Editorial: An Ideal Location

On finding hotels in strange cities, Thanon Nowhere and the solution for the city of angels.

We all know the problem. We have to book a hotel in a city we have never visited, and the booking has to take place weeks or months ahead of time, before we have even really had any time to look into the details of the place we are going to. The hotel descriptions are all positive beyond reason - I have yet to read about a hotel that is not "ideally located".

Though gods know I have stayed in many a one that definitely was not. My last visit to Rome falls into this category, with my ideally and centrally located hotel in a dynamic neighbourhood actually being on the outer rim of the subway line, with everything around it closing in the late afternoon, the glorious exception being the downstairs pizza place which kept the lights on until a dynamic 9 pm. To say I felt slightly misplaced from the centre of things would be a gross understatement.

It would however have been nice if I had been able to see what other things were around my hotel before I booked it. What exact attractions were nearby, which restaurants, bars and clubs were in the area and so on. With a clear indication that absolutely nothing was actually around, I might have looked a bit further for another ideal location.

Bangkok travellers, however, no longer have to undergo harrowing ordeals like this anymore. Why you ask? What saves visitors to the city of Angels from any such unintended urban safari? The hotels of Huay Kwang have all been closed by order of the courts? A new and, for once, visitor friendly law requires hotels to be within walking distance of at least 5 bars blessed with air con? Well, 3 bars then? What brings this great salvation upon our city, oh mighty editor?

Well, we do. The searching features of Lost-in-Bangkok.com allows you to see not just what zone (area) of the city your hotel is in but also e.g. which restaurants, bars and tourist attractions are there (or golf, shopping or whatever else you may want), displayed conveniently on our map along with the hotel. So it is frightfully easy to see exactly what is around the corner from your hotel of choice. What is more, once you find a hotel in a location you like, you can book it directly here by following the link in the hotel description. It makes it superbly easy for you to find a hotel in a location ideal for your specific needs and then get a good deal on same hotel. No more hotels on Thanon Nowhere, Ideal road, here we come.