ACarter

I've been reading this board for a few mos now and can't help but marvel at how helpful everyone is.

I'm considering a 3-week honeymoon to Thailand next June and would welcome any comments.

About us: We are in our late 20s/early 30s and relatively well-travled. Neither of us has been to Thailand (and I've never been to Asia). We both enjoy nice hotels and are ready to splurge for our honeymoon and stay at the best places. We are normally pretty active travelers--full days of hiking, site-seeing, etc--but we will probably slow down our usual pace on this trip.

With that lead in, here's a rough itinerary we are considering:

Stop 1: Arrive BKK from Chicago; stay 1 night in BKK. (Any tips on the best flight based on United Miles?). Will probably stay at the Mandarin Oriental or Peninsula. I've read the many posts on this hotly contested decision.

Stop 2: 7 nights in Koh Samui. We want a week to relax after our wedding and understand Koh Samui, rather than Phuket, is better for June. We are considering the new Four Seasons but have also heard good things about the Sila Evason Hideaway.

Stop 3: 3 nights Chiang Mai. We are considering the Mandarin Oriental (but have read a lot of mixed things on this board), the Four Seasons, or maybe the D2. I realize that the 4S and MO are out of town. A bit worried about the weather in CM during June. Hoping to take a cooking lesson and do a bit of shopping.

Stop 4: 3 nights Golden Triangle. If we do this leg, it will be at the Four Seasons Tented Camp. Planning on elephants and a day trip into Laos or Burma. Very worried about the weather for this stop. Will it rain all the time?

Stop 5: 3 nights Siem Reap. Had not planned on this but everyone tells us we should not miss it. Will two full days be enough to see major temples? Haven't looked much at hotels here, but we are considering Raffles, Hotel de la Paix, and maybe the Amansara.

Stop 6: 2 nights in BKK. Once again, at either the MO or Penn. I realize we aren't spending much time in BKK but cities aren't our first priority for our honeymoon. We are just hoping to get a taste of BKK to lay the groundwork for a subsequent trip.

That's it. Any comments on the hotels/locations are welcome. Obviously, I'm worried about the weather, especially in CM and the Golden Triangle.

Another overarching concern: do we have too many stops? I realize we would be moving quickly at the end but I've had a hard time deciding what to leave out.

Thanks.

MichaelBKK

Regarding Chiang Mai, I personally think the FS and M-O are too far from town to really allow you to enjoy being in Chiang Mai. However, I think you'd be disappointed by the rooms at the D2.

I suggest holding off on your decision, at least for a while. There are several new hotels opening late this year or early next that might be for you. The Chedi is worth considering. There will also be Le Meridien, Shangri-La and Meritus hotels opening. I suspect all of these will be open by June, although you can never be sure.

Chiang Mai is not that wet in June. In any case, during the rainy season, the rains come in short bursts, usually late in the afternoon for an hour or two. Your cooking classes will start in the morning, with a visit to the fresh markets. Plan on spending your afternoons getting a massage, taking a siesta, or doing what honeymooners are supposed to do.

The weather in the Golden Triangle will be much the same as Chiang Mai.

I would say you're spending too little time in Siem Reap for a first time visit. I believe four nights is a minimum. You can cut a couple of days off Samui. Relaxing is one thing, but seven days is too much. There isn't more than two days worth of adventure to be had on Samui.

KimJapan

Ditto.

I understand the desire to relax in Koh Samui...we used to regularly spend 10 days there at a time doing just that. Still, the rest of your trip is a bit hurried, and you will want the time to enjoy your excellent hotel picks in Bangkok. So I'd drop 2 days from Samui and add one to Bangkok and one to Siem Reap.

If the Four Seasons Tented Camp is a budget stretch, then look at the their packages that combine a stay there and at either the Chiang Mai or Bangkok property.

If you stay at the Four Seasons Chiang Mai, it is lovely...but at least 30 minutes drive from the city...making it an excellent place for relaxation, spa, cooking class, swimming (pool).

