Sawasdee Kai, we just got back from our HK and Thailand trip. Just want to say Khop Khun Ka to everyone for their help and reciprocate with some of my observations.

- we stayed at the Marriott Resort & Spa and we were blown away. We had originally wanted to stay at the Pen, so I was afraid that the Marriott would be a let-down, but it was FANTASTIC, would definitely return again. The full breakfast buffet is great, we ended up skipping lunch every day because we ate so much in the morning!

- the BKK taxi drivers are terrible. Even though I was prepared with the yellow/green taxi suggestion and insisting on meter etc, we had to FIGHT for it. We took a cab from Wat Pho to the Siam Square, and it took us 3 tries before finding a taxi willing to use the meter.

- stayed at the Imperial Samui and I have to say that was a let-down after Marriott in BKK. It's not that anything was really wrong with it, just nothing that impresses us tremendously. It seems to happen with beach hotels elsewhere in the world - you get all excited looking at their photos and reading about the hotel, but then when you arrive at the hotel, it's probably a good star below what you were expecting. The hotel is located at the Chaweng Noi, so the beach was quieter. We did end up going to Chaweng 3 times over 5 days, so I wonder if maybe we should have stayed at Chaweng.

A lot of info is already available from other travellers' reports, so I won't repeat them. I'll watch for this post a little while in case anyone has questions. Then I'm off to hangout at the Europe forum to research for our Italian trip next year. Thanks again

Hello...

We are flying in to Bangkok Nov 14th. Please, may we have further info on the Marriott Resort?

If you promise not to laugh, how is the "bug" situation (in general: mosquito, creepy crawling things, etc.)?

Also, did you stay in the 6-story or cabins?

Was it difficult to get to places from this location? It seems to be the furthest from everything hotel (which we rather like).

Any help would be much appreciated.

Marmzzz,
The Marriott Resort & Spa is a really really nice hotel, right on the river and it has its own river taxi that takes you to the BTS station, and that'll take you anywhere, going to Siam Square is really easy on the BTS. You can also take the Express Riverboat from the same stop where the BTS station is, and that'll take you to the Grand Palace. There are river taxis from other hotels, the Pen etc. at the same stop, so you can just jump on one of those to get to their hotel. So it's very convenient.

The rooms are huge, even though we only had their "normal" room, we didn't upgrade for the riverview room. The pool is great, apparently their grounds is one of the larger ones in Bangkok, according to other reviews. If you type in the hotel name, you'll find great reviews on this hotel, especially from Kathie and Rhkkmk. This hotel is so reasonably priced, and you still get a gorgeous hotel for that price, with a full breakfast buffet included. The value cannot be beat. I know you can stay at the Pen or Oriental quite cheaply, compared to other cities in the world, but if you just need a good price, nice (but not as extravagant as the Pen) hotel to sleep for a few hours a day, this is a great choice. I would definitely stay there again.

I didn't find the bugs to be a problem in Bangkok, you do see the odd geckos on the hotel ground, but not in your room. The outdoor restaurants there have mosquito coils under the tables, but I used bug spray anyway. When we were at Samui, I forgot to spray before we went for dinner one night, and I was eaten alive because they didn't have any mosquito coils, and that was at our own hotel restaurant, so I wasn't too impressed! But none of those scary tropical creepy crawlies.

Just post if you have more questions.

Just a note on the taxi situation - I've spent 2 months in Bangkok so far this year and have not once had a problem with the taxi meters. There seems to be a new law or something requiring taxi's to use the meter, and it is being enforced...(at least that's what I was told, and right or wrong the results are the same). It's the tuk-tuk's that are more expensive, but once you know the price for a nice air-conditionned taxi you can offer them a similar or lower price or walk away and take a taxi.

Cheers, Powers

i am sitting about 1/4 mile from the marriott right now...we have moved to the shangri-la for 3 days which is very lux...glad you liked the marriott...we were there 5 days last week and if anything it is upgrading itself over our previos visit....

we returned yesterday from samui...we found the island only of moderate interest and found changweang (incorrect spelling) very honky tonk...no interest in it for us old folks (60)...the PEACE RESORT on the other hand was perfect in every respect...we were told it is the only remaining thai family owned resort left on the island...it fit our lifestyles perfectly....the food was very good and very reaonable...open air restaurant...2 set meals offered at 400B ($10)--that's for 2 people...6 courses....lots of other things to choose from as well as well as western fare...my wife had a good hamburger in fact...right on the beach...i would suggest either the sea facing or sea front bungalows to get more breeze...we had sea front (there are only 5 of those)...
more about peace when we return home

THANK YOU JAMES A........

I had a fabulous trip to Thailand in May We stayed one night at the Marriott Bangkok Resort and Spa and it was quite nice but NOTHING compared to The Oriental. I can't imagine a finer hotel for any one to stay. We took a boat ride across to the Penninsula and it didn't appeal to us nearly as much as The Oriental. The breakfast buffet was great at both the Marriott and the Oriental. We had no problem with taxi drivers and rarely paid more than one dollar U.S. for any ride we took. The entire trip was made PERFECT by the guide we met while there. Her name is Tan and she is an articulate woman in her early 30's who gave up a career as a journalist to be a tour guide. She was very affordable and gracious. She was able to arrange private cars for us to take the River Kwai tour and to go to the airport (significant savings from the hotel price). She spent many hours with us showing us parts of Bangkok tourist on their own wouldn't see. She spoke Thai and English fluently and was a tremendous facilitator everywhere we went. Feel free to contact me for her email address. Another positive about The Oriental was the location on the river with a pier; nearby to the SkyTrain and convenient for taxi rides. Bangkok is a fabulous city.

rhkkmk
I take it that the building work beside Peace was no problem? We are going back there in July.

