Given some recent discussion about this airport hotel and its changing rates, I though that I would share our experience from earlier this week (the night of June 30).

We arrived at 11 pm from Narita. Our last flight to Hanoi was scheduled for an 8:25 am departure the next day so we booked the night at the airport hotel. We requested one room for the three of us -- parents and 18 year-old son.

To find the hotel shuttle, you exit through door #4 and walk a short distance to a modest-sized free-standing sign. Very easy. The van service is advertised as every 15 minutes which seemed to be the case. The key thing to know is that the van (on this day, at least) is small relative to the size of the queue -- it has 9 passenger seats and a generous hatch-back for luggage. People needed to wait through at least two round-trips to get on-board so that meant standing awhile after, in some cases, very long journeys. There are no seats in the waiting area and the queue was a bit jostly.

I could see the blue "Novotel" sign off in the distance. One uniformed person said that the hotel was "a 5 minute walk" while another person said "10 minute walk." What to do? Finally, an experienced-sounding English speaking passenger who came along said that it wasn't worth it to walk and there was the possibility of getting lost. We decided to follow her authoritative advice and continue to wait.

The hotel's promotional material boasts of having the largest hotel lobby in the world. While it is enormous, I wonder if that distinction is achieved by measuring in cubic feet since the ceiling is indeed very high.

There was a short line for check-in. When we got to our room, the bed for the 3rd person wasn't there so we had to call housekeeping and wait for it a bit. We also had to make requests for that 3rd towel, 3rd bottle of water, etc., on a case-by-case basis. Everyone was very gracious but in a responsive way rather than a smooth, professionaly confident way.

The room was extremely comfortable with an enormous bed and lovely linens. The large bathroom was very nice as well with separate shower and tub. We were only there in the dark but the room looked out on an attractive inner courtyard with a pool. Startlingly enough, the airport control tower was visible above the open courtyard.

The room cost 5,000 THB + 885 THB service charge and VAT; in addition, 1,300 THB for the extra bed + 230 TBH service and VAT for that. Total for one night (just over six hours in our case): 7,415 THB or about $222. No breakfast or other amenities beyond the one small bottle of water per person were included in that rate.

We returned to the airport at about 6:15 am so I cannot comment on the restaurants. There is an express check-out option if you prefer. Again, particularly if there are several in your party, I would counsel alowing plenty of time to miss a van and wait for the next one since the 9-passenger van was again in use.

I have no idea whether there are private taxis that will ply that very short route. I also wonder whether others have walked to the hotel from the terminal.

In sum, it was very convenient to get some rest at this point in our long (BOS-ORD-NRT-BKK-HAN)trip but the hotel is a little pricey. I don't know how the 4-hour rate compares with what we paid.

Many thanks for your detailed review. We planned to stay there one night after our midnight arrival and morning flight to Kathmandu. The best price we've been able to find for a room there right now is 4500 baht ++. The four hour rates only apply during the day and are about US$98++

Given what you have to say about the shuttle, it might make more sense to stay at a nearby Novotel, as it shouldn't take any longer to get there. I'm going to check into that option as well.

We stayed there in January and I must say it is a beautiful hotel.

Well, I spent about an hour researching other places "near the airport." Every review I read said that these other hotels should not be considered near the airport. In the 20 minutes or so it took to get to these other hotels, several people pointed out you could get a nice hotel in town.

Every review I read of the Novotel Suvarnabhumi said it was a lovely hotel. It sounds like where we'll stay. I'm going to keep an eye on rates, as they go up and down so much. If I can find a rate lower than I've seen before, I'll just book it.

i've stayed there, and like bill said, its a beautiful property. i had a very nice garden view room. very good lunch buffet in the lobby, but stay away from the chinese restaurant. just not good.

Kathie:

I expect that you will be fine there. I was just surprised that the shuttle was so small relative to the passenger demand and thought that that information would be useful to another first-timer.

Perhaps others have not had a long wait? Perhaps Novotel runs a bigger or more shuttles at certain times? Perhaps there are other practical ways to get there (Has anyone walked or taken a taxi? Despite the great arc of the approach by road, the straightline distance seems negligible.)

