Inn Review Thailand: Loog Choob

I usually prefer to stay in Bed and Breakfast (B&B)  type of places. Aside from costing less than hotels, you sometimes get to experience a more personal and local touch from the hosts. Of course, not all B&Bs are created equal and therefore my go-to-guide for accommodations is always TripAdvisor (www.tripadvisor.com). Nope, I am not employed or affiliated with Tripadvisor (I wish!). Just a fan.

just type the location and what you are looking for (ex. hotel, activities, etc) 

On the left side, click B&B and a list of accommodations will be shown. You can
specify your preference (price range, location, etc) 

This is where I found our accommodation for Thailand which is Loog Choob. I chose this because:

 1) The reviews were great -  They only have very good or excellent reviews. But in TripAdvisor be careful and read the actual reviews. Some are bogus (long glowing review of the property but the profile of the reviewer has only 1 review - indication that this might come from the owner themselves) while others give high marks but their reviews shows some negative aspect. In the case of Loog Choob, almost everyone had glowing reviews.

2) The price is affordable - B2100/night seem reasonable for a double room. This may seem very cheap to some (mostly visitors from outside Asia) but consider that there are 2-3 stars hotels in Bangkok that can be had for B2000-2500/night and hostel/inns at B1000-1500/night. The price of Loog Choob seems about right especially considering the review on the place.

3) Pictures - You can find a lot about a place by looking at reviewers' photos. You get to see what the actual property looks like and not the glorified version in their website. Photos of Loog Choob in their website looks spectacular and the photos of the reviewers seemed pretty good too.

Here are mine.

entrance

library

The decor of the place is simply amazing. Small, modern but very charming. Lots of seating, high ceiling, floor to ceiling windows, nice color scheme. Really loved how it looks. Feels like staying in a very nice and expensive home. 

panoramic view of their first floor/entrance/reception area

They only have 5 rooms; 3 Twin room on the 4th floor, 1 junior suite and 1 master suite on the 5th floor. The 3rd floor is where the family of the owner lives. There is a small elevator. 

Since there were only 2 of us, we chose the twin room. 

Bed was very comfy and soft enough, low, 4 very good pillows (not to soft, not too hard but just right), a bedside lamp beside the bed, no alarm, The size of the bed was actually more of a plus size single. Very nice bedding. It looks like they change the linens every day but not the towel unless asked. 

Bedside table which can double as your dining table, one chair

                                             

They have DVD and cable TV (lots of English channel, thank you). In their website, it showed that they have a DVD library but I couldn't find it at their reception area and was too shy to ask. In any case there were plenty of channels to choose from.



,
They had a small fridge and some space to put your things. No closet but they have a lot of hanging pegs with hangers.

The bathroom is narrow and long. They have good lighting, a bidet for the toilet, extra paper towels, rain shower with good water pressure, bath gel and shampoo in dispensers. 

No door handles, unfortunately. only a cut out. So smell and sound can sometimes escape - you are warned! Thankfully even with the hole, you don't see the private bits of anyone using the toilet not unless you actually crouch down and look into it. Still, I'm glad I was with my mom and not with a friend. 

The wash basin and mirror is outside the bathroom. Good lighting, with face towel, hand wash, blow dryer but no dental kit :( Like other Thai homes, they request that you remove your shoes at the ground level. Nice cloth slippers were provided inside the room. 

Outside our room is a small, common area.

 
Small living room with magazines to read. A low bench beside a wall where you can brew your own coffee. They do not serve breakfast (so technically this is not a B&B more like an inn) but the owner usually provides some bread during the morning.

Each floor has a pantry. There is a microwave, toaster, bottled water (aside from the one given every day in the room), cereal, milk, little crackers/snacks. They also have plates, cups, spoons and forks (not shown here). You can use these and just wash it - they even thoughtfully provide the dish washing detergent and scrubber.

 

They even provide lots of reading materials. 

On the other side of the pantry, they also sell frozen ice cream and meals. 

