Bangkok: Which SPG hotel should I choose? [Master Thread]
 

I'm returning to the Land of Smiles early next year and wanted to pick out someone's brain ;)

I usually stay at the SGS and think the extra comp. benefits as a PLT is great ^ I like the happy hour drinks, comp buffet breakfast, free internet, also the SGS pool is probably one of the nicest/relaxing city hotel pools I've ever come across. But for some strange reason, past 1am here in SYD - my mind tells me I should visit the ROS for a few nights!

So I need some more info about the ROS that could influence my decision. Does the ROS offer any above and beyond treatments as a PLT like the SGS does? Could I choose to take my buffet breakfast by the river, rather than in the exec. lounge. Thanks in adv.

You clearly need some rest. ;) Hopefully when fully awake make the right decision and decide to stay at the SGS.

hehe :D

Now I realised I said early next year (2010?) LOL

I meant in early this year - I thought I was still living in 2008!

I don't know what Plat Treatment you are talking about at the SGS. I guess you mean the internet and a few items of laundry? Every time I book the SGS I get nothing in terms of an upgrade. All the SPG BKK hotels offer breakfast (not sure about the new Meridian) and some type of cocktail hour.

The ROS is corporate owned (49%, I think). They allocate Plats a Club Room and sometimes a Suite. The ROS lounge is easily the best that SPG offers in BKK. The food offerings are small for tea time, but quite good for happy hour. You can have breakfast down at the river without issue.

It's a bit of a hastle getting to and from the ROS AT CERTAIN TIMES of the day. But it's also 25% cheaper for the room compared to the SGS.

I don't know what all the fuss is about the SGS. They certainly don't show me any love. I stay about 20 nights a year in BKK... many, many better places than the SGS to choose from.

Just finished staying at the SGS. Payed 5400baht/night for 7 nights. Was upgraded to a suite (have been upgraded everytime as a Platinum). They will also upgrade you to a suite every 10th stay. They also had a 20% discount for food/drinks at all the restaurants (with the exception of brunch) and other 20% options (didn't even charge me for my laundry). Happy hour from 6-8 at all 3 of bars there (they even put some drinks on reserve for me (twice) when I couldn't get there before 8pm). I love the SGS!

However, business is really down. As of Jan 1, Basil and Rossini's will only be open for dinner, Fitness Center/Spa are no longer open 24 hours and the business center is cutting back on their hours as well.

Even though business is down and they closed several floors the atmosphere is quite lively. Breakfast tables were 60-80% occupied and pool chairs were mostly taken by late morning. In fact IMO this is a perfect occupancy level from guest's point of view - busy enough to create a nice hotel environment but not too busy ensuring perfect service. I was really impressed.

BTW SGS looked much livelier than the Westin or the Meridian which both appeared completely abandoned.

Overall I'll pick SGS over any other SPG property in BKK and probably over any other major chain hotel there.

I'm the OP and based on the advice I got here I ended up staying at the SGS. I have to say that it was just about the best Platinum treatment I've received anywhere.

When people here rave about the SGS, I think they are talking about the great upgrades (I got a 2 bedded suite, which was exactly what I wanted), the happy hour options at several bars, the laundry, the free internet, and of course the breakfast options.

I am intrigued that you say the ROS is better. I haven't stayed there (or anywhere on the river), but may be heading back to BKK in July. Based on this I may consider staying there instead of the SGS.

i moved from the ros to the sgs about 6 years ago and never looked back. two 5-6 night stays a year over the last dozen years and the sgs beats the ros hands down
(granted i haven't been back to the ros since i moved- but the sgs location alone is worth it to me).
add to that the fact the general manager of the sgs , richard chapman, is the best hotel manager of any hotel i have ever stayed at. other than saving some money if the ros is cheaper, there is no reason not to stay at the sgs if your choice is a spg property.

My quote was in response to a post considering trying the ROS. I know FTers prefer the SGS, but wanted the poster to be encouraged to go there, if it fit their needs. The ROS has great Plat treatment too, although an end suite seems harder in the last 6 months.

