After reading through numerous suggestions from this forum, I was all set to book a hotel in Bangkok through asiavoyage24.com. They seem to be one of the few sites that includes all taxes and service charges, which makes their prices usually the cheapest.

But then I stumbled upon this one website that had harsh warnings about asiavoyage24.com (see link below):

http://www.travelforum.org/thailand/...-warnings.html

I don't know if this website's warning is justifiable, or just another person's opinion. I would certainly love to hear if others in this forum have used asiavoyage24.com to book their Bangkok hotel and whether they had any problems with them.

Thanx.

Would also like to hear a response to this post!

I wouldn't pay any atention to what that guy Mark, from the Bali and Thailand Travel Forums says. He is not trusty to hear from. If any hotel or other site don't give him the atention he likes to have he comes out saying bad (sometimes terrible) things about them. He is a very conflicting and disturbed person.
I don't know that booking site but I wouldn't rely on what he says.
I have booked my hotels in Thailand in www.sawadee.com and they had the best rates and were fantastic with my bookings. Asiatravel.com and asiahotels.com are also very reliable though their rates are usually a little higher.

Anyone have any experience booking tours through sawadee.com?

CFW, sawadee.com is one of the most reliable sites to book anything in Thailand. I booked all my hotels and transfers through them. Everything went fantastic. They were also able to arrange me a birthday cake for my son on his stay at the Marriot, his last night in Bangkok. I highly recommend them. Besides that, they offer the best rates in most hotels and resorts.

Actually I could not disagree more. I have found Mr Mark Austin from the Thailand and Bali travelforums to be most reliable in his informations regarding some nasty booking agencies and webpages out there. There are also several report on various sites from people having had much trouble booking with sawadee.com. When it comes to internet booking I have had only great experiences with asiatravel.com, hoteltravel.com and planetholiday.com. Sawadee.com having the best rates? Must be a joke!

Well, you have the right to disagree. But I must tell you Mark Austin isn't a Mr. , he is conflictuous, nasty, rude and narrow minded . That is why they put him out of the other Bali Forum.
As for Sawadee.com I have never heard of people having problems booking with them. I loved their service and will book with them again. And yes dear, they have the best rates for many resorts and hotels in Thailand, I booked with them the Peninsula in Bangkok for the European market, a great package. But maybe you're not from Europe.... ...I bet you aren't.

Well I have never liked the other Bali forum (Bali Travel Forum)much, many strange postings there. I have found the best rates with companies I mentioned in my pervious post, or by booking directly with hotels website. I got a better package deal when I booked directly with The Peninsula, however that was in 2002, may have changed. But for asiatravel and hoteltravel, I have used them quite often, booking hotels in Thailand, Phillipines, Singapore and Bali, and they have lots of good deals, in my opinion the best. However what I will credit Sawadee.com for is a very informative website with very nice descriptions and pictures from the hotels. And at last I am European!

The creator of travelforum.org and other web sites (thailand-hotels.co.uk and travelideas.net among them) Mark Austin seems to have serious issues indeed.
He has vendettas against all and sundry, but no mailing address on any of his sites (his sites are registered under his mother's address in England), no Tourism Authority of Thailand travel agency license (operating in Thailand and thus running an illegal travel agency), accepting unsecured credit card info on his sites (no SSL certificate, getting one would probably compromise his cherished anonymity) etc.
His buiness is mainly selling prescription drugs without prescription. He employs questionable marketing too. See http://www.rojisan.com/blog/2004/01/...ogspammer.html
for more info or Google "Mark Austin Thailand" (no quote) to find info on his baseless campaign against an established Bali travel agent, an intersting read indeed.
Summing it up, I can't vouch for asiavoyage24 nor sawadee but they hold more cred with me than Mark Austin and his rantings.

i have had very good luck with www.huahin.20m.com

To be fair, I rechecked and Mark Austin and his cronies now (since recently) actually have a mailing address posted on some of their sites. However, it's a mail box company at best (see http://www.the-post-house dot com) which can be had for a handful of pounds. No office and no business conducted there. Warning to all who have to run after their money!

I know this post is a few months old, but I wanted to post my recent experience with asiavoyage24.com for those people still interested in a response.

I just got back from a trip to Thailand and Vietnam. I used asiavoyage24.com to book the Royal Orchid Sheraton for 1 night at the beginning of our trip and 4 nights at the end of our trip. The Royal Orchid Sheraton had our reservations in their system both times and honored the vouchers without any problems. The entire reservation process and hotel check-in went smoothly each time. And I would use asiavoyage24.com again.