I'm booking hotels in Bangkok/Phuket (looking at the Shangri La, Le Meredien etc) and the rates are still pretty high. Just curious how people find the lowest available rates. And I saw some mention of "Golden Circle" rates for the Shangri-La, is this only for frequent guests. Thanks for the tips in advance..

golden circle is their F/F club...

i find this site the best source of all inclusive rates:

www.huahin.20m.com

it is the same as sawadee.com...owned by them...

the rates don't really drop until the end of march....then again in may and stay somewhat low until nov 1....but from nov 1 to march they are at their highest...and over the holiday period they are the very highest...

may i suggest my favorite hotel as an alternative, which provides the right amount of lux, with a rural feel and the best pool in bkk: marriott resort and spa....handly access to the skytrain every 15 minutes by a wonderful free boat....

Rates vary a great deal especially for Phuket, some rates high season around December into January can be 3 times what they are at other times, so if you are looking at that time rates for those types of hotels will be pretty high. On Phuket there is a wide choice of places and although it's peak time you can still find in the USD 70+ region ok.

If you are looking for lux places on Phuket try

www.phuket-luxury-hotels.com

goes thru Sawadee too but you get ideas, photos etc, these systems do 'not' require any credit card to check availability so you are never commited to anything until they confirm back to you rooms are deffinately available, then you have a couple of days either to accept or not, only when you have finaly decided do you need to give any c/card details.

Priceline may be worth looking at.

Is there something similar to sawadee. com for Macau?

Like anything you 'buy', always balance price with service and reliability, and in this case only use those who can 'guarentee/confirm' room availability before you hand over any payment information.

I am sure there others for macao but you can try

www.nongasia.com/macau.html

( this is other Asia destinations I believe done by huahin.20m.com who I have used for years and years for Thailand )

or

www.asiaoz.com

I made my reservations through Hoteltravel.com. After checking a lot websites this one has the best price for the Marriot Resort & Spa. Has a lot of good information and you are not charged at the moment. For my trip to Thailand on February I will be charge on January.