srk123

Great gym and EXCELLENT hotel. Great location right on Sukhumvit. Room was large with a nice view of the Bangkok smog. Service was super with 3 guys opening the door to the lobby and 3 concierges on duty during peak times. Gym is adjacent to the huge outdoor pool on the 6th floor (far enough away from the street noise)and also has a large spa. Gym and spa are free for hotel guests. Lobby is large and bright. Hotel built in 1995, so fairly new. Highly recommend it.

MrAOK

ditto and i didnt have time to use the health club. an absolutely fabulous hotel.

bhatnasx

I'm going to be in BKK for about 10 days in January. For about 7 of those days, I will be needing to get to the Wat Pho (sp?) Temple early in the morning & returning in the evening. I understand that the Bangkok Marriott (www.marriott.com/bkkth) is a good hotel with a free water-taxi service that will take me right near the temple. Not counting the price of the hotel, I'm on a tight budget. Has anyone ever stayed at this property & if so, is the water taxi process easy to use?

http://www.royal-garden.com/html/body_mfactsheet.html is a website about that hotel, but it doesn't appear to have been updated since 2002!

How are the rooms there?

Any feedback would be appreciated.
Thanks!

SAT Lawyer

I stayed at the Bangkok Marriott Resort & Spa earlier this year on a Priceline stay and it was fantastic. If you don't mind sacrificing the points, you should be able to get it for around $47/night through Priceline according to BiddingForTravel, which also has a few detailed reviews of the hotel, mine included.

As good as the Marriott is, it may not be the best hotel to get to and from Wat Pho. IIRC, the hotel's free river shuttle only goes as far as the pier adjoining the BTS Skytrain station (a pier which is also used by several other hotels including the Oriental and the Peninsula). Your best bet for getting to the wat would be to hire a longtail boat at the Marriott pier -- usually there is one constantly waiting to transport hotel guests. The longtail boats are fast, so a trip to the wat should only take about 15 minutes one-way, but they will cost about 500 baht each way (about $12). In light of the extraordinarily inexpensive Priceline rate, that may be a small price to pay.

[This message has been edited by cAAl (edited 07-25-2003).]

bhatnasx

when you bid for this at 47.00, did you bid for a 4-star or a 5-star? I think it meant that it was a 4-star by your review. I am assuming you used the "Riverside - Silom" as your location? Is that the closest Priceline location to Wat Pho?

If I can get the 47.00 rate, that'd be significantly cheaper than what I'm paying - so it'd be worth it to me to do that - The points are valuable, but including taxes that whole stay would be under 600.00 - I'll earn the points on my SPG Amex card & if I do it by the end of the month, that's double points!

tide

No the closer PL option to Wat Pho would be the Shangri-la. The hotel is at the Saphan Taksin Pier itself. (the one that the Marriott boat leaves you at).

From there, you can take the normal water taxi to the Tha Tier pier for Wat Pho - I prefer this to hiring a long tail boat because the water taxi is an idyllic journey (not very long in itself - maybe 20 minutes) where you can get a glimpse of of BKK life as passengers get on/off at the stops between Saphan Taksin and Tha Tien (maybe 10-12 stops in between them).

How to tell if it is the normal water taxi? Facing the river, it will be the boat going to your right (upriver) and lots of people will be getting on and off. I think it did not cost more than 15 baht for the journey for which a ticket collector will sell you a ticket onboard.

SAT Lawyer

I bid the 4* level for Riverside-Silom. At the time, the Marriott was the only hotel 4* hotel that had documented success in that zone. Now, the Royal Orchid Sheraton has also popped up, so if you are dead set on the Marriott, you might want to proceed with caution on Priceline.

The Shagra-la is the only reported 5* in the Riverside-Silom zone. A Priceline bid of $60 to $66/night ought to do the trick. You may be better off staying there given the less expensive and more frequent water taxi options to Wat Pho as tide has pointed out.

[This message has been edited by cAAl (edited 07-25-2003).]

srk123

Stayed at the JW Marriott on Sukhumvit Road 3 years ago and loved it. Although not a resort hotel, it is definitely a 5-star hotel with a great pool and spa lounge off the 6th floor, away from the hustle and bustle of the street. Sukhumvit is a great tourist street with many restaurants and stores and plenty of night life. Probably the best non-resort hotel I've ever stayed at, and with cheap taxi rates in BKK, it may be a viable alternative for you.

bdschobel

I've stayed at both Marriotts in Bangkok and liked both of them. However, regarding Wat Pho, the best approach by far is to stay at the Riverside Marriott, use their boat to cross the river, then get a VERY cheap, public water bus (7 baht, as I recall) that will take you up the river to the Wat Pho stop (Tha Tian, I believe). The first time you use the water bus, it may be a bit difficult because of language issues, but after the first time, it's totally simple.

I have spent a lot of time at Wat Pho. It's an amazing place.

Bruce

R&R

I did that trip from Wat Po last Dec.
Take public water taxi/ferry to Taksin Skytrain station, and wait for the Royal Gardens Riverside Marriott to come by for trip to hotel.
At the Massage desk at Wat Po, they have directions printed out to get to the Water Taxi pier a short walk down the street.
Taking the Car Taxi from the Hotel to the Wat was a bad choice and it was a rainy day!

Delta3MM

Sorry to bump this old thread back up, but I need your insight. I'm going to Bangkok for 4 days in october just for fun. I've got a reservation at the Marriott Spa and at the JW.

Some details: The Spa rate is $145 including breakfast and the JW rate is $138.

Questions: Which would you pick for tourism? Also, what is the food like in the conceriege lounge in BKK? I will be there on a M-F, so midweek. I realize the Spa is a better rate, especially including breakfast, but I've loved a lot of the JW's I have stayed at, especially the JW Hong Kong. The food there is almost better than having a breakfast buffet, as there is food almost all day.

Opinions??

THANKS!!

Billy

[This message has been edited by Delta3MM (edited 09-09-2003).]

bdschobel

The Bangkok JW is fabulous. The food in the Concierge Lounge is so plentiful -- and good! -- that you literally do not have to buy meals outside. And you can always do MUCH better on the rates. Try some of the codes listed in this thread:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum63/HTML/002605.html

Bruce

tide

Another option (though with some risk if you must stay at a Marriott) is to priceline the Spa instead. $55 all taxes included. You can get b/fast at the mall in front of the hotel and still have $80 left over. Mall has decent food outlets (e.g. S&P and Swensens), across the road heading to the right is a 24-hour convenience store.

If you do stay there, I'd recommend the dinner cruise - very nice.



[This message has been edited by tide (edited 09-11-2003).]

dragonmp11a10

Does anyone know if it is free? Wired or wireless? Searched thoroughly but couldn't find this specific info. Thanks in advance

dragonmp11a10

Oh yeah, this is the only info I can find:

Enhanced with Thai furnishings and equipped with high-speed Internet access, our spacious guest rooms surround guests with a stylish, yet functional environment.