peckieboy Posted June 3, 2003 Report Share Posted June 3, 2003 Dear all, I?ve been looking on the Internet for flight prices to Bangkok from Heathrow leaving the evening of Friday 14th November and staying for 3 weeks. I wanted a direct flight if the prices were not silly. Best I could find was in the region of 580 pounds (I would have used the pound key but I set the keyboard up as ?American? and not ?English? so the pound key comes out as a # ). Anyway I phoned Trailfinders, as they have not let me down in the past and matey quoted 596 pounds including tax, with Thai. Then he said that Thai were doing a deal where for 529 pounds you get the same flight, including tax, + 2 nights accommodation at the Bel-Aire Princess Hotel in Bangkok. Sounds good to me. How does this happen ::? Perhaps someone, who works, in the travel industry can explain this one. I?m not sure if the Bel-Aire is guest friendly, if not I will take my chances. I suppose I will be put in a single room but there are always short time hotels if I somehow manage to find some company ::. Maybe I will do a search in the accommodation forum to check and if I do not find anything I will start another post. For those who are interested Trailfinders were quoting in the region of 480 pounds for EVA economy, but they leave Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and I believe Sunday evenings. As I said at the start of this post I wanted a Friday evening flight but the EVA price is good. I would guess you could get their Evergreen Deluxe for somewhere around 630 pounds which I would have used if I could have gotten the Friday off work. Regards Peckieboy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 3, 2003 Report Share Posted June 3, 2003 I allways book a flight with Thai airlines that includes a night at Bel Aire,i have done this for the last few years,it usually costs me £520,and i dont usually stay at the hotel,but i did stay there once. I talked that evening with a number of girls ,none even knew the Bel Aire so i did not get the impression that it was guest friendly,and in the end i thought "what the hell" so i took a girl back to the hotel,i went to the desk and got my room key,i was feeling really embaressed about the whole experience,with the staff behind the desk making me feel like i was first ever person that had taken a girl back,i was quietly asked for 800bht for my guest,i was starting to think it was a bad idea taking her back,they then asked for her id card,opened a draw and put her card in with hundreds of others,,,,,lol,,,, the bloody place must have had a girl in every room,,,,lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torrenova Posted June 3, 2003 Report Share Posted June 3, 2003 The inside trick is to ask the agent (make sure its a good one like Trailfinders, Expedia or Wexas etc.) for what is called an "IT" fare. This translates as "inclusive tour" and means that the airline can offload some seats cheaply and hide the cost from the punter by insisting that some inclusive accommodation is purchased for a minimum number of nights. Therefore, you get an "all in one" price. Simply put, you can get a nice hotel and flight for a good price or just dump the included hotel by insisting that they give you the cheapest option. On average, this saves about GBP 150 to GBP 200 per ticket and gives a good opportunity for some to explore the delights of 5* accommodation. If a real cheap fare is what you want, try non direct flights, via Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Moscow or Rome. Eva is OK but not on a par with Thai Air. Regards Torrenova Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 4, 2003 Report Share Posted June 4, 2003 Says torrenova: Eva is OK but not on a par with Thai Air. Regards Torrenova Really? What's so special about Thai Airways? They both have the same seat pitch and neither have seat back TVs. I may prefer to use Thai Economy, rather than EVA economy, but I certainly wouldn't say EVA is not on a par. In fact, I would prefer to take EVA Evergreen Deluxe than Thai Economy. From Thailand EVA ED with it's superior seat pitch amd seat back TVs, is often cheaper than Thai Airways Economy for a 1 year ticket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solar Posted June 4, 2003 Report Share Posted June 4, 2003 I've been staying at the Bel Aire for about 5 years now. I always understood that if you booked a deluxe room then there was no charge for joiners. I have never been asked to pay a joiner fee, though may be I'm getting certain privileges because I'm a regular. Trailfinders always have a deal with the Bel Aire giving one free night for every three nights booked, with a maximum of 2 free nights in any stay. Makes it a very good deal! Any reference to single\double room will mean the number of beds not the number of people. A 'single' room will still have a a very large bed in it - more than enough space for you and a friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatbastard33 Posted June 4, 2003 Report Share Posted June 4, 2003 Often stay at the Bel Aire Princess. It's nicely located at the top of Soi 5 and the rooms are quite large - much larger than the basic room at the Grand President. However, when you book in the UK always ask for a "double" room. Even if you are going alone always ask for a "double" on the hotel voucher and you will find everything is OK. The staff are very nice and what I like about the Bel Aire Princess is that if you arrive at 7am they will let you check in (if there is a free room). Also they will often give you a late check out up to about 4 pm. Cheers Fatbastard33 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangkokbutcher Posted June 4, 2003 Report Share Posted June 4, 2003 I have also seen a number of all in one deals (flight & hotel) for around 459 for 5-7 nights in bkk staying at the Pinnacle or Bel-Aire. Not sure of the airline though. I will check again and let you know... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torrenova Posted June 5, 2003 Report Share Posted June 5, 2003 These will be "IT" inclusive tour fares. See my previous post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangkokbutcher Posted June 5, 2003 Report Share Posted June 5, 2003 Yep i see it Torre, just seems like it is purely a buyers market at the moment with all these bargains to be had. :: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torrenova Posted June 5, 2003 Report Share Posted June 5, 2003 Couldn't agree more - it definitely is a buyers market. I suppose when prices for flights are depressed as bad (or good !!!) as they are at present, there isn't a lot of room for the "IT" fare boys to manouevre. Still worth casting an eye over the ebookers and expedia packages though. I have to go to Hong Kong to pick up some SARS before arriving in LOS and I got Cathay all in for GBP 350. Regards Torrenova Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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