My wife and I will spend two weeks in Thailand from Friday. We arrive in Bangkok from UK at 2pm Bangkok time and fly from Airport at 8am following morning so have elected to stay 1st night at Amari Airport hotel. Would it be better to stay in City hotel as we have evening free and if so which is best for access to/from airport. We would like an upmarket hotel ideally. Any ideas on dinner venue too. Alternatively we can stay at airport hotel and go in just for dinner. Thanks [email protected]

I would have to recommend that you stay at the airport. The reason for this is because check-in lines for your flight out in the am could be long, especially if you are going to a popular destination like Chang Mai or Phuket and are not flying business class. If you stay in the city, that means an even earlier departure to get to the airport. I don’t' think it is worth it to schlep all your stuff into the city just to reverse the trip 15 hours or so later.<BR><BR>Read the rants and raves section for the Amari, some people did not have a good experience, the club floor seemed to be the most liked. One of the reviewers noted that there is a Quality Suites in the area, don't know anything about it, but it may be worth looking up on the web.<BR><BR>If you are not going to spend any time in Bangkok at all on your trip, it would be fun to go into the city for the evening. There are so many restaurants it is mind-boggling, check the rants and raves on this page. I would opt for something along the river, as it is so pleasant and the river is the life blood of the city. The Peninsula Hotel has a very nice outdoor restaurant, as does the Shangri-La and Oriental. You could then browse along the street from the Oriental down around the corner to the Shang, which is one of the main streets for souvenirs, etc. I would also suggest you arrange to get a longt-tail boat driver to take you up the river to see the Grand Palace, Temple of the Dawn, etc (You do not have time to visit the Grand Palace, but probably have time to visit the Temple of the Dawn, check a guidebook for closing times.) You can often find drivers at the Oriental water taxi pier. One of the hotels on the river may also arrange it for you, even if you are not a guest, if you explain that you are staying for dinner and need help negotiating with a driver. The boat drivers will speak little or no English. The sun sets between 6:30 and 7, so this might be nice to do at twilight when the lights are coming on at the Grand Palace. A half hour to 45 minutes would be all you need.<BR><BR>Patpong, the girlie bar and fake Prada bag area is interesting, but there are no really nice restaurants in the area. You could go after dinner if you are interested. <BR><BR>If you want to see Thai dancing, the Oriental operates a wonderful restaurant called the Sala Rim Naan. They do a set Thai meal and put on traditional Thai dancing. It is a very nice evening. Of course, you may get more of this wherever you are going. If you are interested, go to the website for the Oriental Hotel and look up the restaurant. You can call or fax the hotel for reservations (required, and there are 2 seatings as I recall) and may be able to make reservations by e-mail.<BR><BR>Hope this is helpful.<BR>

We liked the Quality Suites, a 5 minute cab ride to the airport. The check in staff was very friendly and spoke good English, a nice place to eat and suite style rooms with large beds and a separate living room with a nice sofa.<BR><BR>Only complaint was the bland functional furnishings, but clean and new.

Quality Suites, Rama Gardens nice ( Rama is about same quality as Amari but much cheaper ) or Comfort Suites for a Budget place. The Rama Gardens will save you plenty, shuttle bus to/from terminalsBR><BR>http://www.bangkok-online-hotel-reservations.8m.net

Hi<BR>we were in Bangkok last month with one day in an airport hotel Regrettably stayed at the Maruay Garden Hotel - great photographer for their web site and brochure. Pretty rotten hotel, and not even convenient - 30 minutes to airport and few shops or restaurants (other than small cafe places where reading the menu is a real issue). Traffic was very bad into town from Maruay (30 minutes to go no great distance and still at least 30 minutes to the centre) but maybe the toll expressway means hotels near it and closer to town are better for time to airport than those which are closer as the crow flied like Maruay but are not that close time-wise.<BR>