Hi all! I thought to say a little Sawadeeka as i too am back again in Bangkok! I live in India for 7 months a year but frequently jet into Bangkok for R and R! I am here for a couple weeks and have taken a few serviced apartment at various places, including Somerset Suanplu, Centre point Silom untill i found the ultimate place, The Ascott, LOCATED on South SatHORN! I just love this place, the location, the amenties, the apartments, etc, etc! It is gorgeous, very high end, and has probably one of the best fitness centers in Bgk, called the Cascade Club a Spa, and two great resturants, Aldo and HU-U! It is a bit more expensive than some of the other serviced aparmtents, but it is really lovely and I feel at home! I have had a very very busy few months in India traveling and working AND LIVING in HOTELS, so when i come to Bangkok i just love to chill out, eat well, COOK, get massages, shop, write, research, work on my computer, and this is what i have been doing! I have been hanging around Silom/Sala Daeng area as is is nearbye and having many a foot massages en route and a few incredible massages at the Spa in my hotel!!!. I have been shopping Central, Robinsons, Boots, Watson, sipping coffee at Coffee Day, eating alot of pinapple and pomelo, sipping fresh orange juice, visiting the Emprorion, Central Chtiltom AND yes, even the new Siam Paragon HUGE, VAST upscale AND EMPTY! And i too have been to the supermarket in the lower level, and loved it and loaded up!! i actually have been mostly cooking my own food versus eating in resturants, (i know-hard to beleive!), but i live in India AND mostly in hotels so very happy to HAVE the supermarkets aND MY gorgeous APARTMENt with amenities to cook in! Anyways, just wanted to say hello to all. Will be here another few days and then back to Delhi for four more months and many more tours of NORTH INDIA!!!! Sawadeeka! bonita.

Bonita:
Glad to hear from you. Can anyone get a massage at the spa in The Ascott or is it just for the apt guests? Is it a full service spa?
Aloha!

I went to the Ascott Sathorn apartment building, that you're talking about, back in August 2005 when I was trying to decide which apartment building to stay in on last month and this month's trip to Bangkok. I saw a lot of the building and remember that it was a very nice building, similiar in ways, to Emporium Suites where I ended up staying for three weeks. The drawback, for me, was the location. I preferred Sukumvit over Sathorn. Other than that, it was very nice. How far is it from both the sky train and a full-size supermarket? Is it near the Chong Nonsi station? A Thai friend and I went there by taxi when I checked out the place. There's also another building, by the same company...Ascott Siri Sathorn on Soi Saladang.I passed it on the way to the brand new... Legend at Saladang condo building on the same street where I went to check out the new condos. Happy Travels!

hello! HAWAIANTRAVELER, About the Ascott, acutally the
Spa and fitenss club, called the Green leaf Spa and Cascade Club respectively are separate from the hotel and apartments. U Can get yearly memebership for fitness center and the Spa is full service, (so to speak) and is open to visitors. Wonderful MASSAGES AND the Cascade club fitness center is gorgeous! Guenmai, hello there..LET me answer your questions..first off,tHE Ascott Sathorn is not connected to Siri Sathron, i know that property u speak of. However, they both are a very luxury high-end serviced aparmtents! Siri Sathorn also have a wonderful spa and very nice boutique-feel about the place! Siri Sathron on Sala Daeng is actually managed by the same folks who manage the Sukhothai, i beleive it is called the Concord mgt group! The Ascott is a Singaprore based company, Ascott Interntational, have places all over world and they also manage all the high-end Somerset properties in BKK,(among others!) There are presently three Somerset in Bkk, one on Sukhumvit, one on Suanplu aanother near PLOENCHIT. They are all very nice, I have stayed at two of them with my favorite being the somerset Suan view near Ploenchit. The Ascott Sathorn is their luxury end property! About the location on south Sathorn, personally,I actually prefer this area to Sukhmvit, as i am quite fond of silom/Sala Daeng, acess to the riverside, etc.. Of course i like the Emprioum mall and marketPLACE too, AND actually was just there yesterday!! Oh, yes, THE btS chongnonsi stop is about a 5-10 minute walk from the Ascott, so not bad. About your next question, supermarkets, well, i usually go to Tops or The Marketplace on silom, respectively under Robinsons or under Central! so no supermarket in walking distance but either a five-ten minute taxi or a stop on the BTS. There is a 7-eleven down the road and a small mini-mart on premises and of course, unbeleivably delicious room service from the two specialty resturants!!! Of course Sathorn does have bad traffic during rush hours, so this is a problem if going by taxi . Besides that, it is a very peaceful beautiufl and quiet place to stay. I love it, my home in BKK. Definately,mOSTLY residential!! I will have a hard time tearing myself away in a few days time to get back to my life in Delhi..take care..bonita.

Bonita
Sounds like you are heading back to India just before we have a BKK GTG on the 29th of January. That's too bad. Would love to have caught up with you. Sorry we didn't get to ask you to join Gloria and me at the Oriental the other day.
Carol

Hi Bonita--my multi-generation family spent the new year in Bangkok and we stayed at the Marriott Mayfair using 5 two-bedroom suites. We had a great experience, and found it quite upscale. There is a supermarket in the building beside it was great to be able to cook at home for the kids. It's supposed to be close to the skytrain but I never got to find out because we took taxis everywhere which the elderly folk preferred.

There were a few massage places in the same street, as well as a nice-looking Italian restaurant right infront of the property (which we were always planning to try but never got to!)

