Bangkok Hotels

[Bouvis]

IMO It's always reflective on what type of hotel you will be staying in if your inquiry is answered promptly.

Here is a response I received within a few hours from Novotel sukhumvit 4 regarding guest policy:

"Dear Sir.

Warm greetings from Novotel Mercure and Ibis Erawan!

Thank you very much for your e-mail.

We do not charge to joiner, but she has to leave her ID card at the front desk before she goes to your room.

Once she will leave the hotel, she can have her ID card back as it's a hotel policy for security reason.

Should you have further enquiry, please do not hesitate to contact us at any time.

Yours sincerely,

XXXXXXX XXXXXXX (Ms.)."

[Smoothy]

I think the Majestic Grande has a good gym: can anyone confirm that? I have never been, but an old friend who was a total gym rat used to stay there religiously, so I assume. . .

Majestic Grande has a nice gym that is somewhat small, but rarely used. Dyanasty Grande has a nice gym, bigger than Majestic Grande's gym, that is also rarely used. I hate busy gyms, so those two hotels are excellent options. The swimming pool at Dynasty Grande is far superior to the pool at Majestic Grande, but the food at Majestic Grande is better than at Dynasty Grande. Both hotels are around 60 to 70 usd a night.

[Kumbu]

Thanks Kumbu.

I was considering The Landmark due to the gym.

In regards to Mercure Suk 11's fitness area it appears rather small. I see from your posts you gave stayed here.

Any others you would suggest?

Hi Bouvis, if you can work out at a time other than 5 pm-8 pm, I would say the Landmark is a winner. The location is absolutely killer, the quality of the hotel is right up there, and you can often get good deals so you are not paying through the nose. The gym is very large, so if it is not crowded, as MichaelSamuel says:

I am a landmark regular as well and enjoy using the gym but I go mornings or early afternoons and there is almost no one there

Then it is super. I can't work out any other time than after work, so I was kind of bummed by how unusable the gym was at that time.

Otherwise, I would agree that Mercure gym is not outstanding. It was just ok. And the Aloft is similarly middling. The JW Marriott has an excellent gym, but it is consistently more pricy than even the Landmark.

I think the Majestic Grande has a good gym: can anyone confirm that? I have never been, but an old friend who was a total gym rat used to stay there religiously, so I assume. . .

[MichaelSamuel]

So that is when it gets busy! I am a landmark regular as well and enjoy using the gym but I go mornings or early afternoons and there is almost no one there, not even at lunch. I wondered how such a large gym stayed open with no clients. Must be all after work crowd which makes sense, work in area use the gym avoid the busiest BTS and MRT times.

The gym is small but nice at the Marriott on 57 my other haunt. Maybe 4-6 treadmills. Never waited for a machine there.

The Landmark needs no reviews here, but yesterday I went to the gym for the first time at this hotel (having stayed there many times in the past). It was at around 6 pm (Monday evening), and well, it is quite a large gym, but goddam was it full. I mean there were no machines available, and a long line for any of the free weight benches. This is a commercial gym that is housed in the hotel, so it is not just hotel guests here, but people from the whole area that come to use it. It's a lovely gym, but is unusable with that many people in it. So if that kind of thing is important to you, please take note.

[Bouvis]

The Landmark needs no reviews here, but yesterday I went to the gym for the first time at this hotel (having stayed there many times in the past). It was at around 6 pm (Monday evening), and well, it is quite a large gym, but goddam was it full. I mean there were no machines available, and a long line for any of the free weight benches. This is a commercial gym that is housed in the hotel, so it is not just hotel guests here, but people from the whole area that come to use it. It's a lovely gym, but is unusable with that many people in it. So if that kind of thing is important to you, please take note.

Thanks Kumbu.

I was considering The Landmark due to the gym.

In regards to Mercure Suk 11's fitness area it appears rather small. I see from your posts you gave stayed here.

Any others you would suggest?

Thanks for your terrific contributions.

BB.

[Bouvis]

The Landmark needs no reviews here, but yesterday I went to the gym for the first time at this hotel (having stayed there many times in the past). It was at around 6 pm (Monday evening), and well, it is quite a large gym, but goddam was it full. I mean there were no machines available, and a long line for any of the free weight benches. This is a commercial gym that is housed in the hotel, so it is not just hotel guests here, but people from the whole area that come to use it. It's a lovely gym, but is unusable with that many people in it. So if that kind of thing is important to you, please take note.

Kumbu,

Thanks for this as I was considering The Landmark due to the gym facilities available.

I noticed you have mentioned Mercure Sukumvit 11 in your posts.

My research shows that the gym looks OK but quite small?

Would you mind sharing your thoughts on the best options in regard to gym / fitness.

Love your work.

BB.

[Tiberious]

Hi,

Any reports on Novotel Bangkok Sukhumvit 4?

Basically I'm wanting a hotel with a decent fitness centre, pool and is GF friendly around the 2500-300 THB mark and within close distance to Nana.

