Never got the chance to stay in their resorts in Phuket, but for every visit we made to Bangkok, we always make a stay in either Central World or Grand Lad Prao.

For us convenience and comfort is the ultimate key, Centara Central World is on the pricey side, but we found great value having a property above a massive mall with all the amenities we need - shops, restaurants, cinemas, supermarket, food court and cafes. The best part is, Central World Mall is linked to all the major attractions and BTS via the skywalk way. This is an extreme perk for us, as we can walk in comfort and shelter to where ever we needed to go.
The rooms are in an odd shaped layout because of the building's tower spherical shape, but never really bothered me, as we are always put on the top floor with exceptional views of the city.
Service staff were always polite and professional, we were always checked in with welcome drinks or exchange for coupons for drinks at the pool.
We dined a few times on different occasions on the sky bar and I believe a Mexican restaurant.
The bar I must admit was a little too pretentious for our liking, but the restaurants staffs were amazing.
We got free h'ordeuvres accompanied with our happy hour drinks, and the sunset views on a 70th floor building is truly spectacular.
Breakfast service, I can't complain. It gets really busy, but you get your typical buffet selection and an egg station.
Overall, Central World beats hands down on location compared to all the big chain properties we stayed with.

We also loved Grand Lad Prao for the closest proximity to the weekend Chaktukchak market.
The hotel arranges free private shuttle services to the weekend market, but if you flag a cab or do a grabcar, it's about a 5 minute drive to the market.
It's a real gem for a full service hotel of this size to be close to one of the biggest attraction in the city.
Needless to say, this location is also linked to another Central Mall in Ladprao.
You might have to walk through a seedy parking lot to get into the mall, but as mentioned, the convenience factor again is the key to our value.
This property has a pool, looks kind of dated, but on my last visit, they had renovated most of the rooms, and we were upgraded to a corner renovated room.