Wish we had stayed at the Peace Resort! I actually did read all the good reviews here and was going to book it. But we ended up booking our whole Thai trip from Hong Kong (we were there for 10 days prior to Thailand). In case anyone is curious, we paid HK$5500 per person for airfare from HK to BKK on Dragonair, 2 nts hotel in BKK, air from BKK to Samui and 5 nts hotel in Samui. I think that's a good deal. Dragonair is FANTASTIC! Would definitely fly with them again.

The other thing that caught us by surprise was the airport tax in Samui, it was 400B and we didn't know about that beforehand, we had spent all our money (save for the 500B airport tax for BKK), it was a good thing they took credit card!

RHKMK... lol.. what is honky tonk. I am a fellow New Englander and may make my way down too Samui but im not sure if honky tonk can be translated too wicked good or wicked bad.

Mitmap it's nice you picked up some thia. and from what you wrote I take it your a famele. OR maybe not.. for the longest time I said Kha since I mainly intereacted with females. now I know why people always looked at me strangly when I did not say KRAP...

fiona---i remember yuour posting but could not remember your name so am glad to see it here...peace was fabulous..the construction is there and progressing but presents no problem---maybe some hammering but very little...peace was perfect in every way...you will love it...there was not question about my agreed upon price...we paid 3200 for beachfront and it was very nice...beach facing is also nice but further back i would not suggest...not enough air circulation...beach was ok but a bit muddy on the bottom...some swam there but mostly sat under trees and sun bathed near ocean...we went in ocean once and then in pool (which is new) the rest of the time...food is excellent and reasonable...we rented a 2 seater truck for 2 days and went around island---waste of time...chaweang bch is a sleezy place and waste of time...plan to stay at resort...can take day trips to amusement parks for the kids and they will pick you up...all can be arranged at peace...lots of famalies there with kids...you will love it!!!

bob

orgy...where are you from in NE? honky tonk is revere beach, nantasket, hampton beach, old orchard beach, cooney island---sleezy....

Bob, glad Peace was OK, got a bit worried when heard about the construction! Very interesting your views on Chaweng. It's actually very interesting as it is often difficult to figure what people seek and certainly Samui has changed since I first went about 16 years ago.

How would you compare Samui with your visit last time to Hua Hin ?

I am afraid I had to shoot off around Asia and Down Under and have only just got into Phuket, had hoped to make Hua Hin for the Jazz Festival.

I still rate Hua Hin and Pattaya/Jomtien areas as cheap and good, and in fact both seem to be booming this year .

thanks Bob. We were at Peace last year. Agree with you about Chaweng. We stayed there 2 years ago after time in Hong Kong and Bangkok. I was disappointed with Chaweng although I still enjoyed my holiday.

Forgot to say- we used the songthaews to get around. A great experience. We enjoyed going to Nathon and having a wander around the shops and the local market.

Bob, Glad to get your impression of Chaweng, which is similar to what other posters on this site have said. I think it may be a "generation thing." We are in our 50's, by no means sedentary, have demanding jobs, and love to travel. We're planning three weeks in Thailand in February. For the end of the trip we're looking for a somewhat luxurious tropical beach experience relatively quiet with lovely Thai style accommodations, good food, spa, beautiful atmosphere & views. We're not interested in bars and our idea of nightlife is a good restaurant with maybe some Thai music or classical Thai dance. The Meridien on Koh Samui looks like it is what we are looking for, except that I understand the beach is not very good. The Meridien Yacht Club at Nai Harn in Phuket looks like it has a beautiful beach, and has more access to activities outside the resort and other retaurants like Mom Tri's Boathouse, but does not appear to have the atmosphere and beauty of The Meridien in Samui--on the hill with lush tropical foliage, etc. The Pimalai on Koh Lanta also looks gorgeous, but is even more isolated & hard to get to. What to do? Thought maybe we could do both Meridiens -- Nai Harn for the beach, & Samui for the quiet beauty, servce, new spa. What do you think?

CFW weatherwise for Feb Phuket would probably be a safer bet. Take a look at the Kata Thani at Kata beach on Phuket. The immediate benefit of Kata over Nai Harn is that to get out to restaurants ( e.g Boathouse restaurant ) is far far easier, there are nice restaurants in Kata and also more in Karon which is also close by. It's also a bit easier to get to see Thai classic shows etc.

RHKNK.. thanks for the info.. We seem too obviously be on opposite sides of the spectrm in the ways we travel, at least for the time being, but as I get older more of your posts are starting too sound more apealling. Anyways honky tonk kind of seems fun for now, but hopefully it's a bit more exciting then Hanpton beach or anything New England has too offer...

Im from Hartford but reside in wethersfield, CT.