Thinking as I'm typing now..You could stay at the Four Seasons Chiang Mai and the Tented Camp for maybe six nights, split at each place. Then 4 nights in Siem Reap. Then you could have 4 nights in Bangkok, and you'd have 5 nights left to play with...Samui if you have your heart set on a beach, or Luang Prabang for something a bit different.

bsp8181

I'm short on time, but wanted to chime in on your Chiang Mai decision. We just got back from our honeymoon. Went to BKK (Oriental), Chiang Rai (Anantara), Chiang Mai(D2), and Phuket(TwinPalms). Have to disagree with Michael's assessment of D2. Out of the wonderful hotels we were fortunate to stay at, D2 was our favorite. Yes, the basic rooms are small. To get around this, just join the Small Luxury Hotels Club (SLH.com), and ask for a complimentary upgrade when you check in. Our upgraded room was great. Also, make sure you opt for the package that gets you the personal concierge and evening cocktails. I think we spent $20 extra for the package and it was so worth it. There's a two hour complimentary cocktail hour(s) everynight. The staff and management is great. Somock, the hotel manger checked on us every single day we were there. We can't say enough great things about the D2! Chiang Mai was amazing. Also, if you need a great driver in Chiang Mai, please let me know.

One last suggestion. Although the river hotels in BKK are great, we spent two nights at the Sheraton Sukhumvit on the last leg of our trip before flying home. We enjoyed that hotel more than the Oriental because we felt it was much better located, and had a much better vibe for us. They have a great lounge in the hotel that is always happening. They have evening cocktails for guests from 6-8pm, usually with a Jazz act. I am 29, my wife is 30, so we have a lot in common with you.

I will try to write more later, feel free to let me know if you have any questions in the meantime!

Girlspytravel

You know ACarter, I agree with much of what bsp said, particularly the part about maybe dividing up your time between the river hotels and the downtown hotels in BKK-I too, like the Sheraton Sukhumvit downtown (I almost always stay at the Marriott Resort and Spa way down river-but am now tired of that place and will stay someplace else on my next trip to Thailand).

Sheraton Sukhumvit DOES have a good vibe, and a very happening night scene there-plus you'll be close to some of the trendy venues such as Bed Supperclub (although that's getting a bit old hat these days I think-however it's still got a great disco-would never miss going there in any trip to BKK!) SkyBar, Metropolitan, etc.-for things to do, so it might be worth it to stay two places.

And I also agree, although I've not stayed there, that D2 looks to be a great place to stay, very well located, reviews on tripadvisor.com, last time I looked were pretty positive. If I didn't like the Baan Orapin guesthouse so much, or the BO was all booked up, I would try the D2 on my next trip to Chiang Mai.

But as far as that Mandarin Dhara Devi-I wouldn't be caught dead staying there-I'm telling you, the local people don't like it-they built a fake temple on the grounds solely for ambience purposes, and many people felt that was just wrong. I took the whole tour of the place last January, and it does not have good feng shui, shall we say. In fact, they should have brought in some feng shui folks from Hong Kong to make changes in that monstrous looking lobby/reception area-eek!

LeighTravelClub

Looks OK to me but I wouldn't do Samui.It's very commercial these days and not really a chill out place so far as I'm concerned. I know I rave about Phi Phi and I don't apologise for that. For such a special occassion, I would consider the Zeavola.It's the only 5 star hotel on the island and is VERY nice.
For your Siem Reap leg look at The Royal Angkor Sofitel and choose a deluxe room. Info about both hotels on our site at
www.leightravelclub.com

Gpanda

Acarter-you will have a wonderful Honeymoon. The magic of Asia will get you off to a good start. I would do your planning in the following order:

1. Book flights to and from Chicago. You might check to see if you can use your United miles on Thai Air. If so, these flights are much better than United. You can go through JFK or Los Angeles, whichever looks better.

2. Figure out your destinations. Your plan looks fine, but I would add at least one day in BKK and another in Siem Riep (this is a must). Book the flights. Look into the Bangkok Air Discover Pass. BA is the only BKK-SR carrier and the only BKK-KS carrier. Book these flights. You'll have to call the NY office and pre-pay, but it works just fine.

3. Arrange guides in SR and if you want, BKK. Ponheary is great for SR. She can be reached at [email protected]. In BKK, look at a guide book, figure out what you want to do and then decide whether you want a guide/driver or not. A g/d will make your time much more efficient.

