Planning a longer trip - holidays 2019

[GoldMember]

Hey guys,

I'm lucky enough to return to my favorite city in the world, once again this year. This time for my longest stay yet. My husband has a big exam soon so he asked if we could let him study quietly during the month of the Jewish holidays. So it is just me and my daughter coming this time. I will be accompanied by a nanny for 10 days and the remaining time by my parents who refused to be away from their granddaughter for such a long time. 

This is my itinerary:

Sep 27 BKK 3 nights (Somerset Park)

Sep 30 Pattaya 4 nights (Centara grand Mirage)

Oct 4 BKK 4 nights (Sofitel So - XXO Party)

Oct 8 Chiang Mai (first time there) 3 nights (Le Meridien)

Oct 11 Singapore (first time there) 4 nights (Marina bay sands)

Oct 15 Pattay 3 nights (Centara grand mirage)

Oct 18 BKK 3 nights (Grand central point Ratchadamri)

Same as the previous trip, most of the day time will be kids fun stuff with my daughter (I have other forums to get advice for that) and night time will be daddy's fun time. I know some of my hotels are not the first choice of a gay traveler but they were chosen because they were family friendly. I'd rather take a taxi to the gay area and keep my daughter in a hotel that is suited for her. 

Needed:

1. Any current advice and information on what's fun now on any of my destinations, especially the ones I haven't visited. 

2. If anyone wants to meet and have a drink at the bars of BKK or Pattaya, I would love that. 

3. Most of my hotels are with cancelation. But, as I said, if you think a different hotel is better, take into consideration that I'm traveling with a  almost 3 yo ninja :)

One month to go!! 

 

[DivineMadman]

Great news!  A couple of thoughts.

Somerset BKK - I have a friend of mixed Thai-American heritage who spends a lot of time back and forth and she highly recommends Somerset House.  As you well know, very convenient to Prince.  

Le Meridien Chiang Mai  I stayed there a couple of years ago and it was the only time I've ever been disappointed by the Le Meridien brand.  My friend and I were just lost in the chaos of the 99% of the hotel customers who were part of large tour groups.  I've sent several visiting family and friends to the Tamarind Village hotel and they have all liked it, and it seems to be at a roughly comparable price point to Le Meridien.  Tamarind Village  It's within the old city walls and has more of a traditional Chiang Mai feel than the soul-less generic Le Meridien.  Staff is very friendly in my experience and the restaurant is excellent but pricey.

 

[GoldMember]

15 hours ago, DivineMadman said:

Le Meridien Chiang Mai  I stayed there a couple of years ago and it was the only time I've ever been disappointed by the Le Meridien brand.  My friend and I were just lost in the chaos of the 99% of the hotel customers who were part of large tour groups.  I've sent several visiting family and friends to the Tamarind Village hotel and they have all liked it, and it seems to be at a roughly comparable price point to Le Meridien.  Tamarind Village  It's within the old city walls and has more of a traditional Chiang Mai feel than the soul-less generic Le Meridien.  Staff is very friendly in my experience and the restaurant is excellent but pricey.

 

Thanks for this. I will look for alternatives. I need a hotel that guarantees adjoining rooms so my options are a little more limited. 

[PeterRS]

I also highly recommend Somerset Park and I totally agree with DivineMadman about Le Meridien in Chiang Mai. It used to be a lovely hotel. No longer. Besides when I stayed bout a year ago, the large bed mattresses were quite old with valleys and hills which made sleep awkward. The Shangri La is not far away A little further is the quite lovely Ping Nakara Boutique Hotel and spa in a glorious colonial building. The rooms are beautifully furnished and the service excellent

http://www.pingnakara.com

But avoid the Marina Bay Sands like the PLAGUE! It is a stunning piece of architecture and the infinity pool at the top is great. BUT - check out a lot of tripadvisor reviews. Two days ago, one post was headed "Truly awful, outdated, overcrowded tourist trap"

The problem is the hotel is so massive it cannot cope with the numbers - even after being open almost a decade. You will encounter queues everywhere. When I stayed, it took 20 minutes queuing just to get to reception. I was on floor 46. very time I tried to get a lift it was about a 5 minute wait. When I came down for breakfast there was a very long queue. It took almost 30 minutes to get a seat. When I checked out, forearmed is forewarned, it took about 25 minutes. I will never in my life consider staying at that dreadful excuse for a hotel again.

As for the pool, you will enjoy it. But you will feel like a caged animal in a circus. The hotel permits the public access to that floor for payment. So you will have 100 plus people watching your every move. Want a drink? Be prepared to wait a long time to find a waiter and another to get your drink. Want a non-smoking room? You will get one, but someone will have been smoking in it quite recently. The hotel caters to so many guests from China (they come for the casino) most of whom seem to smoke. My non-smoking room had several cigarette burns on the desk and the table. 

