KN Guesthouse Report April 2007.

[dawsey]

I promised JP I would give a detailed update on this guesthouse after I returned so here it is.

Firstly, the good points.

Excellent location, about 5mins to Bangla and the beach, in Soi Jintana opposite Royal Paradise Hotel. Easy to find.

Very nice rooms, big beds, clean and normally pretty quiet. There was building work going on whilst I visited, and the 8 30am tile cutting wasn't appreciated, but the hotel cant help that, and its not for much longer I am guessing. The lift is still not in operation, and shows no signs of being completed. Not good if you are above the 2nd floor. Rooms on the GF are best, Nos 102/103/104 right by the pool. Some of the rooms appear very dark with wooden floor and panelled ceiling, but still OK. Rooms 201 301 401 &501 have tiled floors and are much lighter.

A very good clean pool with a good restaurant complete the good points.

Now for the bad

Im afraid I cant recommend prebooking KN for one reason. Their system sucks, and they have no idea what is going on. The German owner and his wife Nid seem to take bookings without informing either, and guests come not knowing if there is a room for them or not.
When we arrived, we were supposed to have 4 adjoining rooms, close to the pool. These were booked last Sept, and confirmed. As written before, Dodger looked in to confirm this booking in Jan, and it wasn't on their system A new booking was made, but we arrived to find we had a room on the 2nd floor. one on the the 3rd and two on the 5th .This wasn't acceptable, and after repeated demands for us to be moved we got on to the 2nd and 3rd floors. Not good enough IMO but there is worse.

Talbotman and his friend asked me to find out what rooms they were getting two days after we checked in. I asked, and was told GF rooms 102 and 14.
In the meantime, the German owner decided to give these rooms to two fellow Germans who cold called so Tom and his friend ended up on the 3rd and 5th floors. Very poor management and totally wrong.

Next, I had been asked to book a room for another BM arriving 14/4 for a week. The owner said he was full, but would definately find him a room there How I don't know??.
Of course, when the BM arrived, the hotel hadn't even heard of the guy, although I gave him full details previously. Again diabolical management!.

Finally, the morning we were due to leave, Nid informed me that I was to pay by cash as their CC machine had been taken away and they were applying for a new one!!! WTF, I carry 87k baht in my wallet on the last day??

OK I'll go to the bank and see if I can get it from my card. No chance, it was a Sunday, and all I could get was 20k max in cash from the ATM.
I still owe the hotel 67k and Im waiting for their email for the account I can transfer this to. All in all, pretty poor show as they forgot to tell me, and I could have got the cash over 5days withdrawals. But its no way to run a business.

One final good thing. They found us a room where we could all have a shower before we left for the airport, which was a nice and appreciated good touch.

Its a pity the bad outweigh the good about KN as I liked the place, but could never trust them to have a room if you prebook. so for that reason alone, I cant recommend KN to anybody unless you are already there and do a walk in.
BTW the rates after 1/4 are a reasonable 1200baht a night.
When I get round to it, I'll add some pics to this thread, of the hotel grounds and pool.

[Bello Uomo]

Interesting report Dawsey.

I was walking down Soi Jintana and thought I'd pop in and have a look at KN while I was there. Talbotman told me he was staying there.

Big rooms, and yeah, big on the wooden floorboards and panelling!

Oh by the way, when are we going to catch up for that chat? :

[dawsey]

Originally Posted by Bello Uomo

Oh by the way, when are we going to catch up for that chat? :

555555 It just never happened did it Mark? I looked around for you apparently the day you left
Sorry we didn't get to talk, hopefully another time, but it was nice to meet you at least

[whuakito]

I just hope that all these hassles didn't spoil your holiday.which is exactly what at the end counts

[dawsey]

Originally Posted by whuakito

I just hope that all these hassles didn't spoil your holiday.which is exactly what at the end counts

No the hotel wasn't the problem Sammy, it was the return trip

I'll be posting about that later. The trip itself was the best one yet

[dawsey]

A few pics resized now of the KN Guesthouse pool and reception area.

[nelsonone]

its a shame about the lack of decent management Rog....as it appears to have some merit on a price/accommodation scale...but how could anyone plan a holiday around this sort of cr@p service!!!

[Thai Kwan Do]

is there still any construction going on in soi jintana?
im booked in tip top guest house ,across the street of KN

[Thai Kwan Do]

Originally Posted by nelsonone

its a shame about the lack of decent management Rog....as it appears to have some merit on a price/accommodation scale...but how could anyone plan a holiday around this sort of cr@p service!!!

tip top: booking a room

me: he Andre [dutch guy] you got a room for me ?
Andre: yes
me: when do i pay?
Andre : when you leave
me: how much is it, for the deluxe room ?
Andre: 500 a night
me: you got a pool ?
Andre : don't be silly!
me: is it clean?
Andre: its 3 years old!
me: is my booking confirmed then?
Andre : Ive got a calender, and a pen and paper , what could go wrong?
me : fire
Andre : and gone is your booking then!
me : see you in September!
Andre: OK. and bring some dutch food ! please!!!

[likeitalot]

Its such a shame that what looks like such a nice place is run so poorly.

[ThaiLearner]

Originally Posted by dawsey

I promised JP I would give a detailed update on this guesthouse after I returned so here it is.

Firstly, the good points.

Excellent location, about 5mins to Bangla and the beach, in Soi Jintana opposite Royal Paradise Hotel. Easy to find.

