SHERATON GRAND SUKHUMVIT

I have no favorite hotels in Europe, Africa, Middle East, Oceania, South America and North America.  I guess the term favorite for me is one I look forward to someday again returning.  There are many worthy hotels:

• Chais Monnet in Cognac, France.  I don't ever want to land in Paris again, so coming back would be difficult.  Read my posting of 8July2025.  Our tour of Remi Martin was truly memorable.  This special wine tour was in 2019, where one stop was dropping by Chateau Lafite Rothschild for their prized Bordeaux.  Did you know that every bottle of cognac comes from this town, and nearby region?  Same for champagne, which is produced only in the region of Champagne, France.

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  Another one is the Marriott Marquis on Times Square, New York City.  However, I'm not coming back here because it is too expensive.  Actually, Google AI says the typical cost is around $350/night, which is very reasonable for a property in almost any major city these days.  I guess I was there at a busy time and I paid more than $550/night last year.  Well, maybe I'll return one more time.  That was our view from our room of Times Square where the clock drops on New Year's Eve.

There are several on this list in Hawaii, and my first two in this series were on the Big Island of Hawaii, the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel and Four Season Hulalai.  The series continued last week with, the Ritz Carlton Tokyo.

I continue my nostalgic Tuesday hotel series with the Sheraton Grand Sukhamvit Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand.

• Opened in 1996, so it is almost 30 years old.  Google AI says the average room rate during that early period was between $100-$200.  Today, from $216-$399/night.
• There was a major renovation in 2019.
• A video of the hotel.
• Here is a quote from one of my postings in 2020 about my stay here.

At my age and current wussy demeanor, this will not be like Indiana Jones.  First, the Sheraton Grand Sukhamvit, one the Luxury Collections.  According to the person who checked me in, this was my 19th stay there, not days, but number of times I checked in and out.

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  What does Luxury Collection mean?
• The hotel has a special combination of location, culture, tradition and history.  Usually costs more than the average core hotel.  There are nearly 120 such properties in more than 35 countries.
• Is one of the luxury portfolios of Marriott.  Others are Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis and JW Marriott.
• Why is the Sheraton Grande Sukhamvit Hotel so exceptional?
• Maybe what stands out is the free buffet breakfast, the equal of the best in the Orient.  While Monday to Saturday is excellent, there is a Sunday Jazz Brunch Buffet that is better,with free champagne.

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  The concierges are exceptional.
• Location is ideal.
• Just outside the hotel is a covered walkway to both mass transit systems BTS and MRT.

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  Also adjacent is the Terminal 21 shopping center, a movie theater chain and nightlife.  Here is a video of the mall.  Has more than 600 shops.  The Ala Moana Shopping Center in Honolulu only as 350 shops and restaurants.

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  Up and down the street (Sukhamvit) are several blocks of shopping stalls for the cheapest prices.  The night market is fabulous,
• Close by is my tailor, Jackie, where I have my vests made.

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  We can have club lounge drinks at any of three bars, The Living Room, La Sala or the Cigarista Lounge from 6-8PM.
• There are 8 restaurants in the hotel, and the best serves outstanding Tuscan cuisine in Rossinis.  The Caesar Salad is made in a real Parmesan Cheese bowl.

• I always get a room on a high floor, and sometimes just buy lunch to have in my room with a view.

When enjoying a jazz band or Frank Sinatra tribute show in the main bar area, you can order a full meal from a menu.

I have my 21st stay at the Sheraton Grande Sukhamvit planned for the Spring of 2026.

I should add that my favorite Bangkok hotel is not in the top ten, and maybe might miss the top 50. But there is the Royal Orchid Sheraton Riverside Hotel on the iconic Chao Phraya River that is really mediocre.  So don't make a mistake about going there.

See that muddy water?  That is the Chao Phraya River.  I don't think I've seen a fish in there.  However, here is a video of fishing for the Hampala Barb in these waters.  I include it mostly because there is some charming touristic beginning showing the general charm of Bangkok.  The river itself is 231 miles long, so there are cleaner stretches.  Here is a catfish.

There are new steeples in Bangkok that are fabulous.  Then there is the Oriental Hotel, which I have experienced, first established in 1876.  It is now called the Mandarin Oriental, and is the unquestioned #1 hotel in Bangkok.  More so:

The storied property on the banks of the Thai capital’s Chao Praya river, known and loved as Bangkok’s ‘La Grande Dame’, was named the World’s Best Hotel by The Daily Telegraph newspaper in the United Kingdom, awarded the highest possible score of three keys by the Michelin Guide and also named as one of the World’s 50 Best Hotels.

The 331-room hotel has been an inspiration to a host of world-renowned writers from Joseph Conrad, Somerset Maugham to Barbara Cartland, after whom many of the suites are named. The hotel presents 11 restaurants and bars, from traditional Thai cuisine to Michelin starred French fine dining at Le Normandie. Private shuttle boats provide access to The Oriental Thai Cooking School, Sala Rim Naam and Terrace Rim Naam, the hotel’s Thai restaurants, award-winning The Oriental Spa and Fitness & Wellness Centre located across the River; as well as the nearest sky train station (Saphan Taksin) and ICONSIAM, Thailand’s latest and largest shopping mall, and home to The Residences at Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok.

The cost is around $450/night.  Might be worth a final adventure on my next trip to Bangkok.

That monster Super Typhoon Ragasa in the West Pacific which two days ago was a Category 5 at 165 MPH, slipped between the Philippines and Taiwan into the South China Sea.  There was a weakening today down to 130 MPH, and the projection is landfall late tonight or early tomorrow as a Category 2 over a sparsely populated coastal area of China, with the track moving over Hanoi, Vietnam on Thursday as a tropical storm.

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