Last time in Bangkok (Nov 2003) I stayed at the Sukhothai. A coworker wanted to stay at the Oriental, but could not get a business rate which met our spending limit. On the advice of friends of hers who lived in Bangkok, she contacted the Sukhothai. They gave us rates within our budgets, and we made reservations. Upon arrival, they upgraded both of us to their stunning Deluxe Residence Suites, which list for $1,000 USD/night. Wow.

The Sukhothai Deluxe Residence Suite was the best hotel room I have ever been in hands down. The bad thing is during my time off in a foreign country, the last thing I want to do is sit around in the hotel room, so I did not get to enjoy it as much as I would have liked.

The Sukhothai offers an Executive Package for business travellers which includes a small suite, breakfast, and airport transportation. This sounds like what we got, but at a lower price and obviously a much better room upgrade.

The Sukhothai caters to Japanese customers, and all I can guess is mid November is a low travel period for that clientele, allowing us to get the big upgrade. However, they have an excellent fitness center, and the restaurant was very good and reasonably priced. The pool bar was also reasonably priced.

The location of the Sukhothai is not great (Sathorn Tai Road, between the French and German embassies), but in our case it was well worth it. But you will likely need a taxi unless you like walking a couple of miles in Bangkok's heat.

I have also stayed at the Grand Hyatt Erawan (Oct 2002), and found it very good, but my room window overlooked a parking deck. I guess you need more Hyatt points to get a better view.

Next time I would like to try the Intercontinental. It is right by the Hyatt, and I like the location, but I have not stayed there.