4. Choose your hotels. In BKK, stay on the river. It's magical. Don't agonize too much over O or P, both are great. If you're going to be there twice, you can do both. If you use Ponheary in SR, ask her if she can book the hotel for you. She can get a much better price than you can.

Whatever you do, don't worry too much. Thailand is very tourist friendly and your needs/wants can be accomodated.

ACarter

Thanks for the feedback. Sounds like we need to cut at least one day from Koh Samui and add a day to both BKK and Siem Reap.

A few follow-up questions:

1. Has anyone flown business class on Air Nippon from Chicago? We are holding tickets that would wipe out our our miles balances for a long time.

2. Any thoughts on Siem Reap hotels? Raffles, de la Paix, Anasara, others?

3. I know it doesn't open until Feb, but does anyone have insight on the new Four Seasons in Koh Samui?

Thanks again and enjoy Thanksgiving.

KimJapan

In Siem Reap, we've chosen Hotel de la Paix for our trip in August. The Siem Reap, guide, Ponheary, has quoted us an excellent price for the hotel, so you might ask her about hotels as well if you are going to use her as a guide.

The Aman hotel in Siem Reap I've heard is not really up there with the other Aman hotels...nice, though. I don't really think I'd pay Aman prices for a hotel in Siem Reap though, but that's me. Raffles is Raffles, dependable, historic, I think you'd enjoy a stay there. Quite a large hotel though. You might look at ONE...one room, quite unique. La Residence d'Angkor is a nice sized hotel with a nice looking pool.

If beach is why you are going to Samui then the Four Seasons will not be a great choice...it is on the west side of the island and when it is low tide the water line is faaaaaaaar away and the beach is mudflats. When it is high tide, the water line is higher, but it's shallow and not great for swimming. It's not picturesque. As a Four Seasons, the service should be wonderful and the design very nice. But there are many other lovely hotels in Samui with better beaches and fantastic design and service, and lower price tags as well. Maybe look at Tongsai Bay, Rocky Resort....actually, try having a glance at the listings on sawadee.com for starters.

Elainee

Just another person's opinion...for a honeymoon the 4s in Chiang Mai would be my choice. It is beautiful beyond words and the rooms are very large, private, with large porches. The trip into town is not a problem, they have a shuttle and cabs are so cheap we hired one for all day, everyday. We went back and forth everyday. He also ran errands for us, laundry, shopping, whatever. The spa is the best we have used anywhere in the world. And the 4s has a cooking school. High class cooking here.
The Aman in SR is a big disappointment. No privacy there, it had been a private residence. We saw it the week before it opened. I am sure it is better now, but Raffles and others seemed better to me.
We like Puket better than Ko SAmui,but I think it all depends on the resort. Bangkok is fab and the great hotels are really resorts so you can unwind there. You will be amazed how much you like Bangkok.
Thailand for a honeymoon...the best!

italingua

Just returned from Chiang Mai and Siem Reap. You should strike a balance between all out luxury and location. In Siem Reap, the FCC has a great location and great pool. In Chiang Mai, I wouldn't even consider an out of town location ~ you could be anywhere. Although I only had dinner there, the Chedi seems the perfect balance ~ a great oasis in town, one of the most gorgeous settings I've seen (the floating lanterns, the pool, the restaurant, all magical) but the beautiful part is your not a captive: head outside, grab a tuk-tuk, and hit the Saturday night markets, etc.

24Lisa

I agree with Leigh. I would pick the Phi Phi Islands for the beach portion.

JamesA

June is rainy season Phi Phi side, you could get 'lucky' and have solid sunshine, but if it poured then.....it's a risk, stats are Phi Phi are 50% more chance /rain in June than Samui side.
Samui like Phuket you can have very busy beach areas or quiet beach areas.

June is faily mid season for Samui as before the busy mid July thru september time when it's very busy.
Overall Phi Phi / krabi would certainly overall more interesting but it's a weather gamble you would be taking.

Samui has a good range of places right on the beach and you will find many of the 'mid range' 3 star+ places include many of the orgiginals that were lucky enough to have got some of the best locations.

if shopping and plenty of restaurants and some nightlife are important let us know as that also can make a difference in choosing location.

