Budget hotel chains in exotic countries?

jonnyb1978

Getting married next year and looking for honeymoon ideas on a budget. Not sure of the budget yet but i fancy somewhere like the far East. Well anywhere really. Kind of like the idea of Malaysia but my question is whether anyone knows any budget hotel chains in exotic countries.

I.e The Sawasdee hotel chain specialises in Thailand and i would love something like this. Went and stayed in one of these some years back and for a tenner a night between two of us it was a bargain.

Thanks

GRM

Tune Hotels have 6 locations in Malaysia plus one in Bali.

HTH.

martindow

Why stick with chains? I would have a look in Lonely Planet for ideas of where to stay.

PompeyPete

We stayed in the Tune Hotel in Sarawak (Borneo) for a week in June last year.
Tune are quite plasticky, but the beds and showers are 5*. Security was also very good. If you only want a place to crash then they are definately VFM.
You can book Tune through their own website, but we booked ours as part of an Air Asia flight/hotel deal. Me and the Mrs flew from Kota Kinabalu to Kuching (return), and had seven nights at the Tune for a grand total of £125!
If you thinking of South East Asia, then move around every few days.
We usually start in Bangkok (fly Emirates or Eva). In February this year we had 3 weeks in Myanmar (brilliant), and then a few days in Cambodia, using Bangkok to start and finish.
A couple of years ago we started in Bangkok, then got the overnight sleeper train to Nong Khai on the Thai/Laos border. 3 or 4 nights there, very laid back on the banks of the Meekong. Then crossed The Friendship Bridge. had a couple of nights in the capital Vientiene, and worked our way north by bus to Vang Vieng (3 nights), and then Luang Prabang (a week). Then we flew back into Thailand to Chiang Mai for a week or so. Then finally flewback to Bangkok, and home.
Kanchanaburi, Bridge over the River Kwai, is another cracking destination. It's a couple of hours from Bangkok, with enough sights to keep you going for a few days.
Mustn't forget the Thai beaches, but we don't bother with them.

poet123

martindow wrote: »

Why stick with chains? I would have a look in Lonely Planet for ideas of where to stay.

Couldnt agree more, why go to a country and stay in a hotel you could stay in in seven others? Try Old Town Guest House 119, Jalan Temenggong, Melaka 7500. We loved it.

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g306997-d1566871-Reviews-Old_Town_Guesthouse-Melaka_Melaka_State.html0 , Malaysia

Have a look at the reviews.:D

PompeyPete

poet123 wrote: »

Couldnt agree more, why go to a country and stay in a hotel you could stay in in seven others? Try Old Town Guest House 119, Jalan Temenggong, Melaka 7500. We loved it.

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g306997-d1566871-Reviews-Old_Town_Guesthouse-Melaka_Melaka_State.html0 , Malaysia

Have a look at the reviews.:D

Yep, good shout.
Thinking about it, the only reason we used the Tune Hotel in Kuching is because we got an exceptional flights/hotel deal with Air Asia. Otherwise I'd have sought out a good locally owned and run guesthouse.

odowdchr

PompeyPete wrote: »

Yep, good shout.
Thinking about it, the only reason we used the Tune Hotel in Kuching is because we got an exceptional flights/hotel deal with Air Asia. Otherwise I'd have sought out a good locally owned and run guesthouse.

Tripadvisor...found so many great small independent hotels or guesthouses from India, Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand..
I wouldn't have taken the risk if i couldn't have read the reviews...had some real bad ones through just taking my chances.
I like LonelyPlanet but prefer to read the reviews on Tripadvisor....what's good for a backpacker might not be good for someone who only has a few weeks for a holiday.

PompeyPete

odowdchr wrote: »

Tripadvisor...found so many great small independent hotels or guesthouses from India, Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand..
I wouldn't have taken the risk if i couldn't have read the reviews...had some real bad ones through just taking my chances.
I like LonelyPlanet but prefer to read the reviews on Tripadvisor....what's good for a backpacker might not be good for someone who only has a few weeks for a holiday.

Trip Advisor forums are my bible too. I use LP, and LP Thorntree as a guide only.
I don't rely on the Hotel reviews on TA too much though. Anyone can write a review on there, and there are 1000s of spurious reviews which don't make sense. If the reviewer is a regular poster then that's different. For guaranteed genuine reviews I stick to Travel Republic, Booking.com, Agoda.com., and Sawadee. Reviews on those sites can only be written by people who have used the site to book accommodation.
We are backpackers, albeit I pull it on 2 wheels, and we like to move on every few days. Generally I'll book the flights online well in advance, then the first and last couple of nights accommodation online. Everything in between we just turn up. We spent 3 weeks in Myanmar in February. I hired a taxi/driver/guide when we arrived, told him what sort of itinerary we wanted and type of accommodation, and let him get on with it. Brilliant adventure!