Bangkok Hotels which is better?

[johnandrachel]

Already booked a trip to go on 15-19 Oct. confirm baiyoke suite for our accomadation using internet booking. But havi ng second thoughts due to our last trip to KL recently. Wat u see and read from the hotel webpage is not what you get. Pls advice esp for those who has been to baiyoke Suite to stay.
Million thanks

 

[pebsb]

Ive stayed in Baiyoke Sky 2 (the newer one - tallest hotel in Bangkok). Its ok, and buffet is not bad (breakfast every morning).
And what's better is right at the bottom is the wholesale market - can shop till drop! tip: buy in quantity & get better price. Bargain bargain bargain. Cross the road to Baiyoke Hotel 1, and more wholesale market. Most shops close on Sun. And in between the 2 hotels - street shopping! U dont even need to venture out to MBK or Siam. In fact, U can find things from MBK at Baiyoke & much cheaper!

 

[aloha68]

hi,

I had stayed in Baiyoke Suite last year July. Its big(one living and one bedroom)but rather old. It is a three star hotel. Doesnt really give me a good feeling either. At night, the noise of the water pipe is rather scary initially, will get used to it. And i dun have very good impression abt the crowd there either. Maybe becos it is near the pratuman area, a lot of locals + it is my first trip there and without fh, so feel rather insecure. The bf spread is not very nice and can get very bored after eating for like three days. I went back BKK this year, stayed at Twin Towers, i give them a thumbs up. They are good and i find the environment more comfy to my liking. Maybe company also play a part. But i wont denied Baiyoke hotel area is good for shopping esp for those buying wholesale goods (at least six pieces and above) But frankly, Asia hotel is not much better i feel (was at outside the building during my last trip)except for the location. i will invest a little more for a free and easy trip as i feel that hotels are important cos you will be all alone esp if it is your first trip to BKK. Pardon my frankness, just wana express my view.

 

[butterkiss]

Hello John

I stayed at Baiyoke Suite when I went to Bangkok with my friends 2 years back. I personally feel that the hotel is quite okie... but to them, they felt that it's rather spooky and they said they will never stay in that hotel ever again... haha....
Try Amari Watergate... Nice nice...
Grand Hyatt Erawan is highly recommended!!! Provided that you have the extra cash to spare... I was so lucky to have the chance to stay there coz my friend is a staff of Grand Hyatt Singapore... the service is very good... Well, after all, it's a 5 star hotel...

 

[ckluv2travel]

Hi,

I'm tinking of going to BKK in Sept for weekends. Not sure where to stay yet. Thinking of DMA, Asia, Novotel or Baiyoke. Just wondering what do they sell at the wholesale market at Baiyoke? I'm shopping mainly for my house stuff.

 

[mtdt]

john,

so u booked your tickets and hotel separately over the net huh? air asia?

I am also planning for 15 - 19 OCT! hee hee...
am thinking if it is cheaper to book F&E package from agency? but now the packages all valid until end of sept...

I am looking at Twin Towers too...
or ard asia hotel...

btw, do u have any good online BKK map?

 

[aloha68]

hi butter, do you feel that if a big group like maybe three person or four person share the room will be better (at Baiyoke Suite). i personally find it rather spooky also and i did not really sleep very well. Its not comfortable, even the aircon is lousy + i got a lousy travel companion who is sooo lazy. Sorry for my complaint.

John, back to your topic. I would suggest Novetel,Pathwan Princess(link to MBK), Amari Watergate (opposite Baiyoke Suite)Grand Hyatt Erawan, Grand Diamond, D'ma or twin towers.(location also rather out of the way, but hailing a cab is easy and cheap)

 

[andreal]

hi ppl,
i've stayed at Twin Tower 2yrs bk! thumb up for it too

Room very spacious, clean, staffs svc v.v professional!!bkfast so-so but food fr room svc not bad.Its lobby is much bigger and more grand compared to other budget hotels..mayb bcos its a new hotel. Just take note its further away fr shopping area except Siam Sq/MBK..

