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<ul class="summary-list"><li>A top event planner told Insider how he plans parties that are as safe as possible amid the pandemic.</li><li>Edward Perotti has found creative ways of entertaining and shared some noteworthy tips for hosts. </li><li>Vaccinated-only and mask-only parties are likely to become more common, he said.</li></ul>The pandemic has done a good job in "kicking the events industry in the behind," said <a href="https://www.edwardaperotti.com/about">Edward Perotti</a>, one of <keyword id="2370" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="hollywood">Hollywood</keyword>'s most in-demand event planners.But despite the disruption, his business, <a href="https://www.edwardaperotti.com/">Edward Perotti Events and Experiences,</a> is still thriving. For nearly three decades, Perotti has managed thousands of events including dazzling ones at the Louvre in Paris, the Basilica Cistern in Istanbul, and the Great Wall of China. He told Insider the budgets of the events totalled more than $150 million.His celebrity clients include <keyword id="1836470" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Ariana-Grande">Ariana Grande</keyword> and <keyword id="6381400" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="nick-jonas">Nick Jonas</keyword>.<div type="image" title="Edward Perotti" height="2745" width="3661" msid="85346772" hostid="261"></div>Throughout his 27 years of event production, Perotti's central ethos has been to create an immersive experience. This helped him navigate the events industry during the pandemic, which, like other <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hotels-struggling-to-recover-from-coronavirus-pandemic-per-ahla-2020-9">hospitality</a> businesses, took a big hit.<div type="image" title="Edward Perotti" height="1000" width="1334" msid="85346773" hostid="261"></div>"A $7 trillion industry had to come to a halt," Perotti told Insider. But that's when he shifted his thinking. "You can take virtual and somehow create this experience for people where they are immersed into it," he said.The biggest challenge? "Educating the clients on what could still be done," he said. This was particularly the case when Perotti was designing an online corporate event. "We had a four-day event that normally would be live. We had to make it engaging, knowing that 95% of the attendees would be attending from home," he said. Perotti built a virtual amusement park for the company. "We created a virtual environment, like a Disneyland, of five different lands." <div type="image" title="Edward Perotti" height="1202" width="2404" msid="85346775" hostid="261"></div>Content and gamification were embedded into the event, Perotti said. He even created a comic book, which he sent to attendees to mimic the swag normally provided at a live event. It was a big success, he said. But Perotti doesn't consider virtual events an ultimate replacement for real-world ones. "This digital environment is a temporary fix," he said.Perotti has risen to the current challenge of party planning by creating events that are fun and creative but still deeply mindful of COVID and its <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/delta-variant-hits-hard-in-the-five-states-with-lowest-vaccination-rates-2021-8?r=US&amp;IR=TIR=T">variants</a>. "I'm pushing hard in contracts with vendors, talent, and catering companies, that all the team they supply working on the event, has to be vaccinated. If they're not vaccinated, they're not working the event," Perotti said. For Perotti, there's a responsibility that comes with planning events. "Not only do I need to have a duty of care for the guests, but I also need to have that mentality when it comes to the staff, the catering group, and my team," he said. In fact, Perotti said vaccine requirements are likely to change the landscape of the events industry. "There is now a certain etiquette where you can do a vaccination-only party." Mask-only events will likely become more popular too, Perotti said.<div type="image" title="Edward Perotti" height="2661" width="3549" msid="85346776" hostid="261"></div>To plan for COVID-safe events like this, Perotti shared a few more tips with Insider.<h2>Be playful </h2>"Have fun with the masks. Build them into the experience. Be a little playful with them so that people don't feel forced," he said. <h2>Serve individual portions </h2>"Remember individual portions and individual ways of serving food," Perotti said. "For example, if you're doing a cocktail party, why not have a little fun with it and get the sealed three-tiered bento boxes?"One layer can be filled with appetizers, one with salad, and another with sweets. That way there's no food sitting out and it's presented to guests in a way that becomes an experience and is also safe, he explained. <h2>Stay positive</h2>"I'm looking at the silver lining of COVID - that it's allowing me to look at new and interesting ways of doing that kind of gathering," Perotti said.