I said the Lounge at the ROS cannot be beat. And at the ROS my upgrade percentage is 100% (80% end suite, a mix of Club Rooms & Jr Suites for the remaining %)

My upgrade % at the SGS is ZERO...
the only hotel in Asia where I've been declined an upgrade every time (and at rates often 30% more than the ROS where I receive one every time). Maybe they're just too popular. To pay more for the SGS makes no sense to me. No big deal... just another point of view.

I am sure you complained to me during our chat in the lounge at the ROS last week that you had not got a suite on your last three visits there ?. ;)

I agree that the ROS lounge is the best in Bangkok of SPG properties, but I really like the options available at the SGS for free drinks. You did also say you didn't understand why everyone raved about the SGS during the same conversation. :D

I also think the SGS blows the socks off the ROS. Having said that, it depends what you want from your stay.

We (myself, girlfriend and her parents) just did 4 nights in Bangkok and we split our stays between the ROS and the Hilton. However, this was due to it being her parents first ever visit and as it was a full on 'tourist' visit and included NYE, then the river was a no brainer.

Can you compare the lounge at the ROS to the lounge at the Plaza Athenee?

I like the Plaza Athenee lounge more. But the food offerings at the Plaza Athenee are minimal. At the moment, Athenee does not serve breakfast in the lounge, and the Tea Time, and Cocktail Hour food is quite sparse.
The part of the lounge that makes the Athenee better is the physical area, design, etc. Using the middle portion of the building, I'd estimate the area to be the equivalent of 8 rooms. A spattering of couches and tables for large and small groups, a traditional classical Le Meridian Club style, it shows very well.

The ROS is an example of how good something can be when they put the effort into it.
The ROS lounge was newly renovated. They opened up many rooms to make a great layout. Overlooking the River the centre area has a bar in the middle, and sets of couches and tables that groups of 2 & 4 along the windows. On the one side, also overlooking the river, they have many sofa areas that will fit large groups, several tables that sit 4, and the large food servery/buffet area.
Breakfast and Cocktail Hours are wonderful at the ROS Lounge, Tea Time is not bad. The variety, consistency, and delicious imagination of the food choices is to be commended.

Thanks for the great comparison. I really need to check out the ROS one of these days but the ease of getting around the city from PA, WGS and SGS have me spoiled immensely.

I'm going to be in Thailand for 5 days in February. I'm in BKK for 2 nights, then we are doing a quick Chiang Mai overnight (thanks to Asia Air $0 tickets) and then return to BKK for 2 nights.

The wife and I have never been there before, so we are going to do a lot of the touristy things, but I also would like easy access around the city.

We only want to take a day packs to Chiang Mai, so we want to leave our big bags at our hotel. In the best case scenario I'd like to stay at the ROS the first two nights and the SGS the last two nights, but that would leave issues with our bags. Has anyone ever transfered bags between the two hotels?

Should I just book the SGS or ROS for the entire stay? I'd probably use points for the SGS and book it for 5 nights so I could leave the bags or pay for the ROS in sets of two nights, assuming that I could leave our bags there the one night we are away.

Any advice.

Thanks.
Rich

Adding to seanthepilot's view, Mrs VanMan and I are now at the Plaza Athenee for the first time. We were upgraded to a Royal Club room adjacent to the Lounge which nicely leaks its free wireless signal to our room. They say a suite is not available, but spg.com disagrees...but the room is fine, and we're not worried about changing;). The occupancy is obviously pretty low.

Plats will get a complimentary breakfast at the extensive buffet in the Rain Forest Cafe on the lobby level. Way better than any lounge breakfast I've experienced.

Afternoon tea (3-5pm) is limited to scones, cream and jams + chocolates + probably a savory item like a little foie gras on crackers, but they go early.

Cocktails (6-8pm) are with decent Aussie wines, plus a large range of spirits like JW Black, Bombay Sapphire, etc. The food offering tonight was hot mini quiches, smoked salmon with "caviar", rare tuna on pumpernickel and cheese on a mini toast, plus three or so deserts, including a tasty burnt creme caramel, mixed nut tart, etc.

The staff service level is superb.

All in all, although I really like ROS, I think the LM Plaza Athenee is a great alternative, especially considering that it is five minutes walk to a BTS station, which is just one stop away from world class shopping at CentralWorld and Siam Paragon, and in the other direction, from the pubs, bars and restaurants at Nana and Asok.