Hehe abt Baiyoke Suite hor...hmm act last yr we tot of staying there lar, but my fren told mi dun get a hotel room with separate bedrm and living cos at nite very eerie one..which i agreed lor so end up staying D'MA.

D'MA location wise still okie cos near pratunam, many shophouses ard it. bkfast nt bad BUT HOR staffs nt friendly and slow..compared to Eastin (Eastin,D'MA&Bangkok Palace nxt to each other), Eastin hotel newer and staffs more friendly.

Hey Pebs,
yeah the things at Pratunam act cheaper than MBK cos wholesalers @Pratunam.
heheh i oso heard bkfast @Baiyoke Sky which u stayed is good ley. Can i check with u hws the room and svc?

ckluv2travel.
Novotel definitely gd(one of tos ideal hotel) cos its a 5star hotel, location wise quite central.My sis had stayed there b4. As for D'MA & Baiyoke (Baiyoke Suite & Baiyoke Sky) u can see the comments fr above posts For Asia hotel, only gd thing is its near bts..fr wat i heard, seem like not clean got tos 'dirty thing'

There's alot of ready wears at pratunam, jerseys/children wears/accessories like hello kitty,walt disney blah blah. For hse stuffs,go Chatuchak or else try Suam Lum, Chatuchak more varieties.

hi MTDT,
just to share w/ u..i got one BKK map, u can click on the link below to view it *smile*

http://sg.briefcase.yahoo.com/tropicalspas

 

[pebsb]

Andreal

That time I went (May 04), it was very packed, so they upgraded me to an executive room. Quite a high floor (60+). Room is spacious, toilet even bigger! View from windows - nothing to see lar, dirty buildings. Got 7-11 downstairs, and massage parlours. If want, can walk to WTC - abt 15 mins? Not near any train station though. But taxi is cheap there.

 

[johnandrachel]

mtdt,

yap, i book my air tics through air asia. been on the net days after days. theirs is the cheapest i can find. (unless i din catch other lobangs) the price i'm having now is 1,299 baht for one way so total o2 person going for two return trips is 6,510 baht (S$270.28) it includes thai incoming (not return) airport tax, insurance and admin fees. Sg not included.

I feel its very cheap already. But initially before i book and confirm, the price was down at 900 baht,so b'cos of my 'clever' girl (haha) wan me to search for more alternative, i miss the great offer. (for the same dates)

I suggest u book soon as the rest of the days are price mostly 1,799 baht.

Hotels i book at directrooms.com (most prices are cheaper than the other service providers) you can check it out.

Package from agencies are very expensive unless you can follow their daily promo. then you may be able to grab a nice deal. I ask before the price around 430 (cheapest i can find last month) PER PERSON. x 2 = 860 (don tink so rite)

about the maps, sorry i don have any, its my first time goin free and easy there.

Anyway enjoy your trip.

 

[johnandrachel]

Hi guys

thanks for all your feedback.

Am thinking of Bangkok palace now. The food there good rite?I prefer staying at pratunum as from wat i know there got many many things to go for. Is this a wise idea? or staying at other hotel can be convenient too?

its seems that twin tower is new to the internet, i can't seem to locate its website. anyone can provide the info?

million thanks

 

[mtdt]

ya loh.. now the air tickets are in the range of 1700baht liao.. thus dun noe if it is still the best bargain...

thus dun noe to wait for those last min promo or to book fast...

 

[mtdt]

andreal,

thanks for your info.. u r the BKK queen huh!!

I cannot find Twin Tower on your map leh...is it the same as Sol Twin? looks so faraway!!
but highly recommended by my fren. she says that since taxi and tutu is so cheap, everywhere go via taxi...

 

[aloha68]

MTDT,

Twin towers is previously known as Sol Twin. You better to get a namecard from the hotel (those with Thai Wordings) so that in case you got lost, can show the taxi driver. The site is http://www.thetwintowershotel.com/main.html

 

[johnandrachel]

mtdt,

the airasia tics are still going for 1,299 baht/trip on 151004 noon flight and 191004 evening flight.

don miss out on the great deal then.

 

[melodie]

Hi John,

Then have to go Senai to catch the flight is it? Is this the DBS promo price or?

