cplunk

Stayed 5 nights at the Intercontinental and 3 nights at the Holiday Inn on Soi 22 last month.
My wife is Thai (met her in Bangkok many years ago) and has friends and family in Bangkok as well as a shopping list and todo of places to eat every time we're there (mostly hot pot style dining at MK or shabu shi). Because of this, proximity to light rail usually drives our hotel choices.
Intercontinental had access to Chit Lom BTS either right in front, or via an internal walkway to Gaysorn and raised walkway direct to the BTS platform. Very convenient. Service was good. Room was beautiful. Pool was kinda small and crowded. Everything else was kinda top notch in the opinion of someone who almost never stays in 5 star hotels (10 years ago, usually a HI or HIX in USA). Being so connected to Gaysorn and the BTS platform there made a walk to Central World and the 100 or so restaurants there quick and easy.
There is a Holiday Inn right next to it, the lobby looked nice but I've never stayed there. I know it is an older property, architecture on the exterior makes that obvious, but I'm sure it's been renovated...
Holiday Inn on Soi 22 was nice. Almost 1/2 way between Asoke and Phrom Phong BTS (closer to Phrom Phong), but about 1/2 kilometer to either. Building is only 3-4 years old. Breakfast was great, would consider it as good as the IC, and heard great things about food quality in general (friend's company like's to hold events there, told us food was always great), but restaurant's prices were also pretty high. Soi 22 has a some smaller local restaurants and a more "Thai" neighborhood feel, but is also full of bars with bar girls and massage parlors (expect to be greeted "hello handsum man" multiple times) in that area. Walking up and down Sukhumvit most restaurants are about 1/2 Kilometer away.
I'm aware of another Holiday Inn on Sukhumvit Soi 11 that I've never stayed in. Soi 11 is a hot spot for night clubs and has some decent restaurants, but it's probably more like a full kilometer from either Nana or Asoke BTS stations and I've heard it's near impossible to get an taxi that will use it's meter and not fleece you for a couple hundred baht in that area.
But, these are only the places I'm familiar.

Concerto

At the HI Silom, looking at the various room types, there are two suite offers. The Deluxe Suite Nonsmoking also offers complimentary access to our city view executive Club lounge, which sounds a good deal for the equivalent of €103 and 3 persons. The blurb for 1 King Bed Premier Suite Non Smoking, which is only 10 Euros more, has the following wording: also enjoy complimentary bkfst or cocktails in our executive Club lounge.
But surely, in the first offer if I have access to the executive Club lounge, then I can get breakfast there anyway. Or maybe they somehow withhold breakfast if you've booked that tariff.

For 10 Euros more, the second option looks good. Then I read that the 3rd guest has to pay a surcharge of THB750, then there are fairly hefty taxes to pay and then there are "Additional Charges", whatever they are. So the thing begins by looking reasonable, then starts to mount up, so the final price is THB1,600 more per night. I figure by booking the suite, I will only pay taxes on one room. But the Extra Person Charge sort of changes that.

Here's a breakdown of all the airline style extra charges:10% per night not included in rate effective 7 October, 2019 thru 8 October, 2019

7.7% per night not included in rate effective 7 October, 2019 thru 8 October, 2019

7.7PCT GOVERNMENT TAX

Service Charge 10.00% is per room per night

Hvr

The HIX in Soi 11 is my favourite and I spent four nights there last week. Clean and the breakfast is ok. The tuk tuk runs to Nana BTS during the day.

HI on Soi 22, just an inconvenient location between stations.

The HI at Chit Lom BTS, beside the IC, is quite nice and I also spent a night there last week. I like to spend the last night in walking distance to Siam BTS and MBK to do my shopping.

It's been awhile since I stayed in HI Silom but I always found it out of the way and hard to get anywhere.

Concerto

Having completed a short stay at the HI Bangkok Silom I can say it is a nice enough hotel although a bit old now. I didn't go for the suite, just two standard rooms and they were very nice. I suspect I ended up in the older of the two towers (Plaza?), but it was pleasant enough.

The rooms were nicely refurbished and quite comfortable. However, in one room it was impossible to close the closet door (where the safe and ironing board is) and the closet light wouldn't go off. And in the other, the toilet door got locked, necessitating technical help. These rooms had round windows:



The lobby was a pleasant enough place to linger, although drinks in the Orchid Lounge were expensive. While we were there, some procession with police on motorcycles came through and all the staff were outside wearing white and black. I was told that the owner/director of the hotel had died.

For my remaining nights in Bangkok I moved to the Amber Boutique Hotel, 10 minutes walk away. It was recommended by Lonely Planet and had a lot more character, in addition to being much cheaper.

baroqen

Just finished a couple of Accelerate tasks and tried the HIX Sukhumvit 11, HI Silom, and Indigo Wireless Road. Quick thoughts:

HIX Sukhumvit 11 is a great location near a ton of great little eateries and pretty convenient for the BTS and also for Bumrungrad Hospital. The tuktuk driver was nice enough to drop me off at the hospital each morning before he started his regular route. Rooms were a good size for a HIX, clean, the breakfast buffet was the best I've seen in a HIX, and it was also the cheapest IHG in Bangkok. It can be a bit noisy due to the proximity to multiple discos. This is great for people looking for nightlifebut don't bring young kids as the area is a bit seedy.

