coughet - Is it Bogan for Bogan?

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munitalP

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With my work bonus being delayed and my AKL lunch with Bossreggie having to be canned, I am pissed that my 19th wedding anniversary and my wifes 45th birthday celebration have been screwed up, so looking at random Hilton destinations last night, coughet popped up on the radar. Not overly expensive and good reviews. AFF has previously had a coughet thread (now closed) with some quite strong opinions of coughet which lost focus quite quickly.

I'm not interested in the pro's and con's of why I should/should not travel to Thailand or how bad the lady boys are or how good the golf is, im interested in what peoples experiences are in coughet, and if anyone has stayed at the Hilton, what the hotel is like.

My other concern is, is coughet really a Bogan magnet?

Thanks in advance!
 
Well Jet* flies there.




That is all.:mrgreen:
 
My other concern is, is coughet really a Bogan magnet?

Thanks in advance!

After arriving from Laos for our 6 night stay.....I would have to say - YES:shock: In fact you don't even need to be in coughet to see it.......you'll get that impression upon boarding at BKK or any OZ port with direct flights.

We won't be going back:mrgreen:
 
I have been to coughet the last 2 years and stayed at the Hilton. Really enjoyed the first trip, 2nd trip was not too bad but I'm a bit ""coughet" out now! Hilton resort is nice with lounge over looking the Andaman sea; it is at Karon beach which is too rough to swim (quite a few drownings in recent times) and about 45 mins from airport. coughet is a bit of a rip off with tourist prices eg fixed taxi fares, the usual shopping scams etc. coughet is full of Aussies tho., and apart from a quick visit to Patong beach (where you will find lots of the Bogans), I wouldn't spend too much time there. Massages, Thai food in local restaurants are cheap. A day visit to Phi Phi Island and/ or James Bond Island is a must! An island tour to visit the local temples etc is interesting. Unless you like lying by the pool all day, 4-5 nights should be more than enough. If you have never been before, worth at least one visit in your life....Krabi (not personally been) on the other side of the sea maybe another place to visit / stay. Happy to answer any further Qs...
 
Depends where you go. There are some amazing restaurants and hotels and the riff raff can easily be avoided. Every year we spend some time at the JW Marriott up on the northern part of the island and it is absolutely brilliant, you will struggle to find your typical aussie bogan there. It is miles from Patong though which is a good thing!
 
coughet in my opinion is a sh!th0le but it is a good gateway to many other nice spots. Koh Phi Phi, Railay Beach and many others. Karon Beach is less bogan than Patong Beach. HKT Hilton seem to treat their Diamonds well. I have always been accomodated in the wing with the lounge. I always get welcome home flowers on the room door. I have on several occassions hired a car from HKT and headed down Krabi way to enjoy some of the nicer parts of Thailand.

Meloz
 
Personally I would stay away from coughet as much for the Bogans and the prices charged.

Hua Hin has a very nice Hilton (you might be lucky and get the Pacific Suite), does not have any bogans (unless I fall into the bogan category ;)), has some nice beaches, good golf courses but also has expensive fixed rate tuk-tuks.
 
I went last year with a group of friends and stayed in Patong, we quickly came to the conclusion that it was where all the bogans went to get their singlets and tattoos. Having said that, having also done some day trips beyond Patong (Phi Phi Island etc) I'd agree as pointed out earlier in the thread, it is very much a case of where you stay, what you decide to do, and I wouldn't write off the whole island as being "bogan".
 
coughet is a bit like Bali, if you go to where the riff raff are, you will find riff raff.
We always stay at the Novotel Resort. Good selection of bars and restaurants on site, 3 pools, gym, and a tailor as well.
In other word you don't need to go down to the mobs if you don't want to.
Additionally, it is up on the hill (great views, and tsunami proof) and they have their own transport, and good security.

There are certainly some great things to do, as said before james Bond Island, and plenty of other tours around the Andaman Sea. But we tend to stay in the resort, and go and visit the bogan areas occasionally (sort of like a trip to the zoo).
 
I'm glad other people are of the same mind that coughet is full of singlets and tattoos, the only way I would ever go back is on a stop over to Koh Samui !!

I didn't get an overly bogan feel in coughet, but I have to agree with LR09WA. Koh Samui is hands down better than coughet.
 