Why don't you book 2 nights at the SGS and 2 nights at the WGS? You can walk across the bridge and check your bags with the bell stand or they will transfer your bags for you. Then you need only pay with points or $$ for the 4 nights you will actually stay. I have only had good experiences at both properties.

at the sgs your platinum upgrade includes free internet in your room. is this the same at the westin are do you have to pay. if you do have to pay does anyone know how much it is?

Last time I was at the Westin there was free wifi in the Club Lounge, but there was a charge in room even for Plats. You might try to get a room on the Club floor close to the lounge and pickup that signal.

THB 642/day.

that's quite an odd number. i have 5 nights booked and i am at 4500 thb at the westin now plus 642= 5142 versus 5850 thb at the sgs. that brings it down to about 20 usd per night difference.

thanks for the info

"Our hotels will not enter a price war like other hotels" (source: Bangkok Post)
 

Le Meridien Bangkok is located on almost two rai on Surawong Road, and its room prices start around 5,500 baht per night. The hotel is mainly targeted at corporate guests, particularly young businesspeople. It expects corporate customers to make up 28 percent of guests in the first year of operation and 40 percent in the second year.The location is also expected to attract guests from international companies. The hotel is close to the financial areas of Sathorn and Silom, where over 60 percent of firms are transnational.

"Nobody denies that they are concerned, including me, about the current global recession and local political instability. The situation will improve but nobody knows when. So, the problem is how we should deal with it now," said Tan. (...) "Despite the present economic situation, our hotels will not enter a price war like other hotels. As long as airlines cut flights, the price war will be useless," he said.

According to Tan, effective measures to boost hotel revenues include aggressive marketing campaigns and cutting operating costs. He said this is the reason for hotel management to train staff in several work fields. The management also constantly rotates staff, particularly those working in food and beverages."Besides, the hotel offers personalised service. If you are our guest, our staff will pay special attention to you. If you arrive and order a latte, staff will later ask if you would like to have latte again with your favourite taste. This makes us different from others," he said.

Even worse is that you will pay tax and service charge on top of that, additional 17%.

I wish them well but cutting cost and being able to pay special attention to customers is usually difficult to do. There are plenty of places charging less than 5500thb per night that remember what I like to drink. ;)

I stayed at the WGS on Thursday night (occupancy ~60%) and when I checked in on the 24th floor I was given a code for internet in my room. I'm not sure if that was a new facet of the corporate rate (which has been reduced) or a new benefit for Plats. Maybe they just got tired of seeing me in the lounge so often outside of breakfast/cocktail times using the Internet. ;)

Twice in the past 2 months I've had consecutive stays and the bellboys are more than happy to walk across the street with you carrying your luggage. On the way from the WGS to SGS it is even more appreciated since you have to climb the stairs to get to the walkway across the street.

That got a chuckle out of me as well. If the are always rotating the F&B staff how likely is it that you'll meet up with the same person anyway?

I've stayed at the SGS three times so far.

August 2007 - Award Staty - Upgraded
November 2008 - Revenue - No Upgrade
January 2009 - MasterCard Free Weekend ^ - No Upgrade (Asia vs. Europe Golf had most of the suites booked it seems)

In any event I'm not complaining. The rooms on the SPG floors are larger than those at the WGS. I'm still more a fan of the WGS though.

In a conversation that I had with a guy in the bar who had stayed at the SGS something like 50 times over the years.....

He said SGS upgrades you on a specific stay number benchmarks. First stay to this suite and then 10th stay to a an even nicer suite etc etc. If you notice on the slip with your room rate at the SGS there is a notation of your stay count at that property.

I find that interesting as I have stayed at the SGS three times also. First stay, upgrade to a suite but second and third stays no upgrade. I do agree the normal rooms are fine as they are larger than standard rooms at the WGS.

i have 12 stays at the sgs. i find the upgrade to a suite more dependent on room availability. a number of times at check in i have asked what type of room and when told it is a regular room i have asked if i could have a suite. they then have looked and said there are none available now but if i want to wait until housekeeping has one ready i can have it. for my typical 5 night stay i usually check my luggage and go for a walk.

That is well and good but not consistent with the benefits of Plat status so I'm not sure I buy what this guy said. Both of the last two times they apologized that no suite was available.

