I am traveling to Vietnam in Jan. & will stop for 3 days in Bangkok. Have been here before but this time would like to stay near the river. Can anyone recommend a hotel that is not as expensive as the Marriott or the Peninsula but would allow the same views of the river activity?

The two less expenive but still very nice hotels are the Sheraton Royal Orchid and the Marriott Resort and Spa. All of the rooms at the Royal Orchid have full river views, not all of the rooms at the Marriott do.

I stayed at The Menam Riverside which I enjoyed. It's about $75 a night.

The Menam and the Royal River are lower cost options that get very mixed reviews. Still, if it's what you can afford, you might try one of them. Another option by the river is the serviced apartment, Centrepointe Silom. Again, that's a building where not all of the rooms have river views, but it gets much better reviews than the Menam and the Royal River.

Many thanks for advice-have not been on this site before and this information is helpful

i'm thinking of staying at the Shangrila next february. any feedback on how that compares withthe Royal Sheraton and Marriott?

laurie, please do a search on this site. The merits and de-merits of the various river hotels has been discussed ad nauseum.

The Shangri-La is usually more expensive then either the Marriott or the Royal Orchid and less expensive than either the Peninsula or the Oriental. It has the advantage of being right next to the Skytrain, so no shuttle boat is necessary.

Again, thankful for helpful advice given....just wondering if I am fixating unnecessarily on staying on the river. I have stayed in the Silom district previously and it was convenient...is there a favorite area that most of you prefer?

Many of us prefer the 4 and 5 star hotels on the river. There is a substantial minority that like staying in the Siam Square area. It really depends on what you like to do.

I'm a river person, wouldn't stay anywhere else. But those who come for shopping prefer somewhere over on Sukhumvit.

centre point silom in a river view room....less than $100

hilton but not sure of price

forget the royal river!!

duxjud those who have answered your query are amongst the resident experts on Bangkok on this site , always generous in sharing their knowledge and therefore their recommendations will be spot on .

rhkkmk was the only one who mentioned the Hilton Millennium. Its about the same price range as Marriott Resort (around 150 USD) and also not a bad choice.

Since you will be traveling in high season both the Royal Orchid Sheraton and the  Marriott Resort will be around $200 net. The rate for the Hilton is not available yet but should be about the same. Centre Point Silom is excellent and a 1 bedroom riverview (hard to get sometimes) will be around $150. I am guessing as new rates not available yet.

For less expensive the Menam Riverside is a good choice although not as convenient as the others. During the day you can use the river ferry (pier close by) and they have there own boat to the skytrain ferry stop. It was renovated in 2005/6. Like the Royal River if you do not care about nightlife in the city. Excellent restaurant just opposite across the river. Also check the Riverside Residence (apartment type) and the Riverside.