I have been to coughet around 5 or 6 times now and I've never had the impression or feeling that it was full of bogans. Bali (Kuta) on the other hand, wow, that was overly bogan'ish. As long as you don't hit Bangla Road at night, which is the main drag for all the pubs, nightclubs etc then you won't feel the bogan'ess at all. Chilling at Patong Beach was cool ... but as many said, coughet is a gateway for loads of other islands eg. Koh Samui would be more relaxing, less touristy and much nicer generally beach.
 
coughet is a bit like Bali, if you go to where the riff raff are, you will find riff raff.

Yep so true. On most recent visit to coughet we stayed at the Banyan Tree Laguna (on free night vouchers courtesy of credit card), and not a bogan in sight, there or in any of the nearby Laguna resorts. The room rates take care of that concern.

Stayed at the Hilton once (2007), it was OK, good range of pools and nice exec lounge, and at least then, the Karon beach area where it is located, seemed decidedly laid back compared to Patong, and on balance a decent crowd.
 
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I stayed at the Hilton 18 months ago and while pleasant enough with all the usual amenities, it was unremarkable and I wouldn't return.
The beach is nothing to write home about either.
Can't say I noticed any great bogan presence though.
 
I think you have to remember that coughet is a massive island by any standards with all ranges of accommodation all in different locations. The 'bogan' side of coughet is very localised in one main area. It also depends what you like to do on your holidays, there really are some nice restaurants (with prices to match though) and hotels where you would have no idea about all the seedy stuff going on down in Patong.

I have to agree with JohnK about Hua Hin though, I love it there, a very relaxed but older crowd feel, big with the European crowd and wealthy Bangkokians.
 
It wasn't the bogans who turned me off coughet.The fact that I had grey hair meant that it was assumed i was after the same thing as the grey haired English and German gentlemen.Quite sickening and i am never going back.
 
Exec lounge at Karon Hilton is quite nice. 20 mins on a scooter into Patong if you want to see bogans but my recommendation for day trips is to get the scooter and do a bit of temple hopping south or across from Karon (Wat Chalong for example - also usually some excellent coconut ice cream there). South of Karon, Kata beach is nicer and from there on you can normally remove the helmets and head round the coast. Try to get an excellent seafood lunch (or dinner) down at Rawai beach. Food is excellent and few tourists really head down there.

Side trip - Phi Phi - no question
 
I've been there with the family about 6 six times. Very easy get, out of singapore, for a side trip.
I found the Holiday Inn the best for my needs. And it is right in the middle of the bedlam..
An example of all the various accomodation available all over the island.
The Holiday Inn is a compound that is really shut off from the rest of patong. But everything is an easy walk away and a great beach across a pedistrain crossing. The guard will usually help stop traffic when heading out with the kids. Service there is impeccible.
Put the kids in kids club. Get a massage down the road at "beach massage" )which is in a house on the beach with no windows or sounds of the beach. Great example of the Thai thinking!) A beer and pad thai from one of the many great street cafes and then a swim with the kids in the afternoon at the beach or the kids pool if the surf is too rough. Late dinner at night when cooler. There was a fantastic steak restuarant in the hotel and with PC rewards, we used to get a great discount.
A few days of this then we are ready to explore the island which, where ever you are, you are going to look for transport.

One of our first stays was at the Le Meriden just south of Patong. I just remeber getting annoyed at over-priced cars being called so I could go into town.

Cheers.
 
Stayed at the Hilton Karon Beach 3 years ago and will probably not go back. We had 4 nights in an Andaman suite and the hotel was old, the rooms musty and the staff were generally unfriendly. The exec lounge was nice and served coughtails, not just reds, whites and spirits. Has a great view too, but the local beach is not readily swimmable and the water is pretty horrible anyway. Then coughet iteslf is just like everyone else is saying; loud, bogan, full of girlie bars and hawkers. Some people like this but it is not our thing. Where we did like, however, is Koh Phangnan (near Koh Samui), and Khao Lak. Khao Lak is 1 hour north of coughet airport instead of 1 hours south and is much quieter. The resorts are very close to rainforest and diving sites and have fewer bogans.

The Le Meridien was nice, but if you have no SPG status then there are plenty of other resorts to have a look at too.

Hope you have a great trip, wherever you decide.
 
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