Country Article / Postcards

A HOTEL TO REMEMBER IN BANGKOK

Date: 04/29/2003

Dear International Living Reader,

I arrived in Bangkok late at night. I'd started the day in New Zealand. By the time the plane landed, I had been awake (except for the 40 minutes of sleep I got on the flight from Sydney) for 24 hours. I wasn't in the mood for any hassles. Fortunately, there weren't any. The luggage carousel was easy to find, immigration was quick, and customs was as simple as handing in my form.

Another fortunate thing was that I had arranged for the hotel to pick me up at the airport. There was an extra charge for this, but it wasn't that much more than a taxi would have been--and it meant I didn't have to deal with the taxi lines, which were long as we drove by.

Arriving at the hotel, I was greeted by name and presented with a glass of pineapple juice as I checked in. They couldn't have known that pineapple juice is one of my favorite things, so I assume this is how every guest at the Marriott Resort & Spa in Bangkok is greeted. I was escorted to my room by the desk clerk, and my bags followed. Nothing special there...except somehow it seemed special. Something about Thai service...

I had been upgraded to a junior suite. I can't tell you about the ordinary rooms...but I can say that my small suite was one of the nicest hotel rooms I have ever stayed in. I've been to more than 40 countries and spent the night in some very fine hotels...some of the world's best. Mostly, they're all the same. Even the suites. Even the really expensive places. Few stand out in memory.

But I'll remember this place.

Why? Probably because I felt at home immediately. That was mostly to do with the staff. It wasn't until the next morning that I noticed the other thing I'll remember about this hotel: the small details--of design and furnishing...the little touches. A beautiful wood railing dividing the sleeping area from the sitting area...carved wood moldings...live plants in the room...a runner of Thai silk draped over the armoire...

If you travel a lot and spend a lot of time in hotel rooms, you come to appreciate little things like this. This hotel room made my entire trip (three continents in four weeks). I even thought about extending my stay.

For more, go to http://www.marriotthotels.com/bkkth. The phone number for reservations is (66)24760022. A double room (rack rate) is $105 a night; a suite of the kind I stayed in goes for $155 (again, full rate, as listed on the website) a night, including breakfast.

Lief Simon
for International Living