Bangkok Hotels - Yes, Even After Multiple Bangkok Stays, We Need Your Input

Craig-have you given any thought to staying in town? Guenmai has raves about the Four Seasons.

Check out the Plaza Athenee- its not on the river buts it a very nice property. We got a great deal on Hotels.com- book 3 nights get the fourth free. I think it came out to be about $170 night and that was factoring in the free nights and its a deluxe room (45 sq meters as I recall) on their club floor with breakfast and all club room access as well

Bob and the Panda are staying there in November so its thee place to stay these days!

If you opt for the Shangri-La Krungthep Wing, I'll be interested in your review.

The Royal Orchid is supposedly finished with their renovations. They had completed the new Towers Lounge when we were there last year. We always stay in a suite in the Towers, and are paying Baht 7700++ per night this year (SPG50 rate) which includes breakfast and evening canapes and drinks, etc. I'll let you know after our stay in November.

Thanks, Kathie - I look forward to your report. We stayed at the Shangri-La Krungthep Wing prior to our Sri Lanka trip and it was pretty good. Gpanda and Bill, we really don't want to stay in town - we have stayed at the Plaza Athenee and the Intercontinental (both fine hotels) but they're just not "Bangkok" to us.

Craig, I know what you mean about the in town hotels. I go and look at them and they are very nice, but not Bangkok.

It might be worth checking out the Chatrium... maybe there are some real reviews now on trip advisor. Also, the suites at the Hilton Millenium are supposed to be nice.

Craig, imo, with your travel style you would enjoy the Oriental most of the ones you mentioned. We would have loved the place if that idiot at the doorway hadn't kept asking me if I stayed there
Thinking back though they really do have excellent service and some of the best rooms and restaurants in Bangkok that we have experienced......and it's on the river!

Aloha!

Craig,
I also now see comments that the rooms in the Krungthep Wing are getting a bit long in the tooth. They were great when we were there a couple of yrs ago. More classically styled but in very good condition. Our suite was huge. Great views. Free sodas, fruit drinks, etc. Supposedly, the main wing of the Shang is now being redone. It would be interesting to know if many rooms have yet been redone. If so, that is still a good option. Yes, the hotel is large but its very nice if you can get a good rate.

Looking for ourselves for next year, we see that the Chatrium generally gets good reviews on TA. On the river and large rooms. Is the Chatrium far out of the way, however? Has anyone been?

Also, is the Hilton in the league of the Penn, etc? We saw it from the River and thought it looked very nice and it too seems to get good reviews. Rates seem to be well less than half of the Penn for a large Executive Room with a view. Is the Hilton also on the "wrong side" of the River?

The Four Seasons is also running some good rates, but its not on the River. If they would only move that hotel . . .

Tengohambre, this is what I know about those two hotels:

The Chatrium flooded TA with "reviews" before it even opened, so read TA's reviews with caution. We visited it before it opened. It's a bit out of the way, but closer in than the Marriott. River shuttles run twice an hour. There is a school on the grounds of the hotel, so at some times of the day the place is absolutely overrun with school kids. We did not get to see the hotel rooms, as we wanted to see the condos. (We were not impressed with the condos.)

The Hilton is on the "wrong" side of the river. I understand that the rooms are quite small, but the suites are nice. There are some problems with the construction, so some of the bathrooms get very wet when you shower, as the floor was not property angled to drain well. So if you stay there, check the shower drainage immediately and have them move you if the shower doesn't drain properly. The people I know who have stayed there say it is nice, but not special.

Thank you Kathie.
I think much will depend on any "specials" they are running. The Hilton has had some great pricing and I wonder if others will too. There is a newish spot, the Metropolitan, in town, that also seems great. But again, away from the river.

The Metropolitan has been there for a while, I remember Guen stayed there a few years back (and had good things to say about it).

The Hilton seems to have consistently lower pricing than most of the other river hotels. I looked at pricing for a suite there soon after they opened. I'm guessing that once they develop a following they will increase their prices.

Keep your eyes open. Bangkok hotel prices have really escalated in the past few years. I also keep thinking there should be some real bargains coming up.

