Starwood Preferred Guest - Goodbye Westin Banyan Tree

I am staying at the Westin Banyan Tree in Bangkok. Looks like the owner doesnt want to be part of Starwood any longer. As of Jan 1 its Banyan Tree minus the Westin. Its a shame.

My real question is what are going to do with the giant awning at the top of the building?

Pity that this hotel is leaving the Starwood constellation. Just recently had a wonderful stay there and almost everything was perfect.

It is interesting that a series of hard renovations are planned for an otherwise almost new hotel (especially when I think of numerous other hotels which are old and do need hard renovations).

http://www.banyantree.com/HotelsResorts/bangkok/flash_hr_bangkok_main.htm

An upscale and trendy grill and champaign lounge on the rooftop of the 61st floor ... Compasss Rose to be replaced by Saffron, a modern Thai cuisine restaurant ... An executive club lounge on the 51st-54th floors -- separate check-in/out, a longe, a sky deck, a pool bar Spa on two new 20th and 21st floors ...


Prices are higher than under the Westin management.

My wife and I are going to be in BKK for a couple of days on our way back from the Banyan Tree-Maldives, and we're trying to choose a hotel in BKK. We had looked at this hotel, as it looked quite nice, and they were running some great specials in Jan/Feb.

To be honest, we knew it was a Banyan Tree before we knew it had been a Westin.

How convenient is the Banyan Tree for tourists? (Blissfully, I'm on vacation for a change).

Thanks,
Greg

This was a great Westin... its going to be missed.

I'll be spending a night there a few days before the "change-over." It seems like they already moved the spa from the +/-50th floor to the +/-20th floor...

Greg: You'll have to write a trip report about Maldives. How are you getting there?

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Greg: You'll have to write a trip report about Maldives. How are you getting there?</font>

Looking forward to being able to do it.

We're routed SFO-SIN-Male-BKK-SFO.

Many, many miles. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

Combined with an east coast run earlier, I'll have requalified for Premier before the last week in January.

Greg

[This message has been edited by greg99 (edited 12-09-2001).]

Thanks. I saw some pictures of Maldives and it looks amazing. I'm sure you'll have a great time. Too bad Starwood doesn't have a luxury property there...

IMHO, the property, while located in a decent area, is not as well situated as, say, the Grand Hyatt.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by greg99:
How convenient is the Banyan Tree for tourists? (Blissfully, I'm on vacation for a change).</font>

I agree with HKG_Flyer1. You would need a taxi to go almost everywhere and return, unless you do not mind taking a bus.

I booked a maldive trip on Luxurylink.com its very expensive. Cheaper on Llink. Its a pain to get there from Asia. There are only two ways which are through Singapore Air or Malaysian Air. You could also go through Columbo in Sri Lanka. Not sure about going from Europe or US. I have booked the Soneva Gilli. I heard that Banyan Tree is fantastic. Try llink for better prices.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by HKG_Flyer1:
IMHO, the property, while located in a decent area, is not as well situated as, say, the Grand Hyatt.</font>


I think it's good for business traveller. Most of big firms are located on satorn road. Not an ideal place for leisure traveller