I stayed one week at this hotel over the New Year’s holiday (2013-14). It is one of the most highly rated establishments on TA. I mostly concur with this rating although I have one minor concern.
Room. I arrived late on a Friday. Traffic on the freeway was horrendous and it was nice being received so warmly by the staff upon arrival. When I booked the room, I thought I had selected one with a washer-dryer but it turned out not to be the case. Upon inquiry, the reception desk kindly gave me a free upgrade to a corner-view, one-bedroom apartment that did have a washer-dryer. It actually has a fully functional, fully equipped kitchen. The comfortable living room is furnished with a cushy couch, flat-screen TV, and a desk. The bathroom is beyond luxurious. The view out of one giant window is the residence of the Dutch ambassador: a charming house nestled in a large wooded garden, home to a flock of birds whose singing brightened my mornings and evenings. For just one person, this was way too much.
Facilities. The hotel has two restaurants but one was closed during my stay. The other serves breakfast in the morning then lunches and dinners later. I only ate breakfast there. The breakfast buffet was decent and items ordered from the menu were also OK. But frankly, this spread could be improved, given the caliber of the hotel. There is a decent size swimming pool on the 4th floor. Some days in the winter, the water was almost too cold as it is unheated. But during most of the year, the water might be too hot. On the other hand, most of the pool is in the shade, under a roof so direct heating from the sun is minimized. On the same floor there is a gym, which I did not use. Service at the pool is irreproachable. There was always a generous supply of large towels and bottled water. The lounge chairs were always replenished with fresh towels. There is a pool bar and in the early evening, they fire up the BBQ to offer sausages and the likes.
Service. From what I have already said, one could guess that service is top notch. Housekeeping is impeccable. This includes a luxurious turn down service: fresh towels, bed is remade if it’s even barely touched during the day, drinking water replenished, trash emptied, curtains drawn in the bedroom, etc… A copy of the Bangkok Post is delivered every morning. One afternoon I sat at a table outside the reception area reading a newspaper. One of the staff thoughtfully came out to hand me a water bottle.
Location. This is the one area where I was not completely satisfied. The hotel is indeed in a high class neighborhood. Wireless road, just one block from the US embassy, next door to the Dutch ambassador’s residence, another block to the American ambassador’s residence. However, Wireless is a busy, noisy thoroughfare. During my stay I only crossed to the other side once due to the heavy, dangerous traffic. There are two pedestrian overpasses but they are not close to the hotel. Finally, the nearest BTS station (Ploenchit) is 5-10 minutes away on foot. That may not sound like a lot but walking along busy Wireless road is rather unpleasant. I think in this matter of location, my opinion is colored by a previous stay at the Hansar hotel which is located in a quiet soi off of Radjadamri road. Moreover, right at the entrance of the soi one finds the Radjadamri BTS station so there was no need to walk along any noisy main thoroughfare. Anyway, this matter of the location is not any fault of the hotel. I knew of it when I booked the room.