A top Hollywood event planner who's worked for Ariana Grande and Nick Jonas explains how to throw showstopping, COVID-safe parties

Kyodo/via ReutersQuarantined passengers stroll on the deck of the Diamond Princess docked at the port of Yokohama on February 7, 2020.<ul class="summary-list"><li>The Diamond Princess cruise ship was scheduled to dock on February 4, but was kept afloat, with everyone on board, after 10 passengers tested positive for coronavirus. </li><li>Since then, the Japanese Health Ministry has diagnosed more than 200 people on board with the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. </li><li>Their quarantine is scheduled to last until February 19, but on Thursday health officials started a "voluntary disembarkation" of elderly people who want to get off the ship, so they can finish their quarantine on shore.</li><li>The food on shore will be in Japanese bento boxes, and "no Western meals will be available," health officials said.</li><li>Some passengers have already decided they'd rather stay on board the ship, where alcohol supplies are dwindling, but food offerings are more diverse. </li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul>There's only one place outside of mainland China where <a href="https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/situation-reports/20200212-sitrep-23-ncov.pdf?sfvrsn=41e9fb78_4">more than a few dozen cases</a> of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19 have been diagnosed.It's a cruise ship.At least 218 people <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wuhan-coronavirus-photos-inside-diamond-princess-cruise-with-135-sick-2020-2">aboard the Diamond Princess</a> have been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. That's far more diagnoses than any other country outside mainland China, where more than 60,000 people are sick, and more than 1,300 have died. Authorities suspect the outbreak originated when a man from Hong Kong boarded the ship for an earlier leg of the journey, then disembarked and was diagnosed."We clearly have a large number of cases in a very closed environment on that ship," Michael Ryan, Executive Director of the World Health Organization Health Emergencies Programme, told reporters on Thursday.The ship, which is now carrying roughly 3,500 passengers and crew, has been on a 14-day lockdown since it was originally scheduled to dock in Japan on February 4.Reuters/Kim Kyung-HoonPassengers stand on their balcony on February 10, 2020.<h2>Diamond Princess passengers over 80 years old are being offered the option to get off the boat ahead of schedule</h2>The Japanese Ministry of Heath had previously been letting sick passengers with positive COVID-19 tests off the boat for care, but now some of the oldest, frailest individuals who are not sick will have the option to get off the waves too. Soon, any passengers who are over 80 years old and staying in the interior, balcony-less cabin rooms, as well as anyone over 80 with a chronic medical issue, will be able to disembark, if they want to, <a href="https://www.princess.com/news/notices_and_advisories/notices/diamond-princess-update.html">the Japanese health ministry announced</a>. "It's a difficult thing for anybody to live in a closed environment like that, it's particularly difficult for an elderly person to do so," Ryan said. "We are working with Japan to try and get the most needy passengers off the ship."People who want to leave the ship <a href="https://www.princess.com/news/notices_and_advisories/notices/diamond-princess-update.html">will first be tested for the novel coronavirus</a>. If their test comes back negative, they'll be housed in "individual rooms" with "individual bathrooms" on shore until the end of the quarantine period, but they will not necessarily be offered all the same food and entertainment that exists aboard the cruise ship. "The meals provided will be Japanese bento-style boxes," the Japanese health authority made clear. "No Western meals will be available."<h2>Some passengers have decided they are not interested in any kind of rescue</h2>"Maybe that would be okay for those escaping an interior cabin, but for our part, we'll stay right where we are," one passenger wrote <a href="https://twitter.com/mjswhitebread/status/1227826493239283712?s=20">on Twitter</a>. <a href="https://twitter.com/coco12013yn/status/1227721783609978880?s=20">Food reviews</a> on board the Diamond Princess appear generally positive, but there have been some complaints <a href="https://twitter.com/shannonvo/status/1227927741720223746?s=20">about moldy broccoli</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wuhan-coronavirus-photos-inside-diamond-princess-cruise-with-135-sick-2020-2">dwindling liquor supplies</a> on the ship lately. (One couple <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/02/10/aussie-couple-ordered-wine-via-drone-on-quarantined-coronavirus-cruise-ship/">reportedly got a wine delivery by drone</a>.)The <a href="https://twitter.com/daxa_tw/status/1227941055363895298/photo/1">Valentine's Day dinner menu on the ship</a> will include "cupid's avocado and shrimp salad" along with three separate entree options, including a choice between coq au vin and a "shrimp valentine Japanese style." Tweet Embed: //twitter.com/mims/statuses/1227584341208784897?