 

[johnandrachel]

melodie,

the flight is from singapore changi airport.
Also the prices vary from day to day. earlier it was 900 baht per trip. but i hesitated. so got to stick to this one now 1,299 (which seems much cheaper too than other airline.)

our valuair doesn't seem to be low cost either.

its not the dbs promo price. however i seem to come across that subscribing to thier dbs visa card will entitle u to get real cheap deals.

maybe u wan to visit their website http//airasia.com/

 

[melodie]

Hi John

really ah? fr s'pore? tat's gd. The dbs promo is $100 for 2 person-return. But when i try booking for oct, the system keeps showing no seats available leh...

 

[johnandrachel]

think tats a false gimmick to attract people to subscribe to thier dbs visa card. maybe you call them will be better.

you know lah advertisement.....you may not get what you see all the time. esp when they make small inprints at the bottom saying subject to seats availability.

 

[tomatoes]

Hi All
I have gotten a 4Days3Nites package to Bangkok at $378 travelling mid-Sep. The details are as such:

- TG return flights (no restriction)
- Return Airport transfers
- 3 nites stay at Amari Watergate
- Daily Breakfast

What do you all think? It is a good deal?

 

[lady_is]

i think this is a good deal.
amari watergate is opposite the world trade centre where the istean and zen is located.
also not too far from siam centre.

 

[mint]

Hi John,
suggest you dun stay baiyoke suite. twin towers quite far off from town also. what's your budget like?

 

[tomatoes]

Hi gals,
My travel agency just told me Amari Watergate & Novotel Siam Sq fully-booked liao. They then recommended Grand Diamond to me at $328 per pax. Has anyone of you tried Grand Diamond b4?

 

[johnandrachel]

mint,

my budget around up to 100. heard about alot of other feedbacks so i guess got to pay more for better hotel. my priorty is security and accessibility. wat do you suggest? Novotel?

 

[mint]

Hi tomatoes,
I received an email from a SG bride and she told me not to take Grand Diamond. She said it was spooky and not as nice as the pics on internet. Suggest you go for arnoma.

John,
Novotel may be slightly above your budget of 100 but location is excellent. Another place within your budget is Arnoma. It's very centralised and looks pretty nice. It's newly refurbished also although the exterior of the building looks run down.

 

[tomatoes]

Thanks Mint
I told my travel agency that I want Arnoma and to put me on waiting list for Amari watergate...

 

[mrsleong]

tomatoes: Grand Diamond is like a service apartment with a small kitchen. i like it there too.. another plc u can try is Baiyoke Sky. If the period is ok a certain off peak.. they might give u a free upgrade to a suite...

 

[mrsleong]

john: if u thinking of Baiyoke suite, i would suggest baiyoke sky instead. Bankok Palace is abt 15 mins walk away from Baiyoke sky. u will sure feel the diff if u gng to stay at BSky.

 

[tomatoes]

Hi May Ling

Is the room clean and classy enuff? I heard that the environment & room is not as nice as what is in the internet pictures.

 

[mrsleong]

tomatoes: rest assured.. as GD is a Service Apartment... so the standard of the room is there. I was at GD before, they have a separate living n bedroom. never look at the pics provided. cos seldom hotels are as nice as the pics shown. if u are worried.. then Baiyoke sky a better choice.

i always travel to bkk once a yr, so some of the hotels i stayed will be of an average price with better security n clean environment as i travel alone most of the time.

 

[butterkiss]

hello aloha

sorry for the late reply.
When I was staying at Baiyoke Suite then, I actually shared the room with 2 other girls. Another group of my girl friends (around 6 of them) were staying at Amari Watergate. So, almost everyday, the group of girls would turned up at our door step... maybe that was why I never feel anything... coz we were quite noisy... hee hee...

Shopping at Baiyoke Suite area is better than Amari Watergate area... I personally feel that there's nothing much to buy at the World Trade Centre or the Isetan.... But of course, it's nearer to go to Siam Centre and MBK from Amari Watergate...

Feel like flying to Bangkok to shop now...

