Carol:
I did the same search on Travelocity and the Marriot was more expensive than the Pen...wierd!
Bob:
I also visited the Marriot on our recent adventure to BKK in Febuary and agree with you about it's strong 4 star rating. I know that I'm not qualified (I don't have my female James Bond badge on) to make such a judgement but thats just my humble opinion.
Aloha!

If Bob says the Marriott is a 4 star you can take that to the bank- the guy practically lives there!!!

i wish i could live there honestly....i would probably stay in the towers suites tho....

it is a fine hotel in every way is my point, but it is not an oriental or a shangri-la or a peninsula, which are 5 star hotels....period...imho, not so h

rhkkmk:
Is there a particular suite you like for the best for location,ambiance, size,whatever? In your humble opinion of course:).

i always stay in a regular king, non-smoking room....lately i have only paid for a garden view---which is the back side of the hotel, but find that they move my assignment to a river facing room if i ask, plus i have a small silver level with marriott...

honestly it really doesn't matter which way i face, but if i have a choice i like to look out on the pool and the river....i do not care for the rooms that look only at the river....

i prefer the main or center building, but for no particular reason...my second choice is the building to the left as you face the river and reception desk...
all the rooms are basically the same, except for the suites...

so where would i choose to be ...i guess it would be a corner suite that looks both over the pool and the garden...but i do not want it to be over the market place dining room---open air restaurant near to the river...i think that might be noisy....

we are seldom in the room so it really doesn't matter to us as long as we can't smell smoke or are bothered by noise....THE BED MUST BE COMFORTABLE AND THEY HAVE THOSE WONDERFUL MARRIOTT MATTRESSES...the king beds are the biggest we have ever slept in....a family of 6 would still have room for more....

Bob
I know what you mean about king beds in Thailand. The first time dh and I went to stay at Villa Royale on Phuket, we had the biggest king I've ever seen! It was huge!!! It was a Thai style bed with the framing around the bed so you had to watch your ankles everytime you climbed in/out of bed (ouch! I learned ONCE).

Well, I shared my Travelocity prices with a friend who just loves BKK, and he asked when I was leaving! LOL The book is taking up to 8-10 hours a day now of concentrated WORK. (ugh) But once I get through the alphabet A to Z it will be time to celebrate!!

Carol

i have heard a rumor that pool is going to be banned worldwide????