Well my friends were not aware that dress shorts were prohibited. Maybe they should post it on large signs in the lobby and elsewhere.

Certain rules are stupid, and that is one of them. That is not a HIGH standard - it is an arbitrary one, as shorts are not inherently less dressy than long pants. A pair of tattered jeans is quite a bit less appropriate than a pair of crisp Bermuda shorts - the shorts also being a vastly more intelligent choice in 98 degree, 98% humidity that typifies Bangkok. Anyone who would choose to wear long pants in that type of climate just to observe some Victorian-era concept of propriety is, quite simply, a fool.

On a positive note, there are several far better hotels in that part of Bangkok that do not get hung up on that sort of stupidity that pervades the Mandarin Oriental - and smart folks will obviously choose one of those superior choices in hospitality and leave the Mandarin Oriental to those folks who's tastes are stuck in the 19th century. Quite simply, the vast majority of folks who feel that this sort of dress code is apropos will be dead within a couple of decades, and with them, the business establishments that cater to that obsolete concept and fail to adapt will surely follow.

Wow, why not tell us how you really feel?

Well, it's not like I didn't tell them how I felt when I checked out of the hotel post haste and moved over to the Shangri-La. Apparently, the folks that run the Mandarin Oriental have forgotten the meaning of the word "Hospitality". It's utterly laughable that this place is considered to be a great hotel. Knowing what I do about this hotel and the way it's run, I wouldn't stay there again if my stay was comped.

Thanks everyone for their feedback, I was impressed/overwhelmed with the range and strength of opinions about Bangkok. I've book rooms at the Four Season during the wedding dates and will report back.

Due to the unrest in Bangkok the wedding location was changed to the Shangri-La which resulted in me cancelling my booking at the Four Seasons and moving across the river to the Peninsula for 3 nights and the Shangri-La for two nights.

The two nights at the Shangri-La were a terrible mistake.
- Breakfast was bad (stale fried rice etc)
- Problems with rooms (key cards deactivating in middle of the night, ants in rooms)
- Blaming wedding group for damage to elevator without producing any proof despite being a massive hotel with hundreds or thousands of other guests at the time
- The Club sandwich in the lobby restaurant was quite good however

Now the Peninsula on the other hand... just wow! It is rare for me to like a city hotel so much that I actually don't want to go and explore in the city but the Pen accomplished this. I booked two balcony rooms through Ian (Luxury) who is a PenClub travel agent.
-VIP airport arrivals service with buggy was arranged through the hotel and the best arrival service I've ever experienced. I am not sure if this is a Thailand thing or a Peninsula thing but I was very impressed at how quickly and seamlessly they escorted us through all the immigration formalities to our waiting car.
-Check-in was handled in room and two check-in agents as well as bellmen were waiting outside the hotel for us to arrive. PenClub benefits were clearly explained and documented in room.
-My father raved about his massages
-The warmness of the staff was really impressive. They really, truly seemed to care and want you to feel at home.
-Room service dinner delivered in 15 minutes which was the time quoted over the phone
-Quality of the food was very, very good.

If I had to nitpick two things about the Peninsula 1) Free breakfast not available via in-room dining (unless booking a suite) 2) The in-room technology seemed like it was state of the art 15 years ago.

The quality and location of the Peninsula make it an incredible value proposition but this hotel is more than a good value, its truly an exceptional hotel and I eagerly look forward to a chance to return.

This hotel is going for low $100's on Jetsetter.com until Nov.

For the first time in my FT life, I just found the Luxury Hotels forum....yay!

On a more serious note, I see very little (comparatively speaking) on the St. Regis. I have a 5 night stay booked here.

I hear good things, great things really...but BKK has such a wealth of lux hotels, I'm dabbling with the idea of doing a little hotel hopping. (Much to my wife's chagrin.)

Even more tempted to hotel hop now as I'm an advisor w/ Virtuoso and would like to reach out to some of these GMs.

So, stick it out at the StR, or....? More importantly, why is the StR one of the least talked about hotels on this thread?

That's such a great deal.

I loved my stay at the pen last year. Truly memorable. Love the vintage rolls Royce pick from the airport for about $50. Yes a taxi costs less, a lot less but that's such an experience cruising through the streets in an old rolls.

This is my favourite hotel in BKK. Going to try the grand Hyatt this time as I need a couple of nights to keep diamond alive so will pass but so tempted.

Are you referring to The Peninsula? I assume so, as it is the only hotel I am aware of with Rolls Royce transfers as an option. The RR transfers, while very affordable, are substantially more expensive than USD $50 each way. I actually prefer the more modern BWW 7 series for transfers, but have used both.

The Peninsula will always be my favorite in BKK.

I think because St Regis BK has no soul compared to the other great BK hotels. It was originally intended to be Four Seasons Residences (it is right next door to Four Seasons Bangkok) but, allegedly, there was a falling out between the owner of Four Seasons, so he turned the Residences into a St Regis hotel.

Although St Regis is very new and modern, whereas Four Seasons is old, Four Seasons has a sense of style and very warm, gracious staff. The Lobby Lounge there is always buzzing with people, whereas when you enter St Regis, there is a distinct chill to the place.

Equally, when you look at the so-called competition in BK - Mandarin Oriental, The Siam, The Peninsula, Four Seasons, you ask yourself why on earth you would even consider St Regis. I would rather stay at The Metropolitan, which does, at least, have character.

I second all the comments that were written about the Peninsula, best hotel on the river.

Also second the (many) comments about the absurdity of the no shorts policy at the MO. Why stay at a hotel if they are going to tell you that you can't be comfortable? Better to spend your money where you're respected and welcomed like the Peninsula....

While I am not personally a huge MO fan in Bangkok- to be clear, you are free to wear shorts as a guest at the hotel- the no shorts policy is only for visitors that are not guests nor being hosted by guests at the hotel and only applies to the lobby area. I suspect this was put in place due to the huge number of photo snappers stopping by following the hotel being voted "best hotel in the world" a few years ago by Conde Nast etc.

Because the St. Regis Bangkok has its own Master Thread here: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/starw...er-thread.html

IMO, you did good by booking at the St.R Bangkok. Despite of the negative feedback above, it is a solid property and we enjoyed our stay there immensely. I did post a review on a different board that starts here: http://milepoint.com/forums/threads/...3#post-1222724

That's not true sorry to say. From 6PM every man, hotel guests included, even if you are paying thousands of dollars for a suite, must wear long pants. Not only was I there this year, you can also read it very clearly on their website.

So you get a "Special" clientele