I thought I would conduct a quick survey to take advantage of the collective opinions / ideas of the board and find out the favorite hotels in the following cities:

BKK
SYD
SIN
MUC

I have stayed in diff hotels in each of these cities but since there are quite a few above avg ones I'd appreciate everyone's opinions.

Looking forward to seeing the responses.

TIA - indogulf

BKK, the Grand Hyatt is a decent hotel with a great location. So is the Shangrila.

In SYD, try the Quay West. It's a suite hotel with the best harbor view of any hotel.

In SIN, there are a bunch of hotels clumped together downtown. The Hyatt and Hilton are nice as is the Pan Pacific.

In MUC, I've only tried the City Hilton, but there must be nicer hotels somewhere. Stay away from the Rathaus! It really lives up to its name.

According to today's (8/23/99) survey of 500 Asia Wall St Journal readers:

Best hotel for business travel:

BKK: Oriental
SYD: Park Hyatt
SIN: Shangri-La

Overall, Shnagri-La is ranked as the best hotel chain for value and service in Asia according to AWSJ.

Bangkok- Shangri-La, Oriental, JW Marriott

Sydney- Park Hyatt, Regent

Singapore- Shangri-La (needs, undergoing renovation), Oriental, Conrad, Hyatt

Munich- Bayerischer Hof, Hotel Rafael, Marriott(some small problems w/ last visit)

These are places I've seen and personal fovorites, but obviously are not necessarily the universal choice for the very best in town!

[This message has been edited by doc (edited 08-24-1999).]

Indogulf: During the years I worked for a Munich-based company, our top executives stayed at the Bayerische Hof and were very happy there. It's well located in Munich Center. Rated as one of the top hotels in town. They used to have a wonderful chocolate shop by the entrance that sold the most wonderful cookies! Don't know if it's still there, but a stop at that shop was always a must for me each trip to Munich.

The rest of us got to stay at the Hotel Prinzregent, which is not nearly as elegant but is in fact very nice. It's a much smaller hotel than the other ones mentioned in this thread. First rate service there. It was a lot less expensive than the Marriott or Hilton in those days. It's not in downtown, about a 15 minute U-bahn or cab ride from Central Munich, but situated in a nice neighborhood.

I'm sure the Marriott and Hilton are both just fine, but if you want to try something quite nice and a little more authentically Bavarian, you might want to give the Prinzregent or the Bayerishe Hof (if it's in your budget) a try.

[This message has been edited by dgolds (edited 08-24-1999).]

Thanks for all the responses so far.

stimpy - i think i'll try the Quay West during my next trip. Thanks for the info.

dgolds - I have stayed at the Bayerische Hof in the past and it is one of the nicer hotels in Munich. Several people have mentioned the Prinzregent in the past. Maybe I'll try it out next time.

Living in Singapore gives me the right to answer the Singapore Hotel question...I think: (in order)
1. Raffles
2. Ritz Carlton
3. Four Seasons
4. The Hyatt
5. The Marriot


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Take the road less travelled.

Indogulf, I know you'll like the Quay West. If you are bringing family, you'll really like it. My suite had two bedrooms, a living room, dining room, small kitchen and a balcony overlooking the harbor at about 20 floors.

All for roughly $200 USD per night.

sounds good to me

I think it depends on what you are looking for, (price vs facilities vs service vs location vs ambience) but my personal favorites are:

SIN - Ritz Carlton, nice airy rooms with great views. I would choose it any time over Raffles which IMHO is overrun with tourists not staying at the hotel, and while they have security gates meant to keep the unwashed out of the residential area it is very easy to bypass them. I do think that Doc Cheng's restaurant and the Indian buffet are excellent features of Raffles.

BKK - Sukhothai, a well kept secret in a very lush setting and a wonderful air of tranquility. Excellent bathrooms. Nearly everyone who knows only a little about BKK will say that the Oriental is supposed to be the best hotel in town. I think it is getting tired and like Raffles is far too public for my liking. A close second for me is the Regent which has a great swimming pool.

SYD - personal favorite is the Sheraton on the Park. Primarily for the location but I also like the amenities in the room (like the CD player) and they have good bathrooms. Quite a number of small boutique hotels have opened in the inner Sydney area and they look quite interesting (at least on paper). I'll be giving one of them a try on my next trip.

MUC - never been so can't say.

Actually, this thread reminds me of a couple of articles AA ran in the American Way by a character called Brooks Quigley - very funny but on the mark for which hotels were the key ones to stay at (London and New York are the articles I remember).

mgm. I confess that the Raffles is a bit touristy..and I agree about Doc Chengs. In addition...the long bar is very touristy while the billiards room is tough to beat.

I'll be dining at the Ritz tonight with my chick...it should be a great evening.

What do you suggest in SF?

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Take the road less travelled.

BKK - Oriental, definitely. It was great even
at $400/night 2.5 yrs ago, nust be even better value now.

SinFlyer - try the souffle for dessert, it is great value and if the chef is on form probably one of the best souffles you can get anywhere in the world.

For SFO - I like the Nikko but a much more intimate experience can be had at The Monaco - really special.

Bangkok? Depends on location. If you are visiting as a tourist, I like to be on the river. My favourite then is the Oriental. Yes, the product might be a bit old, the service is very good (in the hotel, not necessarily in the restaurants) - most five star hotels in BKK have very good service, but the deciding factor for me is the Oriental Spa - absolutely wonderful service in a stunning building.

If you need to be more in town, I much prefer the Grand Hyatt Erawan. It is on the site of the old Erawan hotel, right next to the Erawan temple, one of the holiest temples in Thailand. You can see temple dancers, people make offerings, all steps from your hotel. Rooms are spacious, service is excellent, and the restaurants food quality and service are some of the best in the city! The Spasso Italian restaurant is amazing. Food is great, and later at night, the place turns into a night club with an excellent band. I also like the large pool deck and fitness centre, and the lobby that feels like a sanctuary after you come in from the busy, hot, sticky street.

Singapore? The Raffles is beautiful, and in a pretty good location. Only disadvantage? lots of tourists running around all hours of the day. The Marriott is a bit too gaudy for my taste with its big pagoda roof. The Hyatt just added a great new restaurant. I don't remember its name but it is a large restaurant with several open kitchens. All kinds of food, all very fresh. Also, great fitness facility.

Sydney? The Ritz Carlton on the park is nice, but not very spectacular. The best view without any doubt from the Park Hyatt. It's right on the harbour front, directly overlooking the Opera House. Ask for a room with a view and a balcony. Nothing like having a room service breakfast with Sydney waking up in front of your eyes! The Observatory is apparently very nice too, but no good views.