 

[andreal]

hi,
Twin Towers used to call Sol Twin Towers like wat aloha explained *Smile* the namecard will be helpful when taking cabs. Its consider far fr shopping area if u lok in the map, lucky taking cabs is still convenient when travelling. If tos interested to book this hotel, its beta to move out earlier to the place u want incase kena the traffic jam keke. No makan or shop ard it, so buy some snacks,tibits or drinks to store k. Oso 'if can' hor, try to get a flight depart early in the morn like 7-8am+ cos by the time u reach ur hotel at BKK aldy 12pm+ liao. (this one i learnt fr my previous trip) heheh.

hi Pebs!
so dats hw u got that upgrade lar dat time b4 i went mine in june, heard alot of ppl went in may..perhaps some ppl knew that rainy season start fr june. keke

hahah MTDT,
yeah i BKK siao, luv the place and culture alot, only thing i yet to take the language course..ops!
Yup ur fren is rite, in term of svc and room amenities etc really taken u aback despite a budget hotel.

Hey John,
loks like u did alot of read up for the BKK trip

Hv u decided which hotel? btw i personally will not choose Bangkok Palace, 1st is bcos dat hotel look v. quite?(among 3 hotels in a row, BP's side is the most deserted one)i seldom see tourist walking in/out of it...2nd is heard someone in another thread mentioned a tour agent told her the bkfast over there nt gd which is partly why some tourists nvr go bk there again. If u are not that tight on budget, can consider Baiyoke Sky..above that are Pathumwan Princess/Arnoma/Novotel.

hi tomatoes,
if dat is the package @Amari Watergate by TG..hmmm..den is really a gd deal *winkz* So yrs on waiting list huh? hope u got it!

hi mint!
its nice of ya to tell us abt GD. After reading some feedbks fr tos who came bk etc..realised that not only the location/amenities/svc is impt, the rooms hopefully are 'clean', beta dun hear got tos 'dirty thing'.

 

[mint]

Hi all,
Just to share the email that I got:

Hi Mint,
Saw you thread on Singapore Bride, enquiring about Grand Diamond.
I would suggest you skip this option. The pics on the site really look great but that place is rather old, it’s converted from a residential building to hotel.
My bf and I went there last year but din really like that place, abit eerie. The location is not the best too.
Hope this helps in your decision making.

andreal,
ya, if I hear about those "dirty things", I won't feel comfortable being in the hotel even if I dun spend a lot of time in the hotel room. Won't be able to sleep in peace at night.

 

[serrich]

Hi,

I have stayed in Baiyoke Sky when I went to BKK last Nov. The service is very good and I got a scenic view from my room.. The expressway at nite is so beautiful! The buffet breakfast is good and its located on very high floor so u can enjoy a good view there...

This time round, I am on budget trip so will be staying at Eastin. Anyone have anything to share abt this hotel??

Have initially booked Asia Hotel but me & my frens are terrified by the spooky and eriee stories so we have decided to settle on Eastin.

 

[aloha68]

Hi just curious to know, does anyone know of any sites/forum to discuss on all those spooky hotels etc ? standing outside asia hotel, i already feel uncomfortable, prehaps it is becos it is quite an old hotel. heard that the no view room(rooms with no window)is even more eerie @asia.

 

[serrich]

aloha,

yup thats wat i heard from a few frens.. Some of my frens also told me that their frens do experience the same feeling.. so we agreed that we want to enjoy instead of living in fear so we opted out Asia Hotel.

Not so sure abt other hotels...

 

[sirwin]

hi all,

wld like to join in for tis discussion,,,i stay in asia hotel once, from outside quite ancient feel but the room was ok in fact, breakfast still can make it & walking distance to MBK/siam sq. It a 3* hotel if I correct.

as for e spooky thingy, have rumour tat it resides on e 8th/9th floor, but to be frank, tis kinda of thingy veri common.

I targeting 10-14 Nov, hoping to book my flight/hotel online, now trying to cfm e preferred flight & hotel, hope to get some lead fr here...

 

[johnandrachel]

andreal

thanks for your advice. am inquiry on novotel and arnoma now. need to do all the research so stay can be very comfortable mah.

Win

you can try booking your tics from airasia. Their tics very cheap compared to others.

