Conde Nest Traveller magazine announces its best luxury hotels for 2007. Several Thai hotels make the list. Has anyone stayed at these? Recommendations/comments?

 

http://www.cntraveller.com/GoldList/2007/

 

 

 

 

If you are planning to stay at any of the Thai hotels on the list, you'd better have a platinum credit card! I am really surprised that no Thai hotels have made the 'Best for Service' and 'Best for Location' categories. In my view, the level of service at top hotels here beats most other countries.

If you are planning to stay at any of the Thai hotels on the list, you'd better have a platinum credit card!

 

True, but as a treat for a few days or a week, what could be better?

 

I haven't stayed at any of them because I can't afford them, but I've seen the one in Chiang Mai and the one in Phuket. They are magnificent hotels, but I'm not sure I would stay at any of them even if I had the money. All I'm interested in doing in a hotel is going to sleep in the room. I don't spend time in hotels other than that, so I would feel like I'm throwing money out the window to pay hundreds of dollars for amenities I'm not going to use in the first place.

 

I like a nice hotel, for sure, but unless I'm going to use what I'm paying for, I don't see the point in staying in a luxury hotel. That's just me, of course. In Phuket, for example, I'm perfectly happy in a place like the Connect Guesthouse because it offers what I'm looking for at a reasonable price.

 

In Bangkok, I like staying at the Pinnacle for the same reason. Usually. when I go to Bangkok, I drive to get there. The Pinnacle is easy to get to from the expressway. The rooms are just what I'm looking for. The price, if I book through Jimmy, is reasonable. I'm not interested in swimming pools, spas, in-hotel shopping, or anything else. All I'm interested in is the room itself and the location of the hotel.

 

In Chiang Mai, I like the Come On Place, although after reading about PJ's, I may give that a try next time I go to Chiang Mai.

 

In other words, if you're looking for luxury and have the means to pay for it, then the hotels on the list would be excellent choices. If you're more like me, and have no interest in that kind of luxury, then despite how nice those hotels are I wouldn't stay at any of them. Besides, hotels like that probably frown on bringing a "guest" to the room. So, if a "guest" is part of your itinerary, can you imagine paying $500 or so for a room and ending up spending time in a short-time room somewhere? That's not for me.

I guess I usually tend to stay in midpriced places, but the older I get the more I appreciate a comfortable bed. And I have found that bargain hotels tend to not be very comfy for sleeping in most cases. I stayed at a beautiful hotel in Chiang Mai called the Lanna Mantra. Fantastic bed, nice bathroom, the Ping River right at my doorstep all in a lush garden setting.

 

I was a disappointed in the beds at places like Tarntawan and Ambiance in Pattaya. On my next trip I intend to step up to hotel class quite a bit. I am planning to stay at the Sukhothai for several nights in BKK, the Intercontinental in Phnom Penh, the Victoria Angkor in Siem Reap, and I think also the Triple Two Silom in BKK.