We are from Asia and this was our first experience in a serviced apartment in Bangkok and were happy. We are always in hotels. Do you know how this Ascot compares to the Marriott? I want to have a complete list of places to stay to recommend to my family for future trips. Thanks!

hi Carol! Sawadeeka and greetings to YOU! nICE to hear from you, and yes i see/hear you are too in Bangkok TOO! Oh,would have been lovely to join the meet-up IN bKK but Unfortunately, wll be leaving before on jan 27/28. YES, my India is calling again, have stayed out of Delhi long enough! I am going back to Delhi in a few days AND then i will be on the INDIA-road for about FIVE weeks straight managing two exciting trips thru North INDIA.. I am actually scheduled to be in NEPAL with my groups both mid Feb and again end Feb but that may change as the situation looks quite volatile/unstable at the moment! hOPEFULLY, things will get much better!Anyways, anyone planing or comming to India, or any-questions, feel free to drop me a line at [email protected] Once i get very busy on the road i tune out out, but always check in my mail, traveling with laptop. I will be in INDIA thru April/MAY although i AM SURE i may peep again into BKK in march/april for some r and r. TO vIVKY** Vivky, serviced apartments, I have not been to MAYFAIR, but i do know it AND it is very high end and in a great location near Chitlom!! Some of the -higher end serviced apartments are as follows, (althought this list is not exaustive they are what comes to mind!)The Emporium, The Ascott Sathron, Siri Sathorn, Centre Point Wireless(best of Centre POINT), mARRIOT and Natural ville(boutique). i HAVE not seen the rooms of the MARRIOT, but location is good, walking distcnce to Chitlom BTS AND the Great central Chitlom Dept store. Oh, there is one more high end property i know of, the MERITUS sUTIES, in the State Tower, down at the river-lower-end of Silom. There are so so many serviced apartments,many more than i list and the prices run the gamut!! I have stayed in about five different properties at this point, giving up on Hotels in BKK as i actually live in Hotels in India so happy to have all the amenities.. I AM quite fond of the apt-living, cooking, and feeling very locale!! i LOVE cooking with all the fresh produce, VISITING the locale food markets, fresh veggies, fish, spices, etc,. And best of all, i can make a mess and i love that someone cleans up my my dishes everday! I have decorated with candles, flowers, etc, so my home is very lovely. Will be here a few more days, then back to NEW dELHI. Take care..bonita.

You're so right Bonita--I can make a mess and the service included washing dishes!! I was very pleasantly surprised because we have stayed at the Oakwood in San Diego and the Service part of the Apartment only included occassional maid service and change of sheets. Not washing dishes. Or maybe we just automatically washed the dishes ourselves and never found out if it was included!!

I even bought dishwashing liquid and laundry detergent (for a 4-night stay!) at the store next door, and never got to use it. I carted it home and was amused using "imported" dish and laundry soap for a week after I got home.

HI VICKEY~! yES, i am having so much fun cooking and experimenting with various foods and ingredients, and even got into making exoitc cocktails. I use so many dishes and glasses a day, and defiantely feel a bit guilty but i am paying a nice sum to stay here so!!!!!I gave the maid a nice tip today as i am creating such chaos with all my new recipes! Tonight i even bought a fish to cook, however did not come out that great! Well, i simply made somehting else! By the way, where are you from in Asia? I am actually American from NYC, but live/work 7-8 months a year in India, and also spend alot alot of time in BKK, whenever i get a chance! It is not a bad commute and i just love this city, a welcome break from NEW DELHI.!

Bonita...I didn't say that the Ascott that you're staying in is connected to the Siri Sathorn. I know that the Siri Sathorn is over on Soi Saladang as it's on the same street of the new condo building that I went to check out in Aug 2005. I was actually at the building that you're staying in. I had an extensive walk-through of it last summer. As for the Ascott, I almost checked into one of the Singapore Ascotts last summer. And as for the Somerset...I was at the Somerset on Soi Tonson...also last summer...I'm familiar with the Somersets. I was only wondering about distance to the skytrain and supermarkets from the Ascott that you're staying in since when I was there I didn't notice any nearby supermarkets. Thanks for the information. Happy Travels!

hello guennmai! Goodday! So now you have the lowdown on the supermarket situation! OH, actually, by the wording of your last post i thought you did say that the Siri Sathorn was connected/by the same company as the Ascott Sathorn, so I was just clearing things up from my understanding. Sorry if i misunderstood you, but you did say something to that effect if you look over you last post. Anyways, take care all..happy travels..bonita.

Bonita,
Are you available for the GTG here in BKK on the 29th at the Intercontinental lobby bar? 5:00pm...

Carol (from "Hello from Bangkok" thread.. I'm here now too)

Bonita...I think it's the difference in our English that's causing the confusion. I wasn't speaking of physical connection,like connected by a bridge...or two buildings next to each other, but that both buildings are by the same company...Ascott, but in different locations. Happy Travels!

hi Carol, 'hello from Bangkok"!! Thanx for the invite but i am back to the backstreets of New Delhi either on Jan 27 or 28, depending on some Thai-details. Have a great time sipping expensive wine! Guenmai!! hello there again! ha ha . I understood that, the english is okay, although i have been learning Hindi and Nepali as of late! with a smattering of Thai too! I was simply saying that from my understanding the two propeties, Ascott Sathorn and Siri Sathorn are not owned by the same mgt company, although both based in Singpaore. Ascott International owns just the Somersets in Bkk, that is why i mentioned that before. u can look up their website the-ascott.com and see all there properties worldwide, can even become a member for better rates! Also, there are also good deals to be had from their website if u are a KRISFLYER member or even a citibank memeber too. Anyway, just trying to clear it up and give out info!!! **what else, all is well here in Bkk. Having a lovely last few days, today off to some shopping arond Central Chitlom, then i will cruise down Silom in the early evening to pick up groceries and then some music and DVD;s on street to take back TO iNDIA with me, and probably a early eve foot massage..take care..bonita.