geilux

Will stay there mid-August and will give a short report.
Comments from other sources say it's a nice property but nothing special, trying to find its positioning between airport hotel/Golf resort/Spa resort and city hotel !

Dr. HFH

That's cutting it sort of close, of course. I would expect that your benefits are good for the entire stay if they're good on the first night. You'll be PLT when you make the rezzie and when you check in.

MSPeconomist

I'd generally agree, but I see two things to consider:

Your status will be downgraded at some time around the 28th, but when isn't exactly clear. My guess would be either during the business day (maybe 8-9 am, noon or 5 pm local time?) at SPG headquarters or at midnight, again according to the SPG clock. You should carefully calculate what this means for the time in Bangkok, especially your anticipated check in time. You should be OK on still being Plat at check in due to the international date line, regardless of what convention SPG uses, but please verify this.

Look at the T&C about whether status at check in is what determines benefits throughout the stay. As a very general rule, properties in Asia tend to be generous, but they also follow the rules by the book, so you should examine the technical language that SPG uses about this.

luckypierre

If it is among your first visits to BKK and you have plans for river related exploration, the ROS is a great choice. The skiff taking you to the metro station, the ferry landing next door..a neat intro.

That said, the hotel is tired and if they have eliminated the downstairs breakfast as a platinum amenity, then another strike.

seanthepilot

I checked into a BKK hotel on what should have been the last day that I had Plat. But, they couldn't see my Platinum status. I never got the Plat amenity for that stay either.

I'm not saying that's how it will be for everyone. Just, a one time anecdote to consider.

Dr. HFH

Could also have been time of day. I would expect that "overnight" processing takes place based on U.S. time, and not necessarily right at midnight, either.

dolceguess4

I am struggling to decide where to stay in Bangkok. I would ideally prefer a hotel close to the nightlife. Based on that, is it the St Regis or the W that I should book?

yosithezet

Depends on what nightlife, but neither of these fit the bill. You should be looking at Le Meridien on Surawong, or Aloft, Four Points, Westin or Sheraton Grande.

IluvSQ

Le Meridien - 2 minute walk to Pat Pong.

Any of the Sukhumvit hotels ( Westin, Sheraton, 4 Pts) are a 5 minute
walk to either Soi Cowboy or Nana Plaza.

ExpatSomchai

Blimey everyone knows the HOT locations :-)

matthandy

You can get to the 'nightlife' easy enough from either the W or the St R. The Westin is a dull hotel in my view. The W is more of a party hotel and the St R is more upmarket. Personally, I always stay at the St R now.

yosithezet

The Westin is dull unless you happen to hit it during a pool party. http://www.westingrandesukhumvit.com/pool-party

The Aloft has a disco called Levels at the front door and great blues around the corner at Apotheka.

The St Regis hardly has a 7-11 outside for a quick snack.

I think we need to know more about the poster's idea of nightlife to be more helpful.

seanthepilot

As an in-house guest, what do you think of these pool partys?

I've had it a few times and it can really ruin an otherwise good stay. Theworst was at the Sofitel So (BKK). Whereas, when I stayed at the Four Points (Soi 15) they put me in the opposite building because they'd had problems of complaints from previous events. Because the hotel was pro-active, the stay was still good, (except that I didn't get to use the pool).

As it stands, if I know there's a pool party, I will cancel my booking and stay elsewhere.

mrfreezetas

Late last year I stumbled across Apotheka and have been back a couple of times now.
Also visited Nest roof top bar virtually next door to Apotheka and like it to sit have a drink and relax a bit while listening to the DJ who plays a variety of tracks and not at loud volumes either.

eccentricfusion

The W is about a 10 minute walk away from Patpong but farther away from everything else. The bar downstairs at the W is a nice spot and crowded often, but outside the hotel it is mostly business buildings.