We used points at the Conrad last December and January, peak season, when rates were high. It was a fine hotel, though not special or outstanding in any way. Were it not peak season we would have preferred to spend money and stay at the Peninsula on the river as we had in previous trips...but we were priced out of that option due to season.

The Conrad is often available for $130.00/night or even less. It is not a good use of points as a Cat 5 hotel unless the price is high IMO. The Conrad is well liked over on FT but we all really felt it was a BIG step down from the Peninsula in terms of service, room quality and overall feeling. For our next trip to BKK we are back to paying for our hotel and staying on the river rather than trying to use points. With so many very good hotels in BKK, competition is fierce and the prices are not that high provided you avoid the Christmas/New Year time (which is exactly when we went last time).

The Erawan Hyatt is supposed to be very nice, but no experience there, and the Hilton had not yet opened when we were there.

I've stayed at the Conrad many times and the Hyatt twice. Both are excellent hotels. Hyatt is in a slightly better location, as it's near Gaysorn Plaza, Siam Square and several BTS stations. Conrad has All Season's Place shopping center connected to it, and has a free shuttle to the Ploenchit BTS station running every 15 minutes. I stayed at the Conrad as it was quicker and easier to get to when I finished working each day. Both are really nice hotels. The Hilton is located in a building that was vacant for many years and has just opened in the last year. I heard there were issues with how it was built (someone else might have more details). The location being on the other side of the river isn't the best for me as I tend to spend more time around Sukhumvit/Siam/Sathorn areas.

If this is your first trip to Bangkok, stay on the river. That means using your points to stay at the Millenium Hilton which has had mixed reviews on this board. If it were me, I'd stay at the Penn and save the points for another time.

If you have been to BKK before, you may want to stay closer to the central shopping area and/or the skytrain and use the above recs as a guide.

As Craig said, if this is your first trip to BKK, stay on the river. The best hotels are the Peninsula and the Oriental (I'm sure you've read the numerous threads on which is better). A step or two down are the Shangri-la, Royal Orchid Sheraton, Marriott and Hilton. If you want luxury, opt for the P or O. If you want to be frugal, use your points for the Hilton. You can report back to us how it was.

I agree with Craig and Gpanda. Stay along the river. The Hilton has mixed reviews. One of the issues is that some rooms have showers where the sill is angled wrong, and it floods the bathrooms. If you get such a room, ask to have them move your room.

By the way, I rarely use my hotel points in SE Asia, as the prices are pretty good. I tend to use my points in Europe where prices are high. So take a look at what the price would be on one of the hotel discount booking sites before you decide whether to use your points.