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Wishes for a swift recovery to all evacuees from the ship. Meanwhile, how about some more pictures of food? (The crowd goes wild.) Today's meals included smoked salmon mousse, cheese ravioli, nasi goreng, smoked duck salad, pork curry, and cod. 👍 to all. <a href="https://t.co/uaMTukYRGf">pic.twitter.com/uaMTukYRGf</a>Conditions are still cramped, especially for people relegated to the windowless interior cabins, no larger than a shipping container. Even those who've been in close contact with people who've been diagnosed with the coronavirus are not allowed to get off.Passengers are now being allotted an <a href="https://twitter.com/mjswhitebread/status/1227585129951875072/photo/1">hour a day to escape their rooms and walk around on deck to get some fresh air</a>, but they are asked to keep a safe distance from others, and wear masks when they go out. Guests have also been offered extra internet bandwidth to pass the time, eight new TV channels, daily Sudoku puzzles, and mental health phone counseling services.Some are <a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/amberjamieson/diamond-princess-coronavirus-quarantine-cruise">working remotely</a> from the ship during their extra two weeks in the port of Yokohama, while others have taken to doing their laundry out on the balconies - as the wait for garment cleaning on the ship can be <a href="https://twitter.com/daxa_tw/status/1227941610681290753/photo/1">as long as 72 hours</a>.Reuters/Kim Kyung-HoonPassengers aboard the Diamond Princess on February 7, 2020.The 14-day quarantine is scheduled to end on Wednesday, February 19. By then, any remaining guests will have been on the ship for about a month. "Another day's done, and we are one step closer to the end of our extended time together," a crewmember <a href="https://twitter.com/daxa_tw/status/1227906845257265153?s=20">announced from the bridge of the ship</a> on Thursday evening. "We truly understand that some must be very anxious ... we only have six days to go. Goodnight."<ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more:</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wuhan-coronavirus-photos-inside-diamond-princess-cruise-with-135-sick-2020-2">Photos from inside the Diamond Princess cruise ship, where thousands of passengers have been quarantined for a week because of the coronavirus outbreak</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wuhan-coronavirus-china-dispatches-bleach-trucks-to-spray-down-cities-2020-2"> China is sending trucks to spray bleach on entire cities as the country struggles to contain the Wuhan coronavirus</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-prevent-wuhan-coronavirus-hygiene-hand-washing-2020-2">The Wuhan coronavirus is now found on doorknobs, another reason that washing your hands is better than wearing a mask</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wuhan-coronavirus-myths-red-meat-bleach-antibiotics-and-sesame-oil-2020-2"> 10 myths about the coronavirus, including a link to meat-eating and imported packages</a></li></ul> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/whats-inside-a-human-ear-2020-1">What's inside a human ear</a></h3>

Healthy passengers on coronavirus-struck cruise ship Diamond Princess will finally be allowed off after 25 days aboard - but elders get first dibs

<ul class="summary-list"><li>From 5-star hotels to quaint hostels, <keyword id="13684553" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="bangkok" source="Orion">Bangkok</keyword> offers a variety of stays for every traveler's needs.</li><li>Here are 10 of the best places a local <keyword id="11896628" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="travel" source="Orion">travel</keyword> writer suggests you stay while visiting Bangkok.</li></ul>As a local who has been living and working in the Thai capital on and off since 2010, I know firsthand how intoxicating yet all-consuming Bangkok can be. The key to finding balance is having a comfortable home base (and in a traveler's case, the perfect hotel) to retreat to.Thankfully, Bangkok has a wide range of intriguing accommodations to fit every budget and style. Choose from sleek spa-like sanctuaries, classic five-star luxury, no-frills cheap hostels, historic boutique spaces, and tall towers from trusted brand names.In my countless hours pounding the pavement as a local travel guidebook writer and TV host, I've come across many hotels that offer equal access to Bangkok's frenetic energy as well as a reprieve from it. These are some of my favorites.<div type="image" title="The Mandarin Oriental Bangkok Thailand Pietro Lo Casto for Insider" height="1666" width="2222" msid="92064159" hostid="261"></div>Mandarin OrientalOpened in 1876, the <a href="https://www.mandarinoriental.com/bangkok/chao-phraya-river/luxury-hotel" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">Mandarin Oriental</a> is Bangkok's oldest and grandest accommodation, offering iconic stays in a timeless, historic hotel. Nowhere else in Bangkok will you feel quite so luxuriously taken care of, from the traditionally-dressed valets opening the door to the magnificent lobby, the free river shuttle service in a teak boat, and dedicated butler service on every floor.The rooms underwent an extensive $150-million renovation, and starting room types are decorated with modern-print carpets and pillows and are more open, while rooms like the Chao Phraya Suite maintain original architectural layouts with antique cabinets, custom Victorian-style night tables, and traditional Thai silks.Beyond stays here, I love the Mandarin as a destination for dates with my girls. More than once, a boozy dim-sum brunch at China House has turned into afternoon tea at the 19th-century Author's Lounge, followed by Italian food on Ciao's riverside terrace, and, finally, live jazz and cocktails at Bamboo Bar. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reviews/out?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.booking.com%2Fhotel%2Fth%2Fmandarin-oriental-bangkok.html%3Faid%3D356929%26label%3Dmetagha-link-LUUS-hotel-331349_dev-desktop_los-1_bw-2_dow-Thursday_defdate-1_room-0_gstadt-2_rateid-0_aud-0_gacid-6623578701_mcid-50_ppa-0_clrid-0_ad-1_gstkid-0_checkin-20220609__lp-1023191_r-249173624267986918%26sid%3Db5c0bc14079528079cc2c8ba540701a5%26all_sr_blocks%3D33134902_348792679_2_2_0%3Bcheckin%3D2022-06-09%3Bcheckout%3D2022-06-10%3Bdest_id%3D-3414440%3Bdest_type%3Dcity%3Bdist%3D0%3Bgroup_adults%3D2%3Bgroup_children%3D0%3Bhapos%3D1%3Bhighlighted_blocks%3D33134902_348792679_2_2_0%3Bhpos%3D1%3Bmatching_block_id%3D33134902_348792679_2_2_0%3Bno_rooms%3D1%3Breq_adults%3D2%3Breq_children%3D0%3Broom1%3DA%252CA%3Bsb_price_type%3Dtotal%3Bsr_order%3Dpopularity%3Bsr_pri_blocks%3D33134902_348792679_2_2_0__1689230%3Bsrepoch%3D1654613223%3Bsrpvid%3D8e7867f2737303ce%3Btype%3Dtotal%3Bucfs%3D1%26%23hotelTmpl" rel="nofollow sponsored">Book Mandarin Oriental</a><div type="image" title="The COMO Metropolitan Bangkok Thailand Pietro Lo Casto for Insider" height="1666" width="2222" msid="92064161" hostid="261"></div>COMO MetropolitanThe <a href="https://www.comohotels.com/en/metropolitanbangkok/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">COMO Metropolitan</a> is one of my favorite Bangkok hotels thanks to its focus on healthy, comfortable living. My days here always begin with a lot of joy thanks to free morning yoga classes every day, yummy nutritious breakfasts such as smoothie bowls and fruit pancakes (included with the room cost), and a few laps in the 100-meter pool. The COMO is also home to one of Bangkok's most beautiful and unique gyms, furnished with white and hardwood elements, and the on-site spa has an extensive menu of detox treatments and massages.Since the hotel is tucked off of the main road, you'll enjoy a lot of peace and quiet. The rooms are big, bright, and airy (which is rare among Bangkok hotels), and designed with minimalism and energy flow in mind, from space-saving shelves wrapped around rooms to teak benches designed specifically for feng shui.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reviews/out?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.booking.com%2Fhotel%2Fth%2Fthe-metropolitan-bangkok.html" rel="nofollow sponsored">Book COMO Metropolitan</a><div type="image" title="The Okura Prestige infinity pool Bangkok Thailand" height="1365" width="1820" msid="92064162" hostid="261"></div>Okura PrestigeThe <a href="https://www.okurabangkok.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">Bangkok outpost</a> of the luxury hotel chain Okura brings a uniquely Thai twist on a Japanese aesthetic and ambiance. The beautiful grand top-floor lobby will transport you away from downtown Sukhumvit with walls styled after Shoji doors, silk decorations, and taupe marble, and kimono-clad receptionists welcome guests with a cool cloth and juice at check-in.All 240 rooms have yukata robes and slippers for lounging, and one of the first things I noticed when staying here was how exceptionally quiet my room was. I later found out that the floor-to-ceiling windows are triple-soundproofed against the commotion of downtown.Besides awesome sleep, my favorite amenity was waking up to the choice of breakfast in the Japanese restaurant, Yamazoto, or the international dining restaurant. After several weeks of eating similar buffets at several hotels, a Japanese bento box was an invigorating start to my day.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reviews/out?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.booking.com%2Fhotel%2Fth%2Fthe-okura-prestige-bangkok.html" rel="nofollow sponsored">Book Okura Prestige</a>Siam HeritageThe <a href="https://www.thesiamheritage.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">Siam Heritage</a> is a well-kept secret among Bangkok's mid-range-priced accommodations. The hotel, which has been owned by the same family for generations, is one of the last independent hotels in the busy part of Silom next to the Patpong Bazaar, and is in my opinion, the homiest.Each of the 73 rooms is decorated with simple, characterful antiques varying from room to room such as handwoven throws, silk curtains, and leather recliners. Sure, the teak floorboards and sliding doors creak and there may be a permanent dust bunny or two, but I find that only adds to the charm.While the rooms are fairly small, the multi-story hotel's wonderful common areas are what really up its value for travelers on a budget. There's a little rooftop pool surrounded by a garden (it may not be fancy, but does the trick). The breakfast buffet, included in the room price, is served inside a restaurant connected to a tiny shopping mall and makes for good people-watching with the morning's scrambled eggs.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reviews/out?