Very nice rooms, big beds, clean and normally pretty quiet. There was building work going on whilst I visited, and the 8 30am tile cutting wasn't appreciated, but the hotel cant help that, and its not for much longer I am guessing. The lift is still not in operation, and shows no signs of being completed. Not good if you are above the 2nd floor. Rooms on the GF are best, Nos 102/103/104 right by the pool. Some of the rooms appear very dark with wooden floor and panelled ceiling, but still OK. Rooms 201 301 401 &501 have tiled floors and are much lighter.

A very good clean pool with a good restaurant complete the good points.

Now for the bad

Im afraid I cant recommend prebooking KN for one reason. Their system sucks, and they have no idea what is going on. The German owner and his wife Nid seem to take bookings without informing either, and guests come not knowing if there is a room for them or not.
When we arrived, we were supposed to have 4 adjoining rooms, close to the pool. These were booked last Sept, and confirmed. As written before, Dodger looked in to confirm this booking in Jan, and it wasn't on their system A new booking was made, but we arrived to find we had a room on the 2nd floor. one on the the 3rd and two on the 5th .This wasn't acceptable, and after repeated demands for us to be moved we got on to the 2nd and 3rd floors. Not good enough IMO but there is worse.

Talbotman and his friend asked me to find out what rooms they were getting two days after we checked in. I asked, and was told GF rooms 102 and 14.
In the meantime, the German owner decided to give these rooms to two fellow Germans who cold called so Tom and his friend ended up on the 3rd and 5th floors. Very poor management and totally wrong.

Next, I had been asked to book a room for another BM arriving 14/4 for a week. The owner said he was full, but would definately find him a room there How I don't know??.
Of course, when the BM arrived, the hotel hadn't even heard of the guy, although I gave him full details previously. Again diabolical management!.



Finally, the morning we were due to leave, Nid informed me that I was to pay by cash as their CC machine had been taken away and they were applying for a new one!!! WTF, I carry 87k baht in my wallet on the last day??

OK I'll go to the bank and see if I can get it from my card. No chance, it was a Sunday, and all I could get was 20k max in cash from the ATM.
I still owe the hotel 67k and Im waiting for their email for the account I can transfer this to. All in all, pretty poor show as they forgot to tell me, and I could have got the cash over 5days withdrawals. But its no way to run a business.

One final good thing. They found us a room where we could all have a shower before we left for the airport, which was a nice and appreciated good touch.

Its a pity the bad outweigh the good about KN as I liked the place, but could never trust them to have a room if you prebook. so for that reason alone, I cant recommend KN to anybody unless you are already there and do a walk in.
BTW the rates after 1/4 are a reasonable 1200baht a night.
When I get round to it, I'll add some pics to this thread, of the hotel grounds and pool.

Hey dawsey you never have the luck what with your flights problem

[dawsey]

Originally Posted by peterhol

is there still any construction going on in soi jintana?
im booked in tip top guest house ,across the street of KN

'Fraid so Peter. There is a block being built directly opposite, and also next door to KN

tThe noise was quite a problem from next door (bandsaw or tile cutting) but I don't expect that to last for too long. The site across the street was pretty quiet, but they haven't started on the internal fitting out yet. Could be some noise when the plastering etc starts.

[Tommychrk]

I have booked here for a week at the end of June. I figured I would need a place with pool. Anyway I had to ask Nid 3 times for a confirmation by e-mail before I got it in writing. All she wrote was: bookingok.nid

Guess I was lucky she sent it at all.....

[dawsey]

Originally Posted by Tommychrk

I have booked here for a week at the end of June. I figured I would need a place with pool. Anyway I had to ask Nid 3 times for a confirmation by e-mail before I got it in writing. All she wrote was: bookingok.nid

Guess I was lucky she sent it at all.....

That is the standard reply from Nid Tommy. Ask a question, and its, OK for your booking Nid 5555555

I hope they have a room for you on check in, although June is far less busy than Mar/Apr. At least Jintana is round the corner

[Tommychrk]

Originally Posted by dawsey

That is the standard reply from Nid Tommy. Ask a question, and its, OK for your booking Nid 5555555

I hope they have a room for you on check in, although June is far less busy than Mar/Apr. At least Jintana is round the corner

No big deal if they mess it up since it is low season, but it will be interesting to hear what they say upon arrival 555555

[klavg01]

I will be in Patong from 28 May till 8 July Tommy, so we will probably meet, I buy you a beer at MTB, is that a good idea?

[Tommychrk]

Originally Posted by klavg01

I will be in Patong from 28 May till 8 July Tommy, so we will probably meet, I buy you a beer at MTB, is that a good idea?

That's a great idea I will be there one week onward from June 24 so MTB it is

[Talbotman]

THE KN i could go on for hours about that place but i would lose the will to live 5555555

as dawsey says its a shame because the hotel and swim pool are cracking and also the staff and even NID are nice people

i genuinely believe the problems are basically caused by nids german husband i was told by one of the staff that Nid had reserved 2 rooms on the ground floor for me but the day before my arrival he gave our rooms to some german tourists who turned up on speck and payed the money up front

i know the guy from the past from bangkok he used to own several german restaurants in bnagkok and pattaya including the old international beer garden which used to be next to soi cowboy and the restaurant at the entrance to soi diamond in pattaya HE IS EXTREMELY MONEY ORIENTED !

have a great time JP and hopefully we will meet finally in july 2008 when i am next in patong