I know there have been lots of questions about the rooms for rent in the new La Bamba, and on at least one forum some less than flattering comments. So here is the low down as it stands right now, followed by some pictures in a succeeding post.
Background/Location:
The new La Bamba resides across Soi 13/1 in central Pattaya just a high-heeled shoe's throw from Beach Road, and across the street from where the bar stood for the past five years, behind the Hoffbrau Haus. It's in the old Legless Arms, next to Club 131 (ironically enough for those of you that know your local history).
While the Legless Arms was a nice place back in the day, from what I've heard, in recent times it's obviously been allowed to run down more than a little bit. When Nok and the girls first began moving in, in December, it was evident from the start a lot of cleaning and maintenance was needed, as well as some outright renovations -- all of which is still in progress to one degree or another; remember, they've only been open three weeks and a few days as of this post.
First thing that was done was a general cleaning of the rooms, some new paint where necessary and fixing up/replacing basic furnishings. At the same time all of the air conditioning units were serviced, including cleaning, replacing filters, bleeding lines and whatnot.
There are a total of 12 rooms; currently five are available for rent, although one is already taken for an extended long term, and one is currently booked for the rest of the month.
So What Do they Cost?
500 baht per day. If you want to book by the week or the month and negotiate a lower effective daily rate, this can be done with the owner, Nok, or her majordomo/bar manager/concierge, Annie.
Why 500?
Rossco was kind enough to do some market research, and the average going daily rate for a guest house in the region is between 600 and 700 baht a night. However Nok and Annie canvased central Pattaya and did some local market research; most of the rooms in guest houses and bars in and around Soi 13/1 go for 500 a night.
So What Does that Get Me?
A clean, simple room, with clean sheets, a queen-sized bed, towels, cable and a small TV, air con, a clean bathroom with a hot water shower, a refrigerator and two complimentary bottles of water per day. Like most guesthouses in the area, the goal here is to provide clean, simple and economical rooms in a great location.
You get this smack in the middle of central Pattaya: a block from the Avenue mall and Second Road, a matter of yards/meters from Beach Road. It's about a five to eight minute walk to the Pattaya Beer Garden and Walking Street (I know this because I do it frequently. Don't want to walk? There's always the baht buses to be had on Beach Road and Second Road; once aboard you can get pretty much anywhere you want to go in the surrounding environs.
Is it the Ritz? Is it a palatial, spacious room? No, of course not. It's nothing fancy and the rooms are small. But again they are clean and inexpensive and in a great location. Not to mention you are above the best ladyboy lounge bar on the planet (okay, I'm a bit biased, but it is a nice bar -- just ask anyone who has been).
You'll be hard pressed to find a better location coupled with a clean room for 500 baht. Need more space? Something more fancy? A king-size bed? Agoda is your friend.
Is there a Balcony? Is It Quiet?
Well, if you need absolute silence when you go to bed at 9 p.m., this likely isn't going to be the place for you -- this is Soi 13/1 in Pattaya, after all. Having said that, I've stayed a few weekends now on the fourth floor (more like the third floor, but it's an old Thai building with a mezzanine of sorts; as a Yank I would even call it the second floor, excepting the mezzanine). And I've taken a nap from 6 p.m., the time the bar officially opens, to about 9 or 10 p.m. in the evening. With the door closed and the aircon on, I noticed nary a peep and slept like a baby. This in spite of the music cranked up in the bar downstairs (generally the girls keep it a reasonable level, unlike many other bars).
If you really value silence, I would suggest you ask to stay in 33, 32 or 43 (although it's rented long term). 31 is directly over the bar, so there might be some noise -- however it does have a big window that looks out over the soi, and there is a wee balcony.
However being an old Thai building there's no door to the balcony (no I don't understand/know why), so you'd have to climb through the window if you want to enjoy the balcony/have a smoke. But the windows are big and easy to climb through. Doors would be nice, but frankly they are low down on the list.