In any event, expect a little delay and you might be pleasantly surprised. Finally, if only one seat is left in the first van you see and you have two or more in your party, one of you go along to check-in while the other of you waits for the next van.

There's a couple of hotels, including a Best Western affiliate, opening next to the airport in Q1 2009.

There's also a tunnel linking the airport terminal to the hotel, but as its shared with access to the train station, they haven't opened it. Presumably, it will finally open next year, when the train begins operation.

Marya, I really appreciate your candid info about the shuttle. As I will be arriving close to midnight, I would expect similar numbers of people waiting for the shuttle.

Michael, thanks for the info about the new hotels to be built. It may bring down the price of the Amari a bit.

Just so you know, my sister and I thought the Novotel at the airport was cheesy in a fake chinese sort of way and not particularly welcoming. We also thought it was very overpriced considering what we had paid for other hotels in Bangkok and elsewhere in Asia.
Its main factor is convenience. if you have to leave early in the morning or arrive in late at night, so far it's the only game in town.

marya thanks for this. We have booked a room there for Oct when we have a very early flight to Bhutan. Did the shuttle expereince also happen in the early morning when you were going back to the airport? Good information.
Kathie like you I spent time searching every other hotel I could find int he area & also discovered reports saying they were really not close to the hotel so in the end decided if we really wanted an airport hotel this was the option for us. Hopefully more options will open up in the future.
J

Jules39,

We departed a little early that next morning just to be safe -- I don't like to stress out about making it through airport lines. We got on the hotel shuttle easily at about 6:20 am, but right after we were seated there was a small rush of passengers that couldn't be seated on that van. Allow yourself some extra time.

I am still curious to know if anyone has walked, taken a taxi, pressured the hotel for quicker transport, etc. If this is low season, isn't it even more congested at other times of year? Or do they run more shuttles then? Just wondering how this works...

marya, I'm interested in this as well. If we don't get any answers on this thread, I'll be glad to post back after my October stay.

jules, when will you be there? I think it's the night of Oct 20 we'll be there on our way to Nepal. And were you able to find a good rate anywhere? The best I've seen is 4500 baht++

Thanks marya our flight is at 6am so we will be leaving super early so I am hoping that will mean no big rush of people!! Like you I don't like to be rushed. Also like you would love to hear if anyone has actually walked it!

Kathie we will be there Oct 5th & 4500 Baht is what we paid. Came out on the credit card as US$160. After much debate we decided this was the right thing for us. Plan on doing nothing but resting up after our initial flight getting some dinner & sleep & heading to Bhutan early the next morning. We have been to Bangkok several times & will have a couple of nights in the city on our way home to get a little Bangkok fix so this seemed right.

FYI, I have walked from the airport to the hotel, but not with bags. I can understand why some people would discourage it, since you have to walk through the parking garage and across two roads to get there.

To walk, you'd have to go up from arrivals to level 3 (between arrivals and departures), take one of the bridges to the parking garage, then down to the ground floor of the garage, and across the street to the hotel. I wouldn't want to do it dragging luggage.

jules39:
Are you still going to Bhutan with my favorite tour company - [gasp] Blue Poppy?

Michael, that's very helpful. After flying for 17-18 hours, it sounds like we'll opt for the shuttle or a taxi. What do you think, Michael, would a taxi be willing to do the short drive to the hotel? (in the US, drivers often won't take you to a place near the airport as they have to wait in line for hours to pick up a passenger at an airport)

I made my reservations through Expedia and the rate was lower than quoted by everyone on this site: worth a try. We arrive and 12:05 AM and hope the wait is not too long. Would be interested in taxi fare to hotel.

Thanks, micardia, expedia is currently quoting $135.95 for our date - no breakfast - and they don't mention that there is tax and service which adds 17% to the price. Their price is $4 lower than my last quote from agoda. I'm still waiting a bit to see if we can do any better. Did you get a better rate from expedia? And when are you staying?

Kathie I went to Expedia & yes the price says $135 but when you go into book it it has 4500baht so not sure how that will come out?
J

We are staying mid- February and the price was 124.22 plus tax which came to 152.42. If anyone has a quote for taxi to hotel that would be great.