after all the anarchy and protests one would think there would be splendid values at bangkok hotels, or perhaps supply and demand doesnt factor in to the local economy.might one expect a modicum of contrition? yet the usual hotel sites show nothing (except for the usual "...up to 75% off rack rates..." which we all know is phony.

am i looking in the wrong place?

There have been some good deals, typically from the individual hotels, not the booking sites. There is a post here about a good deal at the Banyon Tree in Bangkok (do a search) for instance.

I received a buy stay 2 nights get the 3rd night free at the Royal Orchid Sheraton.

Not sure what month you are going...I think this special was through March.

we found the best deals by emailing the hotels directly

There is a general program of third night free sponsored by the CVB. It's up to the hotels to participate, so as mentioned above, you'll probably only see it offered on the hotel's web site. I have seen a few good deals on Agoda, and R24 (Sawasdee) almost always has a few promotions running on selected hotels.

why would one leave paradise for the chaos of bangkok?

well unless you were from the dreaded needham?

before you jump all over me, H is my best man...

I've been monitoring the websites of Bangkok hotels, and prices have come down. Check their Special Offers, though there's frequently a catch. The Conrad will give you a second night free, but only on a weekend; the Marriott on the river has rooms as low as 3800 baht, but they're city-view and must be entirely prepaid with no cancellation or change option; the Banyan Tree will give you the second night free but when I tried for four nights at half price they disallowed it. I've booked and re-booked at the Pullman King Power as their online prices have dropped.
Don't get locked in too far ahead of time in case something better comes along. Our hotel in Phuket lowered the price we reserved at by 500 baht per night when I asked about cancelling a reservation with the idea of further shopping around.

lol, so didn't get away with it, eh, Will? lol. I wondered about that.

They had it all covered, Dogster. The Banyan bastions even emailed back to tell me I couldn't have two consecutive stays under different names, anticipating my dodge of using my wife's differing surname. Being a nasty and vindictive sort, I cancelled both reservations, decided to take my business elsewhere, privately vowing that if the Banyan Tree was the last hotel in Bangkok, then my days of Thai tourism would have ended.
Of course it's cutting off your nose to spite your face. I could still have had four nights for the price of three. But I just couldn't enjoy a proper sleep on the third and fourth nights at full price, knowing that around and above and below us, folks were sleeping free. And my wife nixed a half-price weekend at the Conrad, followed by a move for two half-price nights at the Banyan. I was ready for that money-saving two-hotel combo, but she wisely said put her foot down and said we needed to be in one place.

I just came from Bangkok about 7 days ago and stayed at both the Plaza Athenee (a 5-star Starwood/Royal Meridien hotel) and the Millennium Hilton. I HIGHLY recommend the Hilton. Its situated right on the river, and they offer a free water taxi to the metro station on the other side. Its immediate neighbors are the Shangri La, Sheraton, Peninsula and Mandarin Oriental. The hotel's ammenities are amazing, the views are great, and best of all, it was really really cheap! The total cost including taxes was $95/night when I was there. Do check it out!!!