ksose

All,
The wife and I are looking to blow our two years of hard earned Starwood points on our upcoming (Nov.) Thailand trip. From my somwhat minimal travel experience, I have come to the conclusion that the location of the hotel can be a huge influence on the trip. The hotels we are looking at are:
Bangkok: Royal Orchid Sheraton
Phuket: Le Meridian Phuket Beach
Krabi: Sheraton Krabi Beach
What do you all think of these hotels, and their location in particular? Thanks so much!

Kathie

I find the Royal Orchid Sheraton ideally located in Bangkok. You're on the river, and River City (an Arts and Antiques shopping center) is right next door. You can catch the water taxi to the Grand Palace etc, or catch it the other direction to the SkyTrain. If you can, upgrade to the Towers, which gets you breakfast, cocktails and canapes each evening, and free laundry (something you'll really appreciate in the heat of Bangkok!).

maisymoo

Hi have stayed at the Le Meridien twice now and love it. It is however a large resort with little thai influence. In my opinion what makes it a great place to stay is its own private beach white sand swimming beach and huge huge pools. The rooms are of average size with small balconys. Try and get a junior suite and if this is too expensive go for ocean view. Happy to answer any questions you have in regards to this resort. Can I suggest a different Krabi resort that has just opened up and is getting good reviews Central Krabi resort. We looked at it last year when it was being built. Great location and a bit closer to restaurants etc than the Sheraton. Hope this helps

ksose

wow, thanks for the couple of very quick responses. looks like we are good to go on the royal sheraton (i will definitely look into the upgrade) and probably the le medirien in phuket as well. i will look into the central krabi resort.

maisymoo,
i will probably take you up on your offer for questions once we have some more details laid out. thanks.

Gpanda

We use Starwood points every year in Thailand. The Royal Orchid Sheraton is in a great location. You can get a Towers room for an additional 1500 points per night. When you do this, you get a room on the high floors, but not different from a normal deluxe. You do get access to the towers lounge, for breakfast and happy hour as well as internet access. You'll have to decide whether it's worth the extra points. The deluxe rooms are 3-4,000 points and a great deal without the Towers.

The Sheraton Krabi Resort was great. 7,000 points per night. Private beach, good food, nice rooms. Nothing super lux, but certainly pleasant. We liked Krabi better than Phuket. I would go to only one or the other. Spend some time up north. If you go to Krabi, the resort has a baby elephant that visits at 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.. Maqke sure you go and buy a bunch of bananas before she shows up. You'll quickly become her favorite tourist.

Craig

Just wanted to point out that the Plaza Athenee Bangkok has just become a Starwood property. It may be better situated for shopping than the ROS location by the river. That being said, the river is the place to stay if it is your first time in Bangkok.

hawaiiantraveler

ksose:
In Bangkok stay at the Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit. It is a five star property right in the middle of all the action and on a skytrain stop to boot. Excellent restaurants in the hotel and big beautiful rooms at reasonable prices. Check out the website for pics on this one. Just back from there and would go back in a heartbeat.
Aloha!

JaneB

I vote for the river area--and the Royal Orchid was perfect for us!

rhkkmk

ok, everyone knows that i hate the royal orchid sheraton....

two of our most frequent, and trusted--well one (kathie) is trusted, fodorites have commented on this hotel for you....notice that they both said the hotel is well located, but neither said anything about the hotel itself....it is well located, and many of us prefer a river location...it is not a bad hotel, its just that you can do better, much better, but maybe not for the low amount of points that they require...there is a reason that the points are less for that hotel....its old in comparison to other starwoods venues in bangkok...and imo very generic....

the sheraton grande is a fabulous hotel and in a decent area....the plaza anth. is also a fabulous hotel and even better located....the westin grande is directly across the street from the sheraton grande and they share a skytrain stop in between the two locations, which is a major plus, imo.....

the plaza ant. in not far from the skytrain either....the ROS is quite far (5-6 min plus boat waiting time) but there is boat transportation to it for a small fee...

the other two hotels have fantastic reputations down south.....

there is a brand new sheraton opening in hua hin area shortly should you be interested in it...

there is also a fabulous sheraton in pattaya that opened last year...i will be there in mid-november after my return from india...

there may be a mini GTG in bangkok in november if you want to keep tuned here for more info....there may be one about nov 6 and another later in the month...

ksose

hmm, lots of info to consider and thanks for all the details.

i know this may be off topic, but gpanda mentioned going to either phuket or krabi. from the looks of it, i would prefer krabi. my question is, how much time can you spend there? what kind of activities do you recommend?