Is the Marriott Resort in BKK a good location???
 

Traveling to Thailand for the first time. Starting in Singapore for 3 days then BKK for 5 nights then to CM for 4 nights.

I have tons of Marriott points and want to know if the Marriott Resort and Spa is in a good location to get around or if we should opt for something closer in?

Also suggestions in CM would be great too!
Thanks.

Have you done a search here? There must be at least a thousand posts about the Marriott Resort and Spa. It is the favorite of several of the regulars here, notably Bob (rhkkmk). The hotels runs a boat twice an hour to the skytrain station.

In CM, the place I like is Yaang Come Village.

The Marriott Resort is the least convenient location of the riverside hotels. That being said, people who have stayed their seem to love it. They find the boat ride refreshing. Personally, I would not enjoy the wait or the long ride back and forth as it adds a lot of time to getting things done.

The Peninsula has the best and most frequent boat service for getting to the skytrain etc. We have never found its location on the "other" side of the river to be a problem.

If you plan to use taxis often, you might be happier on the city side of the river as going over the bridge to the Penn or the Marriott takes extra time. Of those on the "right" side of the river, the Shangri La has the best location - it is right next to the sky train.

Go ahead and use your Marriott points. While it is the least convenient of the riverside hotels, it is still beautiful and the difference is not that great. All the hotels have boats that will take you to Taksin Tha (pier) where the skytrain starts. The M is the farthest, but the length of the boat trip is probably only 10 minutes longer than all but the Shangri-la (no boat needed, it's right there) or the Oriental (just a hop up the river). Ten minutes will not be crucial, so I would ignore it as a consideration. Use the points, save the money.

Of course, if you have Starwood points, you can stay at the Royal Orchid Sheraton, which is very well located. Several good restaurants only a short walk away. Right next to River City Mall. On the river ferry. The Marriott is not on the river ferry, it does not go that far south. You have to go to Taksin to catch it.

Haley - As Kathie says this is a particular favourite of rhkkmk and we stayed there last year on the strength of his recommendation. We were not disappointed and the location is in fact very relaxing.

The journey time accross the river is no more than 15 mins and as the times are scheduled (2 per hour) there is no real hanging around.

On the return trip you are provided with a cold refreshing face cloth - nice touch.

At the dock (city side) you can also use the river taxi service and this adds another perspective to BKK which we (like many others) think is a fab city.

On Chiang Mai I can't actually remember the place where we stayed but my one recommendation is to hire a car and drive north out of CM if you can. The drive is really easy to do (roads are good) and you get to see a much more sedate Thailand. I could recommend a good map to use - let me know and I will dig it out.

Whatever you choose, your experience will no doubt be a great one and may likely have you going back to Thailand for years to come!

We also liked the Marriott - as you have lots of points to use up, I'd go for it. We didn't have a problem with the boat - don't really remember having to wait that long for it.

The hotel is a U shape - with the two ends of the 'u' at the river front. Our room was on one of these ends, with a balcony and overlooking the area where the thai dancing was - great location. I think it was a deluxe riverview.

Haley, if this is your first trip to BKK and you want to cram as much as you can into your days,then stay elsewhere. That extra 10-15 mins on the water as well as the extra 10 mins of waiting time each way can get tiresome if you need to do it a few times a day. There are very few areas of interest and only a small handful of reasonable local restaraunts within walking distance of the Marriott, so most of your outings will incur a boat ride. I like to pop in and out of the hotel between shopping/sightseeing and eating and generally choose to use local restaraunts rather than hotel restaraunts, so on the trip that we stayed at the Marriott the extra travel and waiting consumed well over an hour a day in comparison to our last stay at Centrepoint Silom.

If you are more likely to eat at the hotel,spend alot of time around the pool and only venture out once a day then the Marriott would be a good option, otherwise save the points for elsewhere and stay at a more convienient location.

Haley
I think, depending on what you will be doing in Bangkok, the Marriott may or may not be in a good location.

Are you going to visit the big tourist attractions? If so, many of them are along the river, as is the Marriott Resort. You can do your sight-seeing by river boats and river taxis. Since you are a first timer to Bangkok, it would be nice to stay on the river.

But, there are many other options. There is a J. W. Marriott closer in to shopping.

Carol

It was recommended to me by a regular poster here (rhkkmk) on my first trip to Bangkok. When I saw the location, I was glad I didn't choose it. For a first-time visit, I felt it was too far out of the way (sorry Bob).

I don't think there's a Marriott in Chiang Mai (yet). I recently stayed at the new Le Meridien there, which was excellent. I've seen Yaang Come VIllage and it looks really nice.

john--your loss...where did you stay??

we love that marriott for a number of reasons...bkk is a city of chaos...this hotel is an oasis...the boat runs every 15 minutes and the ride is 12 minutes...it is about 5 minutes longer than going to the sheraton, which is a far lesser hotel, imo...

the hotel has a thai theme...low rise--5 stories...there is an attached mini mall with tons of restaurants and services...

we often take taxis there and away...especially for restaurnats on the other side of the city...

we love the boat ride however!!

the hotel has the best pool in bkk hands down and the garden is lush..

the restaurants are fine but a tad expensive....the ones in the mall are less...

there is also a jw marriott in the middle of the city...its very nice too...typical city center lux hi-rise....

there is a new marriott courtyard in a good central city position in back of the four seasons hotel....

also there is a mayfair marriott serviced apartment building...centrally located and huge suites for rooms...

the best starwood property imo is the plaza anthanee hotel...

other marriotts or cousins are on samui, phuket, pattaya, hua hin

I have to echo rhkkmk remarks, I've stayed at other hotels in Bangkok and I did not find it an inconvenience to use the ferry.

It was a couple of years ago, but I got a rate of about 100 euro or dollars a night for junior suite including breakfast and a night cruise on the river.

In addition, I'm not usually a buffet person but I thought the dinner buffet there was very good and they include a show with Thai boxing etc which was pretty full on

Geordie

I've stayed at the Marriott Resort & Spa 6 or 7 times...twice within the last two months. Just checked out today. The two shuttle boats are supposed to depart every 15 minutes. They do, however, now linger around the dock for a few minutes before departing. Once the boat departs, the transit time is 14 minutes, barring any unforeseen traffic at the pier. Last boat leaves the pier at precisely midnight...I was the only one on it last night.

If you have tons of Marriott points, it is likely that you are a gold or platinum elite member. If so, you will have access to the Club Lounge where they serve free cocktails & foods each night from 4:30 - 7:30 PM. As a platinum, I've been upgraded to a Junior Suite with river view each of my last two stays.

I have noticed that the Resort & Spa has a lot of "pointsaver" awards available, while the JW & Courtyard are "standard" awards.

Also, the JW has temporarily moved/closed it's Executive Lounge and opened up something less desirable in the lobby.

we stayed at the yaang come village a few weeks ago and it was a delight

we also stayed at the marriott resort and spa, and thought the location was fine. it was a lovely boat ride, and it was nice to avoid the traffic. the gardens are lovely.

dep... did you try the new italian restaurant which they built into where the rice mill used to be?? expensive i suppose, but seems like a great addition to me...