SO/ Bangkok
Sofitel So Bangkok
Sofitel So Bangkok
2 N Sathon Rd, Pathum Wan, Bang Rak Bangkok, TH 10500
Excellent stay at Sofitel So Bangkok (45 Photos)
Sofitel So Bangkok
I had a great stay at Sofitel So BKK. So happy to return to BKK after the pandemic. My last stay was in 2018 in this hotel and really, nothing has changed and it was good to see the hotel very busy as a good indicator of return to normal.
Check In
I was very nicely welcomed, at the front desk on the 9th floor, by a Thai employee of the hotel who was speaking French very well and, as soon as he saw that I was Diamond, he bring me to the lounge on the 25th floor, for check-in. I was clearly expected and they knew everything about the “problems” I had for some of the past stays (see my previous reviews) and they said they wanted to make sure I would have a great stay. I just love some of the rooms and the view over Lumphini park. They bring me a very good welcome drink (non-alcoholic) at the lounge while they were taking care of the checkin formalities. They re-explained me all the hotel facilities and F&B options.
I was given the welcome letters and 2 drink vouchers, they are usable at every F&B facilities, including in the little shops of the ground floor. I had booked a “Suite une chambre So” using SNUs and I was further upgraded to a “So Lofty Suite”.
I was then introduced to the Guest Experience and Executive Relations Manager and she showed up regularly when I was at the lounge and always enquired if everything was going well. During this discussion, a lounge employee was checking the room to make sure it was spotless and without any issue.
Room
The room was really lovely. It was wood element on 18th floor at the corner of the building (room N° 1801).
Here is the welcome amenity :
Minibar content was free of charge (soft drinks, chocolate bars).
Beautiful view on the park as you can see on the pictures above. As a reference, in my 2018 review, I mentioned the start of a big construction project on the park side. Here is the photo taken in May 2018 :
And here is the same now : as you can see, this project is huge and still not finished almost 5 years later. Covid delayed certainly the project. There was no noise at all due to this construction site.
Dining
Great service at the Club Millésime for breakfast and during happy hour cocktail time (which is still at the same ridiculous time from 16:30 to 18:30 as in 2018. Pictures below include views from the Club.
Here is the list of drinks for happy hour at the Club:
For breakfast, here is the menu of the item for order (in addition to the buffet) :
The buffets available for breakfast and cocktail time were of good quality with a large choice (sorry, I didn’t take pictures). The lounge was quite busy (but still at a reasonable level). My only remark would be that they should be stricter for the etiquette : too many shorts, flip flop shoes and sometimes tank top.
The drink vouchers were redeemed at the rooftop bar. Excellent service there. They have a special drink list for the voucher and it’s almost the same as the lounge one, so you have a large choice of drinks you can have.
The buffet for diner at Red Oven restaurant on 7th floor was of very good quality as during previous stays.
Pool
Pool : no word needed ;)
Overall
Overall a great stay with very good Diamond treatment. This is a very good hotel to redeem SNUs.
To finish this review : did you know about the special inhabitants of Lumphini park ? Answer is on the next pictures. I was not aware and was quite puzzled to see several varans when walking in the park. I googled it and read some interesting articles including one dated 2016 explaining that the population was more than 400 and it was too much and they organized a hunting to move some specimens to another natural place in Thailand.
From memory last time we stayed, breakfast was not offered in the lounge, and the buffet in the restaurant was subpar. The a la carte menu from your review in the lounge looks quite good although perhaps a bit too western oriented but far superior to the buffet in the restaurant.
- staff very friendly and helpful, everywhere
- fast early check in
- had a SNU and got an additional upgrade to a Lofty Suite; however no welcome amenity
- easy parking
- great lounge offering for afternoon tea and happy hour with a broad range of drinks and snacks
- infinity pool overlooking Lumpini park is spectacular and beautiful
- breakfast buffet in the restaurant was good, but Sofitel Sukhumvit has a broader offering, better quality and more and better cooking stations
On the other side I am surprised and dissappointed that a hotel of this high rank had some pretty poor food
- japanese restaurant: pork belly came from the freezer and was still cold inside and had to be redone; tempura came also from the freezer
- one evening my wife did not feel well and we ordered room service; the service and Tirami Su was excellent but the pizza awful (pastry too thick and too soft instead of crispy, more than one third of the Pizza not covered with cheese etc.)
but despite the food issues a very pleasant stay
I heard they are pretty strict, so only one category up. I was wondering if I could book the comfy room without breakfast and get upgrade to the club room, which would be one category as far as I understand. But I'm only gold, so I don't know if they do that.
Does any club room have twin beds?
Luckily for us, they evolved recently, so:
cozy -> comfy
comfy -> studio
studio -> suite
(skipping the infamous comfy -> club).
Now 2 additional elements to factor in:
- SO/Bangkok is often full (staycations, wedding, …); even if full one nite, it makes complimentary upgrade unaccessible;
- there is an internal/informal hierarchy of rooms (corner, specific floor, 4th theme only accessible from Comfy….) that can be played by SO:/Bangkok to accomodate you and that is not perceivable as a straight upgrade.
On a more general note, although my favorite place in Bangkok, with an amazing breakfast/dinner buffet, the hotel itself is aging. Switches in the room connected to no lights. Showers where cold water is sometimes warmer than hot water. And more generally an issue with air con.: I had to leave a room/floor where the room was freezing cold at around 20° C although air con was on 25°.
Franck
QUOTE=Compliment;35562884]Anyone know their Upgrade Policy?
I heard they are pretty strict, so only one category up. I was wondering if I could book the comfy room without breakfast and get upgrade to the club room, which would be one category as far as I understand. But I'm only gold, so I don't know if they do that.
Does any club room have twin beds?[/QUOTE]
I heard they are pretty strict, so only one category up. I was wondering if I could book the comfy room without breakfast and get upgrade to the club room, which would be one category as far as I understand. But I'm only gold, so I don't know if they do that.
Does any club room have twin beds?
the prices have gone up steep since Covid...
I heard they are pretty strict, so only one category up. I was wondering if I could book the comfy room without breakfast and get upgrade to the club room, which would be one category as far as I understand. But I'm only gold, so I don't know if they do that.
Does any club room have twin beds?
They offered a Studio without club access, city view. This was the initial upgrade offer (I am ALL Gold and hold Visa ALL ultimate). After insisting heavily, I was offer a suite room, city view. No club access in any case.
They offered a Studio without club access, city view. This was the initial upgrade offer (I am ALL Gold and hold Visa ALL ultimate). After insisting heavily, I was offer a suite room, city view. No club access in any case.