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.booking.com%2Fhotel%2Fth%2Fthe-siam-heritage-boutique-suites.html" rel="nofollow sponsored">Book Siam Heritage</a><div type="image" title="Bangkok Tree House" height="3081" width="4109" msid="92064164" hostid="261"></div>Bangkok Tree HouseLocated in a riverside nature area, the <a href="https://www.bangkoktreehouse.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">Tree House</a> is an eco-retreat offering a chance to experience greenery and sustainability in Bangkok. The hotel's multi-level bungalows boast beautiful design elements made from organic and recycled materials, such as bamboo staircases and facades canvassed completely in lush vines. My favorite room type is "View with a Room" featuring a bamboo balcony with a tent for sleeping under the stars and waking up overlooking mangroves.For locals like me, the Tree House has been a beloved staycation escape during the pandemic since there are so many perks on-site. I like the very good on-site cafe and restaurant that serves delicious cappuccinos and dishes made from organic veggies from the Tree House's rooftop garden, plus the use of free mobile phones, laptops loaded with movies, and bikes for exploring. Free drinking water, coffee, tea, and homemade ice cream are also served around the clock.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reviews/out?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.booking.com%2Fhotel%2Fth%2Fbangkok-tree-house.html" rel="nofollow sponsored">Book Bangkok Tree House</a><div type="image" title="The Lub d Siam hotels offers modern, no-frills private and shared rooms. Pietro Lo Casto for Insider" height="1666" width="2222" msid="92064165" hostid="261"></div>Lub d Siam<a href="https://lubd.com/destination/bangkok-siam/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">Lub d Siam</a> is one of Bangkok's busiest hostels. A prime location in Siam Square, between many downtown shopping malls, and a blend of budget room types (private rooms with shared or en-suite bathrooms and mixed dorms) keeps a steady stream of travelers coming through. I think it's one of the best hostels for meeting new people.The rooms are modern and therefore priced a bit higher than the hostels you'll find on, say, Khao San Road (around 900 baht or $26 for a dorm bed or rooms starting from $40), but you'll certainly receive a lot more amenities, including an on-site coworking space (from 150 baht or $4.40 per day), plus washing machine and a luggage room where you can leave bags for up to two months for free if Bangkok is your launchpad to elsewhere.There's a restaurant and bar as well, but there's nothing wrong with picking up street food and bringing it back to the comfy communal space. A games cupboard and a cinema room with popcorn and beanbags are great for chilling out on a shoestring, too.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reviews/out?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.booking.com%2Fhotel%2Fth%2Flub-d-bangkok-siam-square.html" rel="nofollow sponsored">Book Lub d Siam</a><div type="image" title="AriyasomVilla Bangkok Thailand Pietro Lo Casto for Insider" height="1666" width="2222" msid="92064166" hostid="261"></div>AriyasomVillaI think that the <a href="https://www.ariyasom.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">AriyasomVilla</a> is one of Bangkok's most architecturally stunning hotels. Located in a 1940s villa fashioned with uber-high ceilings and teak frames accented by Siamese tapestries, paintings, and chandeliers, there are 24 rooms spaciously spread out across four levels. Each one is elegantly decorated with upholstered chairs and four-poster beds draped in Thai silk.Big leafy plants and colorful flowers peek from big floor-to-ceiling windows everywhere, giving the pool, spa, and balconies (most rooms have them) a cozy jungle vibe. I'm no early riser, but the on-site restaurant had me hooked on never missing breakfast thanks to a great vegetarian set menu and iced coffee served next to big sunny windows overlooking the tropical garden.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reviews/out?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.booking.com%2Fhotel%2Fth%2Fariyasomvilla.html" rel="nofollow sponsored">Book AriyasomVilla</a><div type="image" title="The SO/ Bangkok overlooking Lumpini Park. Thailand Pietro Lo Casto for Insider" height="1666" width="2222" msid="92064167" hostid="261"></div>SO/ BangkokThe <a href="https://www.so-bangkok.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">SO/ Bangkok</a> is a hip yet upscale hotel attracting a young crowd with room amenities encouraging indulgence, like a free minibar full of iced teas and sodas to sip on while bathing overlooking Lumpini Park. The four <a href="https://www.so-bangkok.com/rooms-suites/#utm_source=Microsite" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">sleek room aesthetics</a> have each been dreamed up by a local Thai designer bringing in elements of Thai heritage homes, Art Deco, and industrial minimalism, respectively.The infinity pool is a great spot for sunset cocktails, with underwater electronic music, live DJs, and a buzzy pool bar setting the vibe for a night on the town. A little tip: The 24-hour fitness center has a sauna and solarium for sweating out any potential hangovers.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reviews/out?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.booking.com%2Fhotel%2Fth%2Fso-sofitel-bangkok.html" rel="nofollow sponsored">Book SO/ Bangkok</a><div type="image" title="multi-level wooden house in Old Town Arun Residence Bangkok Thailand" height="5488" width="7317" msid="92064261" hostid="261"></div>Arun Residence<a href="http://www.arunresidence.