Bangkok Hotels
Feb 26, 2015, 8:27 pm
#631
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Hong Kong
Posts: 676
Not sure about their pool since I have never stayed there but the bar on top of Sofitel So has jaw dropping views over Lumphini Park
Feb 26, 2015, 11:43 pm
#632
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: BKK
Posts: 6,741
Mandarin Oriental Bangkok is absolutely nothing like the Ritz London.
Feb 26, 2015, 11:50 pm
#633
Was sydakllon
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: SYD
Programs: Virtuoso, Rosewood Elite, FSPP, Bellini, Dorchester, MO Fan Club, Oetker Pearl, etc.
Posts: 709
Feb 27, 2015, 5:20 am
#635
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: BKK
Posts: 6,741
Exactly. Excessively casual shorts and sandals (e.g. such that could be described as athletic wear or something more appropriate for a beach or swimming pool setting) are not appropriate to wear in the restaurants or public areas of any hotel.
Last edited by MikeFromTokyo; Feb 27, 2015 at 8:39 pm
Feb 27, 2015, 8:37 am
#636
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Boston, Jo'burg, HK
Programs: AA EXP, Hyatt Lifetime Diamond, CX Gold, Mrs. Pickles travels for free
Posts: 13,160
Good to know. Next time I'll leave my wife-beater, my backwards baseball cap, and my crocs at home.
Feb 28, 2015, 12:49 am
#638
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: France
Posts: 971
I stayed at the MO Bangkok last Summer with my young brother and we thoroughly enjoyed the hotel and facilities. No strange look from staff or older clients even if we were not wearing jacket & tie for dinner. Actually as soon as you wear a proper attire nobody cares.
Feb 28, 2015, 3:54 am
#639
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Parts Unknown
Posts: 10,052
The treatments were good at the Pen spa but just the staff were an unpleasant beginning for us (first night spa appt).
http://missspaist.com/2014/04/15/a-t...gkok-espa-spa/
Trying to flag a server down at breakfast is also pure luck. Get your tea and coffee at the beginning of the meal. The MO is definitely a more polished place in our experience.
Feb 28, 2015, 6:44 am
#640
Suspended
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Barcelona
Posts: 3,317
Agree about the service for spa and F&B. The spa boutique, with waterfall walls and orchid galore, feels inviting but the surly front desk staff don’t seem so pleasant on the night. They also wanted us to pay and depart as they were starting to clean at 9 pm.
The treatments were good at the Pen spa but just the staff were an unpleasant beginning for us (first night spa appt).
http://missspaist.com/2014/04/15/a-t...gkok-espa-spa/
Trying to flag a server down at breakfast is also pure luck. Get your tea and coffee at the beginning of the meal. The MO is definitely a more polished place in our experience.
The treatments were good at the Pen spa but just the staff were an unpleasant beginning for us (first night spa appt).
http://missspaist.com/2014/04/15/a-t...gkok-espa-spa/
Trying to flag a server down at breakfast is also pure luck. Get your tea and coffee at the beginning of the meal. The MO is definitely a more polished place in our experience.
FWIW, I switched from a Cat. 1 room at the MO to a Cat. 3 suite at the Pen. Made the change a little easier.
Feb 28, 2015, 7:09 am
#641
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: ATL
Programs: DL SkyMiles PM/2MM, AA Plat, IC Diam. Amb., Peninsula regular, amanjunkie
Posts: 5,848
As a longtime Pen loyalist, I'll put in a good word. I've not seen any problems like those described in this thread. The new GM and her team are trying out a lot of new things to energize the hotel and refresh the experience. Breakfast can get busy when the hotel is crowded, but if you get to know a specific server who is working in your area, you shouldn't have any problem getting attention (just my suggestion). I'm never disappointed with a stay, and even the little bit of constructive criticism I pass along is uniformly well received. I recall at this past New Year's commenting on something that management was already working on fixing-- and I can't even remember what the issue was.
Feb 28, 2015, 8:27 am
#642
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 226
I'm not a fan of the Pen but I really liked breakfast there (also love the pool.)
I've never noticed any stuffiness or dress code at the Oriental. In fact on my last trip, some tourists who could only be described as completely trashy wandered in to Sala Rim Naan to take pictures. I wish they would have enforced more of a dress code! I love the place and can't think of anywhere I would rather be when I get off of a long flight than having lunch outside at the Oriental.
I've never noticed any stuffiness or dress code at the Oriental. In fact on my last trip, some tourists who could only be described as completely trashy wandered in to Sala Rim Naan to take pictures. I wish they would have enforced more of a dress code! I love the place and can't think of anywhere I would rather be when I get off of a long flight than having lunch outside at the Oriental.
Feb 28, 2015, 10:25 am
#643
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: La Jolla, California
Programs: KrisFlyer Gold, SWA CP
Posts: 1,123
I've never noticed any stuffiness or dress code at the Oriental. In fact on my last trip, some tourists who could only be described as completely trashy wandered in to Sala Rim Naan to take pictures. I wish they would have enforced more of a dress code! I love the place and can't think of anywhere I would rather be when I get off of a long flight than having lunch outside at the Oriental.
Feb 28, 2015, 1:36 pm
#644
Was sydakllon
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: SYD
Programs: Virtuoso, Rosewood Elite, FSPP, Bellini, Dorchester, MO Fan Club, Oetker Pearl, etc.
Posts: 709
Thanks. Im assuming linen shorts and Birkenstocks aren't a problem then. 
I'll have a think - I like more contemporary / modern hotels.
I'll have a think - I like more contemporary / modern hotels.
Feb 28, 2015, 1:47 pm
#645
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 1999
Location: Seat 1A, Juice pretty much everywhere, Mucci des Coins Exotiques
Posts: 34,339
That's why I suggested the Sofitel So. It's probably the newest of the luxury hotels in town and the design is modern/hip. The MO is pretty much the opposite of modern. But it has such character that most people who try it love it.