Hi guys,
I've gotta tell ya', I'm really lovin' the Holiday Inn next to Intercontinental in BKK... and right by all the shopping places. They did a wonderful job of refurbishing what was the President Tower to the "new" Bangkok Holiday Inn. I really like it a lot more than the Majestic Grande.

I'm glad I tried the MG as I had looked at it about a year ago and decided I might like to stay there sometime. This trip just happened to present an excellent opportunity to do so, but I could only get 3 nights at MG so that meant moving. The rest of my stay in BKK, the MG seemed to be fully booked except for the best suites in the house.

So... it was off to the Holiday Inn yesterday for my remaining 5 nights. The pluses include a much larger and more confortable room. I am overlooking the pool area, from the tower in the back, away from the street noise, 15th floor.

My bathroom has one of those terrific rain bath shower heads which I've fallen in love with. I get FOX NEWS (sorry Andy) on the TV! The breakfast buffet is a lot bigger than the one at MG, with a much nicer variety of offerings.

The bathroom has that window with the blinds kinda' thing going... but I'm traveling solo so I don't need to close the blind. I can actually see the TV from the shower if I wanted to. There is no tub (I had a nice soaking tub at MG) but the walk in shower is really large and has a nice seating area as well as a hand-held shower head.

I'm going to a new market today. A Thai friend is taking me there. I may (or may not) tell you all about it after I've seen it. Maybe it will remain my well-kept secret... lol It's suppose to be the place where Thais shop for their wares at all the other markets.

Soi 4 is the best place to do cheap internet. The MG wins out over the Hol Inn in that regard, because it was just a one minute walk from MG for 1 baht per minute usage. But... a nice morning walk down to soi 4 from Hol Inn is invigorating. It's fun watching this amazing city wake up.

More later...

Carol
Carol

Sounds like you had one of the smaller rooms at the MG. Had you stayed in the Grande Superior, you probably would have liked it a little better.

Glad to hear the Holiday Inn is really nice though.

how do they compare in cost??

when we looked at the HI, we thought immediately that it would be a great place for fodorites who did not want to pay a higher fee for other places and with the re-do it is very nice...plus the location is so wonderful...

we continue to prefer the river locations but understand that there are those who do not care about a river view...

i do see the HI pool as a problem however....i sort of reminds me of a sterile fish tank in a lobby....

"... sterile fish tank..." Bob you crack me up!

Pricewise, the MG was 3200 baht per night including breakfast. So that's under $100. The HI is $102 per night, not including the breakfast.

Did I say just how much I love the rainbath type shower head at the HI??? I want one at home now.

Traffic along Sukhumvit and rama roads is crazy, as always, but I think it has been easier getting around from HI to Bumrungrad for several appointments than from MG... even though MG is quite a bit closer to the hospital! I sat and sat for about 45 minutes the other day, and was about 1/2 hour late for a dentist appt. It turned out OK, but I hate sitting in traffic when I'm on a schedule.

Meeting kuranosuke this afternoon! If anyone else cares to come to Shooters around 5 or 6 until about 8, would love to meet up!

Carol

3200 Baht is for the small room. The bigger rooms have a separate shower/tub. Pool at the MG isn't that great either (very small).

You could walk to Bumrungrad in 10-15 minutes from the MG. Otherwise, if you want to take a cab, take the pedestrian bridge (via Ploenchit Plaza) to the north side of Sukhumvit and get a cab from there. Taking a cab from the MG to Bumrungrad makes no sense at all.

bis...taking the taxi makes sense if you mind the heat in bkk...

I don't mind the heat in BKK so 15 minute walk is a better option than a 45 minute cab ride.

Hi Carol, I just checked out of the MG on sunday! We had a bigger room with the shower and the tub on the 24th floor which we thought was ok. The location was ok too (close to the 1 baht internet, but I went online one day!)Haven't checked out the Holiday Inn so can't say how it compares.

The 3200 baht room was the only thing available during my stay (or else the best suite in the house...) and it was only available for my first three nights, thus the need to move to a new location. The Hol Inn turned out to be a wonderful choice for me, and I probably would have enjoyed staying at HI the entire time.

Re: Bumrungrad, yes it can take 45 minutes in a taxi from MG and only about 20 minutes from the HI. It all depends on BKK traffic, which we all know can be horrendous. There is a free shuttle to and from Bumrungrad from the bottom of the stairs at the Nana bts station. It goes every 20 minutes. It's the stairway on the same side of Sukhumvit as the soi to Bumrungrad, and it is the far stairway, not the one closest to Bum. I ended up using the shuttle to go from the hosp to the BTS station after my final appt there.

Carol