yosithezet

I would agree. If the room is what is important, and not the service, the StR cannot be beat.

silvergirl

Just had a great stay at LeM again last night, still such a great property (and yes I do also love the SGS). I always travel for business, but I think the location of both LeM and SGS are good spots for leisure too

Dr. HFH

I haven't stayed at the StR, but did visit a friend who had a lovely suite there. If hard product is what matters to you, then I agree that this is the place.

Remcod

I have stayed in Bkk so far at LM, W, SGS and 4 Points.

If it was not for the location I would prefer Le Meridien, absolute amazing service and the breakfest buffet is one of the best i have ever experienced.
The entire vibe of the hotel is very classy and relaxing.
The experience manager is one of their biggest assests, she is very pro, a week or so prior to your stay she got in touch to check if we had any special requests.
As i was travelling with my family i had quite some requests, all have been fullfilled. When we arrived she left a note at the reception to inform her when we got there for her to come and welcome us.
Too bad it is located at patpong area, to me this area is not very appealing because of the entertainment industry. I mean first time it is fun to see, but when you come quite often it reallt started bothering me.

After LM i tried W, i didn't like neither the location nor the hotel.
I experienced my stayed as very cold and impersonel.

So i have been staying ever since at SGS, it is a much bigger hotel compared to LM, so dont expect the same personel service. But you could not have a better located hotel, right next to the BTS skytrain and terminal 21 shopping mall, numerous restaurants and nightlife. The poolside is amazing, compared to LM where you only have sun in the AM, here you have a lush pool which gives you the feel of being somewhere in the jungle.
As a platinum i have been upgraded every time to a luxury suite without having to use my SNA's.
Don't really understand why people are raving about the breakfest, it is ok but nothing special.

Next week i will try st regis for the first time so i will be able to compare even better. Will post a report about the stay as well.

yosithezet

Welcome to FlyerTalk Remcod!

Remcod

thanks, have been learning a lot from this board prior to my travels, i felt i finally had to start contributing

Thanks

In the Wood

I am also a bit surprised by this. Yes it is a nice well located property, the swimming pool and the gym are among the best in BKK abut their internet is really terrible and I have had now a couple of issues with customer service there. If you are in town for work and need to rely on it for certain conf call or video call, it is just useless and you better buy yourself a local 4G sim. Also without being a prude, I have been shocked to see so many prostitutes hanging around the hotel bar downstairs, this gives for me a very bad image of the property.

newshound

I would agree with everything apart from the bit about the Gym. The gyms at all SPG properties are nothing to write home about but probably adequate for the average Joe - the SGS doesn't particularly stand out among the others.

The absolute best hotel gym in town is at the Ascott on Sathorn (opposite the W), actually the cascades heath club but you have access as a guest. I will sometimes rotate stays between the W and the Ascott in order to use it.

Dr. HFH

I'm a regular at SGS, and frequently use Skype for conference calls. Never a problem with the internet. Did you call the Business Center and ask for assistance?


There's a thread on this issue in here somewhere, IIRC. I have spent much time in this bar and have also noticed the girls. To some extent, it's endemic to nicer hotel bars in Bangkok. However, the girls who patronize this bar are appropriately dressed and behaved for the venue, sit alone (i.e., not in groups) and never approach anyone unless invited, at which point they will almost always invite you to sit with them. I don't see a problem with that.

steveniswhere

LM has been my go-to when I'm in Bangkok. I have never stayed in a StR (my company would frown upon it even if it isn't so much more expensive than the other choices), but I've been around the block with SPG properties around the world, and the LM is my hands-down favorite. The breakfast is amazing, the rooms are beautiful, and the pool/gym area are great. For the price, I think it's the hidden gem of properties in BKK. I did stay in the W as a little celebration for myself on one trip, and to be honest, although I found it to be perfectly sufficient, it was not as nice as the LM, the location wasn't ideal, and it was something like double the price when I stayed! So I will be returning to the LM for any future trips.

bizum

Headed for our first BKK trip (week+) before eoy, finally decided on StR for the entire stay. We're SPG Gold, originally planned use Free Nights at the W but seemed better to just pay cash. Amex FHR was not an option (too $$) since we're booking so late otherwise that is our pref.

What sealed the deal for me at StR was that the StR Bangkok website advertised a promo that was not visible (at least to me) on SPG.COM.

So a tip for the SPG newbs, check out the hotel website for hotel specific promos and compare against the rates you see on spg.com...

MSPeconomist

One should always do this. Often the hotel's own website's offers page has rates that do not appear when you search on SPG.com.

However, in what sense is booking a hotel now for an EOY trip doing it late? It's about eight weeks.

bizum

I got a little infatuated with trying to use points (so many combinations!) that I missed that aspect ! Lesson learnt.

True, its relative. I have noticed that depending on location, AMEX FHR is often best booked months in advance (esp since they will gladly price adjust for any drop. In this case, I noticed the FHR rate went up ~$30 in the past week for a different BKK hotel.

civicmon

The W BKK has a promo on their website for a pay 2 stay 3 or P3S4 (the former being a much better deal IMO) type promotion that doesn't show up anywhere else.

Almost always yields better prices per night than the best SPG rate.

bizum

Thanks, did see that too. That's what made me take a 2nd look at StR .