Well if it must be on the river then my vote goes for the Marriott Resort and Spa- best value for the money IMHO. The boat ride is a plus not a negative- its a relazing journey each day! They have the best pool in BKK bar none- get their junior suite.

Sure, as things now stand, Yankees fans can have their choice of accomodations. This is a grotesque injustice. I think you should stay at the Marriott. You won't be so snarky about my recent thread if you stay there.

Nobody's given me a good reason to stay at the Marriott. It's no longer cheap, I could care less about the pool and it's too long a haul to the skytrain, especially if you do more than one "relaxing journey" each day. Are breakfast and evening snacks included in the rates?

In Bangkok, all are on a level playing field, even RS fans. I look forward to the Gpanda report from the Marriott - don't let Bob's presence influence your opinion.

My report on the Marriott will be uninfluenced by my antipathy towards Bob ( I know it's unfair to use a word he doesn't understand, but he's offline and all bets are off). As always, my report will be faithful. Who else would have admitted getting the Shanghai airport wrong?

Well if its "too long a ride" then I think you have only a few options left- Shangla, Penn, Oriental- the Sheraton and Hilton may be "Too Long" a ride as well. You say the Marriott is no longer cheap but you don't give us the rates for comparison- I can't believe the rates are on a par with the Penn or Oriental thats why I say its the best value for the money among the river hotels.

Have you tried asiareservations.net for the Penn? We were finding the rates for the Penn to be much higher than they were when we stayed there about 2 years ago, both through the hotel's own site and other sites like sawadee and agoda. But asiareservations had a significantly lower rate - not as good as what we paid in the past, but much better than $450/night!

You know, after all the nights that Bob has spent at the Marriott you would think there is an FOB rate. Friends of Bob.

If not, then isn't the Marriott practically next to Hua Hin in terms of proximity to the skytrain? We still wonder how it is that Bob keeps booking himself, and his traveling companions, there. Next thing you know poor NYWoman will land in BKK and find herself carried off to the Marriott.

If you stay way down there, isn't the Hilton better? The Lebua also has run some very good deals for suites. Not on the rive but, maybe from those high floors you can see the river?

Thanks, lily3 - I got a deal I can live with for a Penn Grand Deluxe room on asiareservations.net, which I can cancel up to 3 days prior - about $325/night w/breakfast and tax.

Great, Craig! I know you two love the Pen!

Craig, Lynda and I are staying at the Shangri-La Krungthep Wing for a few nights at the end of February rounding off a visit to Phi Phi. From 21st to 24th.
Seeing all the comments about Krungthep Wing getting tired I'm wondering if we should change our booking to the main wing......mmmmmmm.

Craig, I am glad you got a good deal on the Pen. I know you love staying on the river. It certainly is charming, as we found out at hanuman's condo last night, observing all the Loy Kratong festivities. But for me, Sukhumvit is still my home away from home when in Bangkok.
Enjoy your planning!
Carol

hilton...

millinium (sp) on suk...

nei lert--- ask pook

meridien on suriwongse...

i know you said river, but...

st regis, opening soon i think...

marriott in suite

how about contacting penn directly?

take a look at royalorchidsheraton.com

this from our eng. friend

bob

bkmk

Craig: I am just wondering where you decided to stay. I am considering Four Seasons and see much better rates on AsiaReservations.net than I got directly from the hotel's international operator.

From four Seasons hotel booking service--$267US including tax with breakfast
from Asiareservations--$200 single deluxe, no view, with tax and breakfast; $214 single deluxe with view and breakfast.


Any chance that the hotel would match these rates?

I've never used a third-party booking agent; is Asiareservations.net considered to be reliable?

The same site has the Sukhothai for $244 single superior with tax and breakfast

Many thanks to all who have helped so far!

Forgot to mention that my stay will be in mid February.

eks, in my experience, hotels rarely match the rates at the booking services. It never hurts to ask, however.

ek--look at agoda.com and asiarooms.com and www.huahin.20m.com and scroll to bkk hotels

they are all very reliable

Thanks! I am asking specifically about Asiareservations.net.

This is where I am finding the best rates for the Four Seasons. I will double check the others that you mention but I do not think that they are offering the same price for the hotels I am interested in...