A final point. You will notice that the overall Tripadvisor ratings are quite high. You will find a host of reviews from posters who have made only 1 or 2 posts in their lives. Invariably all are in the rave category.  Disregard these and the overall rating falls. The Singapore government has a stake in Marina Bay Sands and a lot riding on it. Years ago on Tripadvisor, it came last of all the country's 5-star hotels. Within a year, thanks to a host of short 2 or 3 line 5-star rave reviews, it began to rise in the rankings. It was discovered that virtually all of those reviews had been deliberately "planted". Singapore has lots of excellent 5 star hotels. On the basis of my experience and that of my colleagues (I was attending an international  conference with speakers from around the world) none of us would consider staying there again. Sorry!

 

[PeterRS]

Having trashed the Marina Bay Sands, it is only fair that i make a recommendation. The InterContinental SIngaore is an absolutely delightful hotel. Beautifully furnished with a fabulous breakfast. The Bugis MRT station is two minutes walk away under cover. I have stayed more than half a dozen times - never been anything other than extremely satisfied.

https://www.ihg.com/intercontinental/hotels/us/en/singapore/sinhb/hoteldetail?cm_mmc=GoogleMaps-_-IC-_-SG-_-SINHB

The Conrad Singapore is also superb. It is one of a cluster of hotels in that Marina Bay area, including the Ritz Carlton, the Mandarin Oriental, the Pan Pacific (also very good and a bit less expensive) and the Marina Mandarin (avoid!). Stayed twice. Wonderful rooms.

https://conradhotels3.hilton.com/en/hotels/singapore/conrad-centennial-singapore-SINCICI/index.html

The Shanghai La is quite lovely but you really need to stay in the more expensive Garden or Valley Wings, not the more basic Tower Wing. Locationwise, though, it is not so good.

https://www.shangri-la.com/singapore/shangrila/

Less luxurious but fantastic views if you can pay for a high floor room is The Swissotel The Stamord. Right above the main MRT interchange and City Hall Shopping Mall. The Mall used to be very cruisy but I believe not now. The Bar Rouge on the 71st floor is definitely worth a visit.

https://www.swissotel.com/hotels/singapore-stamford/media/photos/

[GoldMember]

On 8/24/2019 at 8:43 AM, PeterRS said:

 

The Shanghai La is quite lovely but you really need to stay in the more expensive Garden or Valley Wings, not the more basic Tower Wing. Locationwise, though, it is not so good.

https://www.shangri-la.com/singapore/shangrila/

I thank you deeply for taking the time not only to explain my mistake but also on explaining the proper way to fix it. 

I'm doing the Singapore part of my trip with my parents. My dad likes the Shangril-la on other cities so he asked to choose that hotel from your list. My parents wanted to keep the MBS for at least 2 nights to see what all the fuss is about. So we will be doing 2 nights at the garden wing in Shangri-la and 2 nights at MBS. You saved us about 600 USD and probably some misery. 

Thanks again. Will update on my impressions of both hotels. 

[PeterRS]

My pleasure! Have a wonderful trip!

[ichigo]

This is probably mostly a useless reply but I will also be arriving in Bangkok on the 27th September and also going to Singapore later in my trip lol. Try out any hawker centres in Singapore for really good (and cheap) local food!

[kokopelli]

Hawker centres aka food courts.

[vinapu]

On 8/23/2019 at 12:15 AM, GoldMember said:

Hey guys,

I'm lucky enough to return to my favorite city in the world, once again this year. This time for my longest stay yet. My husband has a big exam soon so he asked if we could let him study quietly during the month of the Jewish holidays. So it is just me and my daughter coming this time. I will be accompanied by a nanny for 10 days and the remaining time by my parents who refused to be away from their granddaughter for such a long time. 

This is my itinerary:

Sep 27 BKK 3 nights (Somerset Park).....

 

hope you are having fun in BKK already

[GoldMember]

9 hours ago, vinapu said:

hope you are having fun in BKK already

As always, Bangkok never failed me. Arrived today to Pattaya. It seems that hotel staff here can entertain my daughter at day and her dad at night :) 

[GoldMember]

9 hours ago, vinapu said:

hope you are having fun in BKK already

P.S. Tiger @ Tawan. Wow. 

[vinapu]

6 hours ago, GoldMember said:

P.S. Tiger @ Tawan. Wow. 

personally known and approved choice - not by coincidence he was my first off of last trip