Thailand Honeymoon Help for Nov/Dec 2018
 

Hey everyone,

First, thanks already for all the help. This forum has been a tremendous resource for planning our honeymoon. With that said, I was hoping the FT community could weigh in on our itinerary. Should we remove certain spots? Add others? Best value accommodation wise?

We are thinking of an 18 day trip through Thailand with a budget around $10K USD for all hotel stays. We are young and fairly active so we don't mind being on the move too much.

• Bangkok: Nov. 20th - 23rd
  • Hotels: Marriott Marquis Queens Park or Marriott Suk. (in order of preference from my research)
  • My finance is Platinum with Marriott/SPG and has a free night certificate to use, which should help with overall trip affordability
• Chiang Mai: Nov. 23rd - 27th
  • Hotels: 137 Pillars, Four Seasons Chiang Mai, Dhara Dhevi, Anantara
  • Currently booked at Dhara Dhevi with a refundable rate through Amex FHR as it seems like the best bang for buck as of now with their 3rd night free offer
  • We had our hearts set on 137 Pillars, but rates recently skyrocketed compared to a week ago. This is probably due to Loy Krathong Festival. Not sure if this is permanent or we can expect them to come back down.
• Golden Triangle: Nov. 27th - 29th
  • Hotels: Four Seasons Tented Camp, Anantara GT
  • Budgeted for Anantara as it appears FS is just too expensive for our budget :(
• Phuket/Krabi: Nov. 29th - Dec. 3rd
  • Hotels: Ritz-Carlton Phulay Bay, Rayavadee, Renaissance Phuket, JW Marriott Phuket, JW Khao Lak
  • Fiance's heart is set on Phulay Bay, but we (mainly me) are intrigued by Rayavadee's Experience Package which comes to about $2200 USD for breakfast, dinners, couples massage, and cooking class/rock climbing excursion
  • We are generally leaning towards Krabi over Phuket as well based off what I have read here and other places
• Koh Samui: Dec. 3rd - 7th
  • Hotels: Four Seasons, Ritz-Carlton, Conrad, W
  • We have budgeted for Four Seasons as our biggest splurge stay, but could be willing to switch depending on options

Thanks again in advance!

The Thai Four Seasons resorts are, in my opinion, among the best FS resorts globally and punch above their weight (I also have good hopes for the upcoming FS BKK).
In particular I would definitely not consider anything else in Koh Samui.
Let them know it's your honeymoon in advance and they will take good care of you.

Have you considered swapping CNX and CEI to take better advantage of the air schd?

Wow - that’s way too much moving around to enjoy much of anything, in my opinion I would advise cutting out one of the beach destinations and redistributing those nights to stay longer in Chiang Rai as well.

I think Four Seasons or Anantara Golden Triangle warrant a stay of four nights. Definitely no fewer than three night. I prefer to stay for five nights.

I had not mainly because we thought being in Chiang Mai on the 23rd would be interesting with the Loy Krathong/Yee Peng Festival going on. Maybe it isn't necessary, but seems like a good event to take advantage of since it falls within our travel window.

I would stay at the BKK Starwood properties if your Marriott free certs allow like St. Regis or SGS Luxury Collection.

I agree. There is also the Athénée LC.

Doing Phuket AND Koh Samui is a bit of a waste really. It's fine if you live near Southeast Asia or are a frequent traveler and can split the stay across different trips, but I see no real reason to do both.

Maybe someone has better experience, but i was always led to believe the crowds (both local and tourist) make this not the experience it seems to be

Completely agree with this statement. My wife and I spent our honeymoon hoping around Thailand staying in multiple Four Seasons properties. Can't say enough good things about FS Samui. The hard product was outstanding and service was very good. Only drawback was the food in the restaurants minus breakfast and the Once in Blue Moon dinner was rather average. Although with the exception of FS Kyoto and FS Seattle I find the food at most FS properties average. The setup on the beach is quite good as there's Wifi and each seat has a call button for service thus you don't have to wait long for a beverage or snack. We spent a week and never left the property. I recommend doing the Muay Thai lesson. Expensive but fun and a good workout.

Another rave for the four seasons koh Sami. We were there for our honeymoon in 2013 and still talk about how amazing it was there.