Oh, next question: Do any of you have any idea if it is worth it to book the "view" room at the Four Seasons? As I recall from looking at reviews, the hotel does not have very good views from any of their rooms...

eks - I decided to stay at the Penn since I can live with $325/nt all-inclusive (vs. $450 direct). Asiarooms does not even list the Penn and agoda's rate was the same as direct. Asiareservations.net seems to get good reviews on TA.

eks - we have stayed at the Intercontinental and Plaza Athenee on high floors. These are in the same general area as the FS and the view was okay - not like the view from the Penn or from Skybar but certainly better than the view from the bottom floors.

Craig: Many thanks. I took another look at the Asiareservations site and noticed that there are cancellation fees even if you cancel far in advance. I just cannot get over my initial hesitation about using thee kinds of sites! (Four Seasons direct price, again, is $267. direct with tax and breakfast. )

Am I a total dooze if I book direct?

If you think there is any chance you will have to cancel, it is probably better to book direct. Otherwise, you save about $50 per day, enough for a VERY nice dinner at just about any place in Bangkok. Our plans are usually very firm - flights, destinations etc are all in place at this point.

By the way, it looks like you will be in Bangkok about the same time as us (arriving late afternoon on the 22nd and leaving early morning on the 25th). We plan to hook up with agent Hanuman at some point - maybe we can make it a mini-GTG?

Craig: that would be super! I arrive late at night on the 23rd and leave on the 26th morning....

It IS a big savings--about $53 per day! I will take another look...

Great! This will provide an opportunity for comparison of the timel;iness of trip reports. We'll get her trip report sometime in 2011. Craig will no doubt be as prompt as always.

Well at least we will see my trip report. You may lose all of your pens and pencils and notebooks when you leave your luggage in the car while eating at Sripraphai before your flight. What a fine kettle of fish that would be!


To cheer you up, I present one of my favorite video tales, involving a distant relative:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDN3L621ASI

I imagine we won't be spending much time talking about trip reports. Maybe the superiority of the NY area over Boston (especially baseball teams) or maybe just about Gpanda behind his back (what do the Thai's really think of that Speedo?) or why would anyone want to stay at the ROS when there are so many other options available in Bangkok?

Someone spends way too much time on Youtube. Others are bitter from living in the GFS Nutmeg State. Nice name. Was Allspice taken? Maybe the Thyme State?

Concerning the ROS, we stay for FREE. Nothing! Nada! Rien! Is this too hard to understand? The best located of any hotel except the Shangrila and we STAY FOR FREE.

The Thais love the speedos. Remember sanuk is a driving force in their lives. What's more fun than a panda in a speedo?

..with a grossly distended abdomen and a skinny teenage hooker, lol.

Sanuk IS a driving force in Thai lives but has nothing to do with putting up with scantily clad farangs. It is more about spending time with EACH OTHER.

You get what you pay for. If you had ever stayed there, you'd know that because of the Penn's (very) frequent boat shuttles, it is better located than any hotel on the river with great access to taxi's via its lobby on the "right" side of the river, your favorite restaurants via its shuttle to the "O" pier and the skytrain via its shuttle to the Taksin pier. The Shang is the best situated to the skytrain since it is within walking distance but has no shuttles to the other places. The ROS shuttle is infrequent at best though you are within walking distance to your restaurant faves.

(ditto what Craig just said about Pen location)

Returning to the topic at hand, and avoiding all speedo references, I think there is an AMEX offer for the Penn, through the end of they year. Stay two nights get the third free.

Now, the Penn may not let Bob and Andy in but the rest of us know a good view when we see one.

If the Pen is so well located, please inform us ignorantees about the restaurants, malls (River City) and shops ( next to the Portugese Consulate) to which one can walk from the Pen. We're waiting. Still waiting. Just as I suspected. There's a big difference between convenient and well-located. Oh yeah, why would anyone expect Yankee fans to have even a rudimentary grasp of the English language?

The ShangriLa website has a "deal" for the Krungthep wing, with airport pickup and breakfast, for $265. before tax....

