I had another stay at the Baan Dok Mai guest house in Pattaya this past trip, and thought a quick update was in order - if for no other reason than I stayed in a different room so there were new pictures to share with those who might be considering a simple, friendly place to hang their hat for a few days. The original and more comprehensive review was last April and you can read that here.Unfortunately two of the three guys in the original review photo have moved on to other work, but the folks currently there are helpful and pleasant. If you look back at that photo, Bon has gone on to working with one of those companies that allows you to zip line through the jungle treetops, Aek has moved into a different segment of the hospitality world and Tim is currently away but will hopefully return.
The room I stayed in this time was perhaps a bit smaller than the last, but all in all seemed nicer to me. The bed was very comfortable (remembering I prefer a moderately firm bed), the TV and stereo system were better, and I liked the glass brick divider in the hong nam that kept the shower water from getting the toilet and sink area wet. You can see that in the image at the end of the post today. The water pressure was adequate and the "on demand" hot water heater kept up with my usage just fine.
There is, of course, a room safe and a refrigerator with daily complimentary water - as you'd expect most anywhere. Those of you who claim to actually need a work desk might be a bit cramped, but I did fine with my laptop at the area above. The room and bathroom were kept clean and mildew-free by a housekeeping woman who was very thorough.
I'd read a comment elsewhere that the bathroom soap there was less than what the guest had expected; but as you can see by the photo to the left the bottles of body wash, shampoo and conditioner were far better than the mini bottles and bars provided by other places, and are the same as my room was stocked with last time, so go figure.
The only drawback to my room this time was that I overlooked the JJ Pub and Karaoke, whereas last time I looked down at Royal Massage. The pub was a little loud a couple of nights, and they actually had music thumping at 05:00 one morning. It didn't keep me awake, but it might bother an extremely light sleeper. My room was on what I'd call the third floor (two levels above the ground floor). There is no elevator/lift, but since there's help with luggage all I had to haul up and down the stairs was my own weight, which was fine.
JJ Pub, across the street from my room
You're maybe 15 yards away from the large TukCom electronics and shopping complex, 30 yards from South Road where you can catch a song taew down to 2nd Road or out to Jomtien, a five to 10 minute walk to a number of good places for breakfast and the night life is just as close. I had nice visits at Relax@Me and Royal Massage, both of which are within a half block of BDM. You're a five minute walk from Friendship Market - a well-stocked independent grocery store - and there's a pharmacy or two just as close. It's a great location.
Rates are still quite reasonable, and Warwick (the owner) is as helpful and enjoyable to visit with as he's always been. I'm going to recommend it here a second time.
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