Group buy deals for Thailand - anyone tried it?

ironpaw on 20/06/2012 - 10:24

I'm planning to visit Thailand next year with my wife. My wife's been bugging me to buy all these "OMG $xxx for x nights in Phuket BARGIN!!!" coupons that pops up all the time.

I haven't used group buy coupons for a while now - due to the fact most of them offer subpar service to coupon holders and have ridiculous T&Cs. Or the business goes under a few weeks after purchasing the deal due to poor planning.

Just wondering if anyone's had any experience with the group buy deals for overseas resorts/tours. TBH I don't wanna get screwed over when I'm over in Thailand (please no sex puns/jokes :p)

Cheers!

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  • Choc83 on 20/06/2012 - 10:28

    Always check what the local price is - I find sites like asiarooms.com or hotelthailand.com or agoda.com to be very informative in that respect.

    Sometimes, the 5 star hotel that's on offer at a group buy site is actually cheaper to book online. Group buy sites will LIE to you. Caveat Emptor

  • SirFlibbled on 20/06/2012 - 14:18

    Yeah shop around for deals. Also I'd prefer a deal that included a package. Living Social had a good one a couple of weeks ago which was Jetstar flights + 5 nights accom for $2K per couple with no black out dates.

    • No on 20/06/2012 - 17:11

      Which city is that ex? I don't know about other cities but from Perth - Phuket jetstar $600 each.

      5 nights for $800 would get you somewhere pretty epic in Phuket.

      • SirFlibbled on 20/06/2012 - 18:58

        IIRC "from your capital city' so I'd imagine Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Darwin, Adelaide and Perth.

  • ironpaw on 20/06/2012 - 21:08

    I'm planning to use points for free return flights, just need hotel stay. Agreed, $800 a night is overkill for Thailand I think. Looking at $50ish per night max lol!

  • lex3 on 21/06/2012 - 09:55

    I did a group buy deal with Cudo last year for what was then the Outrigger resort at Koh Samui. Used it in Jan this year and was so unimpressed ! Firstly the picture on the cudo deal wasn't even of the resort. When we went to book we were told they didn't have any rooms available that were part of the deal, so we could either pay extra or get a refund, when we got there the resort was dead and i wouldn't even call it a resort. I got over excited when i saw the deal and purchased without doing research on TripAdviser so kind of my own fault, but i would just warn you to be very cautious.

    • ironpaw on 21/06/2012 - 10:49

      Thanks for the info. Well that's a nail in the coffin for any GB deals for travel. As usual they're crap.

    • SirFlibbled on 22/06/2012 - 10:21

      Interesting.. outrigger is usually a decent resort (never been to Koh Samui though so no comment on it)

  • lex3 on 22/06/2012 - 11:29

    agreed Qutrigger's normally are pretty good but they had taken over Koh Samui from the previous resort company Destinations, some of the towels and stationary still had Destinations written on them. It's now been taken over by some other hotel group, so 3 changes in 12 months doesn't speak highly of it. I think Outrigger probably instantly regretted their purchase and realised they were putting their name at risk.

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