Possums

going back to uk for a visit via Bangkok, staying 3 nights there.

been googling and googling but still can't grasp the best area to stay in? never been before most of the info i've found seems to be about shopping and which hotels charge to take a girl back to your room?

late 40's so dont dont want to be stuck in the ladyboy/gogo areas

so far Riverside seems quieter option? looking at marriot bangkok & spa has anyone stayed there?

grateful for any advice.

Kooky.

I've only been once so far but we're going for New Year so I've just been looking myself. I found this site very useful; it has info about the areas and where to stay if you want to shop, our sight-see, or whatever -

http://www.bangkok.com/bangkok-area-guide/index.html

I know Riverside is popular with my friends as it's handy for river cruises and the Grand Palace. I'd just recommend you stay somewhere near a train station as the traffic is horrendous and the taxi drivers are evil gits - you get in and ask to be taken somewhere and they take you via their friend's shop so they can earn some commission. You have to be really insistent with them. Also, be sure to insist on a meter if you do use a cab. Use a tuk tuk or motorbike taxi at your own risk!

We've stayed at the Conrad on Wireless Road but mainly because a friend sings there. It's fabulous, it's a lot of friends' favourite but it's not cheap by Asia standards and not very conveniently located. We've just booked the Marriott Courtyard for NY, can't tell you what it's like as it's not open yet but it's in a handy location.

steve99

I've only been there once, but found it relatively easy to get around, we stayed in the Pathumwan Princess which was sort of attached to one of the big shopping centres (MBK I think it was called) the hotel was excellent value and the location was excellent as you could link straight through into the shopping centre without the need to go outside and from there you could access the skyrail thing to get elsewhere.
Id stay there again.

Kooky.

Interesting, Steve - I was considering that but the pics on the web made it look a bit "tired". It's really ok? The location is great.

(BTW, just noticed an atrocious typo in my previous post. I know I'm dumb but I can't seem to find an Edit button.)

steve99

Definitely wouldnt call it tired, especially not by Aus standards
you probably already have it but here's the hotels website
www.pprincess.com

Also have a look on www.tripadvisor.com and look at bangkok hotels, of over 300 hotels listed there the pathumwan comes in 17th. look at some of the individual reviews and it consistenly gets 4 or more out of 5.
For the price I thought it was excellent.

Check out the rates on www.hotelclub.com.au and www.precisionreservations.com
they seemed to be the cheapest when I was looking.

One thing you have to do is visit Vertigo restaurant (you'll need to book in advance).

moneypenny20

You can only edit a post within about 2 or 3 hours of posting it. After that, it's stuck that way for time immemorial.

Possums

Hi thank you for your replies.

steve I had been looking at the P princess looks nice but it was the fact that it was attached to the shopping mall that put me off, was the traffic congestion a nightmare in that area? only we dont land till 11pm and then have to get to the hotel.

just looked at tripadvisor and the bangkok marriot & spa comes in at number 8 reckons its an easier area to get to from the airport?

Seasider the bangkok.com site looks great thank gonna make a cuppa and do some more research.

oh and the conrad looks very nice if we werent going onto the uk would be fab but dont really want to spend that much need to convert these dollars back to pounds!! for our hol back home

Kooky.

You're most welcome. I use TripAdvisor too - great for unbiased information - but there's so many damned hotels in BKK that I got myself into a fog.

An alternative to Vertigo (didn't go last time, hope to this time round) is The Dome atop the State Tower. http://www.thedomebkk.com/web/index.html

The Dome is the restaurant - to be honest we thought it wasn't great for the price, but you are paying for the location. There is a bar you can go to if you don't want to eat, called Scirocco. You can even stay in the tower at lebua http://bangkok.lebua.com/

BTW don't know if you're into silver but there's a great place in the same area as the State Tower (close to the Oriental) called Lin: http://www.linandsons.com/shop/index.asp
Sort of Tiffany-ish

Kooky.

Oh re the restricted editing (and thanks to the person that messaged me too) - bugger, must remember that.

Kapri

Stay away from Ko San Rd

Bobcat

Been there about 12 -- 13 times............. boycott Bangkok and head straight down to Pattaya Beach

Have a look at the temples for me

Possums

cheers I know thats why i posted this thread there are hundreds of friggin hotels and its hard to choose which area is best but I spent ages reading the bangkok site last night really good site plus a forum on it great still steering toward the marriot and has some good deals on that site though in USD. Do you think its worth while paying the extra hotel package to include an airport transfer or is it easy to get from the airport?

mmm I thought that looks a bit dodgy maybe ok if i was on my own and the opposite sex, I found a site called bangkokbob and he has the thai working girls 10 commandments re punters

aw dont put another option in for me LOL, actually to be honest I was originally looking at Pattaya, found a fantastic looking place called Rabbit Resort

http://www.asiarooms.com/thailand/pa...it_resort.html

but like I say we dont land till 11pm and from what I gather its a couple of hours drive down there? and I also read that some taxis will only take you so far?

why do the temples make you ROFL?

Kooky.

It's easy to get from the airport - this said I haven't been to the new one but my husband goes to BKK on business at least once a month and I know it's the same deal.

You go to a desk and tell them where you want to go, get a ticket to that effect, IIRC with the destination and a price on. This way the price is regulated and probably about half what you'd pay for a hotel limo. Of course you won't get today's English papers and a docking station for your iPod but the regualted taxis are perfectly fine.

BangkokBob is a legend. (I swapped mails with him during the coup as he had some good updates on it so I linked my forum to his site.)

Bobcat - seen one temple, seen 'em all (man, you get sick of touring temples when you live and holiday in Asia) but I could say the same about women taking bottle tops off without using their hands...

steve99

The linked shopping mall did make me apprehensive about it, but it was defnitely more of a positive than a negative, you go through from the hotel via a manned (security) door so although its attached its totally seperate. And not having to hit the streets to access transport was a major bonus.
Traffic is generally a nightmare whereever you are in BKK, we booked a transfer car and would do so again, it was all paid for upfront you dont have to queue for a taxi, you get a better standard of vehicle and the driver knows exactly where your going, theres no potential language issues, cost wise I dont recall it being a great deal more expensive than a regular taxi , it took any potential stress out of the equation.

Possums

once again cheers taxi sounds painless enough its just that I saw a package inc the airport transfer.

I was laughing my head off at some of the stuff on BBobs site, he certainly tells it like it is

mm I know what you mean re the temples, been round so many over last couple of years. Actually watching the Burma uprising on the news last night and and saw some beaut temples there dont help em with the nightmare situ that they live in.