JamesA

Also as it's June and although quite good weather Samui side it is not so busy, depending on your budget you could also considor the idea of getting a 'suite' at say a good 3 star as opposed to a standard room at a 4/5 star, an idea to think about. Some of the newer expensive places although nice can also be remote in location.

ACarter

Phuket and Phi Phi both sound great but as James mentions we really don't want to risk the weather. Given that we know there will be rain in the North, we decided that for our beach destination we should play it safe and go to Koh Samui.

As for what we are looking for in Koh Samui: we'll probably take it easy and just relax at the resort, especially given that the second half of our trip is pretty active. We don't need to be in the heart of bars/clubs, etc. Quality of the resort is probably our most important factor (which is why we are considering the new Four Seasons). A great beach would be nice to have, but isn't strictly necessary. It should like this is probably a weakness of the Four Seasons. Any idea of what the beaches are like at Sila Evason or Tongsai?

As for our other stops, as Elainee recommends we are leaning today the Four Seasons in CM. Being outside of town is not ideal, but we've had several friends tell us not to miss this hotel.

In Siem Reap, we've heard very mixed things about the Amansara so it looks like we'll end up at Raffles or de la Paix. Probably Raffles--I'm a sucker for hotels with history.

Kathie

I wouldn't stay at the Raffles in SR. On your list, I'd opt for the de la Paix.

ACarter

Kathie - can you elaborate on why you recommend against Raffles?

I'm enjoying your trip report on the other thread.

Thanks.

KimJapan

While I don't think there is anything particularly wrong with Raffles, there have been comments that it is overpriced for what you get, that the rooms are tired, and the service is not as it should be. We should be able to hear firsthand about a stay there after the New Year from elainee, as her daughter's family will stay there for their second visit to Siem Reap. I trust their opinions, and would wait to book until they report back on this place.

We've chosen the de la Paix for our trip and have been quoted an excellent price by Ponheary. I like the look of the place. It's right in the middle of town, which is a plus for us. It's not too big of a place, and has a great pool and spa, which is important to us. Hotel de la Paix and Shinta Mani both offer guests ways to contribute to the community, which is something I like to see. Hotel de la Paix also has a history. http://www.hoteldelapaixangkor.com/history.php

opxzaw

Here are some of my thoughts.

In BKK I would also consider the Banyan Tree and the Lebua at state tower.

If you go to Siem Reap you have to stay at Amansara. I have not stayed there yet, I hope to go in April, but people whose judgement I trust absolutely love it. I am sure some of the others are nice and the Hotel de la Paix looks nice but Amans are in a league of their own. You should read some of the reviews in the flyertalk forums. The place looks so beautiful and I have heard that it is the best way to experience the temples while avoiding the crowds. The negative comments about Amansara don't strike as very convincing and come mostly from people who have not stayed there.

With regards to Koh Samui, we spent a week at the Evason 2 years ago. It was still new then and the staff was still learning, but that should be better by now. We loved the place, the villas are very nice, depends on location though, as not all of them have enough privacy. It is great place for a honeymoon if you want to stay in the resort. The island did not give me much, they have thogh one of the most spectacular golf courses I have ever played, if you play golf.

A final thought, since you plan to go in june and you are concerned about the weather, maybe you should consider going to Bali, as it is the dry season there. Go to Amankila, there is no better hotel anywhere and they will make your honeymoon unforgettable. And if you really want to top it, combine it with Java, go to Amanjiwo, the most stunning hotel I have ever seen and visit the Borobudur temple. We have just returned from our vacation both hotels and it has been amazing experience. I have posted a trip report on flyertalk.

Michael

TVY

Not sure if you already made up your mind regarding the Oriental v. Peninsula, but I recently came back from a trip to Bangkok. We stayed at the Oriental, and went over to the Peninsula one day to see if we had made the right choice. We had lunch there, and asked to be shown a room. My feeling was that we had definitely made the right decision. The Orinetal was so much more exotic, the Peninsula felt like it could have been anywhere in the world. The one thing I will mention is that the rooms at the Peninsula have better views and larger closets. Ordinarliy this would mean a lot to me. But, the Orinetal was so beautiful (and the food better that it more than made up for the lesser closet space.