Penninsula v. Oriental (Bangkok)
 

My fiance and I are planning our honeymoon to Thailand in mid-Septemeber. Does anyone have any preferences between these two hotels? I realize the Penninsula is on the other side of the river. Is this a big deal? Hassle? Also - will the weather be ok? I know its the rainy season but we will only be in Bangkok for a few days on each end of the trip. Thanks!

it is not a big deal in any way to be on "the other side of the river"...it just involves a 2 minute complimentary boat ride from the pen dock, almost next door to the oriental...

i prefer the penn...you know in advance what you are getting...a relatively NEW hotel with state of the art ameneties slightly away from all the curious eyes that hover constantly at the oriental...you do not get history however, just pure lux service with a slightly laid back approach...you also are guaranteed a room with a river view as all rooms face the river...not so at the oriental...there is only one wing at the penn and it is all the same age, whereas the oriental has 2 wings, one old and one newer...not that "new" is the end all.....

i think you will find the cost to be a little less at the penn as well....it also has been voted #1 several recent years...

you would enjoy both, but my money is on the penn....

maek sure you eat in jesters in the penn and lord jim in the oriental (buffet lunch)...

i have never stayed at the oriental, nor will i probably ever stay there...so i am a bit jaundiced....i have stayed at the penn several times and will be there again in june...

I have stayed at the Penn twice and the Oriental once. I strongly prefer the Penn. I did a + and - chart on both of them, as we had stayed at both places during one vacation so they were both fresh in my mind. As far as services and such, they are quite equal. It's the "little touches" that make me prefer the Penn. We paid the extra money to take their Rolls from the airport. Airport pick up was sooooo "slick" it is hard to describe. There was NO waiting for the car to pull around! When we walked out the door at BKK, the Rolls pulled up! Voila!

And then, there are the padded seats and nicer chairs on the Penn river boats. The Oriental has hard wooden benches.

And, then there was the "check-in" at the Penn... which was done IN THE ROOM rather than at the counter in the lobby. Penn is just better, IMO.

Carol

Here's another vote for the Penisula.

And if you check some of the hotel sites, you'll likely find that the Pen is still offering great prices.

IMO the Pen. The only place that competes IMO is the Sukhothai and that is not on the river. U could think of Pen one 1 side of trip and Sukhothai at other. Sukhothai prob better located w.r.to center of city, shopping, etc. Pen is great VFM too.

Sandi
What sites are the best to book via for the Pen?

Lyndie -
We booked thru our tour operator, but you can go straight to the Peninsula Hotels sight and select the BKK hotel to see what the rates are.

Then try (I think) "asiahotels" or "allasiahotels", try Orbitz, or just do a search on Peninsula Hotel, Bangkok and compare prices.

Sorry I can't be of better help, as I didn't need to myself. Maybe another poster might have site info for you.

I use asia-hotels.com

Kathie -
Knew you would come thru - but I was close on the

www.asia-hotels.com

Thanks.

take a look at www.huahin.20m.com

i think they have about the best rates and it includes tax/service and breakfast for most hotels....
you have to scroll down to find bkk hotels as it concentrates on hua hin...

jamesA has often suggested them on this forum

I love it that everyone seems too be tripping over themselves too go these hotels. yet President BUSH, durring the APEK meeting stayed at the Grand Hyatt Erawan,

he is a republican and wears a cloth coat

One of the reasons that Bush stayed at the Hyatt was that US government employees when traveling overseas must, if possible, stay at a hotel owned or operated by a US company (i.e., Hyatt). I believe security issues also played a role in the choice of the Hyatt over other US-owned or operated hotels in Bangkok (Sheraton, Marriott). It has nothing to do with the quality of facilities or services at the Penn or the Oriental (both of which are owned by Asian-based companies).