I'm planning on taking a girl from a go-go back to the room to give her a sound working over and don't want to her to be whining about walking too far as I find this a turn off. (YMMV but in my experience some of these princess's are lazy).

Why walk?

I enjoy looking at them in the environs for a while before enjoying the prize. A bit like going on safari I guess.

Thanks again.

BB.

My friend stayed there in Jan, I saw almost everything of that hotel but not the fitness center. It's nice hotel for that price, great location 5 minutes from Nana. The rooms are nice and not so small, the pool is amazing because is on the rooftop, there is a nice bar and you can enjoy a beautiful view of Bangkok.

[Kumbu]

The Landmark needs no reviews here, but yesterday I went to the gym for the first time at this hotel (having stayed there many times in the past). It was at around 6 pm (Monday evening), and well, it is quite a large gym, but goddam was it full. I mean there were no machines available, and a long line for any of the free weight benches. This is a commercial gym that is housed in the hotel, so it is not just hotel guests here, but people from the whole area that come to use it. It's a lovely gym, but is unusable with that many people in it. So if that kind of thing is important to you, please take note.

[Mogwai]

Any reports on Novotel Bangkok Sukhumvit 4?

Yes. Go back 2 or 3 pages in this thread. Geez.

[Bouvis]

Hi,

Any reports on Novotel Bangkok Sukhumvit 4?

Basically I'm wanting a hotel with a decent fitness centre, pool and is GF friendly around the 2500-300 THB mark and within close distance to Nana.

I'm planning on taking a girl from a go-go back to the room to give her a sound working over and don't want to her to be whining about walking too far as I find this a turn off. (YMMV but in my experience some of these princess's are lazy).

Why walk?

I enjoy looking at them in the environs for a while before enjoying the prize. A bit like going on safari I guess.

Thanks again.

BB.

[Penguin69]

How was it?

It's still in future. I like to book quite in advance to get right place.

[Christian G]

How was it?

I been there once, for a couple of nights few years ago and it was very quiet.

[Buksida1]

Thanks for feedback.

Have since booked into Galleria Suk 10. Equidistant for many places, and seems fairly quiet.

How was it?

[Syzygies]

I'm used to more luxurious hotels so that is my bias. I don't plan to pay more than 1500 a night for the hotels anymore.

So there you have a self contradiction. You might be used to luxury but for 1500 you don't really get it. I agree though 1600 would be too much for the Ibis.

I used to recommend the Mermaid, but I think it now costs somewhat more than 1500, and barely a 4 star. My current Hotel is boutique style in Asoke region at 1800. Room is small, looks nice, but definitely well short of luxury. There is no lift here and minimal selving in the room. No electric kettle but Café downstairs. Its okay For 1800.

I used to like Studio Asoke, but its price has gone higher, at least for short notice bookings, otherwise might be staying there now.

Best rooms I know of for well under 1500 is Sakura Sky on Soi 33. However there is no sound proofing and a gap under the door, and the paintwork and wallpaper has damage, so not luxury by any means but a good option for around 1 K, if you are on tight budget. Rooms standard varies, depending on how recently renovated perhaps. However very cheap renovations.

Really for 1500, you fall a long way short of luxury. 2500 and you might feel relatively comfortable, or stay a long way out from the Sukhumvit stretch. I like Column Hotel a lot but its probably 4 K. Sometimes there is a special there or in Grand Mecure Soi 19.

[Kumbu]

Location On Soi 11, closer to Suk than Aloft, but still a bit of a walk. This is a great location, since it is close to Levels and Insanity and the other clubs on Soi 11. If Climax were open this would be my go-to hotel.

Price I had been checking prices at hotels.com and other sites, as well as on the Accor app, and the prices were always in the $80 range, just like Aloft. So price wise, the two are pretty similar. It's probably worth this amount, to be honest.

Value Pretty decent. You are dropping less than $100 per night for a mid-level hotel in a top location.

RoomVery large room, actually. I had two twin beds (not sure why I requested that), on the back end of the hotel, so it was very quiet. The bathroom was fine. Not enough towels, and there was no place for hand towels, which felt kind of odd. There are two shower facilities: a walk in shower and a bath / shower combo. After my long trip from the USA, I wanted a hot shower, but it turned out there was no hot water. What?! I ran the water for 10 minutes, and it never got hot enough to call it anything more than tepid. The next morning I discovered that there was plenty of hot water in the bath / shower combo, but not in the walk-in. Pretty lame, IMHO. So for that reason alone I would not repeat.

OverallFor mongering, it's a good hotel. There are plenty of non-mongering guests, but if you do your thing late at night, it isn't an issue. They never checked ID for the girl on her way in, and the elevator is kind of out of sight of the reception (not completely, but it's discrete).

If they could fix the hot water issue, I would repeat, but when I told them about it, they said "Thank you for the information" and that was it. I have a feeling this will be a permanent problem for this hotel.