Hi...I saw that some people swear by Sawatee.com, while other people book direct through the hotel. Which offers the best prices? And are the bookings reliable? (I'm seeing prices at Sawatee that are much cheaper than on the hotel web site, but want to make sure it's legit and there are no problems before we go that route!)

Zinders, I always check both - the hotel directly and the www.sawasdee.com website. Sawasdee is often the lowest (in my experience) for Thai hotels. You can inquire about rates they do not have yet without giving a credit card number. Once you make a reservation, they will charge your credit card for one night, then will charge you for the rest of your stay about two weeks before the stay. The one night deposit is not refundable, so don't make your reservation until you are sure. I have used them for many years, and have had uniformly good experiences with them. If you do a search here, you'll notice that sawasdee along with its clones (the hua hin and other related sites) are those most frequently recommended.

All I can go by is that I did our bookings through Sawatee for last Oct in Bangkok and absolutely no problems. I would use them again.
Happy safe travels.
J

It depends on the hotel. We got the best prices at the Penn and the IC for our February trip by booking directly but I had checked asiarooms and sawaDee as well. Make sure you are comparing apples to apples - are the dates the same? are breakfast, service and/or taxes included? Booking through a hotel site is generally reliable. Be sure of your dates though as it can be difficult to change them or to get a refund - read the terms and conditions...

Make sure you calculate the 17% additional cost when booking through a hotel into the computation. When you book through Sawadee.com, the price listed is gross. The Hotel price may have an additional 17% charge.

wong---why do you suggest a site that is not in english??

i found this year that asiarooms.com had some rates lower than sawadee which is unusual..

these companie are fantastic and totally reliable....i use them all the time...i rarely find the rate less directly with the hotel and with them you must add on the 17.7% which the discount sites usually include

I feel I should note that there have been some complaints about asiarooms.com They often have very low rates on their site, but often they cannot book rooms at that rate. So be aware. Also, if you have to cancel, refunds are quite difficult. With those caveats, asiarooms can be a good palce to book.

rhkkmk google says the wong site is trufflers!!!

Yes, it looks like both Wong and Pamela are touts for trufflers... The trufflers touts were hard to get rid of last time.

somewhat funny, this Thai translation. There is a sawatee.com but only for Thai people. Another one is sawatdee.com, but for food only. Regarding travel agencies there are 2 addresses sawadee.com and sawasdee.com. I dont know if this is the same company or not.
Anyway, sometimes sawasdee (or sawadee) is cheaper, sometimes asiarooms or directrooms. Its just up to the hotel you are looking for. Generally speaking, in most cases the big 5stars are not cheaper through an agency, the 1 to 4 stars are.

You should try r24 http://www.r24.org/restipset.nu/thailand/hotels just chose your dest and you get hotel in that are from very cheap to exlusive

who and what is trufflers?

i did google them so i see who they are

Bob, Trufflers had a whole spate of ads here some time ago. We kept chasing the people away and they would morph into a new name. It looks like it is happening again. What places like trufflers don't understand is that we are so adverse to advertising on this site that their advertising assures that regulars to this site will never use them.

Yea-
Piromya=Pamela and
donald woo lung= Wong