Second the StR BKK and avoid the W Samui. It's pretty, but it tries to be hip and cool like most Ws. We paid $900 a night for the Ocean View Escape and checked out after 2 nights. Rain didn't help, but there's not much to do. Frankly USM is not a luxury destination once you leave the resort you're amongst backpackers.

I enjoy moving around a lot so personally I think your schedule is doable, but there is not a huge amount of advantage to be had from doing both Phuket and Koh Samui. They're logistically very far apart and ultimately are pretty inter-changeable. Both islands are nowadays spoilt by tourism, but have some exceptional hotels. The FS Koh Samui is (by reputation) fantastic, though Phuket is usually better value than Koh Samui and has an Aman and a number of top end hotels like Trisara which you could consider. I would back up Mohamed and say that I personally wasn't over-awed by the W Samui, especially given the price.

If you're young and active have you considered taking a 1-night boat trip out to one of the smaller remote islands and staying at somewhere a bit more shack on a beach for one night? It will be a really memorable experience, and there's a full range from electricity free beach huts (maybe that's taking it a bit far) to something like The Place on Koh Tao (check out the view from their Honeymoon Villa) - all secluded, private, and really not costing very much, but also undeniably not a luxury experience. For me, this would greatly add to the richness of a trip where you otherwise get quite used to having someone always nearby with a cold hand towel.

You have many great options in Bangkok, so personally I would skip the Marriott hotels. Best at the top end are the Siam or Mandarin Oriental, the Peninsula is one of the world's great hotels and is now in the middle range of price (check out tablet.com for special offers) and the Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit is a bit favourite of people on the Starwood forum (including my own) for top level service at a very reasonable price.

Hi szacksanders! Congrats and hope you have a great honeymoon.

For hotels in Bangkok, I would be sure wherever you stay in convenient to the sites that you want to see, and to a BTS (skytrain) or at least an MRT (subway) stop. The Marriott Sukhumvit is close a BTS stop, is nearby some great restaurants in Thonglor, and has a great rooftop bar. Can't speak to their rooms, unfortunately. I've never been to the Marriott Marquis Queens Park, but I would make sure you can exit out the back towards the park. Otherwise, it will be a long sweaty walk to the BTS, EmQuartier, and most other place you will want to visit Prong Phom. As others have said, The StR is an incredible hotel, and it has a direct connection to the BTS. I personally like the Westin and the Sheraton Grand (not to be confused with the truly awful Royal Orchard Sheraton) as well.

A few words of caution. Your trip seems a bit hurried for a honeymoon, unless that is your style of travel. Also, I love Thailand, but some of the beaches, even at high end properties, are eroding very badly and dirty (at least beyond the resort's property line). I would research this carefully before selecting your beach resorts.

I would also check the weather. HKT and USM have completely different climates depending on time of year.

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+1.

Good advice. I really enjoyed Ravayadee, Phuket is best imo if you want to stay within your resort. Bangkok is good, especially if you have never been, and I second about the Siam (much preferred closer to the action, like Pen, Mandarin or StR if you have pts - also had an amazing experience at The Sukhothai) again get the suite for any of these as well worth it. The

I see no value in hopping from Krabi/Phuket to Koh Samui. What for? Just pick one resort and stay there for at least a week. I would narrow it down to Four Seasons Koh Samui, Rayavadee, or Trisara.

Secondly, do not underestimate the amount of time you need in Bangkok or Chiang Rai. There’s a lot to do in these wonderful places.

Only recommendation from me, as a thai resident, is DONT GO TO KOH TAO!!!

its extremely DANGEROUS there.

If you do head to Phuket, we stayed in a wonderful place just north in Khao Lak - The Sarojin. The beach was beautiful and the resort stunning. It was years ago but it still seems to rate consistently high and the rates are quite good. Congratulations and have fun.

I'd consider swaping Siem Reap for Phuket. Shorten time a bit up North. Day trips out of Bangkok also worth checking. Also would check rates at the Peninsula BKK. Much nicer to be on the river and rates are typically low + if booked through FHR or Virtuoso very good value + benefits.

