I have just returned from Bangkok and it was certainly an eye opener in more ways than one. A fine stay at the Bel Aire Princess Hotel complimented my trip.

Well the Bel Aire certainly took away all those worries. The hotel is well known so any taxi driver at the Airport should be able to take you to your destination without a hitch. You'll find it located on Soi 5 off the Sukhumvit road.

As I walked into the lobby I was greeted with a drop in temperature, air conditioning is certainly a godsend in Bangkok and feeling that cool chill is a real pleasure. The lobby itself is very modern and spacious. The reception staff are polite and helpful with a decent grasp of English. There is also a lounge area with a TV showing sports as well as a bar. Upon check in you're given a voucher for a complimentary drink from the bar, so those who like an immediate tipple will be catered for.

Of course if the room is not up to scratch then nothing else matters. On this matter I had no complaints. The room offered more than enough space for a single person. The bed was massive and the only problem I had with it was wondering where I should lay! There's also a TV in the room, the reception on some channels was not fantastic but it was watchable. You don't go away to watch TV but it's nice to have something to watch at the end of the day or when you wake up. For the English there is the BBC World Service but it's fairly dull. A movie channel offers up everything from Hollywood movies to direct to video guff starring Skeet Ulrich. There is a channel with western programming and you'll find programmes such as The Simpsons so you won't feel entirely out of place. MTV Asia is worth a look just for some of the crazy music videos they have over there.

One of the most important things about staying in Bangkok is to keep hydrated. Every day you'll find a couple of bottles of water in your room. It was a nice touch and saved me the trouble of constantly buying water before setting out in the morning.
My trip was mainly business, I had a large amount of money which I needed to keep safe. My room had it's own safe located in the built in wardrobe. You entered your own code and it was great to be re-assured that my valuables would be safe.

Upon check-in you're given a key where the fob controls the room. You pop it in a slot as you walk in and it turns on the lights and the air conditioning. Everything is then controlled by a box on the bedside table.