 

[johnandrachel]

mint

i already comfirm either stay novotel or arnoma
do you have any recommendation for foood.....

qn for all

from the net novotel is undergoing some refurnish works. anyone been there recently.will it affect anyhow? thanks

 

[tomatoes]

Hi All

I am in a fixed now. Arnoma, Novotel, Baiyoke sky & Amari Watergate are all fully booked during mid-Sep. I really have no other choices now liao? Only left with Grand Diamond. What do you suggest I do now? I am really to pay up to S$120 a nite for my room. Where do you think I should go now?

 

[serrich]

tomatoes,

Me staying in Eastin, twin sharing, paid SG$210 for 4 nites.. I think its along the same stretch as Baiyoke Sky, next to D'MA.

If u dun mind staying there, I can give my review of the hotel when I return from my trip next Mon?? If u're in a hurry and wants to stay in the more convenient area, then u better book Grand Diamond before it gets fully-booked..

 

[st_law]

What about Pathumwan Princess? I always stay there.

 

[forgetmenot]

Hi serrich,
eastin hotel is not bad..i was there in end jul and we got a free upgrade to deluxe rm.
it is vv easy to get a cab when u step out of the hotel..
n if u dun mind walking,u can actually walk to central at chidlom, erawan shrine(the 4 faced buddha), world trade center,big C n pratunam market...
my hubby n i walked to all these places..n it took us abt 15 to 20 mins...

n when u step out of the hotel,there r alot of those roadside stalls..so no need to worry abt food.
but there is not much variety for breakfast..we get the same food almost everyday..

for the amt tt we spent on the hotel,it is quite gd..can save more money to shop...

ya..before i forgot,u must remember to take the namecard of the hotel when u check in..cos sometimes the cab driver does not know where is eastin hotel,hence it helps by showing the driver the namecard.

 

[tomatoes]

Hi serrich and mint

Managed to secure my book for 4day3nites for Arnoma Hotel during mid-sep. Phew! Really has a hard time getting a good hotel as next month has alot of conventions going on...

 

[mint]

Hi John and tomatoes,
Good for both of you. Now I'm so envious...want to go holiday again... hehe!!

John,
Mango tree (near patpong) serves good authentic Thai food. Also this restaurant called cabbages and condoms (at sukhumvit I think)

 

[johnandrachel]

mint

Thanks for your recommendation. Will definitely try them when i'm there... can't wait for that day....
can pop me an advice on your personal belonging? do you leave your passport in the hotel room or take it everywhere you go? don't like to take bulky pouch evrywhere. thanks

 

[aloha68]

Hi John,

Passport wise, if you wan i think you can keep in your room safe box if your rooms has, if your room does not have, you can always ask the recept to open one safe box for you. Thats the reason why i felt that for free and easy trip a nice hotel is important. During my stay at Baiyoke Suite, i dare not even pass my passport to the recpt for safe deposit for the obvious fear. There was once when i return and collect my keys, the recept did not even ask for any verification and just pass me the key. (you can see the key in the slot behind the counter) imagine, anyone can see my key in the slot and ask for the key. I was dumb founded. Then my frd says maybe he can recognise me.

How many of you here actually lock your passport in your luggage when you are out of the room ?

 

[andreal]

hi ppl,
for us, we kept our passports in the hotel room safe..act. ok. Will prefer this way.

I remembered the 1st trip, we din use the safe...we kept & locked in luggage if need to go down for bkfast/nearby shops. Then when go shopping we will keep in our haversack..kinda leychey and dangerous if the whole bag kena snatched away.

 

[mint]

Hi John,
I left my valuables in the safe that was provided in the room. I also locked my luggages before I leave the room for the day cos you never know what may happen as there would be a housekeeper who cleans up your room everyday.

aloha,
For the hotel that I stayed in, the recept would ask us for our names and then check the computer for verification before giving us the key.

 

[aloha68]

usually that will be the way....
i also feel unsafe to hug your passport everywhere you go, rather keep it in the hotel or safe box. The safe box at twin towers have a room, the hotel will give you a key to keep, then you use that to open everytime.