Tarntawan vs. Rose Hotel

I am planning my fifth trip to Bangkok for a long weekend in mid March. I am currently holding a reservation at the JW Marriott on Sukhumvit (using points) and a reservation at the Tarntawan. Of course the Marriott is nice but I do not kike the location. I have stayed there before and always ended taking a cab back to Silom every night. I like sitting by a pool for a few hours a day. I understand that the Rose has a pool and a men's only steam room in the gym.

I am going to cancel the Marriott reservation and move to the Silom area. What are the pro's and cons of the Rose vs. the Tarntawan?

[allieb]

Both would be a better option than the Marriott for a gay may looking for a good time. No pool at the Tarntawan though I would go for the Rose.

[sydneyboy]

An excellent question. I have been thinking long and hard about where to stay on my next trip to Bangkok. I have stayed at the Tarntawan about 5 times, the last occasion about 3 and 1/2 years ago prior to their renovation. Although I love the location and the service I found the rooms and the bathrooms rather dated, some would say shabby. I have started a couple of threads here asking for comments on the state of rooms pre and post renovation and the consensus seems to be that there is a perceptible but not spectacular improvement in the standard of accommodation. Many have commented that the lack of an in room safe is an almost incredible oversight. As you point out the big draw back at the Tarntawan is the lack of an in house pool.

I started a thread here a few months ago on the Rose after looking at their website, unaware of the refurbishment. The rooms on website looked very inviting, but comments here and on other forums have been mixed. The rooms are OK apparently but not as great as the website would have us believe. Also some are quite noisy. The pool area is a big plus. Some contributors raised serious service issues.

A new hotel Le Meridian is near completion on Surawong in front of the Rose and is due to open mid year (as an aside there have been a number of comments that its construction has been a cross to bear for residents of the Rose) and will be a luxurious and welcome addition at such an excellent location. I will be very interested in reports on the Le Meridian if it opens before my next trip.

The noise problem at The Rose was coming from outside through the single glazed window.
I slept OK for 2 nights out of 4 though.
Other people posting have suggested most other hotels in BKK have single glazed windows, so I suspect noise levels may be similar elsewhere in town.

Very nice pool, rooms are clean & it has room safes.

[ceejay]

I stayed 3 nights at the Tarntawan in mid November, the only time I have been there.

I had one of their "basic" rooms (a "deluxe room"). The room was spacious (and with a huge bed) basically OK, but nothing to write home about.

Pluses - it is set back from the road, and I had no trouble sleeping. The staff are excellent - very helpful and efficient. And, of course the location.

Minuses - the room was pretty dull, might even say boring and I wouldn't want to stay there for more than a few days. As mentioned - no room safe (you get allocated a safety box in the cashier's office, in reception). Not much of a restaurant - but who cares in that area?

Overall, I thought it was pretty expensive for what you get, but I would still recommend it as a hassle free choice for a short stay in Bangkok.

I thought I read somewhere that the elevator at the Rose Hotel does not go to the top floor. Does anyone what is the highest floor with a elevator?

[thrillbill]

I have stayed at both places in the past 8 months...Tantawan is more expensive than the Rose hotel and like you said, there is no pool. I guess a lot of "us" like to stay there is because it is basically an all gay cliental. The rooms in the Rose hotel have been nicely remodeled, but they're small (maybe there are suites, I don't know). I like the fact that there is no carpet, but laminated wood flooring. The bathrooms are updated also. The pool-garden area of the Rose Hotel has been tastefully done and there is a small sauna in the men's changing room at the pool. The cliental is "mixed" with straights and gays. The other "group" you'll run into are a pack of Japanese golfers using the Rose Hotel as their hub.

If you have the bucks, then stay at a 5 star hotel near by such as the Montien. There's a pool there plus a gym.

If you have the bucks, then stay at a 5 star hotel near by such as the Montien. There's a pool there plus a gym.
I read a report, maybe a couple of years ago, that the Montien is not keen on 'joiners'. No personal experience.

Tarntawan Place is great for me and if a pool is needed then they have arrangements with a gym about 5 minutes walk away.

As for the in room safe - I always lock my overnight valuables in my briefcase and lock that inside my suitcase. No boy is going to waltz out through the reception with someone else's suitcase without being stopped by the hotel security.

And importantly, the Tarntawan security always rings your room when a 'friend' leaves. They take the guy's ID Card and don't give it back until you have given them the all clear on the phone.

I read a report, maybe a couple of years ago, that the Montien is not keen on 'joiners'.Correct - they are anti-joiner, which is somewhat incredible for a hotel across the road from Patpong, but perhaps that's why

[thaiworthy-old]

goes to the Swiss Lodge and Tarntawan. "Swiss" is not too far from the action, but much, much nicer than Tarntawan. Although Tarntawan is right in the action.

Swiss has a very nice breakfast and I stayed with my Thai bf for a week there, with no problems. I would categorize Swiss more as "gay friendly."

I had the 5th floor in The Rose, which was the highest accessible by lift.
The sole lift was out of service for almost 24 hours during my visit -not a problem.

Overall, I would recommend this place.