Getting hard to find good cheap digs in Hua Hin nowadays...

[Rider]

Just been enquiring at my usual place for a room to stay during the bike festival. Nothing too fancy but not in the centre of town to cut costs...
No dice, all full.
So I think about staying a few days previous to get settled in and find some other place.
They want 500 baht for aircon room. This place is in the middle of nowhere up beyond the palace.
I'm like negotiating but they won't knock the price down one iota.
So I settle on a fan room for 350 baht in the end (they wanted 400).

Is it just me or are the thais really putting the squeeze on for digs nowadays?

[Khundon1975]

500 Baht does not seem steep for aircon room Rider and you will wake refreshed and ready for a ride, of any description.

[Spitfire]

Suppose that price isn't to bad for around HH, depends just how far away it is, but the locals have never been good at offering deals or lowering prices to encourage business in hard economic times. They prefer to increase prices to cover their asses from the reduced number of people that are around, a great example is the second hand car lots everywhere in LOS which are brimming with cars but no deals, won't reduce their prices to shift them, very scared of losing anything, they would rather keep the prices high/over-priced and sell nothing or very little/few, silly really.

[mr lonely]

It is high season (ish) so I think many prices hiked up a little
in town centre I reckon 600 or so may be your cheapest for air con right nw

[telexs]

Yeah,Know how you feel Rider

I have been checking my options re where to go for Songkran,Pattaya or HH & because of prices so far Patts is winning. Have been onto every sight I can think of re accom in HH,best I can find (aircon room,hotel with pool) is 1000+bht a night. A hotel in Patts,2bars,swimming pool in the garden area,aircond room 5200bht for 7 nights(742pn).I would like to go to HH(see some old frind)etc,but when you consider @ 2000+bht & 2.5hr taxi ride(after bloody flight),price of accom,drink prices etc,it starts to add up to a couple of free night in Patts for same same.
Shame really as I like HH & its people,but seems to be getting priced out by Patt's many options

Telexs

[PET]

You cannot compare prices in Hua Hin with Pattaya, and similarly between Phuket and HH.

This is a pointless exercise and common sense should prevail.

This is high season and if you want a bed at a cheap rate then location will be the deciding factor

[mr lonely]

Is a pool really essential ?
try near town centre, no pool you should get room for 700 ish is you look around

[BaaBaa.]

Yeah,Know how you feel Rider

I have been checking my options re where to go for Songkran,Pattaya or HH & because of prices so far Patts is winning.

Each to their own but Patts would be the last place in Thailand I would want to be for Songkran.

[Spitfire]

What about Khao San Rd BB?

[caller]

I would like to go to HH(see some old frind)etc,but when you consider @ 2000+bht & 2.5hr taxi ride(after bloody flight),price of accom,drink prices etc,it starts to add up to a couple of free night in Patts for same same.
Shame really as I like HH & its people,but seems to be getting priced out by Patt's many options

Telexs

I think this is an important point and shouldn't be scoffed at - the customer is king and here he is saying the package/price is a main consideration and he can get better elsewhere.

If the season is going to be as tough as even the Thais are predicting, then it appears it could be very tough indeed for Hua Hin!

[Super Joe]

Accomodation prices have been well down on what they were before the drop in tourists, with the exception of events like Jazz fest, Songkran, bike weeks and the like.
I book accomodation a lot and this is one area where Thais do actually drop their prices rather than put them up when business is down.

There's a fair selection of places with air-con for around 600-800 Baht within a 5 minute motorbike taxi ride, or 15 minute walk of town, and some in town at the 800 Baht level. They're decent prices to me.

As an example places beach side of Petchakasem Road that were 1,200 Baht are down to 800 Baht, again events or peak season apart.

SJ

[lomuamart]

Thailand simply isn't cost-effective (marketing speak for cheap) anymore.
A beer costs less in the UK - and then I run out of comparisons.
Food, accommodation and especially the cigarettes are just a bit more expensive back home.
Thailand's trying to catch up though.

