Jomtien Thip Condotel

The WiFi was good, but it was noisy between rooms and the corridors smelled. The electricity bill was expensive.

I’ve stayed at Thip many times, but it used to be better value. This was the worst room I’ve had, filthy, with a dirty balcony. The sheets didn’t fit the mattress, so I had to keep fixing them for a whole week. They charged 400 baht for cleaning, which felt insulting when my two-bedroom condo in Hua Hin costs 300 to clean. Electricity was 7 baht per unit, up from 5, so Thip is making a 40% profit on it. Never again. A hotel would be cheaper, cleaner, and more comfortable.

People say the atmosphere is really nice, but my experience was the complete opposite. The place is on a corner with four night bars, including one with live music. The noise is devastating on weekends until 4 AM and on weekdays until 1 AM. They play the same songs every single night, over and over. The street is full of retirees getting drunk and trying to be young again. They seem frustrated, and when sober they have grumpy faces. There are a lot of them around here. I’ve worked in Thailand for the last 20 years, and for the same money you can get a much better equipped studio, better in every way. This place is run down. I guess nobody has put a penny into it in 20 years. It’s absolutely inconvenient for a holiday. I asked the landlady to be honest in future listings and mention the devastating noise. She declined, as she doesn’t care about her clients.

We only stayed because we were short on time before New Years. My room faced soi 7, and the noise was excessive from 2pm until 2:30, when the bars close and the drunks stumble home. It was dark, dirty, and dusty until I cleaned it myself, with old cigarette-stained wallpaper, a beat-up mattress, half the furniture broken, and tiles and grout lifting and crumbling. The TV looked like it was from the 50’s, though I never turned it on. The bathtub leaked through a 1”x1” hole in the tile surround and left a puddle on the floor. I nearly slipped twice. The worst part was the balcony window falling out and cracking when I tried to slide it open for air. Luckily, I’d already looked up a replacement company and gave them the contact details, otherwise they would have wanted me to pay 5000 baht. I was lucky the window over the pool didn’t fall out. The elevators are antique, like the residents of the place. Room cleaning costs 350 baht, and reception closes at 5pm. At least the staff were friendly and professional, and I’m thankful for that.