The 11-storey Poseidon site was one of the most famous massage parlours in Bangkok. Photo / Supplied, Poseidon Entertainment Complex
The 11-storey Poseidon site was one of the most famous massage parlours in Bangkok. Photo / Supplied, Poseidon Entertainment Complex
Bangkok's largest and arguably best-known brothel has been forced to shut its doors because of a dramatic downturn in clientele courtesy of the Covid-19 pandemic that's devastated the city's red light district.
But the massive site of the Poseidon Entertainment Complex will be transformed into a three-star hotel, and its future guests will be none the wiser about its former infamy.
Applications have been made to turn the complex into a hotel. Photo / Supplied, Poseidon Entertainment Complex
The 11-storey Poseidon became a major attraction in the Thai capital when it opened in 1999, offering karaoke rooms, in-house restaurants and bars, luxury themed rooms complete with jacuzzis and, most notably, massage parlour services featuring girls wearing price tags.
Prices started at 2200 baht ($102) for one and a half hours.
The site closed when visitor numbers plummeted because of travel bans in response to the spread of Covid-19. It briefly reopened last year, and photos were released of staff thoroughly cleaning rooms in an effort to woo back customers.
The Palace room: The 11-storey brothel will become a three-star hotel. Photo / Supplied, Poseidon Entertainment Complex
But by the end of December the famous brothel had completely shut its doors, unable to continue making an income.
A source at the State Railway of Thailand, which owns the land and oversees the lease for the property, said they wanted to transform the business to "adapt to the new economy", according to the Daily Mail.
Cleaned up: The Poseidon website was updated with images of a new cleaning regime, but could not survive the pandemic. Photo / Screenshot
"Poseidon is on a large plot and their lease will expire in February 2024. They have requested a renewal of the 30-year lease along with a request to modify the 11-story building," the source said.
"Currently, they operate a massage parlour business but the Covid-19 outbreak has caused a downturn in business as there are no tourists.
"They have a budget of 200 million baht ($8.6 million) to turn the building into a three-star hotel business."
Thailand's red-light districts have been hit hard by the pandemic. Photo / Allison Joyce, Getty Images
The pandemic has devastated Thailand's tourism economy, including its notorious red light districts, where streets have been deserted, bars quiet and strip clubs shuttered during lockdowns.
In September, photos taken at the usually bustling red-light district in Pattaya showed bored women waiting for customers outside quiet nightclubs as the pandemic drove away most of the 40 million foreign tourists who used to visit Thailand each year.
Tourism shutdown: A vendor waits for customers at a beach in Pattaya, Thailand. Photo / Getty Images
Back in the capital Bangkok, the party strip Khaosan Rd, which usually attracts as many as 50,000 visitors each night during the peak tourism season, was a virtual ghost town, photographer Sirachai Arunrugstichai told Thai newspaper Khaosod English.
"In Bangkok, usually there's always something to do, go, and drink at whatever time. If the bar's closed, go to the mom-and-pop shop," he said. "But now instead of seeing farangs drink at Soi Cowboy, it's a ghost town. And Khaosan is so dark and quiet, you can hear the wind blowing there."
