Indigo packages - India to BKK with 2 nights stay

Indigo Airlines (www.goindigo.in) has recently started offering package trips, on the lines of what Air India and Jet Airways have been offering for many years now. But of the ones that are currently listed, I find the deal to BKK (ex-India, of course) quite interesting.

The offers include airfare plus 2 nights stay at either a 3 or a 4 star hotel. Prices are in the range of INR 17-18k for the 3-star option and around INR 21-22k for the 4-star option. Now, I'm planning either a 2 or a 3 night trip to BKK in mid-August 2013, and so this caught my attention.

The current packages seem positioned a bit iffy on pricing - I'm not interested in the 3 star option (Le Fenix), but I'm interested in the pricing of the 4-star ones.

In the 4-star package, there are 3 hotel options - Lotus Sukhumvit, Novotel Fenix Silom and Novetel Fenix Ploenchit (aka Novotel Ploenchit Sukhumvit).

Having been to BKK a few times before, the Lotus Sukhumvit is best avoided. Though it is an Accor-managed property, its a local hotel in its DNA - you know what I mean.

Also, other than for the swimming pool, it is quite a claustrophobic place - the above pic should explain that. The place reminds me of some stuffy hotels I've stayed at in and outside India, but none more than a fair number of them in Kolkata (CCU). However, this property has the advantage of being located on the relatively "shadier" (or, "interesting", if that's how you see it!) of BKK.

The Novotel  Fenix Silom is located in Silom, in southwest BKK (keeping PloenChit BTS on Sukhumvit as the centre), and is around 6.5 km (4 miles) from PloenChit BTS (almost the same, give or take, from say MBK mall).

However, what it loses by way of location, it more than makes up on pricing. Two nights for the time I'm traveling work out to Rs 6.6k (~US$ 115) total, and so if I can get a reasonable airfare (or just use my miles - though probably not worth it), I'll use this. The hotel facilities in the package are consistent with what I'd get if I booked on my own. BTW, this is just down the road from the Conrad Bangkok - my all-time favourite hotel in BKK!!!

The Novotel Ploenchit Sukhumvit is virtually bang (no pun intended) in the middle of Sukhumvit, and is a personal favorite of mine in terms of location.

Facilities are very modern - unlike the Lotus and the Fenix Silom, and the hotel doesn't suffocate you. Very convenient location, but this is priced at just over Rs 12k for 2 nights (that's around US$ 200). If you'd like to stay here, you're better off taking the package that Indigo is offering. And Soi Cowboy is just around the bend ;-) !!!

Conclusion

Your itinerary and interests are / should be a key factor in determining the location of your hotel. Ploenchit offers Sukhumvit on a plate (that's virtually all of the naughty stuff that BKK has to offer, within a 5 minute walk radius), while Silom is your pick if you're interests lie in architecture, temples, palaces, and the like. As for Indigo's offer - take it up only if you are looking to stay in Ploenchit, or indeed, Sukhumvit (if you're keen on the Lotus Sukhumvit). Else, you're better off booking your rooms and air travel separately.

As regards my personal trip that's coming up, ninety-nine times out of a hundred, I'd pick the Ploenchit Sukhumvit. This particular upcoming trip of mine, however, is #100 - so I'm going for the Fenix Silom. Reasonably good property, great deal at the price it is going at.

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