Chris26WI

me neither (any upgrades at Soi 57).. @corner rooms: well yes, the design is different, but the room size is practically the same, so it's more or less a matter of taste which one "better".

washeelers747

my mate and i will spend a night in BKK. We'll land at swampy around 0530, so I wonder if our odds are good for early check-in at Marquis or Suk57? We're Marriott gold, but first time for us to utilize Marriott in BKK. I'm curious how you would rate swimming pool and lounge at Marquis and Suk57? We're leaning toward Marquis, since it's new and we can walk from BTS since we visit BKK few times in past so no plan to visit touristy sites, etc.

BobBHX

Hi Chris. The reason I booked the corner room was so I could see the NYE fireworks. From previous stays I know that you can see the fireworks at CentralWorld and at the river from the xx08, xx09 and xx10 rooms. Of course, this year there were no fireworks. I also quite like having the view of lower Thonglor and up Suk towards Asoke.

Chris26WI

your odds will be good. pool at suk 57 is nice enough.

Kalboz

Much bigger pool at the M-Marquis and lower occupancy rate evident by their low rates, and, thus, better odds for UG. As always, YMMV!

washeelers747

Kalboz Wow, pool look pretty nice @ Marquis. its about 5300 THB after taxes on date we'll stay at. What's Marquis happy hour @ executive lounge really look like? usual few booze and snack options?

Kalboz

Go through Ebates (or similar website) for a current 5% rebate and book. Check on the rates periodically to cancel and rebook when the rates go down. Again, always start the process with a rebate website.

The pool is great and so is the gym - they have their own Racquetball court inside the gym!


We had grilled burger sliders, BBQ pork ribs, and many other items yesterday. Free flowing sparkling wine, Chang beer, and all other libations as well. Delicious food, plenty booze, and very nice service - highly recommended over other current Marriott options in Bangkok.

CO-PLAT

One of the girls in the lounge hand wrote the instructions for me. It reads something like "Please drive me to the Bangkok Marriott Queens Park".

It amazes me that this isn't included on the Marriott website for every property.

Kalboz

I encountered Bob Fabiano, the GM, this morning (1/18) at the lobby, very personable and approachable gentleman. He informed me that the Marriott Marquis currently has staff of 720 employees and he expects the number to climb to 900 employees by the time they open their South Wing, their Grand Opening. He asked me how many nights we have been staying at his property, and I told him 16 nights. He was surprised that we just met and not any earlier. I informed him that there was no need to meet as his staff went above and beyond to make our stay a very pleasurable one.

Currently at BKK's crappy CIP Lounge for our flight to KIX. Apparently, JL closed their dated lounge for renovations and sending all Biz/F passengers to this inferior lounge. Back to our subject, I can report that we cannot wait to get back to Bangkok to stay at this property again - this is how happy we are about the treatment we received by all staff members. Minor issues that we reported and were immediately addressed by staff. Full report is coming up.

Chris26WI

most taxi drivers in bkk should still know it better by its old name - imperial queens park

Kalboz

As its name indicates, the Marriott Marquis is located next to a park. Actually, they have a back gate with direct access to Benjasiri Park which would cut the walking distance to Phrom Phong BTS Station by half, if you don't want to take the tuk-tuk shuttle. The gate would directly access Goji Restaurant where we have breakfast through an escalator. Gate is currently closed and the nonstop renovations continue. It should be open in a week or two.


Escalator from Goji Restaurant to Benjasiri Park

Hotel gate to Goji Restaurant as seen from the park - the pool floor is atop the red M

The park as seen from the hotel's 9th floor - the pool floor

Breakfast at Goji Restaurant overlooking the park

Vince Chan

It looks like JW is located right inside a red light district.

I am really curious why would Marriott put his premium brand in a red light district?

If I was looking for a nicer/classy neighborhood, then is JW a wrong choice?

There is even an article suggesting that JW Bangkok is a girl/hooker friendly hotel. lol

Is this really that bad?

Some people said that JW is not located in a very prime/classy location of bangkok,there is nothing around except for the red light district.

Other Marriott/ Ren is better location than JW.

Can any Marriott people please tell me why Marriott would build his luxury brand and first property in Bangkok, while choosing a not so good location?