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">Arun Residence</a> is a rare hotel offering a front-row seat to the Chao Phraya yet without the luxury fuss and high price. Situated in a multi-level wooden house in Old Town, the lower-level rooms feel like you're staying at a family member's home, with compact rooms decorated with silks and traditional prints. Meanwhile, the top-floor balcony suites are beloved by honeymooners, where you can hang out in a bathrobe and slippers while watching Wat Arun sparkle (make sure to book these rooms well ahead of your visit).The lovely on-site rooftop bar and restaurant, The Deck, is one of my favorite spots in Bangkok for taking out-of-towners on a classy dinner date. The food is authentically Thai and the sunset views of Wat Arun (probably my favorite temple in Bangkok for the stellar way it reflects off the river) can't be beaten.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reviews/out?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.booking.com%2Fhotel%2Fth%2Farun-residence.html" rel="nofollow sponsored">Book Arun Residence</a>Sala Rattanakosin<a href="https://www.salahospitality.com/rattanakosin/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">Sala Rattanakosin</a> is an upscale, contrastingly modern alternative to Arun Residence, located a few steps away and sharing the same impressive views of Wat Arun. The rooms are white and hardwood and feel contemporary and minimalistic with glass bathroom partitions and tiled showers. Choose a suite, with a standalone bathtub directly facing the river, as it is a favorite among Bangkokians for romantic staycations. A couple of my friends have even been proposed to here.The stylish rooftop restaurant and bar of the same name is also worth a special occasion dinner, with a broad menu of authentic northern Thai dishes against moody lighting and white tablecloths. While the hotel doesn't have any other on-site amenities, there are plenty of cafés, massage spots, and shops to explore in the surrounding area.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reviews/out?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.booking.com%2Fhotel%2Fth%2Fsala-rattanakosin-bangkok.html" rel="nofollow sponsored">Book Sala Rattanakosin</a><a href="https://www.insider.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-traveling-to-bangkok-thailand" target="_blank" rel="noopener">View Insider's comprehensive guide to visiting Bangkok, Thailand.</a>

I've deeply researched Bangkok's best hotels as a travel guidebook author. Here are my 10 top places to stay, from magical tree houses to no-frills hostels.

Associated PressPassengers stand on the deck of the Diamond Princess cruise ship anchored at Yokohama Port in Yokohama, near Tokyo, Wednesday, February 12, 2020.<ul class="summary-list"><li>After an extra 14 days on the waves, passengers and crew left onboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship for a COVID-19 quarantine in Japan are in the process of disembarking.</li><li>The ship has been host to the largest number of diagnosed COVID-19 cases outside China, with more than 540. </li><li>Public health and bioethics experts caution that such strict quarantines aren't the best way to contain viruses like the novel COVID-19, and that letting people self-monitor their symptoms at home is a more pragmatic (and civil) approach. </li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul>The Diamond Princess ship, which sits floating alongside Yokohama, Japan, has become the largest incubator of cases of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, outside China. For the past two weeks of quarantine, the number of people living in small cabins aboard the waves there - originally 3,711 crewmembers and guests - has been rapidly dwindling, as at least 542 cases of the virus have been diagnosed on board, and those ill people taken ashore for medical care by the Japanese Ministry of Health.<a href="https://www.princess.com/news/notices_and_advisories/notices/diamond-princess-update.html">Americans, Canadians, Australians</a>, and people from Hong Kong on the ship have been given the option to fly home to dry land for another 14-day period of isolation, and the most elderly, vulnerable passengers over 80 years old on the ship have been offered rooms and bento boxes on land to finish out their quarantines.As for the rest of the healthy passengers who are still on board the Diamond Princess, today they are <a href="https://www.princess.com/news/notices_and_advisories/notices/diamond-princess-update.html">beginning to disembark</a>, in a process that will take "several consecutive days" according to the cruise company, as passengers are tested, and test results confirmed negative, before people will be allowed to get off.But the quarantining process doesn't necessarily end there for everyone.Anyone who shared a cabin with someone who came down with a case of COVID-19 while on board must stay on the ship even longer: <a href="https://twitter.com/daxa_tw/status/1228970947576614913/photo/1">14 more days from when they separated</a> from their sick roommate. Many countries, including the US, won't let any passengers who've stayed aboard come home for another two weeks after they leave the ship, either. (There are more than 