Best Rates for Pen or Oriental
 

In planning for our Jan 07 Thailand Trip,(for a month) we will be two weeks on Phuket (at the Marriott Beach Club Resort) and one week at the Marriott on the River Resort in BKK. However, after reading all your ongoing comments about the Pen and Oriental would like to spend a couple of nights at each to compare. I remember that Gloria (I think it was) had a special way of getting real good rates direct with the hotel. I would appreciate knowing what kind of rates to expect and who offers the best for both the Pen and Oriental. I seem to remember that some of you got a quote from Asiarooms or Sawasdee then went directly to the hotels to match or beat it. Please advise.
Sue

For the Oriental, the best rates are generally through either AmEX (platinum card and probabaly some other cards) or through the hotel itself. The discount websites are usually higher. However, there are rarely any significant discounts in Jan as it's peak season but whatever there is you can get through them.

I reserved the Penn directly for next February. Since asiarooms and sawasdee rates no longer include breakfast, I went on the Penn website and checked their packages. The have a "Value the Experience" package which includes breakfast but it is only good through December. I e-mailed the hotel to see if they would honor the rate for February and received a reply back with a very slightly higher price for the package for February. All-in-all, the price I am paying is pretty close to the asiarooms rate and I don't have to pay in advance.

Last year asiaroom's rates for the Penn in February of this year were much lower and included breakfast. I did try to get the Penn to honor the lower rate but they would not.

I also go through American Express Platinum Travel for excellent rates. I got the Pen for about $145.or less. in August of 2004. Even the person who checked me in at the Pen raised an eyebrow and commented that I'd gotten a really good rate. I got the Oriental for less than $200. Happy Travels!

for my stay at the penn in novmeber i went directly to them...they also offer a few packages most of the time...see their web site...

some of the discount sites offer better pricing...i prefer:

www.huahin.20m.com
but most of their fall and winter rates have not been posted yet

I have stayed at both and have gotten the best prices from each of their web sites. Book one now with the site and keep checking all sites for sales until the time you are going to leave. I would even give a call to the Pen directly in bkk before you leave home to see if they have any special rates going on "in the hotel" at that time.

Aloha!

I can only say you are all so GREAT. I only posted this question about 3 hours ago and look at all the responses. I too am noticing higher rates everywhere in BKK even from last year, and, as you say, many have not yet released 07 rates. Too bad I don't have an AMEX Platinum.
Sue