The last time they recognized that it was my second stay. This time they welcomed me back but the little slip said it is my "1" stay.


I'll try that some time I guess. My last two stays have been 1 and 2 nights respectively. Perhaps this property is starting to grow on me. Hmm...

I don't mind using points for 5 nights, because of the 5th night free option.
My indecision comes from wanted to stay in 2 different parts of the city versus the convenience of leaving the bags.

Decisions, decisions, so many options in BKK.

It's 600+7% VAT, that explains it.

My thoughts:

SGS - favorite when traveling with family. Sayed twice (both on C&P) and we got upgraded to a suite. Missus loved the happy hour Can't stay there on biz as it exceeds my company budget.

WGS - my favourite hotel when on business (stayed >20 times). Close to skytrain and mrt. Last week, due to trimming of corporate travel allowances, I tried to ask WGS to give me a lower rate as the current corp rate exceeded budget by US15. They refused (and its not like they are running a full house). 40% suite upgrade success.

Plaza Athanee - nice hotel, out of the hustle & bustle of Sukhumvit area but close enough to the Sytrain. Was there after the airport reopened after the seige. The hotel was practically deserted. The floor I was on felt totally deserted. Kinda spooky. Never choose this hotel during rainy season, as there is no covered walkway to the skytrain (unlike SGS/WGS). So far 100% suite upgrade success (both on revenue and C&P).

ROS - Love the view but getting to silom/sathorn area is a pain. I will be staying there next trip as they're currently cheapest of the BKK *woods (well, in terms of my corporate rate). Stayed once only, upgraded to suite.

They do upgrade you to a suite on every 10th stay, but it wasn't a nicer suite when I did it. I'm at 29 so we'll see if I get a better suite next time.

I stayed at the SGS 8 times last year. I was upgraded to a suite on 7 of my stays. The only time I wasn't was when I was using points.

"I stayed at the WGS on Thursday night (occupancy ~60%) and when I checked in on the 24th floor I was given a code for internet in my room. I'm not sure if that was a new facet of the corporate rate (which has been reduced) or a new benefit for Plats. Maybe they just got tired of seeing me in the lounge so often outside of breakfast/cocktail times using the Internet."

Yosithezet,

Is your new corporate rate for an executive floor room, or were you given lounge access solely bc you are a plat? If they offered you free pressing at the WGS, then I think you were on an exec. floor rate. Otherwise, perhaps this is a way to compete with SGS's benefits. :)

I was upgraded to the Executive floor in lieu of a suite. No way to know if they welcome me to the lounge because of the status or the floor. I've noticed once something printed about pressing but they've never mentioned it and I've never availed myself of it at WGS. I need to ask about it next time I check in.

Good to hear, especially your upgrade percentage.

at the wgs platinums do get access to the lounge and a free breakfast don't they?

Access to the lounge for sure and breakfast is in the lounge. You can not take it in the restaurant unless your rate includes breakfast. People who purchase executive floor rooms do however have the choice.

Does the WGS still offer free wireless in their lobby? It's been a couple years since my last stay there.

Yes but in lots of 2 hours. You need to get a login from the business center.

Single night stay, arriving late (into BKK ~ 10:40pm), back out of the airport on a 1:40pm flight next day. On the way to CEI w/ mrs. gleff.

Currently torn between the ROS and the SGS. SGS is the better hotel, of course. And I enjoy waking up to complimentary coffee in-room, followed by a nice breakfast and not to mention complimentary internet. Rate ~ 6000 baht, and cat 4 cash + points available.

I haven't stayed at the ROS. It's cheap (3000 baht currently on a 45-day advance purchase rate). Apparently good upgrades and reports of nice lounge. Am concerned by reports that the rooms are pretty rundown, gross even, including suites. I do fancy having breakfast down by the river, is this an option in lieu of lounge breakfast by chance? Given my late arrival I'd be unconcerned about traffic getting to the hotel. And fortunately I'm not hitting a peak period on my return either, I'd think.

Worth giving the ROS a go?

Given the fact you'll only be there 10-11hrs.
I'd book the 45days adv. promo rate at the ROS.

Traffic shouldn't be an issue late or mid-day.

Yes the SGS is a better hotel,but for your short stay enjoy the river view breakfast and save the cash (3000bht+=$100) and make the coffee yourself.