[Super Joe]

You cannot compare prices in Hua Hin with Pattaya, and similarly between Phuket and HH. This is a pointless exercise and common sense should prevail.

For starters the bar should not be charging more than bht50 for a small Thai beer ie the same as the bars in Pattaya. My point was if Pattaya bars can sell for so much less why not in HH?

:scratching head emoticon:

I have been checking my options re where to go for Songkran,Pattaya or HH & because of prices so far Patts is winning. Have been onto every sight I can think of re accom in HH,best I can find (aircon room,hotel with pool) is 1000+bht a night

For Hua Hin over Songhkran with a pool and A/C that is a bargain as it's about the busiest time of year. Last year I drove around with someone for about 2 hours and eventually found A/C room in Soi 94 (ironically where I live and we started out from ) for 800 Baht, no pool though. The town was chocker with Thais.

Don't know if this helps but on this HHAD accomodation page every establishment bar one has A/C rooms for 600 Baht or less, although Songhkran will be different of course: http://www.huahinafterdark.com/hua-hin-guesthouses.htm

Problem is there's maybe, at a guesss, easily around 100 small type guesthouses around town, (many brand new builds over past 5 years) with nice clean A/C rooms, some with pools all generally around the 600-800 Baht mark (non peak season), but many do not have websites, so unless you have a mate here who can scout round for you it's not easy to book. Soi 94 and Soi 88 alone has about 20 no. now.

Don't know if it's my imagination, or it happens to be around the area I live so notice it more but guesthouse style accomodation seems to be being built left, right and centre recently, irrespective of recession.

Anyway Good luck,

SJ

[telexs]

I agree Caller
When you consider it all,I think everyone would choose the place where they can get a couple of nights(or more) accom & drinks/food for free.

As for prices being down,that maybe true in low season however most hotels put them up between April 13 to 15 by as much as 700bht,average is 300+ per night.
As from a marketing point would it not be better to get 100 head @ 1020ht(-15%) then 75 to 80 head @ 1200bht,those 100 head spending 100bht @ the hotel per day alone = 10,000bht compared with 80x100bht,your still paying staff the same to do 80 as 100.
Oh well theres my whinge for the week that was.
May the good Lord not let you pass away till the next time we meet.

Telexs

[telexs]

You cannot compare prices in Hua Hin with Pattaya, and similarly between Phuket and HH. This is a pointless exercise and common sense should prevail.

For starters the bar should not be charging more than bht50 for a small Thai beer ie the same as the bars in Pattaya. My point was if Pattaya bars can sell for so much less why not in HH?

:scratching head emoticon:

I have been checking my options re where to go for Songkran,Pattaya or HH & because of prices so far Patts is winning. Have been onto every sight I can think of re accom in HH,best I can find (aircon room,hotel with pool) is 1000+bht a night

For Hua Hin over Songhkran with a pool and A/C that is a bargain as it's about the busiest time of year. Last year I drove around with someone for about 2 hours and eventually found A/C room in Soi 94 (ironically where I live and we started out from ) for 800 Baht, no pool though. The town was chocker with Thais.

Don't know if this helps but on this HHAD accomodation page every establishment bar one has A/C rooms for 600 Baht or less, although Songhkran will be different of course: http://www.huahinafterdark.com/hua-hin-guesthouses.htm

Problem is there's maybe, at a guesss, easily around 100 small type guesthouses around town, (many brand new builds over past 5 years) with nice clean A/C rooms, some with pools all generally around the 600-800 Baht mark (non peak season), but many do not have websites, so unless you have a mate here who can scout round for you it's not easy to book. Soi 94 and Soi 88 alone has about 20 no. now.

Don't know if it's my imagination, or it happens to be around the area I live so notice it more but guesthouse style accomodation seems to be being built left, right and centre recently, irrespective of recession.

Anyway Good luck,

SJ[/quote

Thanks for the accom tips Superjoe
I normally stay @ Top Marks,but want a place with pool to relax & stay off booze for a while.Its too bloody tempting walking past Tony's bar,not to stop & have the one or six or more,especially when May,Mi & Tip are working LOL.

Telexs