Comparing to Grand Hyatt..

eccentricfusion

It's a few minutes walk away, I wouldn't say right inside. The location is good, at the beginning of where markets start setting up along Sukhumvit. To be fair, most hotels along Sukhumvit are not too far from the two famous red light districts in the area, Nana Plaza or Soi Cowboy. I honestly had no issues with it being next to Nana Plaza - even when you walk out at night, you can walk right past that area with no issues, since Nana Plaza is tucked away in the soi it is located in. There aren't any noise issues from that area from inside the hotel.

It's not bad at all. I find that most people who go to Thailand for sex tourism aren't the type of people who will be staying at the JW Marriott. Less money spent on a room means more money for other activities for those folks. It's not like you will see a ton of hookers at this hotel. I certainly had no issues at all with the location. All the street vendors, markets, and I suppose working girls walking around - that kind of goes with the area, as far as Sukhumvit is concerned. A lot of tourists like being close to the things along Sukhumvit, along with all the things that come with it.

CJKatl

Nana, the red light district, is on the other side of Sukhumvit Road from the JW. It's similar to Las Vegas, where the road is uncrossable for pedestrians. Getting from one side of Sukhumvit to the other requires finding a pedestrian bridge, walking up a steep tall flight of steps, across a wide street and back down another flight of steps. It's not something casually done, which makes the JW quite removed from Nana. You cannot hear Nana from the JW, nor would you see any of the street traffic, drunks or workers unless you were to walk over there. Soi Cowboy is also on that side, even farther away.

The JW is not my favorite Bangkok Marriott property. There are FT posters who will tell you the JW's lobby and common areas are full of Nana overflow. IME, having stayed at the JW numerous times, the people who complain are going out of their way to find that type of activity. Never has any activity impinged on my enjoyment of the property. It's a far cry from a brothel, despite what people post. Yes, I've seen what I believe to be people heading to rooms with dates, but I've seen that at every hotel in Bangkok, but, again, who cares. If you are easily offended by what happens in Bangkok, stay out of Bangkok, but don't expect to find a hotel in Bangkok where you cannot find this type of activity if you are looking to see this type of activity.

What other guests might be doing shouldn't be your concern unless it encroaches on your enjoyment of the hotel. Unless you go out of your way to notice what others are doing, being close to Nana and Soi Cowboy will have no impact on you.

BTW, the Le Meridien at Silom is smack dab in the middle of what might be the most notorious of red light areas, so make sure you avoid that hotel. It might offend your purist eyes.

Back to the JW.... you might consider the Marriott at Soi 57. Aside from being a great hotel with fantastic views, it is very far removed from the activities that seem to offend you. The new FS is also more removed from those activities.

One more thing... the only Marriott property where I've ever been solicited by prostitutes is the EWR FS. I got on the elevator and two working women got on with me. They asked if I wanted them to come by my room after they were done. My reply was, "No, no, no, no, no." They told me to give them my room number in case I changed my mind. I let them know if I saw them in my hallway I'd call the police. Not the front desk. Not the hotel security. The police.

Kalboz

Not exactly! It's unfortunate that this snazzy property is getting such bad reputation. This is where the Bangkok hi-so have their weddings and you may also notice the mostly Thai national enjoying the buffet at the Marriott Cafe on the ground floor.

The JW Marriott is located on Sukhumvit Soi 2, a side street, and is attached to shopping center, Ploenchit Center, through 2nd floor covered pedestrian bridge. The security measures at this property is very adequate as to keep the seedy elements totally off this quite Soi. Motivated by monetary incentives (tips) or a positive mention on TripAdvisor, some corrupt staff members at the lounge allow certain deep pocket corporate-account guests to accompany their girlfriend du jour into the lounge for breakfast (after a night of enjoyment), or at happy hour. But this is an exception and not the rule as my sources inform me that the FD has a firm rule of imposing "joiner fee" for your night time friend.

Further, the debauchery (if any) is at first few hundred yards of Soi 4, Soi Nana, which is the next street over, and it occurs late at night. Also, "working" women don’t jump out at single women, families with children, or couples passing by.


JW Marriott on Soi 2

Ploenchit Center

Soi 4 (Nana) after dark