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bangkok hotels : And Ariel Zeitlin, journalist, I hope Frommer's had a good editor foryour copy. To wit, this grammatical masterpiece:"The kitschy Royal, which is in between the Oriental and Banglamphu,near the National Museum."Pray tell, why are the newsgroups plagued with these neophyte touriststhat fell compelled to offer pathetic advice to unwitting potential travelers?Ariel Zeitlin wrote:I did review them for Frommer's guidebook but that was 2 years ago and obviously there have been many changes. So doublecheck. Unless you have business in the new part of town or are rampantly into the bar girl scene, stay along the river--the fastest way to travel to the older, cooler neighborhoods & temples. A lot depends on how much you want to pay:In Banglamphu,the backpacker's district uptown,I liked the New Siam Guesthouse which has a nice restaurant attached, some rooms with private showers and even a few with aircon. As I recall the ones without aircon were $16 at that time. Downriver are the legendary hotels on the Conde Nast Traveler list of 10 best in the world: the Oriental, the Shangri-La and the Royal Orchid Sheraton. I keep reading about how there are deals there now for like $110 a night, which is certainly great value. The Swan is a budget hotel with a pool near the Oriental etc.It was closed for renovations during bothmy visits but people really like it. The kitschy Royal, which is in between the Oriental and Banglamphu, near the National Museum.
bangkok hotels : I just got back from Bangkok and Bali -- I stayed fairly long in both places(business, beleive it or not!), and decided to stay in multiple hotels to breakany monotony and to get to see new areas in both places. I thought thatperhaps my impressions of the hotels I stayed in may be useful for thoseconsidering any of these hotels. In this note, I will deal with the Bangkokhotels.Bangkok: Hotels stayed in were the Sheraton Grande (Sukhumvit), Westin BanyanTree (Sathorn), the Oriental, and the Shangri-La (both on the Chao Phrayariver). Overall, I would rank them as follows: (in parenths are my personalstar ratings for each)1. Westin Banyan Tree (******) 2. Sheraton Grande (******)3. Oriental (*****)4. Shangri-La (***)This rating may be surprising to some, as both the Oriental and the Shangri-Laregularly make it to the Top Hotels in Asia listing in Conde-Nast Traveller.The Oriental had excellent service overall, but the room was fairly standard,and did not appear to have been recently renovated. The check-in staff werealso a little flippant and non-commital about the kind of room and theavailability of upgrades for BA Executive Club members (something that isadvertised on Oriental's web site). I definitely could not figure out why theOriental is considered by many to be the world's best hotel. I have stayed atthe Oriental Singapore previously, and found that property much nicer!
bangkok hotels : The Shangri-La was truly a disappointment. It has the feel in the lobby of alarge convention / package tour hotel (and it was a noisy, crowded lobby), andthe service was very spotty. On check-in, was told, when I asked for a highfloor, that the highest floor available was floor 9. The room was awful -- ithad a musty smell, faded and stained carpets, and two double beds, when I hadrequested a King bed. When I asked to be changed to a room with a King bed asper my reservation, I was miraculously given a more recently renovated room onthe 15th floor! Even this room, though much better than the first one, wasnothing to write home about. Other irritants: The doorman encouraged me to paythe meter-taxi significantly more than the meter rate, something I did not muchcare for -- this has not happened in any other hotel in Bangkok. There was nonewspaper delivered in the morning due to an oversight (another example of poorservice, in my opinion), nor was there any reading material (newspapers,magazines) stocked in the room on check-in, something most high-end hotels inAsia provide. The TV quit functioning on the second morning, and the problemwas still not solved by the time I checkout the next day. I really had tostruggle to figure out why this hotel ranks so high in surveys -- I still donot have the answer!
bangkok hotels : The Sheraton Grande is a new hotel, and overall I liked the hotel very much. Though the room rate I was charged was lower than both the Oriental and theI will note, at the outset, that I am an unabashed fan of The Oriental. Iwill explain why shortly.The impression that I have of your reviews is that it is the room itselfthat is your primary focus. I don't fault that criterion, but using it willalmost universally allow the newest hotel to obtain the highest ranking. Ibelieve that a more well rounded analysis of the hotel is warranted,particularly since not everyone will place the room itself at the top oftheir list.The Oriental is an historic hotel. It's not new by any stretch of theimagination. Even the newest tower, the River Wing, is over twenty yearsold. That said, a cosmetic renovation of the River Wing was completedwithin the past two years. The Garden Wing, which is all suites, recentlywent through a complete remodel.Almost every modern amenity is available in both wings. I normally stay inthe River Wing. The rooms are moderate sized with a small sitting areawith a few overlooking the Chao Praya river. The rooms have carved teakfurniture, central air, and are nicely decorated. There are multi-linephones with modem adapters. The marble bath has a speaker through which Ican choose to hear the television and a bidet, which for some reasonsAmerican hotels have not yet chosen to adopt, is next to the toilet. Thebathrooms are spacious with twin sinks and a sitting area for my wife to useto apply makeup.
bangkok hotels : What you can't get from a hotel of this vintage is the modern architecturaldesigns that are available in new construction. What you do get, however,is an established feeling of solid history.You don't stay at The Oriental for the rooms, although, as stated, there'snothing wrong with them at all. You stay for the engaging hospitality andsurprising efforts made to ensure a memorable stay.After a long flight from California, it is reassuring to find the orangecoated host at the airport and the sparkling clean Mercedes waiting to whiskme to the hotel. Upon arrival at the hotel, you are warmly "attacked." Thedoorman promptly steps forward to open the car door and welcome me back toThe Oriental. Two bell boys are simultaneously removing my luggage from thetrunk. As I approach the front doors, young men are in place to open themwide for me. Arriving in the early evening, the string quartet is playinggently in the corner of the lobby. Inside the doors, I am meet by twocomely women who bow in a traditional wai and hand me a garland of flowersbefore escorting me to the reception desk. This is not a stuffy sort offormal greeting, but a warm welcome to a guest.
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