Aquarius Lodge
 

This is a report that is long overdue,of a stay at Aquarius Lodge last December.Don't ask why the delay,it's a long boring story. The point is that here is the report.
I had read mauch advice on this message board about why I should not stay at the Aquarius Lodge in Bangkok, but I decided to take a chance, as I was only staying for a couple of nights before proceeding to Pattaya.
I arrived at Don Muang Airport after a long trip, around 11:00p.m. and not wanting to try to find the lodge at night, I requested that they pick me up at the airport for a 600baht charge. I was met by two men as I left Customs and Immigration and was taken to the lodge. I now realize that I could have taken an airport bus for 100baht to the Silom area as the lodge is located off of Rama !V near Lumpini Park.
The Lodge is located on a quiet soi and looks like an old style Thai house.
I found the room at 950baht was clean and was only disturbed by chirping birds outside my window in the morning.(no all night bar or disco noise).
Breakfast was tasty and freshly prepared in the cafe downstairs.
The car driver was very friendly and answered all my questions in English about the surrounding area.
It was possible to take a 30 min. walk to Robinson's on Silom, or take a taxi, or tuk tuk nearby.
If you want a restful stay in a quiet location in a gay friendly house I would recommend this place.

I've heard that this place has boys loitering around in the sitting area in the hope of providing personal service to guests. Your report makes no mention of this. So, were there any? Were they pleasant, or a nuisance? Presumably they would want money?

Yes, there were about 10 boys in the sitting area, but as I said I was very tired from my long journey and slept alone for two nights before heading to Pattaya, and so did not attempt to get to know them personally.
They did not push themselves at me, although I did ask a couple of them some directions. They were very polite.

This business of boys sitting around waiting to provide personal services for guests is interesting. GREAT if you're really keen on one of them, but what happens if you're not, and you pick up a boy from elsewhere and take him back to the guesthouse? Is this OK? I stayed at Tarntawan Place last time I was in Bangkok, and it was good, but maybe AQUARIUS is an option for my trip later this year. Anyone else stayed at Aquarius? What are the rooms like? Cheers!

LuvThailand - now that you've mentioned it, I can think of other difficulties. What if one fancied one of the sitting-room boys for one night, but didn't want him for the next? Or wanted someone else of the next evening? How would one negotiate one's way through the lounge every day with the dumped guy sitting there?

What if the guy whom one had chosen proved hopeless, and one threw him out of the bedroom? How would one cope with seeing the same face in the lounge thereafter?

All said, I think this would be enough reason not to stay at the Aquarius, or if one did, not to touch any of the boys there.

abelhuang - now that's an interesting series of dilemma(s) that you pose. No doubt the boys have been presented with those kinds of scenarios in the past, and coped with them. I just wonder whether it is acceptable to take a new acquaintance back to one's room when staying at Aquarius, and if one did take a friend back, would one pay a "joiner fee"? Maybe this is getting too complicated, Tarntawan Place Hotel will probably receive my patronage again. No hassles! (And they supply breakfast for the new guest!)

My experience tells me not to choose hotels or lodges where are guys at the lobby waiting for clients.

My unpleasant experience was at Malaysia Hotel. Here you can always see a bunch of guys loitering around the compound. There is always an uneasy feeling while you move in and out of the hotel.

Worse still if you are bringing in a guy from outside. All eyes will gorge on the stranger making him feel so uneasy. In fact the boy did tell me once that he felt somewhat embarrassed being stared at by the boys at the lobby.

I also agree that if you pick on a boy at the lobby and you find him unpleasant or not to your taste,you will have some uneasiness in picking another boy the following night with that boy still around.

The same goes to the massage venues. Many a time I experienced some funny starings if I did not pick on the same boy during the subsequent visits. :eek:[/list]

I can't believe the sensitivity of the last 3 people who replied.
Have you never offed a guy from a bar and then gone back to the same bar the next night and offed someone else, while your previous night's guest sat looking on? How do you think the latter felt? Don't forget that this is a job for these guys and they hope to be offed every night, and not necessarily by the same person.
Also, if you go to a sauna, do you not try different guys each time? Do you think that the one you had previously feels rejected? Rejection is part of the game.

I've never had a problem with the boys in the lobby of the Suriwong Hotel. They don't bother the ones I off from outside and the ones that I pick up from the lobby don't seem to mind if I don't take them up to my room the second night. In fact quite a few are friendly enough to ask if any of their friends are to my taste.
Of course I do treat them to lunch or dinner occasionally...and without expectation of sex in return, okay? So maybe that explains the friendlier reception.

Tao :D

I'll tell ya, it might cost a bit more, but these hotels sound great for short times. Just pick a guy and you're right there. Sort of a different type of experience.