HI Silom - It was nice overall, but as mentioned previously... the location kinda sucks. The BTS was quite far and there isn't much going around nearby. The property is actually pretty upscale - for a Holiday Inn. Nice place perhaps to leisurely hang out with family, I did see both a tuktuk and a shuttle bus, but I didn't check to see where they went. The property itself is dated and the carpets definitely need a refresh but it was still a pleasant stay. On a side note: local restaurants near Silon were less convenient and more expensive, but looked seedier and tasted worse than the ones near the HIX. At about 50% more than the HIX Sukhumvit 11, I wouldn't highly recommend this for the typical solo or couples traveling to Thailand. It's better for families or people looking to "get away" a bit more.

Indigo Wireless Rd - Charming property, although a bit pricy for Bangkok. It's.... funky and quirky and the infinity pool is small, but very nice. Kind of like a mini wannabe of the pool at Marina Bay Sands. The area is still not busy, but this time in a better way that at the Silom. The area is "green" and really nice, there is better access to the BTS than at the Silom, and it's just... closer... to everything in comparison. The property is very new as well although at about 50% more per night than the HI Silom, you'll need to decide if it's worth the extra value for you. Great little property with kids.

Concerto

The area around HI Silom has a few sights and is not so bad, everything is walkable. The nearest major sight is the Sri Mariamman Temple, which is colourful and well worth a visit, not so far from the hotel. The hotel tuk tuk circles around past this temple and a nearby BTS station. The riverside area is quite near too, including the Old Customs House and the Bangkokian Museum. A bit further off is a snake zoo connected to a hospital, the Queen Saovabha Memorial Institute.

For restaurants, I checked out the Chennai Kitchen, a tiny South Indian vegetarian restaurant on Th Pan, the very basic but great Muslim Restaurant on Th Charoen Krung and Taling Pling at Soi 19, Th Silom, among others. This latter wasn’t bad, but service was spotty and it was a bit expensive for what was offered.

WElyot

Hi,

If there are 2 options between IC and Indigo Wireless Road, which one is better?
I have IC AMB, but from the review, majority have better reviews on Indigo Wireless Road.

Thanks..

Camflyer

I recently stopped in the HI Express Soi 11 for three nights and was impressed. Modern hotel, reasonably sized rooms and great location. The only downside was the free breakfast was terrible but there are 1001 places to eat nearby so it wasn't a problem. The Coffee Club cafe in the lobby area was excellent

In recent years I have stopped in the HI Silom (in fact the first time I stopped there it was a Crowne Plaza - decent hotel but not too good for location) and the HI Bangkok (next to Phloen Chit, better location but I was underwhelmed by the hotel itself)

rbAA

Wow! I've never heard anyone rave about the breakfast at the HIX Soi 11 before, since it's probably the worst one I've experienced. But it depends on what you like. And, I recently noticed all the new restaurants around there, but they all look very pricy, included Thiger's Burger place-300 THB for a hamburger! It's good but not that good.

The HI Silom is actually closer to the Surasak BTS station than the HIX Soi 11 is to the Nana station, and that tuk-tuk you saw at HI Silom will take you there just about anytime you ask.

minz56

I think you mean Chong Nonsi BTS rather than Surasak. Surasak would be quite a trek to the HI Silom.

The HIX Sathorn is very close to Chong Nonsi BTS, but having never stayed there I cannot comment on it, but I believe it is quite new.

rbAA

No, the HI Silom is less than 700 m from Surasak BTS which is on Sathorn near the Blue Elephant, by the expressway Walked it many times. The HIX Sathorn is at the Chong Nonsi BTS stop. The traffic on the Soi that runs from the HI Silom to Surasak can be jammed up often, but the walk is quicker then. As to the HIX Soi 11, the taxi drivers on Soi 11 are pirates, seldom demanding less than 200 baht for a ride anywhere. If you find one that will take 100 baht, you've done well.

Camflyer

Yeah, I'm not sure on what planet the breakfast at HIX Soi 11 could be described as "good". I went out of curiosity on my first morning and then never went back. My expectations at breakfast at HIX are fairly low to start with but this was one of the worst I have seen anywhere. On the other hand, the Coffee Club served one of the best omelettes I've ever had.

Soi 11 has really gone upmarket in the last few years with a lot of middle to upper-end bars and restaurants opening which pushes up the prices for everywhere else and has forced other places to close or move - I especially miss Cheap Charlies which had to relocate to Soi 55(?) due to redevelopment works.

rbAA

Cheap Charlie's is off of Soi 50, across the street from Tesco-Lotus, near the On Nut BTS station.

The "best" HIX breakfast I've had was the HIX Zhabei in Shanghai near the north train station. Decent egg station and Chinese "pancakes." Their buffet pretty much sucks with overcooked corn and vege's and mystery sausages, but a few decent as in edible things.

Camflyer

That's why I always use Grab now for taxis in Bangkok. At least you get a drive who wants the job. Those drivers who spend all day sleeping outside of 5* hotels are just hoping for all-day bookings.

eponymous_coward

Another recent stay at that HIX on Soi 11, another vote for "meh" on the buffet breakfast (adequate but nothing special), otherwise the hotel was fine (10k two night award stay around NYE made for some decent value, the rooms are big and nice enough). I hit up Daniel Thaiger's next door for a beer and burger just because. The Belgian beer was fantastic, the burger was a bit overpriced but good enough. Coffee Club makes a damn fine flat white (as an Aussie coffee place should). Didn't get a lot of noise (I was facing towards Sukhumvit).

I might stay again on points when rates are high but Bangkok is so full of hotel deals offseason that a HIX is hard to get excited about.