As you may know, Marriott has the Executive Serviced Apartments market in Bangkok pretty much on lock down with three excellent properties and one on the way.

On this blog I have written reviews on two of the Marriott apartments in Bangkok, The Sukhumvit Park Marriott Executive Apartments on Sukhumvit Soi 24, which opened late 2009, and the Sathorn Vista ( on South Sathorn Road), which opened a few months earlier. The flagship property being the Mayfair Marriott Executive Serviced Apartments on Lang Suan.

They are of course all excellent hotels, offering both short and long term stays, from as short as one night, up to however long you can afford to stay. (I would venture that at around USD 6000 a month, most families living at these places have the bill footed by their multi-national corporation while they are stationed in Bangkok.)

If you are trying to decide which Marriott Executive Serviced Apartment to stay in next time you are in Bangkok, the choice might be a little paralyzing. Everybody has their own list of priorities when choosing a place to stay, so with that in mind I thought I would break down the differences in each property, to hopefully make it easier for you to choose which property best suites you.

Pool

• If you want to do laps: The Mayfair or Sukhumvit Park
• If you want sun: Sathorn Vista (worst for sun- Mayfair)
• Best for poolside beverages and food: Sathorn Vista
• If you have kids: Sathorn Vista or Sukhumvit Park (no kids pool at the Mayfair)
• Best view from the pool area: Mayfair-pool is on the 25th floor. Sathorn Vista also has panoramic view of Silom/Sathorn area.

Dining

I’m not talking about room service here, but the restaurants and communal dining areas. While the facilities are indeed 5 star, keep in mind that these places are primarily serviced residences so not all hotel services are available all the time. For example room service at all three properties is only available from 11am to 11pm.

Each apartment hotel offers three dining establishments, a bar, a cafe and one more choice. Sulhumvit Park has a deli, Sathorn Vista provides a resident’s lounge (which is only open to long term residents, unless the breakfast crowd at Momo Cafe is busy, in which case they open it up for other guests), and Mayfair offers an Italian bistro, open for lunch and dinner.

Location

Of the three Marriott Executive Apartments, I personally prefer the location of the Mayfair Marriott on Lang Suan. It has beautiful Lumpini Park at the end of the street and it situated roughly in the middle of a triangle formed by Silom (Patpong), Siam (Siam paragon, Siam Square, Central World) and Sukhumvit Road.

You can see this in the Google map below, as well as the position of Sukhumvit Park and Sathorn Vista. You can zoom in and out and move the map around with your mouse, or you can click on the link below the map to see a full sized version.

View Marriott Executive Apartments in Bangkok in a larger map

Shopping

Mayfair and Sukhumvit Park are positioned well for shopping expeditions. While it is a bit of a walk down the street to the Skytrain station from Sukhumvit Park, the hotel provides a complimentary tuk-tuk that shuttles guests up the end of the Soi to Sukhumvit Road, where you will find the upmarket Emporium shopping complex, as well as the Skytrain which will whisk you to some of the biggest and best shopping in Asia. Just a few stations away on the Sukhumvit BTS Skytrain line you will find Central World and Zen, the biggest mall in Asia, the “Pride of Bangkok” the super Hi-So Siam Paragon, Siam Square and MBK.

When coming back from shopping to the Mayfair, I recommend taking the Skytrain back to Chit Lom station, and taking a taxi from the start of Lang Suan, which is a couple of meters from the exit. Lang Suan is a one way street and if you are coming from the Siam area the taxi has to go a long way around as they cannot turn into Langsuan from Sukhumvit from the direction of all the shopping malls I just mentioned above. The exception to this is if you are coming from Emporium, then it is an easy shot for the taxi up Sukhumvit and turn into Lang Suan.

Sports

While of course all three executive apartment complexes have a modern fitness center, and both the Sathorn Vista and Mayfair are close to Lumpini Park, I believe that for fitness buffs, Sukhumvit Park has the edge. Apart from the fitness center there are also tennis and squash courts on site, as well as badminton courts. Also at the end of the street on Sukhumvit Road next to The Emporium, is Benjasiri Park, not as big as Lumpini but quite a pleasant venue for a jog.

I am a huge fan of executive serviced apartments in Bangkok, particularly of the Marriott brand. They are excellent value costing no more than a five star hotel, and you get so much more space, including fully equipped kitchens, laundry and drying facilities in the room and so much more. With a choice of room size from studio apartments up to 3 bedrooms, serviced apartments are ideal for just about anybody who likes a bit or luxury, or a little lot of extra room.

Have you given up hotels for executive serviced apartments yet? Are you a regular at one of the properties highlighted above? If so, what is it about your favorite that keeps bringing you back. Or perhaps you have other recommendations for serviced apartments in Bangkok? If so, please share them below, we’d love to hear them.

Or perhaps there is something that you would like to know that I have missed? If so, drop a comment below and I will do my best to give an objective answer.