I had stayed at Aquarius for three times in 1999 and 2000.
It was a rather special experience in staying in a Thai style teak-wood house. There was a little garden before entering the house, living room and coffee shop on the ground floor, while all guest rooms (about 15)with various size were on 2/F. With only limited rooms, I was told that the House was usually full during peak season.
The owner, Khun Wichai, was a very helpful guy. He was very friendly and did his best to satisfy the needs of his guests.
The House had several Burmese house-boys, very diligent at work ( always working) and some were good looking, young and cute of course. You can ask the house-boy to join you in your room if you find him cute, just tell Wichai and he will arrange. 300B would be charged in your bill, and you tip the boy of course.
The room rate was a bit high as compared with other facilities, as I remembered, my single room was 850B plus tax, distilled water was also charged. There was no TV inside the room at the time of my stay, but I think they have now. Apart from TV, the rooms were quite OK with queen size bed and A/C and individual shower.
In the evening, several boys would gather in the sitting room, usually young in age. One time I saw a really young one, I think about 14....
I don't know where they came from,but they looked like schoolboys and ordinary boys in the neighbourhood. You can pick one and tell him to go in your room, also 300B to the owner and tip to the boy. I paid 1000B for a overnight stay. The boys would gather at around 6pm and left at about 10pm if they had no luck that evening. From their eyesights, they seemed quite eager to get picked. But they were quite shy and not pushy. Most of them could not speak English and I did not experienced any embarrassment when I picked another boy when the boy I picked last time was also there. By the way, I liked to try a new boy when I have so many choices. However, I admit that I did avoid eye contact with the first boy....
Every guest was given the key of the main gate as the House would usually be locked up at about 11pm. There was no problem in bringing back other guest, but I had not tried, as so many choices available.
You can also tell Wichai about your favourite and he can specially arrange for you. He had a telephone book and called the boys of my type immeiately after our discussion. Kunt Wichai can speak very good English.
One boy, I still remembered, about 18, dark skin and cute and very big ...., he told me that he was a student of Thai boxing since young age, I still remember his firm body and muscle.....and his wildness on bed.
I did not return after 2000 and I had read some messages about police raid of the House, can anybody update me of the latest information ?
Nevertheless, I recommend this House to those who like to have some special Thai experience.

chan - thank you for your very comprehensive and informative post. You've answered all my questions - even the ones I didn't ask. However - one more issue - if the lodge was raided by the police what are the guests' chances of being arrested? Call me paranoid, but when one visits a foreign country the last thing one wants to get tangled up in is hassles with the local constabulary! Anybody had any unfortunate experiences with the local Mr. Plod???

LuvThailand,
There was once a website regarding the so-called Aquarius Raid, but I just checked (having not looked there in some time) and I believe the owner has now pulled it off the www. The story of this raid was a real eye-opener in terms of this guys experiences with the Thai judicial system after being arrested 'in flagrante delicto' at the Aquarius.
The website was in fact authored by the 'victim' and if everything he said was correct (and he was of course not particularly objective about this), a real horror-story of attempted bribery, Thai jails, and wild newspaper articles on under-age sex.

Having said all that . . . I've stayed at the Aquarius twice ~ once for two nights when I took home a young man I met in a bar & we had no problems at all. No off-fees and we had a very nice breakfast the next morning together and everyone was very pleasant. The second time stayed there for 3 weeks with (by then) my Thai boyfriend (in the same room as the gentleman raided by the cops 2 months before ~ THAT was freaky, but only later as I knew nothing of it at the time!!).
I thought that on second stay the place was looking a bit run down & invariably had only cold water in the shower . . . though that's usually a good thing in steamy Bangkok. The owner and some of the employees seemed to me to be overall more 'sullen' than the first trip & I then decided that my next time in Bangkok I would try another place.
However, this 'sullen-ness' was more understandable after I learned that The Raid had happened only 2 months before and the owner was up to his ass in legal troubles because of it.
Over a year on now since I’ve stayed there, and have not really heard how the place is fairing.
There is a website at Aquarius Lodge& last time I checked it had a little (self-serving?) blurb on it’s ‘take’ on the raid.

I replied to a posting on this board some months back regarding info about Aquarius. I assume that it was your posting, Mike50, though I had it in my mind that the author of the thread was from Scotland. I had actually wondered whether you had enjoyed your stay there, as I seem to recall that I was the only one to give any positive comments about the Aquarius.

The tariff seems higher than it was, and you would certainly be able to find better value for money, but I will certainly go back next time I'm in Bangkok. Despite its proximity to Patpong as well as to Babylon, it is in an extremely quiet and relaxing locale. And I always used to enjoy meeting up with other guys, and more often than not you would find someone to join up with to go out on the town. For a Bangkok novice there is a wealth of information to be found from the guests and from the owner.

As mentioned, there is no fee to bring someone back to the Aquarius, though there is a charge for taking one of their own hosts back to your room. This will apear by magic on your bill, so the boys obviously pass the info on to their boss. You can also pay the boys to take you sightseeing.
Some guests will have the same 'boy' for the duration of their stay. If you want a boy just for a short time, they will not be pushy
the next time you see them, esp if you are upfront with what you want. Remember that these boys have seen it all.

Just to add few more comments on Subtle post about Aquarius Lodge Raid. Yes, I have also read that website where the author has clearly inicated that either the hotel owner or one of the hotel's staff is in cohut with the police. Further, most of the boys at Aquaruis Lodge are underage.
Why take a risk at Aquarius Lodge when you have so many gay hotels and can get boys in any nooks and corners?