Just came back from my annual trip to the Stratford Festival in Canada. I always stay in a great B & B and this time I met a couple who had just come back from one of those month long around the world trips via private jet. Anyway they had spent 4 or 5 days in Bangkok which they loved. They stayed at the Royal Orchid (Tower wing) and loved everything about the hotel. Said the service and room could not have been better. So someone else who agrees with Kathy.

Is anyone else delighting in the image of Bob squirming and yelling when reading this post?

hey---i thought i turned the video cam off!!! to each his own...not sure if private jet and ROS equate however...

now oriental and private jet those equate...

I'm a Marriott & Starwood Gold member and stayed in both the ROS & Marriott Resort & Spa during the same visit last year. In general, I'm partial to Starwood proporties, but my experience was MUCH better at the Bangkok Marriott than at the Sheraton. The Marriott feels much more Thai than the Sheraton. The only bit I enjoyed at this particular Sheraton was the view of the evening thunderstorms from my room way up on one of the top floors.

I paid for my Sheratron stay with my Starwood points. I went down to the desk the morning of my departure to make sure I didn't owe anything for incedentals and found that I didn't. A short while later the wife and I went down, got in a taxi and attempted to leave. We were chased out by two staff that stopped my taxi, opened the door, and asked what room number I was in. They thought I was trying to leave without paying!

I very much enjoy the leisurly boat ride back to the Marriott with free water & cold lemon scented towel.

dep---i have not seen it written better than this review....we also love the boat ride and do not understand why so many people who have not done it find it inconvenient...

glorialf, so funny you would write this. I too just got back from an annual trip to Stratford Festival this past weekend. And I am staying at Royal Orchid later this month. Us Fodorites have a lot in common.

I stayed at the Sharaton Royal Orchid 2 years ago in November. I paid just over $125 per night. A great Hotel-demand a river view. Great food, location, two incredible pools. You will not be disapointed.

MHS

Laurie-Ann--
So where did you stay at Stratford and what did you see and like?

And what will Stratford be like without William Hutt?

What's the theme here? Those who stay in the Towers love it, those who don't find it a more "common" hotel experience but generally appreciate the great location.

I go with a group of girlfriends, one who has been going for over 20 years. We have stayed the past few at the "annex" of Night on Brunswick, just a few blocks East of the Avon, with 8 women we have it all to ourselves. This year's tickets were Orpheus Descending (loved), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (loved), Donnelly Brothers (unique and amazing and loved), Brothers Karamazov (didn't get it and had to leave at intermission) and Into the Woods (also loved). Missed Tempest, but my friend who is the real critic loved it. O.K. Fodorites we will take this to the Canada board.

As far as the RO Sheraton goes...well... you already know my thoughts on this one.I'm not one who wanted to dish out a lot of extra money to get a decent room...I assumed they would all be decent... (I had a standard room at the RO) when I could have the same standard room at the FS for about $10.00 more a night over what I paid for my not nice room at the RO.(Aug 2004). As far as my room experience went,comparing my standard room at the RO to the one at the FS was like comparing apples and oranges. But, as I've said before...to each his own.For those of you who have had a pleasant experience at the RO...more power to you! Happy Travels!

guen---only a $10 difference between ros and 4 seasons...this seems very little unless your ros room was expensive....

Bob...in the past I've always gotten the FS for $138.00(buffet breakfast incl)for a Fri/Sat/Sun rate or $158.00(buffet breakfast incl) for a Mon-Thurs rate. I usually plan a stay around Fri/Sat/Sun plus with one or two week days thrown in since I like to stay at the FS at least 4 days.I use the other days in BK to try out new hotels.I've never had to upgrade a room at the FS in order to get an excellent room or service. I don't even know what the more expensive rooms look like.I've been totally content with a standard room. Maybe in a few weeks when I get there...out of curiosity... I'll check the other rooms out. Happy Travels!

Guen--i'm surprised it is that reasonable...whenever i have looked i believe the rates were more in the $175 category...
you may not remember but we checked out the pool area last year (as you know this is very impt. to us) and found it to be lacking, so bottom line is that we probably won't be staying there, although i love every thing else about the hotel...it also might be just a little too business man oriented for us...TOO MANY CELL PHONES...

Bob- I've never noticed a ringing cell phone or experienced a cell phone problem at the FS and as for pools, I could care less about pools. I know for you that's important so the Marriot suits you very well. But, for me, if I want to swim, I can do it at home. There are pools everywhere where I live. So, I choose a hotel for the feel of the place and the FS definitely doesn't have a feel of a business hotel to me or else I wouldn't be staying there. A business feel of a hotel to me was the Makmoud Plaza Hotel(sp?) in Sao Paulo, Brazil. It was a five star, but I didn't enjoy it at all. As far as the FS price, I've always gone through AmExp Platinum travel and have them book the room and hold it with a credit card. I very seldom prepay anything. This year the room rate is higher than I had planned though. So, I'll keep calling back, up until the night before I leave and see if it comes down. Last year it did...the advantage of not prepaying...AmExp just cancels out one reservation and puts in another at a lower rate. HAppy Travels!

here is my 2 cents worth:

The Sheratons are not in the same class as the Penn/Four Seasons/Oriental. Comparisons can be made between the Sheraton and the Marriott

I agree. Happy Travels!

guen---i'm guessing that looking around while at the 4 seasons and i see at least 50% of the guests appear to be business related...stand waiting for a taxi and observe who is arriving....almost all business people....nothing wrong with that but they treat a hotel differently and behave differently from visiting heads of state like you and me....haha

Bob...what a crack up you are! Happy Travels!