Originally Posted by
MileageGoblin
Ugh, what to do, what to do. Have two Cat 5's that I can use at 57, but the REN location is better. How long is the BTS ride from 57 to the temples/tourist sites? REN to sites?
The distance is negligible. I've stayed at all three and as I've mentioned above, the best choice is whichever is cheapest when you are going. I just booked seven days at the Soi 57 property in March. It was the best deal. I'll monitor that. If it changes, I'll change hotels.
Each is an excellent hotel. The JW has the best CL, the Ren has the best location for first time tourists (except for the construction next door) and the FS has the best views and upgrades. The Ren and FS have excellent CLs, and there are recent reports that the JW CL may have lost some if its exceptional fantasticness. The staffs at all three are top notch. The restaurants at the JW and Ren might be a little better than at the CL, but, IMO, nothing beats street food in Bangkok. The workout facility at the FS is best.
I could go on and on spotlighting which hotel is slightly better than the other on each feature, but it would be impossible to ultimately declare one the best, or even one to hit your parameters the best. In most cities, there isn't a single choice as good as any of these three. Depending on how you look at it, we are lucky or cursed to have these three great choices in a single destination.
You are going to have an amazing trip. No matter which hotel you wind up at, you will leave thinking the other two couldn't possible be any better. You will think you made the right choice. Each offers easy access to public transportation (although the Ren is the only one that doesn't require walking a path that would be considered dangerous in the US.)
One last thing... The BTS train runs very frequently. It might be an additional ten minutes to get from the station near the Soi 57 property to the station near the Ren. Ten minutes a few times a day is worth using the certs, IMO.
The benefit of staying at the least expensive option is you will have more money left to spend on other things or more points available towards your next trip. Just stop agonizing over this. There is not right or wrong choice. Rather, there are three great choices.