100 US citizens still on board the Diamond Princess, according to the US Centers for Disease Control.) Public health and bioethics experts say that this whole lockdown was completely unnecessary to begin with, and that the extra cases that incubated on board the ship could've been easily avoided, if passengers had just been let off, and monitored for coronavirus symptoms after they left."The quarantine was not justified, and violated the individual rights of the passengers while allowing the virus to literally pick them off one-by-one," Dr. <a href="http://www.centerforhealthsecurity.org/our-people/adalja/">Amesh Adalja</a> with the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security told Business Insider in an email. "The 14-day stipulation was meaningless in a context with new infections and new transmission episodes."Others have been similarly vocal.Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health in the US <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/cruises/2020/02/18/coronavirus-jose-andres-provides-meals-diamond-princess-passengers/4788804002/">told USA Today that</a> "the quarantine process failed" on board the Diamond Princess."I'd like to sugarcoat it and try to be diplomatic about it, but it failed," Fauci said. "People were getting infected on that ship. Something went awry."<h2>Experts say that quarantines like the Diamond Princess aren't only useless, they're also ineffective - and possibly illegal</h2>Bioethicist and <a href="http://www.roguebioethics.com/">Rogue Bioethics</a> co-founder Kelly Hills said that the quarantine on board the Diamond Princess wasn't just ineffective, it was "absolutely pointless.""I don't think that we have seen enough proof, in any cases, that quarantine is necessary for this particular virus," she said. "It doesn't meet what we would consider the minimum standards necessary for violating somebody's civil rights." While COVID-19 appears to be easily transmissible among people living in close quarters (like, say, on a cruise ship) <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-wuhan-coronavirus-compared-to-sars-2020-1">only about 2% of COVID-19 virus cases so far </a> are fatal, which makes the disease <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wuhan-coronavirus-unnecessary-panic-experts-say-2020-1">far less deadly than SARS</a>, while also <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wuhan-coronavirus-scientists-seek-r0-estimate-spread-2020-2">far less transmissible</a> than a virus like the measles (which infects about <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/measles/transmission.html">90% of unprotected people</a> who come in contact with it). Hills said that self-containment measures at home would be more humane, and ultimately, probably more effective than quarantines for keeping healthy people disease-free."People just don't like to be forced to do things, especially if they don't feel like there's good justification," she said. Take the case of one Toronto SARS quarantine, in 2003. Less than 60% of the city actually complied with that order, and researchers later qualified it as both inefficient and <a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMoa032111?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&amp;rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&amp;rfr_dat=cr_pub%3dwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov">ineffective</a>, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2094974/pdf/JIDMM15204.pdf">though</a> "massive in scale." Georgetown Law professor <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2761556?guestAccessKey=52acf15e-5501-42be-bdce-fd75d8216bcc&amp;utm_source=For_The_Media&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=ftm_links&amp;utm_content=tfl&amp;utm_term=021320">Lawrence Gostin</a> told Business Insider in an email that other COVID-19 quarantines taking place in military bases around the US, where <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-military-bases-coronavirus-quarantine-locations-2020-2">hundreds more people have been confined</a>, "appear to be lawful," but said "the key issue is whether they are justified." Other quarantine-like measures, happening inside Hubei province in China (where the virus originated) are not true quarantines, but instead <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/canadian-citizen-quarantined-in-wuhan-with-cat-on-lockdown-2020-2/">aim to restrict people's movements</a>, and encourage them to monitor for symptoms, so everyone has fewer chances to come in contact with the novel virus. "If somebody is sick, keep an eye on them, ask them to stay indoors, explain why they need to stay indoors," Hills said. "If they get sicker to the point where they need an ICU or other medical intervention, then you take them to the hospital, but there's no need to overwhelm hospitals."In Singapore, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyZwtKJn-Ac">recently briefed residents</a> on a similar three-pronged infection control approach, which does not include any quarantining, or stockpiling. "There's no need to stock up with instant noodles, or tin food, or toilet paper" Loong said "We can each do our part. One, observe personal hygiene: wash your hands often, avoid touching your eyes or face unnecessarily. Two, take your own temperature, twice daily. And three, if you're not well, please avoid crowded places, and see a doctor immediately."The World Health Organization has applauded the country's approach. "Yesterday I spoke to Singapore's Minister of Health and we are very impressed with the efforts they are making to find every case, follow up with contacts, and stop transmission," WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus <a href="https://www.who.int/dg/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19-outbreak-on-18-february-2020">said at a press conference</a> on Tuesday. "Singapore is leaving no stone unturned, testing every case of influenza-like illness and pneumonia. So far, they have not found evidence of community transmission."