geminidreams

The marvellous suite is a really nice room and the bathroom is private enough as you have a separate toilet if required in the other room. Breakfast is very nice. I enjoy it there. It is one stop from Patpong market on the BTS which as good entertainment options at night. Its about a 20 minute walk. The only letdown is free drinks which are well catered for in the other 5star properties. However I was given a 50% off voucher and for that you can get some really nice cocktails (ones you will wants to take photos of) made that significantly surpass what you can get elsewhere. The W is close to the BTS and you can get easily to many areas of interest by the BTS. If you like Ws then you will have a nice stay.

I would choose the LM as next best and it is situated right across from Patpong Market. The suites are nice, cocktail hour excellent but a little further walk to BTS. If you dont get the suite upgrade then my opinion is the standard rooms suck! The others are all good in some respects and I will and do stay in them depending on price and where I want to be.

MSPeconomist

I like the (former Plaza) Athenee. It's walkable to both nightlife and shopping malls, has a good lounge (but the breakfast buffet for Plats is downstairs in the restaurant) and attractive pool area. I liked my suite, but the bathroom seemed dated, although it was large and luxurious.

Those who suggest the SGS should be careful to remember that Plats with 100+ stays there are treated differently from those staying for the first time. They treat Plats well, but they have lots of Plats, including returning customers.

Eugeniusz Bodo

Stick to W and you will love it!!! It is high energy and style forward but very classy place for young at heart! Station is right there but taxi cost peanuts!
HAVE FUN!!!

platbrownguy

Thanks for the detailed thoughts!

So, long story short, we stuck to the W primarily because my wife came down with a cold of sorts (she's better now) and the confirmed suite ended up regaining priority over location -- we went out a bit each of the two nights we were there, but spent the bulk of the daytime hours in the hotel, so the suite was useful.

Have to say -- we loved it. Email communication in advance of check in was very good. Mentioned wife wasn't feeling well in one of the emails & asked for a humidifier in the room. At check-in, the front desk agent confirmed that the humidifier was in the room, asked how wife was feeling, and offered to send up hot tea (which we accepted & came just minutes after we got to the room). In the room were also a bowl of 6 chocolate-covered strawberries and a plate of cookies with salted caramel dipping sauce (all free of charge), plus at least 12 comp bottles of water. Two free cocktails (indeed picture-worthy and made with quality ingredients e.g. Hendrick's gin) and a two-for-one after that were used the second night -- bar was very fun & energetic.

Overall, I felt none of the nickel-and-dimey feeling I associate with most US W properties. The spa was also wonderful -- we booked a couples massage (3570 baht total for the both of us, after the SPG discount) and they gave us (unsolicited) private use of the hammam jacuzzi and VIP room before & after the massage (i.e. they locked it off from the changing areas so that no one else could use the jacuzzi; presumably no one else had anything booked at the time but still, nice touch). Wife got a mani/pedi after, which was done well. Breakfast was also good, not best ever or anything, but much better than I expect with Starwood (on par with what I am used to getting at Hyatt properties where the Globalist breakfast benefit is usually much better than SPG's platinum breakfast).

Location-wise it was so easy to Uber everywhere that it didn't end up seeming to matter as much as I thought (we noted that it was a 40 baht, 4-minute Uber ride over to the Le Meridien by Patpong, and from there we walked a couple minutes to Ruen Urai where we had a delicious Thai dinner the first night -- so I can't say I see much of a location difference between these two properties). Second night we went up to the Sky Bar for overpriced drinks but a nice view, and had some excellent larb gai and pad thai at a small restaurant around the corner from there.

tldr -- All the rave reviews have convinced me to book the SGS next time, but I would happily stay at the W again. Didn't really see much of the city so a return trip is due before long.

bgriff

I going to be in Bangkok with my husband for 3 nights and it will be the first time visiting for both of us.

We usually prefer Ws despite their peculiarities, but from all of the reviews here and on other threads it sounds like the W BKK might be a pass for the subpar location and the odd bathroom layout.

It sounds like the SGS is much beloved and I have heard good things from friends IRL as well. But while it's hard to tell from the pictures I've found, I'm not sold on the style -- we definitely prefer a more modern/less stuffy style of design. Easy proximity to public transit is also important.

Not overly concerned about Platinum treatment for this trip ... a suite is nice to have but not a dealbreaker, and we plan to do lots of eating around the city so don't necessarily care about lounge access or other freebies.

