I printed my Bangkok Airways boarding pass on a kiosk and waited for my flight at the gate, which consisted of an open air arbor with lots of stools. Nice, but the lack of back support was a bit uncomfortable.
On this PG A319 there was business class and seat and leg room on economy was a bit better. Again there was full food and beverage service on this one hour flight, but I just had water.
I requested an Uber from BKK airport to Sofitel So and was met by the driver outside and walked to the parking lot where his car was. It was a 50 minutes, 575 baht ride and the driver didnīt want to stop at the hotel or was really clueless, as he took some strange curves and I ended up walking to the hotel, as transit was horrendous and he would have to make a lengthy return.
On the ground floor there is a chocolatier and the hotel lobby, but the front desk is on an intermediate floor. I waited a bit on some chairs and check-in was processed right there. I didnīt get upgraded and was designated an Earth room with Lumpini Park view.
I had checked the four designs/elements of the rooms (earth, water, metal and wood) and earth seemed to be the least appealing. I was going to check to room and ask for a change, but I ended up liking its odd design. The other rooms were more elegant, but the earth rooms had a unique design. The view was great and there was a welcome amenity consisting of fruits, juice and water.
I went to Red Oven restaurant for lunch and, again, was surprised by the design of the floor. A bit kitsch, but interesting. The Red Oven design was also nice.
There was available a buffet menu, business lunch menu or a la carte. I choose the business menu for 800 baht, as I had booked dinner on another restaurant. The quiche and salmon were very good and dessert, fantastic. As the waiter saw me taking pictures of the food, he gave me a card asking to share them on social media (Facebook or TripAdvisor). I found this a bit odd, but maybe this is a
new trend.
I took an unmetered taxi to Poh Wat for 300 baht. I tried Uber but the driver was either stuck in traffic or didnīt want the ride. Unfortunately the Grand Palace was already closed for visits (it closes at early 15.30), so I took a tuktuk back for the same price. Both prices were a bit of a rip-off and transit in Bangkok was horrendous, so next time Iīll sure search about public transport.
I got back to the hotel, stopped by the pool and really wished I had time to spend there, but I had booked a 90 minutes full body massage on the spa. At 3.500 baht, it was longer and cheaper than on Conrad Koh Samui and I even got a 500 baht discount voucher on check-in, reducing the price even more. Again, the massage was very good, but I did think the spa design was a bit bellow the hotel standards.
I went outside, again no Uber car arrived and I took a cab to Siam Kempinski Hotel for 150 baht, on a 2 miles ride that took 20 minutes. I had booked a table a Sra Bua restaurant and had The Journey Menu for 2.900 baht. The presentation of the food was fantastic, the flavor was just ok, the amount of food was a lot, but I really hated the pace which the dishes were served. It took 140 minutes to finish the meal and I got bored while waiting. The funny part was that a table next to me was ahead on the course menu, so I could preview what I was going to get. I wasnīt with the menu, so I tried to guess everything I saw and never got right, as food was prepared to deceive your senses. When I saw a meat with broccoli dish, I thought that was a masterpiece of art, it looked so real, but when I got mine and tasted it, it was just a beef rib with oyster sauce.
After finishing the meal, there was a line for taxis on the hotel, so I walked a bit until reaching a main street. I took a taxi on the street and it was a 60 baht ride back to the hotel.
As I was going to check-out early, unfortunately I couldnīt check breakfast on Red Oven, but on check-in, when I was asked which time I was going to check-out and told my plans, I was offered a breakfast to go, which was a nice touch. I just took some bites, as I was still full form dinner.
The stay was great and Iīd like to get back and stay on a different element room. Again, this was a hotel where the architecture team did a great work and the effort paid off. It would be cheaper to the contractors to pay less and get the same design on all rooms, but the attention to detail and the variety of designs are a real reason to return there.
I checked out and this time Uber finally worked again. This time it costed 675 baht but took just 25 minutes.