Angelica’s Corner: Hotel Rooms for Cheap

We’ve learned that it is a constant toss up whether the $12, $30, $65 or even $180/night room will be acceptable to Kevelica. I did the research, I read the reviews but still, that moment you unlock your door is still filled with hope and dreams.
We liked the $20 room in Ho Chi Minh City. One for our team. And we like our current “deluxe beach bungalow” on Koh Lanta. Funny that they label it Deluxe, since it is the cheapest, but nice that they gave us a title too. We have a view of the ocean, a little porch with chairs, a/c. We do have the bathroom-shower-all-in-one-so-that-you-have-to-remove-all-toilet-paper-for-it-not-to-get-wet-during-shower-process. And, we have a giant blue towel for a bed cover. No top sheet, just the towel. It does its job but there is that second during the night that you think, is this terrycloth? I’ll call this one even, half for us, half for the establishment.
Then there was our $30/night room in Bangkok. We arrived just before midnight from the airport. The lobby was as the pictures in Wallpaper showed- art deco interiors, books on the walls. The signs warning against Sex Crimes or any other bad behavior didn’t shock us. A sprightly bellhop lugged both our bags to the 4th floor with us trailing behind. He quickly and silently opened our door and turned on the a/c. It had a/c. It also had a swarm of mosquitoes, mental institute lighting that buzzed, sheets with holes and a plastic curtain for the bathroom door. Kevin, still suffering from the head cold, went to sleep right away. I finally took advantage of the Ambien samples and also passed out. Next morning at 9AM, Angelica was off to find us a new place, Conde Nast Traveler card in hand. By 11AM, after wearing our luggage as backpacks and sweating like the orchids that we are, we entered the glorious room at the Majestic Grand. We had marble and wood floors, heavenly beds, a fancy central controller for all lighting in the room and a concierge with a sense of humor. An ugly $30/night situation turned into a beautiful $130/night.

Kevin’s comment on Angelica’s corner: Now I am not a tough man, so this one night in Bangkok made me tumble, then it slapped me with the back of its hand, then it told me to go make it a chicken pot pie. That night in Bangkok and I are not on very good terms. But Angelica saved us. I’m still sick as a dog at this point and that room was going to keep making me sicker, one night in Bangkok at a time. Angelica went out and got us a room at a really nice place for nearly half price just by being a negotiating samurai. After one night in the new hotel I felt almost like Kevin again. Still not a tough man, but much less sick.