We recently stayed in (what was marketed as) one of the top residential, luxury skyrise apartment blocks in Thailand. For pennies. It was clear that it was onl

We recently stayed in (what was marketed as) one of the top residential, luxury skyrise apartment blocks in Thailand. For pennies. It was clear that it was only supposed to be for long term residents and short-term tenants airbnb/tripadvisor-rentals types were "unwelcome" (I imagine to maintain the exclusive feel of the place). They literally had signs up implying it was illegal to be a short-term renter there and, if caught, you might be refused access to facilities. However, the apartment (and the apartment blocks) was so obviously empty of long term residents, it was sad to see such a waste of space. The owner of our apartment was someone in Oxford who I imagined was just trying to get a little money in just to pay the service charge while waiting for his capital investment to mature. Despite the luxury of the place, this skyrise was like a dead zone. I felt sorry for the actual residents because there was no community for them. And to loop around to a point related to your post, it didn't make for a good holiday experience. Actually, you can test these words of wisdom. Luxury is expensive so few get to experience it. However, in Thailand it is cheap so try it out. One thing it will teach you is that luxury is fun for a minute, but it may not make you happy. Worth trying it first before you chase it too hard in your home country and realise what a mistake it might be to dedicate too much time in the pursuit of it.