Bangkok Four Seasons v. Penn
 

We are going to Bangkok in July and are torn between the Four Seasons and the Penn. My husband will be in meetings for a good part of the day and I will be shopping, site-seeing, etc. My friends tell me that the Four Seasons is in a better/more central location. Any thoughts?

If you are there for shopping, then the Four Seasons is in a better closer location for that. The major shopping area is just one skytrain stop (or a little 10 min walk) away. I'd stay at Four Seasons if that's what you have in mind. The Pen is a gorgeous hotel and the river is certainly exciting and busy... BUT, if you want to spend a good portion of your time shopping, do yourself a favor and stay closer to the place where you will buy all your goodies.

Just my opinion...

Carol
(Four Seasons looks like a lovely hotel)

makes sense to stay near to where your husband will be working imo....

i prefer the river generally, but 4 seasons is very nice...i do not like their pool area however

I agree with Carol. I am just back from Bkk and stayed at the Oriental which I really liked but got to tell you with shopping as a major part of my agenda the river shuttle taxis pale in charm and become a slight irritant when you have to carry large bags from the BTS station. The other option in Bkk is to hire a car and driver which is always slower given the traffic. The Four Seasons is close to great shopping places - Gaysorn whose hom floor is WOW, Central Chitlom, Siam Center and Discovery Center, Jim Thompson large store at Suriwong Rd. To my mind the river properties are more resorty i.e. stay there to enjoy them rather than the city. I love the Bkk Four Seasons. It's a gorgeous hotel.

If you want to spend your time shopping I'd stay at the 4 Seasons. I always stay at the Oriental and find the shopping there just fine -- I have a tailor half a block away and buy the ocassional antique at Oriental Place or River City. But in general I probably only spend 10-20% of my time shopping.

i don't think it matters where you stay honestly...i just prefer the scene along the river...

i take a taxi for both convenience and comfort often and in conjunction with the skytrain...

i always take a taxi if i have large packages or bags to deal with...

i suggest splitting your stay between the two hotels..

It's definitely the Four Seasons...hands down. I have been to Bangkok many times and have stayed at a lot of hotels and the FS is my home away from home. I tried the Pen last Aug 2004, but it wasn't for me. Yes...it has all the high tech stuff...which I personally found a headache...and the bathrooms are beautiful...but as Glorialf put it, in a previous post, I, too, found it "cold".Plus it's on the opposite side of the river which made it a big headache to get to the shopping areas and then have to lug all the packages..in the heat...or sit in a taxi in traffic forever.Plus the FS is definitely not"cold".The staff is great and were great from the start...as in my FIRST stay there...not having to wait for special service because of being a return customer...as in some hotels around the world.Its lobby is so beautiful( you will really feel like you are in Thailand upon arrival) and the food is delicious.It also has it's own little mini mall outside and there is a NeOld store which is fabulous so you don't have to go across town to the main store on Suriwongse.The store carries all types of Souteast Asian home interior items. The shopping malls are either within walking distance or just one or a few skytrain stops away...the sky train is across the street. Read the other comments/posts. We just wrote about this yesterday under someone else's post.You'll have a ball in Bangkok. I can't wait to get back in both August and Dec/Jan. Happy Travels!

If you are doing a lot of shopping and the river is not something that you value then yes by all means the Four Seasons is the right pick.

Guenmai:
We are thinking of the Four Seasons as one of our hotels on our next trip to BKK. Are there any better rooms to ask for in a particular location in the hotel that you prefer? Is higher up better? Are there any good view rooms?
Aloha!

Re the Four Seasons,

Try asking for the higher floor with a view of the Royal Bangkok Sport Club. You might even see me playing golf!

Hawaiiantraveler.I don't stay on high floors. I don't like looking out of a hotel window and everything below looking ant size.I feel too detached. Plus the FS doesn't have that many floors anyhow( I think only nine...but I can't remember exactly)...which is one thing I REALLY like about it...it's not some towering monstrosity of a structure.It's a very intimate structure.I don't stay above floor 7 because the non-smoking rooms are on floors 5,6, and 7 if I remember right. I agree with Hanuman about the view of the Royal Sports Club if you want a view...I've seen those rooms although I personally didn't need that view.I'll take any view or non-view at that hotel. It doesn't matter to me plus, the majority of the FS's room are set in an atrium setting. There's a plus and minus to that. The plus is when you step outside of your room, you are greeted by beautiful green plants and sunlight and not a dreary,dark hallway like in most hotels. Being a Californian, I just like greenery and sunlight. The down side is that when you step out of your room, you will be in the heat until you walk a short walk to the area where the rooms are inside the building and where the elevator is located.That doesn't really bother me since I know that I'm in the heat in BK anyway. So, you can request a room inside of the building if you want, but you won't get the view of the club that Hanuman was talking about.Hope this has helped. Happy Travels!

.....

We love the Peninsula Bangkok and don't find it "resorty" at all. Bangkok is such a pulsating city that it is so nice to go back to the other side of the river for a break from the action. The Peninsula has a boat that picks you up at the SkyTrain station and takes you across to the hotel in 5-minutes -- could not be more convenient (and fun!). The view from the hotel is wonderful -- every room has a river view and a view back over Bangkok.

If you do a lot of shopping and have heavy packages, you can always have them delivered to the hotel rather than carrying them (the main Jim Thompson store offered to do this for us -- within a couple of hours of our purchase, our bags were delivered to our room with no charge).

Another happy satisfied customer of the Penn!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks Guenmai for the info!
Aloha!

When I've made large purchases back in the "market" area at MBK, I've had the vendors volunteer to deliver my goods to my hotel or apt bldg. I've never taken them up on it, but it might be a good thing to do! Somehow it isn't the same, buying from a market, when compared to buying at Jim Thompson. I guess I should be more trusting of the small market vendors... what do you think? Anyone had any experiencs with this type of thing?
Carol