“Hello Sir, good to see you again.” So said the doorman at the Ibis Soi 4 Sukhumvit hotel, a modest, comfortable and popular hotel in central Bangkok where I’ve stayed on three occasions in the past 18 months.
Yes, it’s part of the global Accor chain, but last week’s greeting (which came before I proffered any identifying paperwork) disproved the accepted wisdom that these places lack warmth and personal service.
Continue reading That familiar feeling: staying with brand-name hotels
A little while ago I wrote a post titled Five reasons why Airbnb is not really for me. As I write this, I am staying in an apartment on a beach in Thailand that I booked through Airbnb.
Things have been going so well, so far at least, that it seems that I have some explaining to do.
I received a special offer from Qantas to receive extra frequent flyer points if I give Airbnb a go. I don’t think I’ll be taking it up.
As I’ve said before, I prefer to stay in hotels — specifically brand-name hotels — and it’s going to take a lot of convincing to get me to go into a privately owned home. Again.
Continue reading Five reasons why Airbnb is not really for me
