Bangkok hotel close to airport?
 

Hi,
On the last night of our holiday we arrive in Bangkok at 8pm, after two weeks in Bali. We depart for the States the next morning at 11:30am. We are not excited about staying at the Amari Airport hotel. But not sure if it is worth it to stay at a nice hotel in Bangkok, or if there are any other good options closer to the airport.

Any suggestions greatly appreciated!

With those times you have enough time to head downtown for the night, otherwise a balance is the Sofitel Plaza which is about 20 mins from Airport, good quality but on the way downtown, this site has specific Airport and Stopover hotels.

www.bangkok-stopover-hotels.travelreporter.com

i have stayed at several of the airport area hotels...they are all not great...imo

we have decided in the future to always stay downtown...hotels in the sukhumvitr area give you good access to the highway for easy arrival at the airport in a decent amount of time....i particualily like the jw marriott as it has very easy access to the toll road...next door is the new majestic grande....also the landmark, sheraton grande, westin grande, conrad, hyatt, 4 seasons, chateau de bangkok, etc....also the new holiday inn on plenochit and next door the intercontinental...\

enjoy a good last nite dinner in bkk and some last minute shopping and relax in a nice comfortable bed....

dinner at biscotti at the four seasons would top off a great vacation...

Great! Thank you for the suggestions. I'll do some research on Sukhumvit area hotels. Should we expect it to take roughly 30-45 minutes to get to the airport in the morning from there?

Hi there jdeg. If you are tired and just want a decent place to crash for the night the Rama Gardens is right by the Airport (shuttle bus), very inexpensive, very nice clean rooms with lovely huge bathrooms. Beds very hard though. New wing of the hotel only about $60US for the room. Nothing to do there though.

Otherwise for a special last night I really loved the rooms at the Banyan Tree Bangkok and a late dinner at their restaurant Vertigo (some say the food is not great but I thought it was very nice) and WHAT an experience! Its a very trendy restaurant/bar on the roof of that hotel with glass waist-high walls. Lovely for drinks also. The Sukhothai hotel nearby have a lovely Thai restaurant (on ground level).

i always allow at least one to one and 1/2 hours for transport to the airport...the quickest time i have ever had is 25 minutes on a sunday afternoon at 4PM....usually i arrive in bkk at midnight and am at the marriott on the river by 1:30, so way less than 45 minutes for the transit....sukhumvit may take 10-15 minutes less time...

mid morning may still mean heavy traffic so allow lots of time...even on the toll road there can be hold-ups, especially near to town....now many hold-ups once out of the city...

So it sounds like if we are willing to go into Bangkok (rather than stay near the airport), we really should consider any of the nice hotels, e.g., on the river (Peninsula), or in Sukhimvit or Silom areas.

While Sukhumvit is the quickest to the airport, is it true that Silom or the river area would only add roughly 10-15 minutes of travel time?

Totally agree with the idea to stay in town. I never stay at the airport hotels anymore. They are pretty shabby and overpriced. You don't even end up saving much time. Not a good way to top off a great vacation. I suggest staying in a nice place in town.

Staying in the Sukhumvit area hotels, it always takes me 15-20 minutes to get to/from the airport late at night or early in the morning. Mid-morning might take 25-30 minutes. I know people allow more time than that, but I've been doing it many times and generally only allow 30 min. I just like the extra time sleeping in.

Around the river, it has taken me something like 30-45 minutes.

So stay in a nice hotel and have a nice dinner out in Bangkok. I think you'll be glad you did.

you are correct that it will take just a bit longer from the river hotels....if you stay at the new hilton, the penn or the marriott you have to rely on the bridges not being backed-up which would add time....silom has its own traffic problems as well...that is why especially the majestic grande or the jw marriott are the best, imo...

btw---i believe the rooms at rama gardens in the new building are more than $75 per nite....the old building is about $57-60....i found the service there not good and the traffic getting to and from almost as bad as going all the way into bkk...the sofitel central on the other hand might be a good bet if there is not big convention going on....

We're booked into the Miracle Grand Convention Hotel for an overnight in October. Supposedly about 10 minutes from airport and comments at tripadvisor.com are really positive. We think we'll be too tired after flying MSP-LAX-TPE-KUL-BKK to do anything but crash (no pun intended)anyway, and we have a morning flight out to Kathmandu.
You could stay there, go into the river area for nice dinner, and still cut your transit time back to the airport.

miracle grand is an option...some fodorites stayed there last year and were pleased...it is right on the highway and has easier access than rama gardens imo...

Glad to see this question as I was going to stay at Amari thinking it was nice for $250 USD/Night and conviently located. So, now I am thinking the Banyan Tree or the Four Seasons which are actually cheaper and I AM SURE MUCH nicer. Any suggestions? Is the Four Seasons in the 15-20 minutes range from the airport? What about Banyan Tree. We have an 8AM flight on a Saturday morning. THank you! Silvia

The Four Seasons and Banyan Tree are more than 20 mintes from than airport. How much time do you have between flights? If you'll have the evening in Bangkok, absolutely go for one of the hotels in the city.

i second staying at a city hotel...the jw marriott is an easy on to the highway and will take about 35-40 minutes at that time....you need to leave by 6 i should think...

baynon tree is the furthest of the two...4 seasons is more centrally located and not far from expressway...lots of good restaurants around there as well...

do not stay at the airport...

you do not say when you are going?? a new airport is opening probably later this spring or summer and the whole situation changes then...it is nearer to pattaya than the present airport

My flight gets in from Phuket on December 2 so we have the night in BKK for an 8AM flight back to the states. While the Mariott is closer, if I can stay at the Four Seasons for the same price, I prefer the Four Seasons. Much cheaper in BKK than in Chicago. Thank you.

I am sure the Four Seasons is fab of course. However, I LOVED the restaurant on top of the Banyan Tree, "Vertigo" really amazing and fun. Check out the pictures if you can.

if arive dec 2
friday night trafic is one of the worst you'll encounter.

so what time are you expecting to arive at your hotel. I would estimate your arival too hotel too be about 9:30 -10:00 PM.. if you stay at four seasons there is not much going on at that time. all the malls are closed.

if you stay in "SUK" you can still take a walk and there will be lots going on.

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if you ever took 15 minuts too go to the airport you are surely lucky to be alive since your taxi driver must of been driving 100 MPH.

Thank you for your input. Getting in around 8PM Friday night. Is Banyan Tree in the SUK area?

banyan tree is not on sukhunvit road. it's on sathorn rd. Finacial district. DEAD at night. you may be able too take a longish walk or short taxi drive too night bizzare or patpong market.

banyon tree is a lovely hotel and until about 2 years ago was a westin or hyatt---i forget which....i personally do not like that area for staying...busy during the day but quiet at nite....you almost have to take a taxi to anyplace you want to go...not sure about highway access from there either...probably not great...

honestly you cannot go wrong with any of the major hotels in bkk....some locations just require you to leave a bit earlier to get to the airport...mornings can be tough and there can be unexpected delays even on the toll road....

i just prefer the sukhumvit area for its access, nite life which is not just bars, but street vendors etc....and there are tons of great restaurants on the sois all up and down sukhumvit....i think it has the best in bkk...