the massage parlor, Christin's, this joint has all the girls lined up behind the glass with the novices on the left and the experts on the right. 1,500B for novice 1,800B for expert. You get the bath, rubber raft, and full service on the bed. It is best to pull in around 5:00 to clean up for the evening and then hit the bar scene.

My favorite go gos are Playschool and Rock Hard. Watch out for the Tequila Bar and Pink Panther - not all the girls are girls. Also, watch out for the hot looking street walkers - 99% are guys and it ain't obvious. The standard looking street walkers are more likely girls but I'd stick to the go go's to be safe.

Let me know if you need any more details. I like nothing better than reporting on Phuket. I'm planning to go back in November. If you want to go cheap, you can stay at a smaller place and hook up with a street gal (i'm sure the smaller places are no hassle at all). I'd say that route is half the cost of a larger hotel and go go gal. Depends on what you are looking for - I like the semi-resort style with the amenities and it is also easy to shed your chick when you want to (i.e they can't show up at your door when you've got another gal in the room).

I have traveled through Thailand quite extensively. Last year I stayed in the Phuket Towers. Right out the back door to the mini strip
no extra charge for girls back to the room. It's about a three star hotel $150.00 per night. Everything first class al the way Phuket's my favorite.

Harry & friends,
One of my best experiences in Phuket came out of the Rock Hard & Playskool wasn't bad either. Both places warrant a visit IMO.

Stayed at the Amari Coral Resort at the end of the main drag. A beautiful place but NO GIRL access.

Yoosin

Thanks for the advice guys. I half thought about getting two hotel rooms ... one for girls at a cheaper place, and one for a bona fide vacation splurge to hang out at in between. I had to do this in Ixtapa, Mexico because the Sheraton there absolutely forbade girls at any time of day, but I thought that a place like Phuket might not be so strick on girl rules even at the larger places. Sounds like some of them are though.

Buick, the Holiday Inn (south end of Patong beach, right?) sounds like a pretty good choice. Le Meridien also looks like a good place from the web descriptions, so if you can get any girl info on that place from your friends please pass it along. I am also flying into Hong Kong for a couple of stopover days to/from Phuket, but if pussy there is priced anywhere near what the hotel rooms are I think I'll wait until I get to Phuket!

NCsnake

Where the hell is Playskool? I know where Rock Hard is.

Harry

Harry:

I think playschool is on soi sea dragon, acorss from drinks n' dreams beer bar. ( unless they moved things since last june)

Btw: drinks n' dreams is a nice place to sit and watch the "parade" go by. really fun to watch the poor guys that came with family, and the sad look on their faces. ( wishing they could ditch their wives)

Say hi to the boss lady there. ( Pia) really a nice, no-hassell bar.

and keep ur eye on the nail ( u'll get it when u are there)


sabai

My buddy tells me Le Meridian is the same general deal as the Holiday Inn. When you make the reservation, make sure you tell them you want a room for "double occupancy". Then, when you check-in, you want to re-confirm with them and then they give you a key that is color coded and pre-approved for girls at no extra charge.

It sounds like I forgot to reserve double occupancy on my last run and that is why I got charged. Sometimes I forget the simple things in my haste to get over there, and just don't feel like haggling the second I arrive. I know there will be enough of that to come.

Le Meridian has nice facilities and has it's own little cove/beach. My buddy tells me the Junior Suite is quite nice. He did say you'll get a little more notice strolling through the lobby with your gal at Meridian than the Holiday Inn (which is at the south end of Patong, per your question).

It is tough to miss Playskool. If you walk towards the ocean from Rock Hard, it is on the right hand side of the street. There are open air bars down the middle of a street that goes to the right (it could be soi sea dragon, i recognize that name). On each side of the open air bars, there are go go's. Playskool is on the left side fairly close to the street. Lipsticks is another one down that same lane. I had good luck there a few times but it was terrible on my last trip.

As for Hong Kong, the chicks are very expensive. Expect $500 US when it is all said and done. I was able to get a $300 rate at Club Hawaii but then got jammed for drinks, etc... I dragged out two nights in a row but wasn't exactly proud and it wasn't worth it. Try out the Old China Hand in Wanchai, they've got a great chicken in a basket with fries. Club Hawaii is a couple doors down (I think it is Lockhart Road).

Another nice spot for dinner is Beirut. It is in Central, Lan Kwai Fong (I think I spelled that right). This is the happening area for all the expats and gets alot of action. Beirut is in the thick of things and you can get a table right near the street to check out all the action. You may know HK already, if you need info, let me know. I've done Macau also.

I've seen the nail game.

Thanks a lot Buick ... Holiday Inn it is. I'm not surprised at the HK girl prices, right in line with the hotel prices there. I'll enjoy the restaurants and scenery in HK, and the girls and scenery in Phuket. Seems like a fair enough deal.
NCsnake

NCsnake - I look forward to your report when you return. Keep a low profile in HK and let it all hang out in Phuket.

Don't forget Christin's. When you go in the front door, you want to go up the stairs to the left. If you don't go up the stairs and go right, it is the regular massage area (not the girls in what we call "the bubble"). One buddy of ours went through the wrong door and thought we played a joke on him.

You can walk there from the HI. There are two main streets in Patong that run parallel. One along the beach and one inland. If you go left out of the holiday inn (towards inland), then take a left at the main road (might be 30 yards) towards the center of town. Along the way (about 3 minutes or so), you'll see a huge white building on the left side (it has a big Christin's sign on it). Very tough to miss.

Good idea to simply do the loop around the time you arrive to get the lay of the land. After passing Christin's, you'll end up at the main go go street with Rock Hard on the corner. Hang a left there and walk to the beach, then it is a left back to the HI and you've completed the loop (might take 30 minutes total).