<h2>People call cruise ships 'floating petri dishes' for a reason</h2>Courtesy of Philip and Gay Courter/Handout via ReutersA worker in a protective suit checks the temperatures of passengers who were on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship, on a chartered evacuation aircraft from Japan's Tokyo International Haneda airport, en route to Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, US, on February 17, 2020.Adalja said at this point, nearly two full months into the COVID-19 outbreak, that the virus is "not containable" and instead of quarantines, the focus now should be on "hospital preparedness, vaccine development, antiviral clinical trials," and better diagnostic tests."The whole idea of the cruise ship quarantine was ill-conceived, and the resultant slew of infections it spawned was completely predictable," Adalja said. In other words, there is a reason that some people call cruise ships "floating <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-feb-6-2020-1.5454037/thursday-february-6-2020-full-transcript-1.5455329">petri dishes</a>." More than <a href="https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/yellowbook/2020/travel-by-air-land-sea/cruise-ship-travel">90% of gastrointestinal issues on board cruises</a> stem from norovirus, but cruise ships also host flu viruses year-round, and the evidence so far suggests they seem to incubate the novel COVID-19 pretty well, too, both because of the cramped quarters where people can pass the virus to each other, and, possibly, through touching surfaces where it's possible the virus could live on for a matter of hours outside the body. "Cruise ships are made of surfaces that are really sticky for viruses," Hills said. "Lots of chrome and polished metal, things with grooves and nicks and scratches. It just makes a good home."Remarkably, however, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/indian-crew-coronavirus-quarantined-diamond-princess-2020-2/">given the cramped conditions below deck</a>, only a few more than a dozen of the crew members aboard the Diamond Princess <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/02/diamond-princess-crew-desperate-virus-tightens-grip-200211035044117.html">appear to have gotten sick</a> with COVID-15, according to <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/02/diamond-princess-crew-desperate-virus-tightens-grip-200211035044117.html">one tally by Al Jazeera</a> last Thursday. That is a far smaller number than the count of sickened passengers who were staying above deck, which included <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/coronavirus-covid-19-china-japan-canadians-1.5466808">more than 40 sick Canadians</a>, and more than 50 ill Americans.That difference, experts suspect, might have a lot to do with one simple move: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-prevent-wuhan-coronavirus-hygiene-hand-washing-2020-2">better handwashing below deck</a>, by members of a very well-trained, and disease-weary cruising crew.<ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more:</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/valentines-under-coronavirus-quarantine-on-diamond-princess-cruise-2020-2"> Valentine's Day on the coronavirus-struck Diamond Princess cruise ship involved gifts of iPhones, chocolate, and roses - with masked dancing below deck</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-cruise-passengers-to-be-let-off-diamond-princess-quarantine-2020-2">Healthy passengers on coronavirus-struck cruise ship Diamond Princess will finally be allowed off after 25 days aboard - but elderly people get first dibs</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wuhan-coronavirus-photos-inside-diamond-princess-cruise-with-135-sick-2020-2">Photos from inside the Diamond Princess cruise ship, where thousands of passengers have been quarantined for a week because of the coronavirus outbreak</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wuhan-coronavirus-us-college-quarantines-are-confusing-unscientific-2020-2">US college students under strict quarantine after returning from China since the coronavirus outbreak say 'it feels like I've been told I deserve this'</a></li></ul> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-myths-debunked-wuhan-china-2020-2">Pathologists debunk 13 coronavirus myths</a></h3>

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I've deeply researched Bangkok's best hotels as a travel guidebook author. Here are my 10 top places to stay, from magical tree houses to no-frills hostels.

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Experts say the cruise ship quarantine was unjustified and violated human rights, letting the coronavirus 'literally pick them off one by one'

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