My family and I are traveling to Bangkok, Chang Mai, Phuket area in March. Last time we traveled to the area was 3 years earlier where we stayed at the JW Marriott in Bangkok. We liked the hotel alot, especially the extensive buffet breakfast that was included with the room but I wondered about trying another hotel, perhaps on the river, that might have similar accommodations, meals, at about that same price category. Also, we had contracted with a driving company through a friend that lived there at the time, however they have since moved. I wondered if anyone had the name, email address etc of a reliable company for us to contact before we arrive. I haven't started concentrating on Chang Mai or Phuket yet, but any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks so much! Jane.

We have used a driver in Bangkok that many have used on this forum. Her name is Ratt. She is dependable, inexpensive, and will tailor her services to your needs. She charges $5.25 per hour and drives a toyota corolla. She also has a van at a slightly higher rate for groups that won't fit into a coralla.
Here is her name/ e-mail-
vimonrat kantapiyo [[email protected]]
Tell her Bill Toliver sent you.
For us she was a god send- having her take us all over Bangkok saved us a lot of energy- she knows a lot about where to shop as well.

If you liked the JW it sounds like your best bet for Bangkok would be the Marriott Resort which is cheaper than the JW anyway. For Chiang Mai there are plenty of great hotels, if you just need clean comfort in Chiang Mai the Tamarind Village is a bargain for the standrad, another woth noting is the new Rachamanka, I had the chance to go but was busy so I gave the 'option' to some of my staff who though it was great. I don't know your budget but if you want somewhere pretty exceptional try the new Trisara resort Phuket, they are pool villas and it opens October but by all accounts it is virtually finished now and I know they have rooms opening shortly for inspections, the trisara sounds and looks quite something. Otherwise you can try the kata Thani Resort if you want a close to beach 4-star. Phuket now has a lot of construction going on with a lot of new places, I think it's a good tip to stick with established places or in the case of new places those which are not in crowded areas, e.g the Trisara. Where you stay on Phuket depends on whether you want very busy, busy or quiet. A quieter place is the mangosteen resort at Nai Harn beach.

Hey, thanks so much for the information! James, do you know if the Marriott Resort is within walking distance to any of the shopping malls? I forgot to mention that one benefit of the JW was its close distance to many shopping areas. I just wondered about the hotels on the river and their location vs main shopping areas...as we experienced the traffic problems. Also, our past driver did have a van (which we would need) but the airconditioning wasn't the very best and that would be a question I would want to address as my mother might travel with us. I will contact Ratt and ask, but wondered, Bill, how you found the quality of the car? Again, thanks! Jane

Jane, I lived in Bangkok for some time and have traveled there on business. If it is quality you are looking for, I recommend you consider the Oriental hotel. There is a Sheraton as well, but the Oriental will cater to all of your needs.

Marriott has mall attached. Should be around $90 for a twin and has everything you could need, brilliant pool. In Bangkok you can find excellent hotels at reasonable prices.

For a car service u can also consider Julies Taxis. She has a website. All her drivers speak excellent English.Chiang Mai stay at Tamarind Village - excellent value for money and great location.

Jane,
I understand what you are saying about being close to shopping and staying out of traffic in Bangkok.

If it were me, I'd look into the Intercontinental Hotel, which is right on the skytrain route. This hotel used to be the Royal Meredian but it changed names about a year ago. The rooms are very nice and the breakfast buffet was excellent. Shopping is right next door at Gaysorn Plaza, and just around the corner is the World Trade Center mall, but its name has changed recently and I don't know what it is called now.

The convenience of the skytrain is that it is just steps in front of the Intercontinental, and you can ride just a couple of stops to the Siam Center, Siam Discovery and MBK stops. Now THAT'S shopping!

If you ride the skytrain, you won't have to worry about taxis and traffic.

I'm going back to Bangkok on Monday, and will be staying at a serviced apartment building. I'll try to let everyone know how it is, and how convenient it is to shopping. This will be a big shopping trip for me, so being close to malls will be important.
Carol

basicly any hotel in Pratuman, phlomchit.. siam districts will be good. that includes the intercontintal. the grand hyatt. four seasons. Notatell, and others.

Most of the malls and shops discused on this forum is withen walking distance from any of the above hotels. the JW is a short sky train ride too MBK mall and the rest. plus it seems just about every movie theaters in the country are in the area...

The Marriott Resort & spa is a 15 minute boat ride down the river. We stayed there last November & loved it. Non-stop shuttle service from the hotel to the base of the SkyTrain means you never have to wait more than 10 minutes or so for the next shuttle & it's a relaxing boat ride in either direction.

I recommend upgrading to the "concierge level", though the concierge room is simply a fenced-off area to the side of the main lobby. The advantage is complementary breakfast every morning, drinks & snacks in the evening - usually enough to suffice for dinner if you would rather relax & not go out. As I recall the beer & wine was complementary also. Service was outstanding.

We visited the JW & it's a typicall JW that could be anywhere in the world. The Resort & Spa was much more fun.

I spent more than 150 nights in hotels last year so I can get pretty particular. Our next trip to Bangkok will include the Marriott Resort & Spa again.

Note however that I'm a Marriott fan & so may unfairly skip other equal or better properties that aren't Marriotts.

Hope that helps.

Dale & Kathy
Baton Rouge

In past trips I haven't stayed on the river because I'm a serious shopper and want to be VERY accessible to the shopping which is along the Sky Train line...which is one reason why I stay at the Four Seasons. However, as for river hotels, there is the Royal Orchid Sheraton...which I've never stayed in, but have eaten at MANY times...they serve excellent western food there...I eat Thai food every week at home, so I don't need to eat Thai food everyday in Thailand.There are tons of Thai restaurants where I live...L.A. area. I was thinking that if your mom goes, she might not want to be so adventurous in food....or at least not everyday. The Royal Orchid is having a special. A couple of years ago a standard room was $240. But, I called up AmExp Platinum and they've booked me into a standard for $120. without breakfast or $130... with breakfast-for August...so I've decided to stay there a couple of nights before moving on to other hotels that I want to try out. What's good about the Royal Orchid's location is that it has a GREAT,antiques mall, attached to it...the best in Bangkok with tons of wonderful items.Plus you can jump on the boat nearby and go up the river to alot of the river sights...Grand Palace...etc. Why not check into a river hotel for a couple of days and then move to another hotel for the rest of your stay. I do this alot when I travel. This coming trip I will be staying at 3 or 4 differnt hotels in different areas of Bangkok...so then I can explore new areas by foot and not have to be so dependent on transportation.Happy travels!

Jane-
Ratt has a late model Toyota Corolla. She also has a van for larger groups.The cars in bangkok all seem to be late models. No clunkers that I could see in my travels.

Hey, thanks so much everyone for the great advice!!! I am beginning my search and am grateful for all the advice! I think I was mesmerized the first trip and floated through my days and nights in awe of the wonders, trials and tribulations of Thailand. This trip, I would like to experience it all again, hopefully a little smarter than I was before. (We jumped into a taxi without remembering the cab driver probably wouldn't understand a map with English characters. We drove around more than an hour trying to find our way back to the hotel, with crying children, on our first night.) Anyway, I appreciate all the input!

i used ratt last week and was very satisfied with her service...she is a lovely woman and we had fun...we spent 13 hours outside of bkk...she charges 220B per hour plus gas which for all our travel was less than 500B....

the marriott is not within walking distance of any mall, except its own limited mall...their boat takes you directly to the skytrain every 15 minutes (its about a 12 minute ride) and you can reach any mall you want that way...