I left AC about 3 weeks ago. It was my first trip to the Phils and AC so I was a newbie. I loved my trip! The barfines (P1350 on Fields/ P1000 on Friendship) didn't bother me one bit as long as the girl gave good service. I usually tipped em a lil sumthin, but mostly trike money (with a few exceptions)

I usually kept my girls for 2-3 nights so I figured the things I was buying them like meals, phone loads etc were more than enough of a "tip".

I stayed at the ABC Hotel. This hotel is first class all the way! I am from Las Vegas and used to high end hotels/resorts and this was right up there with the best of them.

Rooms ranged from 90 for a standard suite up to 300 for the Presidential. I stayed in all of them and will stay there on my next trip.

But I digress, once I found out the girls get half the barfine there was no need for me to be overly generous.

Keep in mind when they spend the night with you they are staying in a palace compared to what they normally live in.

If you are feeding them and doing other nice things for them...a lil money for the trike is really all you need to give them as you bid them farewell.

This is a trip report?

Funny how a guy would spend $300 a night for a hotel to impress the girls and then tip them 50 pisos. The girls must have just lost their mind when they saw the tip after seeing where this guy was staying.

I just frankly do not see the point of a deluxe hotel in a grubby, dirty aired, landlocked, edge of the third world, city with nothing to do but screw and drink. AC is a budget destinaton aside from the airfare. Just way out of balance.

I feel the same way...AC hotels are overpriced. Even the cheap ones are just that cheap.

You can still stay at Sabai Inn in Pattaya for 750 baht per night use any of the 4 pools in their sister hotel across the street, and while girls are more expensive they're not. Sure a Thai go go girl will be more expensive than a Pinoy one, but beer bar girls have a 300 baht barfine and 1000-1500 LT is ok.

When you compare airfare as well, Thailand just wins, for the (budget) tourist at least.

(Message edited by BigPoppa on March 01, 2008)

I feel a little differently. The hotel is my oasis in the midst of the grime of AC. I spend a few hours a day hanging out at the PB pool, and like having a jacuzzi in my room, so paying a bit more is worth it. I do agree that you can go over the top with $300 rooms in AC, but don't feel that it necessarily makes sense to stay in a shit hole hotel just because the town is a shit hole.

I can understand your viewpoint too BD. You're either paying a bit more or flying under the radar in AC. There's not too many places that are a good value. Which for a 3rd world country I define as $25/night max for a clean, quiet air con room AND a fairly nice pool.

Sunset garden is the closest I've seen to this description but all night long it sounds like trikes are driving through your room.

[I know everyone has different priorities on a trip to AC. What follows is my 2 centimos]

I would say that with the ABC you get what you pay for. I wrote it off when it was first built and I heard about the pricing, but after staying there I changed my mind.

I used to stay at the PB and it is best described as basic. For 75 bucks you get a rather spartan room with a jacuzzi. For 15 bucks more it is a no brainer to skip the jacuuzi and go with a regular room at the ABC. It is MUCH nicer than any other place in the city (I still prefer the pool at the PB).

It will be interesting to see how the Lewis Grand turns out when they finish with it. From the outside it looks impressive and the pricing (starting at ~40 USD) can't be beat.

Thanks for the post, but I strongly disagree with your perspective.

Just because the girl stays in a nice hotel with you, and it might be a palace compared to where she lives, that's not a tip. You cannot count that as a tip for the girl, that's silly. Staying in a nice hotel is for your pleasure not the girl.

Buying her a meal is not a tip either, having her accompany you to eat is for your benefit to enjoy her company, ask the girl if she would like a 200 or 300 piso meal or would she like to recieve 200 or 300 piso to sit and watch you eat and see how many would chose the meal, maybe .0001 %. She can get that same meal for pennies your paying.


To be honest with you, sounds like your a major cheapskate who stayed at the ABC to make yourself look good.

i would have to agree $300 for a room in AC forget that. ok i would spend $85 on the pool side jacuzzi room at PB because that is worth it if you want to have fun with multiple girls as i think the regular room at PB is a little cramp for more than 2 people. But to say you don't have to tip well soon enough you will be labelled kuripot and girls will soon be saying they have mens so you can't barfine them or they will say they have been barfined already.

I appreciate all the feedback. I will take the advice to heart. BTW...I am now looking at staying at PB since everyone seems to agree it's a nice hotel.