njxbean

bumping this thread. Trying to decide between a balcony room and a grand deluxe suite. Any thoughts? It sounds nice to be able to have a balcony. Though the grand deluxe seems to have better views?

RichardInSF

Rather than add this to a 7 year old thread, I am going to start a new one.

RichardInSF, moderator, luxury hotels

Aventine

I like the extra space that the Pen suite provides. We had a balcony at the Oriental across the river and never used it except for a photo (once).

MikeFromTokyo

Grand Deluxe Suites are much nicer than the balcony rooms. The balconies are too small and the building is too tall for me to comfortably enjoy such a small balcony (I get a bit afraid of heights).

The suites are at the apices of the hotel's "W" shape layout, offering them unobstructed panoramic views. The balcony rooms are in the middle of the hotel, and views of the river are not as nice. You can see the river and city in front of you, but on both sides the scope of the view is limited by the shape of the building.

Justinroundtheworld

Initially booked a deluxe room April last year. They upgraded us to deluxe suite. The space is everything. It made up the whole trip.

Deluxe and grand deluxe is basically the same thing, just the latter is on higher floor. Personally not worth the money for that.

MikeFromTokyo

Except the price difference is small. Also upgrades are likely at this hotel in all but the busiest time periods.

Some prefer lower floor for closer views of the river, while others prefer high floor for views of the city skyline.

MegatopLover

As someone who's stayed at this hotel enough times over the past 14 years to be practically a resident, I'll confirm that the previous posters in this thread have it spot-on right. I'll just clarify that upgrades are usually limited to non-deluxe-to-deluxe, or deluxe-to-balcony, whereas jumps to suites are unusual unless based on a travel agency or personal relationship.

The rooms have been refurbished over the last couple of years. And the new general manager has introduced a lot of guest-focused and guest-friendly innovations that help make the hotel feel like an urban resort or even a home away from home (as it is for me). Structurally, though, not much has changed with respect to the rooms over the years.

But the surroundings have changed. Development on the Peninsula's side of the river is gathering a lot of steam. There is now a neighborhood with visitor-friendly outlets you can go to on the Klongsan side, with another major development underway, so the Pen is no longer as isolated as it was in the past. And there is more development and things to see downriver, so rooms on the downriver side of the building (suite -09 and rooms -10, -11, -12) now have better views than they used to, though the view upriver to Wat Arun, the Temple of the Golden Buddha, and the Grand Palace complex and Wat Pho is still more desirable.

MikeFromTokyo

For some reason, even though the suites are a mirror image of each other, I have always preferred series xx09 to xx04. I always get the same handful of suites, so it really does feel like a second home to me.

QF Lad

I thought the Balcony Rooms at this hotel were great. They were quite large. Unless you had more than 2 people there was no real need for a suite. The balcony allowed some fresh air, which all the other rooms below this grade lacked.

Having since stayed since in a Stateroom room at the Mandarin Oriental, I would go for the MO Stateroom every time. Not as high up in the building as the Balcony rooms at the Pen too, which is great for those of us who are not overly found of heights.

MikeFromTokyo

I find suites at the Peninsula perfectly sized for double occupancy. For single occupancy a room might be okay. If I stayed in a room, which I never do anymore, I would opt for a Grand Deluxe Room with a good view. i.e. on either side of the hotel, not in the middle next to the balcony rooms.

The staterooms at Mandarin Oriental are great, but they are considerably more expensive than even suites at the Pen. So, it is an apples and oranges comparison.

beta1607

When I stayed I had a balcony room but rarely used the balcony. The weather can be uncomfortably hot so I couldn't imagine standing out there with my morning coffee and I preferred to take my meals at the wonderful restaurants.

DavidO

I agree with Mike. I've seen both rooms - the Balcony Room and the Grand Deluxe.

The basic difference is this: the narrow side of the balcony room has windows and balcony ... while the long axis of the Deluxe or Grand Deluxe rooms have windows.

Bottom line: You get a wider view, and more light, from the Deluxe and Grand Deluxe rooms.