Red Planet Hotel Asoke
September 2012
Note: This review was originally written when this hotel was operating under the Tune Hotel brand. Red Planet, an investor in Tune and the actual owner of the hotel, later split from Tune and rebranded the hotel under its own name. All indications are that nothing else about the hotel other than the name has changed.
Tune just opened its first Bangkok hotel, which is just its third property in Thailand (the other two are in Pattaya and Hat Yai.) With an advertised rate of just 599 Baht () I thought I'd give it a try for a one night stay. I've used Tune Hotels before when traveling, so I knew what I was probably getting into.
Tune Hotels is a fast-growing brand that's attempting to bring the low-cost model of its sister operation AirAsia to the hotel world. It started with its first hotel in downtown Kuala Lumpur in 2007. Now with over two dozen properties, the chain has been slow to take off in Thailand, but that is starting to change.
The Bangkok Tune is located on Sukhumvit Soi 14, which is just one block off of Asoke and very near both the Asoke Skytrain station as well as the Sukhumvit Subway stop. This makes it a rather convenient location, especially as a transit hotel, since it has very easy access to the airport via the subway and Airport Link.
Like most Tune Hotels, there is no hotel operated restaurant, although there is a tiny snack bar in the lobby. Many Tunes have a third party fast food operation on the premises, but in the case of the Asoke property, they're using a designated nearby restaurant, the Black Swan pub at the mouth of the soi. This seems an interesting choice, to say the least, but at least the food is good. You can order at the front desk any time before 10:00 pm in the evening for delivery to your room.
Terminal 21, which has dozens of restaurants, is right across Sukhumvit from the mouth of the soi, so you have a lot of other food options right in the area. There is no pool or other amenities at the hotel. When you book a room at a Tune Hotel, you get a room, and that's pretty much it.
One of Tune's tag lines is “5-star beds at 2-star prices” and the beds are comfortable. Of course, as you can probably see in the photo, the rooms aren't much bigger than the bed. This is a common thing at all the Tune Hotels I've stayed at. Like the others, there are no chairs or other places to sit. There is a nice fold-down shelf with a power plug that allows you to sit on the bed and use your laptop relatively comfortably.
Of course, following the low-cost pay-for-what-you-use model of AirAisa, to use the Internet with your laptop means paying for wi-fi access. You also pay for air conditioning, a towel with toiletries, and to use the in-room flat screen television. You can pre-purchase these add-ons individually or as packages when you book your room. The 599 Baht advertised fee doesn't include any of these add-ons, or VAT, or service charge - yes, you pay a 10% service charge even at a hotel that effectively offers no service. By the time I added everything in, the total was over 1,000 Baht, or just right around US$35, still not bad for a central Bangkok hotel.
I've mostly used Tune as transit hotels, and frankly I think that's really where they shine. They're fine for one night, when all you need is a bed and a hot shower, and maybe a quick bite to eat at a nearby restaurant. I don't see myself spending four or five nights of my vacation in these small rooms, but it's possible others might be okay with it.
Hotel facilities None
Rooms feature fan, air conditioning (extra charge), hot and cold water, flat-screen television (extra charge), safe, and wi-fi Internet access (extra charge).
Pluses: Close to transportation and a lot of restaurants.
Minuses: Tiny room.
Rooms at the Red Planet Hotel Asoke may be booked through Agoda.