Any thoughts on which of the hotels other than the W meets those criteria?

EuropeanPete

It sounds to me like you've just described the Le Meridien, even if I'm not a fan of its location.

eccentricfusion

The bathroom is fine, if you get a studio suite it is separated from the main room. No lounge and platinum treatment isn't like the SGS, but the service is still top notch. I never use the lounges when I'm in Bangkok anyway. As far as the location goes, the train is easily accessible from the W, you can go through Sathorn Square and get to the train fine, Siam is a few minutes away on the train. Taxis are always easy to get from the front of the W. I prefer things more quiet at night so I don't mind the location at all. It's quiet in the area at night, but the bar downstairs is nice. There is a Healthland really close to the hotel too that I go to whenever I am staying there too. I might be a little biased since the W is my favorite hotel in Bangkok. I don't like staying on Sukhumvit though.

Le Meridien is closer to the Sukhumvit line, but the location I think is not better than the W, unless you want to be closer to Patpong and the area around it. I've never stayed at Le Meridien but didn't want to be that close to Patpong.

bgriff

Thanks for the responses. I had kind of forgotten the LM when I posted, though my impression (which is solely secondhand from FT reviews at this point) is that its location maybe isn't too much better than the W's.

Which among the SGS, WGS, TA and StR is the most "modern" in design? It looks like maybe the StR from what I can see? (I guess StRes can be considered "stuffy", though when I said that in my previous post I more meant "grandmotherly", if that makes any sense.)

EuropeanPete

None of the above really. The St Regis is the newest, but is a modern take on classical style. The WGS is not as retro as the SGS, but is hardly modern either.

Dr. HFH

When, what month? If during the rainy season, that might affect the answers and opinions here.


There's no door on the toilet area. More than odd, IMO.


SGS has what I would describe as more of a traditional, old world luxury feel (which I happen to prefer, anyway). Lots of veined marble, high ceilings, etc. Décor is far less important to me than service and soft product. SGS has IMO the best public transportation access in the city. You walk directly from the lobby to the train stations (both overhead and underground) on an elevated walkway, so no issues with avoiding traffic, crossing the street, etc.


I agree with European Pete. You have, in fact, described LM precisely.


I found the W, well, let's say "disappointing," and not just because of the bathroom. It's one of the few hotels in the world where I can't think of any reason to go back.


I think that LM's location is much better than that of the W. IMO the W is in the middle of a field of office buildings with not much else around. Patpong? It's a limited area, and easy to avoid if that's your preference. I wouldn't allow the proximity of Patpong to have me avoid LM. It's an excellent hotel which seems to tick all of your boxes.


SGS is not at all "grandmotherly" but it is more old world luxury, as I said above.

From your criteria, I think that you will be happiest at LM. That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it!

MSPeconomist

alanslegal

The W location isn't that bad, sure it's not sitting adjacent to the skytrain (like the SGS, WGS, St Regis) but it is close enough - think of a 5 or so minute walk. Now people might say it is a dead zone but exploring Bangkok by foot and seeing what happens day to day in Bangkok, that's gold. Now within a 15 minute walking radius of the W, you can see a lot. What I dislike about the W, is the pool and gym. Yep, totally unappealing places to be.

The LM isn't too far from the W but will feel pretty close to the W in terms of room ambience and that might be your next option.

However, for me, head straight to the St Regis. The decor feels opulent but modern. It can get busy but will never feel as busy as the SGS. The service is generally positive (sometimes they produce the odd fault though).

For me, 'grandmotherly' is the right word. If the SGS was a person in the family, who would it be? Definitely my grandmother. She's the soul of the family, always nice, supportive and willing to help out but why must she always wear ugly clothing - that's substance over style any day.

Now old world luxury? Not in my books, the SGS is in a contemporary hotel block, with great service, but decor which make it feel old. The morning buffets are often a zoo. To me, that doesn't make it old world luxury.I am thinking of European LC properties that fall into old world luxury but SGS, nahhhhh not for me.

dsquared37

And with MRT (Sam Yan) and BTS (Sala Daeng) only a few minutes walk away.

Grandmotherly is how i would have described Plaza Athenee pre-renovation.

3rdworldresident

Go for st regis or athenee hotel.

Dr. HFH

Interesting, -- I always get off the MRT at Silom, as it is colocated with Sala Daeng. Sam Yan never occurred to me. I'll give it a try.