On the 5th floor is the junior and master suite with a common living room and pantry as well. Guests from the 4th floor will have to go through this space to go to the rooftop. 

360 degree view of the common living area on the 5th floor

Beside the living room and dining room is a sliding door that leads to a small courtyard and stairs to go up the rooftop. 

nice view!

They have fake grass on the rooftop and some lounge pillows. It is usually too hot during the day but at sunset, its actually nice to come up here. No chairs, though. 

Coming down

Sue, the owner/host was really nice. She was available every day and have been very very helpful. She graciously asked our plans and made suggestions. For directions, she would write a note in Thai or even print us a map to give to the Taxi driver. She explained everything to us when we checked in - btw, we came in at 1030am and she already allowed us in our room - and showed us the different amenities. She even saw us out and ordered a taxi for us to the airport when we left at 545am. That is why I usually love B&Bs, the personal touch. 

The reception is not 24 hours but there is a phone in the entry way where you can call if you need her. 

lots of helpful info given

a small paper you can show your taxi driver 

dining places recommended by the owner 

Please note that not all of the places recommended by the owner are restaurants. Most are places where locals eat like inside the market or beside the street. We've tried 4-5 and all were good. Not all speak English but you can just point out what you like from the pictures on the menu.

Emergency "button" on the elevator. Lol

Now for the bad .... well, not exactly. I would have given a perfect rating for this place (and more) if not for the location. I am not a snob. I usually like staying in places more local instead of the city center. When I chose Loog Choob I read in some reviews that the place is in the old part of town. It was. There were a lot of old government buildings in the area. 

Loog Choob is the white building over yonder!

The area is quiet with old buildings beside it but not much stores open. The local fruit market is about 5 minutes down the main street and the bigger marker is about 10 minutes walk. The canal is across the building. At night or early morning, it can get a bit spooky because there is not much people in the area. There are some areas where you can eat but the restaurants are mostly far away.

My problem with the location is that not all of the people are familiar with it. Even my Thai friend doesn't know where it is. Same with most of the taxi drivers, even with the map. The street where the place is located is not where a lot of taxis go by. You usually have to walk about 5-10 minutes away to get a taxi. Not a big deal usually but when it's hot outside, it can really be a bother. the railway/metro is not near so you can either walk (very far) or hire a tax/tuktuk to take you to there or to your destination (good luck on traffic). 

If it was located 2 streets over to the main street, it would have been perfect. 

Some thank you notes/reviews posted on their wall (there were lots).

love the drawing

pretty much sums it all up

This made me laugh so hard. It came from visitors from Manila, Philippines (kabayan!!!) but
look at the P.S. Lol   

clearly

sunset 

Final Verdict

If you do not mind walking a bit and you're the adventurous type who loves to mingle with locals, this place is definitely for you. Uniquely and beautifully designed homestay in the local part of Bangkok with 5 star amenities and personal touch. Highly recommended.

Loog Choob 
463/5-8 Luk Luang road, Si Yaek Maha Nak, Dusit, Bangkok 10300, Thailand

Telephone: 668-53282475, 669-45514011, 662-6283292

E-mail: loogchoob@gmail.com

Website : www.loogchoob.com

YMCA @ One Orchard - No Frills Stay in Singapore

On our previous stay in Singapore, a friend of mine recommended staying at this hotel.  I hesitated because when I think of YMCA, I think of backpackers, young people, dorm type rooms. We stayed at another hotel down the street which turned out to be a disappointment. 

So on our second trip, I decided to take up my friend's advise and stayed at the YMCA @ One Orchard. So here is my review for this hostel. 

RESERVATION / RESPONSE TIME

It was easy and fast. All I had to do was go to their website and picked up a date. There were 4 of us (3 adults and 1 child) and so I opted to get the Jr Suite promo. S$220 for 1 night with free breakfast for 3. I had to pay an additional S$6.50 for the child. It is not the cheapest accommodation but it is one of the hotels that can accommodate 3+ adults in one room. If we go to other hotels, we had to get 2 rooms and would cost more overall. I had some inquiry if I had to pay extra for the child (answer is no). They responded in about a day. Quick and easy reservation but you would need a credit card. 

