Hi, I am planning a trip to BKK from around Oct 10th to Oct 20th - mostly for r&r, including afternoon and night time escapades. I have previously stayed in The Standard and thought it was great, albeit quite a distance to Soi 4 and the surrounds. However, it has doubled in price as of tady. I have found these two Grande Centre Point hotels and I wondered if anyone had used them and could comment? Ideally I would like somewhere good quality, with a gym and pool, reasonably quiet, with a decent breakfast and open to guests without questions. Willing to spend up to BHT5000 per night. I have read reviews on here of the Sofitel, mercure, grand Hyatt etc, for which many thanks. Just looking for an up to date pointer on a few options - thanks in advance. Very much up to meet up when I am there - i'm 58, Brit and a relative newcomer to this secret world!    

Soi 17 ... that's walking distance for sure! Thanks for the info @Bwana_LB. Next trip I'll go check it out. The tunabasco looks very appealing to me and a good cappuccino is never a punishment  

BTW, here's the link to their website. A friend tells me the Asok location, which is much closer than the original location I've been visiting to my hotel on Soi 11, is more spacious and much quieter, https://www.bartelsinternational.com

They better be on time. Otherwise, I postponed my trip for nothing 

Closed for Renovations Just a heads-up for anybody who visits this American-Mexican restaurant located on the corner of  Sukhumvit and soi 13. It has been closed all month for renovations.  @Denbosch1971  have no fear, it is scheduled to re-open next month, so plenty of time until your next visit to the LOS. This is a popular place that is open 24 hours a day and was long in need of a refurb. Perhaps the opening of the brand new taqueria called Spicy Sombrero, just a few doors away, prompted them to do this? For me the biggest attraction of Margarita Storm is the location, as it offers outside seating where you can observe the street carnival that Sukhumvit becomes as the darkness falls. The food is very average American-Mexican, although there are a few standout dishes and the margaritas always go down well with the girls. What irritates me the most about this place is that they follow the dreadful American practice of adding the sales tax/VAT to the bill. Americans may be used to this, but for the rest of the world this is considered a deceptive practice. This is especially so when it is actually 17% added to the bill (7% VAT and 10% service charge). I have seen quite a few kick-offs over this, and rightly so, IMHO. The front door was open at the weekend and so I had a good look inside. The place has been gutted and I don't think it will be re-opening until the second half of October, based on my experience of how fast Thai contractors work. Cheers SAG