Mrs. G and I just returned from a 12 night Le Meridien tour of Thailand that included Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, and Khao Lak. I’ll comment on each in their respective threads.

We spent two nights at the LM Bangkok. I had initially planned to stay at the St. Regis, but the reviews in this forum left me less than excited about staying there and I decided to go with the LM for cat. 3 instead of 5. I booked a car with SP Limousine for 1070 THB. I know I could have done the taxi thing for less than half, but after a 17+ hour flight, I wanted something comfortable and easy (and I kind of owed Mrs. G after a less than stellar subway/walking with luggage experience in Shanghai last fall. We arrived at the hotel around 7:30a.m. and were promptly upgraded to a corner suite. The agent said they could get us into our room right away since they weren’t full, but noted it was a courtesy and they wouldn’t necessarily be so generous next time if they were full.

This was our first visit to Bangkok and we found the location worked just fine for us. We took the skytrain several times and it was an easy 10-15 minute walk. Patpong made for an entertaining walk each night and while we did get repeated offers for ping pong shows, we never felt uncomfortable. We didn’t partake in any shows, but I did shock one of the guys when I responded “basketball show?” All kidding aside, the skytrain made for an easy trip to the river where we caught the water taxi up the river to see the Grand Palace and the temples.

Breakfast buffet was very good. The first morning, I ordered a poached egg and smoked salmon sandwich from the egg chef and she made one to order and brought it out to our table. It was like benedict without hollandaise and quite good. My only complaint on breakfast was the pastries (which may have received some criticism upthread if I remember correctly. I love a fresh chocolate croissant in the morning with a plate of fruit. Unfortunately, they tasted a few days old, which was disappointing. Otherwise, a nice spread.
As Platinums, we also got free drinks and snacks in Bamboo Chic in the evening. The food was so-so, but the drink menu was fun and the service excellent.

I wouldn’t hesitate to stay at the LM again, though I’d be tempted to try somewhere else just because I like to try different hotels and Bangkok has no shortage of SPG options.