LOCATION

It is smack beside the National Museum of Singapore in a quiet part of Singapore. In front is the Singapore Management University (SMU). Lots of students, greenery. The Doby Ghaut MRT is a quick 3 minute walk that serves 3 lines, very convenient and one of the things I considered when I was looking for hotels in Singapore. Although you can walk towards the central part of Orchard road (about 20-30 minute walk), you can also ride the MRT. 

There is a food court (Food Republic) a short block away that serves affordable meals ($3-10), a 7-11, some fast food restaurants. Very very convenient. The taxis we used seems to be familiar with the place and we had no trouble getting in and out. 

ROOMS 

The Jr Suite (Rm 713) was big but in all the wrong places. The room had a wall division between the bedroom and the living room. The bedroom space was small while the living room (which did not have much use) was big. There were 2 beds; 1 small double and 1 single rollaway bed. The double bed was firm with firm pillows. The rollaway was much harder and tend to move a bit. There was a reading light on each side of the room (I don't see that often in hotels) but it is too bright if you turn them on. 

small bedroom but functional

TV channels were limited, we didn't bother

There are 2 seats beside the window that can serve as a bed for a small child/person. Jr Suites are usually at the corner of the building so you have double views. 

Window seats that can double as a bed

View on the other side - back of the hostel

View from the side of the National Museum

By the way, we were able to see the Marina Bay Sands Hotel from our window - gorgeous at night. 

there it is! 

The bathroom was small but very clean. My complaint was that the hot water does not work (no matter how many times we fiddled with the knobs/switch) and there is only the small window for ventilation. They provided 3 towels and 3 toilette packs. 

small but clean

liked the fact that they come in packs 

My niece showing the open storage space. On the side is the closet
where you can hang your clothes.

The air con was strong on the side of the bedroom but almost nothing on the living room side. There is a long narrow table you can use for dining. Unfortunately, only one chair. There is a small ref, plenty of storage space, hairdryer. You might need an adapter. 

WIFI 

Wifi was very very strong and free (!) which was a relief because we just came from Hard Rock Hotel in Sentosa and they were charging for Wifi. The signal at YMCA was so strong that at one point, all 4 of us were using the Wifi and we had no trouble even if we were all watching videos in YouTube. 

BREAKFAST 

Breakfast was blah and you are better off getting breakfast at the food court down the street. YMCA offered bread, jams, beans, hotdog, egg, ham, very basic salad, juice, fruits. 

SERVICE 

Nothing really to complain. The service was quick and prompt. Since it is a basically an upscale hostel, there were no bellman to help with the bags which was fine. We were able to leave our bags when we checked out since our flight was at midnight. I requested help in getting a taxi for the airport and they just called one for us (additional charge by the taxi company of S$2-3/trip). I asked for extra pillows with housekeeping and they immediately sent 2 at no extra cost. 

FYI: No seats at the lobby so if it's useless to hang around after check out while waiting to go to the airport. Since it is YMCA, they are plenty of activities going around their conference/function room so expect a lot of people loitering around the lobby. There is a big weighing scale beside the room where they keep their bags so you can check out your bag's weight before going to the airport - you have to pay S$.10. The taxis don't stop in front of the hotel. They usually go around the back at the parking lot and you have to take an elevator going down. For taking a taxi, you can either ask the front desk to call you one (at a small extra cost) or go down one block and go to a taxi stand. 

Final Verdict

I was very satisfied about the location, the cleanliness, the free Wifi and service. Can recommend this for a no frills stay.

YMCA 
One Orchard Road
Singapore 238824
Tel 65-6336 6000 
Fax 65-6337 3140
http://www.ymcaih.com.sg/