Rates usually include breakfast
Thailand
Bangkok
Novotel – Silom Road – This is an old hotel and a bit rundown. It has some good eating nearby and has good access from the airport. Pool is ok. No access to balcony. $90-100 (Stayed in 2019 and 2022)
Somerset Park Suanplu – We only stayed here for one night since it was close to our group. The pool was very nice and we had an apartment with kitchen facilities, washing machine and a separate bedroom. Very nice – would stay again. Tiny balcony. ($175 no breakfast – 2024)
Jasmine Resort – Very nice hotel with a good pool. We had a large room with kitchen facilities. Had trouble finding places to eat around the local area. Right on train line so good to get around. Would stay again. Nice balcony ($165 – 2024)
Hotel Centara Life Hotel – Quite trendy and modern but lacked a bit of atmosphere. Reasonably good location, but didn’t find too many nearby eating places. Wouldn’t stay here again, I think there are better options. ($130 – 2025)
Pullman Bangkok Hotel G – Typical franchise hotel. We had a luxury escape package and the breakfast and access to the Executive Lounge were very good. Could easily eat afternoon tea and evening snacks with drinks and not go out. Bit of a waste if you want to go out though. White rooms weren’t that impressive. ($150 per night was very good value – 2025)
Kanchanaburi
River Kwai Resotel – To get to and from this hotel, you need to catch a long tail boat. The resort is a bit old but was very interesting. Merv and Robyn liked it but Rosie and I found it to be too isolated, had to eat in hotel restaurant. Would not recommend unless you wanted a secluded experience. The long boat ride was interesting. ($120 – 2017)
Natee The Riverfront Hotel – We had an excellent stay here, it was close to many restaurants, nice views over the river. We had pool rooms where we just walked out of our room into the pool. Interesting drying, pool access area that you can close off. Quiet and would recommend. ($115 – 2024)
Chiang Mai
Mercure Chiang Mai – This hotel is a bit old and rundown. It was a bit of a walk to the enclosed old city but they did have a shuttle bus to get you to markets and one of the gates. I think there are many better options. ($100 – no breakfast – 2017)
Wealth Boutique Hotel – Inside the walled city and close to the Tha Phae Gate. Easy and pleasant to walk around old city, close to main attractions and plenty of food choices. The rooms are well equipped and reasonably spacious. There is no lift but the hotel is only two floors and they happily stored our clubs downstairs. The pool is a bit small and cool. The breakfast is personalised but good. Have been twice and not disappointed. Nice balcony. ($100 – 2022 and 2024)
Hua Hin
Laksasubha Hotel – We have stayed here twice. The first time we had a Garden View Grand, which was a very nice, large room. The second we stayed in the Tamarind Studio, which I wasn’t impressed with for the price. The hotel is on the beach and has a nice breakfast. The pools are very good. The Garden View room had a large outdoor sitting area. We looked for better options for our next visit. ($230 – 2017, 2018)
Hisea Huahin Hotel – This hotel is not on the beach but had good access to the night street food market and an easy walk to the beach restaurants. The rooms were modern and very spacious. The infinity pool (7th floor) was always in the shade but had a beautiful outlook. The breakfast was good but a bit boring after a couple of days. Would highly recommend at this price. Nice balcony. ($120 – 2024)
Phuket
SunPrime Kamala Beach – This was an adults only hotel and was adjacent to the SunWing which allowed children. The hotel was well located and had several pools so you could easily find pool lounges and privacy. The staff were very good and there were several restaurants within easy walking distance. Breakfast was good. The hotel was right on the beach so many guests watched the sunsets (not really our thing, but good idea). There was no obvious sex scene. This area was good and would stay there again. ($150 – 2024)
Lao
Luang Prabang
Lakhang Thong Hotel (Luang Prabang) – This hotel had good reviews but it didn’t really live up to them. The rooms were quaint but not in a good way. The breakfast was very poor. We did find another really good cafe to go for breakfast. You get what you paid for ($60 – 2025)
Green Park Boutique Hotel (Vientiane) – This was a really nice hotel with a nice outside area and an excellent breakfast. Couldn’t find too many places to eat nearby. It was next to a very large shopping mall with a very popular outside food court for street food. Would stay here again. ($120 – 2025)
Japan
Tokyo
Hotel Yaenomidori Tokyo – Easy to walk to from Tokyo train station, everyone in Japan walks around with luggage so you look normal. Nice rooms and the breakfast was pleasant, two options each morning and alternating with two other choices the next morning. Easy access to subway. Would stay again ($240 – 2024)
Hukuba
Gateway Hotel – This hotel is central to the Hukuba ski fields. We walked 300m to a beginners chair lift or you could walk 800m to the gondola. From the beginners lift, you could take another lift that brought you out at the top of the gondola, so this was the best option. Our price included ski rental and breakfast (pretty simple but enough). Rooms were adequate and the hot water was good, what more do you need. If you were to stay anywhere in Hukuba, you need to book some restaurants before you arrive, nearly impossible to do so on the day. ($255 – 2024)
Kyoto
The General Kyoto Shijou Shinmachi – This was another hotel where we got off the train, caught a subway and then walked with cases a few hundred metres. The rooms were good and the breakfast quite nice, again two choices each day, alternating. The advantage of this hotel was free drinks from 4pm onwards, which Bruce took full advantage of. I would stay here again. ($300 – 2024)
Hiroshima
Hilton Hiroshima – This was a well priced hotel, with all the opulence of a Hilton Hotel. The breakfast was excellent with an egg bar and a huge array of choices both western and asian. A simple bus ride from the train station dropped you off across the road from the hotel so easy to get to. The bar prices here were double what you pay on the street and there weren’t any bars around that were easy to find. A couple of good restaurants nearby, especially the Indian restaurant. Might stay again. ($200 – 2024)
Osaka
Premier Hotel – Cabin President – This hotel is situated directly above a subway line, but you wouldn’t know it. It was easy to get to. We had a room on the executive level which gave us access to the lounge where they served free drinks and a variety of snacks from 4 – 9pm. The wines and spirits in the lounge were excellent and Bruce overindulged every night. Interesting views out the window of the room and lounge. Breakfast was excellent, but cost an extra $20 per person. There was a good shopping area across the road and Bruce loved the bakery. Would definitely stay here again. ($200 – 2024)
Greece
Athens
Mythodea Athens Suites – Excellent location in the Plaka district, overlooking the Piazza. Great value, pity we couldn’t get in the second time. There was no breakfast here, but plenty of cafes and bars nearby. ($200 – 2024)
A&N Athens Luxury Apartments – Good location, but didn’t really compare to Mythodea Athens Suite. No problems with hotel, but like other option better. Excellent bus routes and train routes, easy trip to Port, which we enjoyed. ($200 – no breakfast – 2024)
Nafplio
Aetoma Hotel – Excellent location and great value, breakfast was huge. We walked everywhere around the town and good access to local attractions. Great choice. We liked Nafplio, it had a really good vibe, ($200 – 2024)
Demitsana
Enastron Guesthouse – Lovely mountain town and really nice hotel (guesthouse). Huge breakfast and definitely a local experience. We were in the centre of the hilltop town and had several good choices of restaurants around us. Loved it. ($200 – 2024)
Kalamata
Vista Marina – Good location and the room was nice. Great view from balcony. This wasn’t as good as our other hotels, but was still very good. The breakfast wasn’t as good as other hotels. Would look for other options if we visited Kalamata again, but there was really wrong with this hotel.