RetrOasis Hotel — Hotel in Khlong Toei Nuea Subdistrict

If it's value and good location you seek, this place works provided you pay little more than their lowest off peak prices of around USD25 for their basic room. Double that figure (or higher) and you can do better elsewhere.

This property is basically a 3.5 star an old property remodelled and refreshed with a decor one could call "mildly retro". The ". 5" star goes to fact that the hotel has a pool, albeit small, shallow and seems to suffer from perpetual.. We'll, lets just say.. "less than ideal water clarity" during each of the dozen occasions I've stayed there the past 2 years.

I'd say that on the "plus side", their beds are comfortable ( a common problem in Bangkok /Thailand is that many hotel properties (esp budget type hotels 3 stars and below) have very hard beds. So here at RetrOasis, you aren't going to wake up with a sore back.

Negatives : many rooms have low water pressure. Hot water is by way if a small instant heater which barely delivers the hot shower experience some of us expect as a minimum from a hotel property (I belong to this group).

If that was not enough, their entire WC flush system seem constantly on the brink of being choked. Seems to me that this is the one clear sign that their sewerage piping system should have been upgraded along with the room decor but alas... I guess the people who refurbished the rooms and property systems before setting up business overlooked that crucial final step to ensure that their guests don't have issues with their toilet experience! I would reserve judgement if I was just a one time guest here. But having seen this recurring theme, lets just say that it's hard not to notice these things!

The room airconditioners in many rooms are not adequate and takes a while to cool the room in the best of days. If you are - like me - one of those that need a reasonably cool room to sleep in (say 23°C) and come when Bangkok during its hottest months (End March thru June) and should you choose to stay at RetroAsis, all I can say Good Luck to you!

(Hint to to hotel management : if you choose under powered aircon units, you may get short term minimal savings, but they will all be overworked and compressors won't be able to cut off because the room takes a long time to cool down Within a short time you will need to replace many of them when they break down prematurely! Meantime, your electrical bills will be unnecessarily high due to all your room compressors struggling to cope most of the time!)

Final verdict : if you just want a low cost place assuming prevailing prices are around $25 to $35) to stay within walking distance from Em quarter (PHROMPHONG BTS) or Terminal 21 (Asoke BTS), and, just need it for a short stay (except during the hot months of March thru June) , then RetroAsis is fine. Outside of these requisites, I personally would go elsewhere for where I know I can do better...

retroasis||||Coming in very early we had notified the hotel of our early arrival. 6.30 am.||When we did a very grumpy night receptionist who I will leave nameless (Beatle hair and lipstick) informed us, without even saying hello or looking us in the eye, that Check inn time was 2 pm. I told him I was aware that was the normal check in time and that is why I notified them. No response. ||I asked if our rooms were occupied and he told us: not available. ||When I inquired if there were any other rooms available he said no. ||In the key cabinet behind him I could clearly see that more then 60% of all keys were on their peg. He was obviously lying. ||||I don't know what his problem was but clearly the guy had PMS or something. I sure hope he's the son of the owner otherwise I can not think of any reason he should have this job. He let us wait for an hour and then suddenly we could check in early as long as we payed 600 extra. ||The rooms were the same ones we booked and no ons checked out. (TIT) (This Is Thailand). Let's leave it there. you can do the math. No tip for Ringo. ||||Props for the nightwatchman though. He helped us out finding a taxi were one of us lost his cell phone in. ||Two hours later the driver arrived and returned the cell phone. Don't know his name but he sure got a giant tip. ||||So.... the hotel. We stayed here earlier and it's worth the money. Location is super and if you book one of the larger rooms with pool view it's very quiet even though it's right on Sukumvith. But even the cheaper rooms are surprisingly peacefull considering where you are. And with the aircon runing you hardly hear a thing from the street. But location..... Yes. A stones throw away from the bts, underground and terminal 21.||||Rooms are basic but complete. Nicely decorated and very clean. The pool is alright for a dip after a long and sweaty day.||Tv only has one English channel and Wi-Fi is on and off pretty good. Location is excellent though. Only complaint is that there is no light switch beside the bed. So you have to get up walk to the door to switch of the lights and stagger back whilst cracking your shins on the bedside. I still have a mark on there.... ||||No bar, no restaurant but a 7-11 around the corner and plenty if eateries at walking distance. On the other side of the street is Soi  22 for more evening fun and a pretty decent massage place on the corner for aching muscles. Can't beat the location. We stayed before and will definately return. Hope Ringo is gone by then. ||||Did I mention the...

Lovely Retro Hotel two meters off Sukumvith road. A remnant of the Vietnam war for American gi's that came for some R&R to the big mango. Or so the receptionist told me. As soon as you walk in you get that Madmen sixties feel in this small hotel. It bassicly looks like a sixties Los Angeles motel. Rooms with porches all overlooking a classic kidney shaped pool with some umbrellas and beds . All that is missing is pink flamingos on a stick and some rock and roll music.||The reception is small and offers safe deposit boxes for free. There is a small cafe where breakfast is served. Nothing spectacular, you can choose eggs of the menu and grab coffee and juice and toast yourself. There is also cereal and some fruit offered. Could be improved but it was ok. ||The rooms are very nice and worth the money. Mattresses are very hard but that is the standard in Thailand. We had a small fridge and a flat screen tv with some satellite channels on offer. A water cooker with some tea and coffee. The bathroom was nice with a good shower. No view from the back windows maybe because we were on the ground floor. Which I can recommend because there are no elevators. One minor detail that I would like to hand the management: bedlamps. |Getting out of bed to switch off the light is very inconvenient. ||It's a small gem in the middle of a great city. I would definitely recommend staying here. ||Right now there is building going on that starts at 10 am. There was no idea when it would be finished. If you are out exploring the city this is not a problem. If you are here to party on the close by soi Cowboy or soi 22 and plan to sleep in, it...