I can just see myself now: (clock tells me it is time to depart for JFK airport). "Hmmmmm..wait, wait--let me just check the Four Seasons site one more time....where is my calculator??.....where is the Bangkok map??? Oh, look..there is a deal at the Bangkok River Mansion Grand Palace Resort for thirteeen million Baht...now how much is that in dollars?? Let me ask Panda what to do!!! What was that price again for the Pen?? Didn't Craig say that had a better location.....But what if I call the Four Seasons and ask them to match the price? Or should I book on Perplexia.com???

WHAT??? the gates are closed??? I am not even at the airport yet!!! Non-changeable ticket you say???

well we have plumped for the S-La KT wing. We have stayed at the Oriental, Pen (twice and LOVED it) but decided to try the S-La for 2 reasons, it was WAY cheaper than our favourite the Pen (i always have a balcony room) AND includes breakfast A/noon tea and Early evening cocktails oh and a one way transfer. B) we have never stayed there and thought it may be good to try somewhere else on the river.
Although i did find a room only pre-pay for the pen for £180 less than the Pens website for 2 nights, best i have found so far (roughly £180 a night incl taxes for a balcony room against £260 normally) i was tempted but Muffin thought we should go for the extras at the S-la nd tick that one off the list.

you will like the sh-la...register for their club and i think you get free breakfast.....take it in the main dining room...its the best we have had in bkk

Smeagol do you mind telling me how you booked this--was it through the ShangriLa site at the price I posted above?

How does one register in advance for the SL club? I do not see a way to do this on their site..

I booked via the S-la (make sure you get the right room as one of the KTwing balcony rooms does NOT get the perks -it does tell you in the room description.)
I emailed about registering with them and they said i can do it at the hotel!! Anyway breakfast is included in the KTwing perks.. can't remember what the bhat rate was, I THINK it was 8850bht which included the one way transfer ++.

Now the really cheap website i found the GREAT last minute deal at the pen (remember we will be there in 3 weeks) was Octopus.co.uk or .com can never remember! £380 for 2 nights balcony room (no breakfast) as i said pen website makes that about £260!!

Do they even take pounds in BKK?

No but been as MY currency is ££ thats the currency i talk in..... haven't you got some speedos' to iron or something?

No wrinkles in my speedos. There's no room for wrinkles when I squeeze into them. Why do they evenm have a currency in England? Couldn't they run that economy into the ground with a barter system? In that vein, what is England's leading export? Anybody?

well in needham MA they certainly excel in load mouth lawyers.....

Darkest Needahm has no need for lawyers. They communicate with grunts and clubs. Now, Cambridge, MA, on the other hand, is an intellectual center and lawyers are needed to settle disputes.

Still waiting for Engalnd's leading export.

We do kind of well in spelling England for a start!

Pharmaceutical preparations $8.2 billion

Cars $5 billion

Petroleum $3.6 billion

Crude oil $2.9 billion

Aircraft engines $2.3 billion

Collectibles (e.g. artwork, antiques, stamps) $1.6 billion

Materials handling equipment … $1.24 billion

Precious metals $1.237 billion

Alcohol $1.2 billion


and thats just to the US

i think you also sent to us the base for all law

"Engaland swing like a pendulum do". Probably before Smeagol's era.

From her "information", it appears that England is a drug pusher and car mechanic. Just as I always supected.

Bob's slim grasp of Common Law should be ignored.

HA HA Andy - very funny!! (we do make some nice cars though).. GOD help the Kimballs and Beth, two weeks how will they all manage!!!!!!

In the law, there is a doctrine known as "Assumption of the Risk". It essentially means that if one undertakes an activity that one knows is risky, one cannot bring suit for the damage that results from undertaking a risk that is reasonably assumed to exist.

In the instant case, i.e., the upcoming trip, the Kimballs and Beth and Maureen are well aware of my proclivities. Any embarrassment that results therefrom falls within the "Assumption of the Risk" doctrine. It's not as if they don't know what is coming. They know. They have elected to go with their eyes wide open. This is a very long-winded way to say that it's their fault not mine.

Yep why use 5 words when you can use 100!!! (billable i guess?)

Good gracious, Panda, what are you on about now??!!! Here is something useful you can do: Weigh in on the contest between SL and 4S to get the Ekscrunchy patronage. Maybe I should begin a barrage of e-mails to the respective concierges a la Oksana, the fallen tsarina.