As a former Koh Tao resident, I'd say that the concerns about Koh Tao are massively overstated. I've just come back from 4 weeks there this January myself. Without wanting to go into a long discussion about a number of really unfortunate events, the island is probably one of the safer places to be in Thailand if you're minding your own business (and not insulting Thais or trying to create an alternative drug dealing network).

Having said that, I wouldn't necessarily recommend that you go on your honeymoon, the hotel was just used as an example. I'd be tempted to skip Koh Samui and then obviously the nearby islands wouldn't make sense either.

I absolutely love Rayavadee, so that would be my recommendation in Krabi. I would only choose Phuket if Trisara were within budget, as they have by far the best standard accommodation.

Re Chiang Mai, if push comes to shove, I would actually consider less expensive options if that would allow a higher budget for Golden Triangle and other parts of the trip. I think a suite at Anantara Golden Triangle provides excellent value, if FS is over budget. Anantara Chiang Mai is also a great choice.

Also 137 Pillars House in Chiang Mai - I prefer this over Anantara.

well regarded here >
phulay and rayavadee, for different reasons
when it was MO, dhara dhevi
FS samui has beachfront, can ask re discounted upgrade

bangkok - (OP doing award stay) could consider st regis award (st regis is same owner as FS, anantara) also if you have hyatt and theyre bookable some here are fans of grand hyatt spa cottages

FS, anantara, owner Minor may discount multi-hotel trips?
is FS bangkok construction on track for opening this year?

if rayavadee that is krabi and not 'secluded'
while FS samui more 'secluded' luxury beach
FS is (a lot?) less than aman and trisara
many here valued FS GT, some did not

Bangkok and alwaya Bangkok i was the best experience of my life. Marriott Marquis Queens Park or Marriott Suk is agood choice.. I prefer a ecologhic hotel but is great

Why does everyone say the StR BKK only on points? It's one of the best value StRs and you can book a Metropolitan Suite for around $400ish and they'll further upgrade you with status?

Four Seasons did have a Chiang Mai/Chiang Rai + Koh Samui special.

Totally agree

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They are quite the experience. Although they should come with the warning that it is difficult to get to most of the city from them, especially if you have to fight traffic in Chinatown.

devils avocat....

Just might be worth pointing out that Samui might be fairly wet at that time. Phuket/Krabi should be better; have stayed a few times in Nov. Siem reap is fantastic ( and the various Temples of Ankor spectacular; we visited there as part of our Honeymoon so i may be biased :) ) and I really enjoyed Phum Baitang but I'm not sure how it would work with your trip.

Stayed at Trisara last year and really enjoyed the experience. After doing my own honeymoon in South Africa at luxury properties, I'd consider Trisara on par - agree that you should stick to one island though, too much movement!

I celebrated my honeymoon in Thailand in November and December and did Bangkok, Phuket, Chiang Mai, and Golden Triangle (check out my TR!). If possible I would shoot for FD GT, it really is an unforgettable experience. My advice would be to drop Dhevi in Chiang Mai, stay some place a little more affordable (Anantara was very cheap when we booked and it's nice, just make sure you get the suite), and go for FS GT. I did Amanpuri over Trisara, mainly because we like to interact with other travelers and we felt Trisara might be a little too isolated. We considered Koh Samui over Phuket, but read about the rainy season, and decided to go with Phuket. I can tell you that we did not go with an all anantara stay, and we were upgraded. FS GT doesn't have any upgrades that we cared for (hot tub in a jungle didn't really make sense to us).

Im at the Anantara Layan now, actually. Its a good property, but honeymoon worthy? maybe not.
Anyway, as a GHA black, I got a 3 category upgrade which was nice. The Layan pool villas are really good, but they cost the same as Trisara.

This is amazing.
3 categories ?? Really ?? Any exemptions ? At time of booking or at check-in ?

black publishes 2 category if available at checkin, limits unknown, may recall someone saying more (new) limits like all others having been doing recently

'regulars' at FS have long reported cases of receiving multiple category upgrades, more than any other company, and not all of them use travel agents

FS has published multi-property offers in pretty much every asian country with a resort (also south america, as well as 'stopovers' in US) - in thailand such offers were not limited to the more recently introduced one that required a stay at GT. re FS offices seems thailand falls under singapore sales office.

Bit awkward for a couple to be in the residence villas though. They're huge.