41 is above 31, and similarly it faces the street and has the wee balcony too. Again, 43 and 33 are in the back, and have a bank of windows facing out, but no balcony. 32 is a smaller room, but only has a sealed window facing the hallway. I've stayed in this room too, and it is nice and quiet and dark -- good for sleeping (among other things).
Again, all rooms have aircon, fridges and hot water showers, and all rent for 500 baht per day.
Do the Rooms have Safes?
No, not yet. These are on the list of upgrades Nok wants to make and near the top. Hopefully within a matter of weeks the currently available rooms will have safes installed; I'll keep you posted here. And no, when they do, the price of the room won't be going up.
In the meantime, there are lockers located in the bar itself, on the ground floor. You can supply your own lock or the bar will provide you with one. I would wager this is probably a safer, albeit less convenient option, as someone is always in the bar when guests are renting rooms, so no one is going to be monkeying around with the lockers.
What About Guests?
Um, what do you think? You do know we're talking about Pattaya, right? Of course you can have guests. Just like everywhere else, you will need to leave the girl's / ladyboy's / boy's ID with Annie, Nok or whoever is behind the bar; your guest can retrieve their ID when they leave (an hour or so later, or the next day, as the case may be).
Is there WiFi?
It's scheduled to be installed this week; again I'll post updates on that here. But it's at the top of the long list of improvements Nok has in store.
What are The Rules for Guests?
There is no explicit list of rules, other than your short-time/over-night guest needs to provide an ID unless they are checking in with you and staying with you for the duration of your stay.
Of course we will have to make a copy of your passport/ID and that of any guests checking in with you when you check in, just as you would at any Thai hotel or guesthouse.
All we ask is that you respect the facilities and your fellow guests. Don't make a lot of racket in the wee hours, leave a mess in the hallways, that sort of thing. Don't pull a rock star and trash the room, unless you want to be billed for damages and face multiple ladyboys' wrath.
Also, no cooking in the rooms. There are a zillion restaurants and street stalls just outside your room or within a short walk, of course.
How Do I Book a Room?
In the near future -- a matter of days I hope -- the new La Bamba website will be up and running at labambapattaya.com. Initially you will be able to book via email and pay upon arrival, although shortly after that we will be accepting Paypal for advance bookings/deposits.
Until then, I would suggest you PM me if you are going to be on the ground in the next few weeks and want to book in advance, and I'll forward your details onto Nok and Annie. Don't forget the usual things: day of arrival, length of stay, date you'll check out.
Of course you can always check when you are on the ground. In the few weeks the guest house and bar has been open, La Bamba has already seen more than a few walk-in guests, however, so it may be best if you are interested to book in advance, at least during high season.
Speaking of which, checkout time is the standard 12 noon. If you need to stay later, there will be a fee of a hundred baht an hour.
Anything Else I Should Know?
Yes. If you have physical disabilities that prevent you from easily negotiating stairs, our rooms may not be for you. This is an old building and there is no elevator, and the first two flights of stairs are somewhat narrow.
You may also be wondering about short time rooms. The bar has no designated short time rooms per se, unlike the old La Bamba, but then the full-time bar staff all live on the premises. *wink wink. nudge nudge.*
Furthermore, as mentioned above, La Bamba is an ongoing labor of love, and as such improvements are ongoing. Sometimes renovations may be noisy, although Nok assures me she won't have anything noisy going on early in the morning -- the girls all have to sleep too, after all. In the future, in addition to safes and WiFi, the rooms will likely get new TVs, among other new furnishings, and there will be a computer in the bar for guests to use.
Want to speed up the process? Come drink in the bar, ring the bell and bar fine one of the lovelies!
I Still have Questions/Comments/Rants
Please, by all means, start a new thread, and I will try and respond as quickly as possible. And I'm sure the other Pattaya peeps who frequent La Bamba will have their input as well.
