Anantara Siam Bangkok

1   Not Recommended
Siam Suite
May 30, 2020 by

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Anantara Siam Bangkok Hotel
 Map | 1 Review | 0% Recommended

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Siam Suite

Liked:
Location
Service
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Siam Suite

There are several highly reputable luxury travellers on FT who have had good words for Anantara Siam Bangkok but unfortunately after a recent stay I must provide a somewhat different opinion.  While there were some good aspects to the stay especially service which was excellent, the hardware is inadequate and nowhere near the level of a luxury hotel especially not for Bangkok standards. 

 

Location

I am a regular at Waldorf Astoria Bangkok and St.Regis Bangkok; Anantara Siam is right in between both hotels so I have walked by Anantara several times in the past.  Since both WA and StR were closed due to covid I gave Anantara a shot.  The location is ok but guests staying at Anantara have the same issue as at WA: the hotel is not connected to a sky train BTS station so you have to walk if you want public transportation, unlike StR which is right on Ratchadamri station (Silom line), or even better Park Hyatt and Siam Kempinski which are connected to a BTS station on the more convenient Sukhumvit line, plus the fact that those two hotels are also connected to a shopping mall which is great.  So Anantara’s location (and WA) is decent but not my favorite.

Common Areas

The common spaces of Anantara Siam are magestic and very impressive including the stairs near reception and the bar area with very high ceilings.  There are also charming inner courts with a view of the hallways up above.  While those inner courts look nice, I am not sure that all guests will enjoy having their room open up directly to the heat outdoors.  I guess it adds to the special experience and we could certainly not say Anantara is a boring “look alike” hotel like others in Bangkok. 

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Room

Before making a reservation I had an e-mail exchange with the hotel and I explained that I was in the process of getting status match to GHA Black but that I might not have it fully confirmed before my arrival at Anantara.  Since they knew that I stayed at WA and StR several times in the past, they were kind enough to extend GHA Black benefits rather than GHA Platinum, which in this case meant 2-category room upgrade rather than only one, plus executive lounge access.  I booked the Premier Room (modest cost over entry level) and two steps up was the Siam Suite.  I was actually quite pleased with the benefits because suite+lounge is aligned with elite benefits at other hotels such as Conrad, Athenee, Hyatt Regency, and Grand Hyatt. 

So far so good, but once entering the Siam Suite that’s when disappointment hit.  To be fair, similar to the rest of the hotel I need to give credit where it’s due: the room was built to a high standard with sturdy furniture, the design is very traditional Thai unlike some hotels where you look at the room and you could actually be anywhere.  The room was facing the main road and the sky train track but there were two thick windows which completely blocked off the street noise, unlike the much newer WA where despite staying in a room several floors higher if you are facing the street you can be disturbed by noise unlike Anantara which was quiet. Because the hotel is not high rise the views of the sports club were almost non-existent unlike WA and StR.

The main problem of our suite was that the room was very dated and reminded me of Royal Orchid Sheraton or Swissotel Ratchada, both of which have seen better days in terms of hardware and it’s been many years since they are no longer considered luxury.  First off the room at Anantara would be better off with hardwood floor throughout rather than carpet, unfortunately there was only hardwood floor at the entrance and in the closet which was so big that you can actually use it as an office as it had a desk and a chair.  The age of the hotel was also betrayed by the low ceilings especially in the bathroom which is in stark contrast to the much more airy recent constructions in Bangkok.  The room was also somewhat dark due to having only two windows on each side of the TV, unlike many other hotels in the city which have floor to ceiling windows.  The bathroom was also dated; not much can be done about low ceilings and windows, however renovating the bathroom to a higher standard would be an easier thing to fix.  It was most likely renovated at some point, but there was no rain shower (although good size), and the faucets in the dual vanity felt loose.  Another sign of the age of the hotel was the lack of convenient power plugs on either side of the bed – we had to reach behind the night tables. 

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Bathroom amenities were L’Occitane brand and it was interesting to note that unlike some hotels which have completely gone away from small plastic bottles, Anantara gives the choice to either use soap / shampoo from ceramic dispenser bottles, or the small plastic bottles to take home.  I liked having the flexibility.

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To conclude on a positive note about the room, the bed was very comfortable, air conditioning worked well, therefore in combination with the quiet room we could have good nights of sleep. 

Dining

As mentioned above, GHA Black guests get lounge access, and lounge benefits include free breakfast which is aligned with other chains which provide free breakfast to elites, and unlike Kempinski which does not.  Not surprisingly the breakfast buffet was discontinued during covid.  Having stayed in a few hotels in Bangkok recently I can say that most have offered a decent alternative via an extensive a la carte menu.  However at Anantara the replacement was very weak in my opinion: only a handful of western traditional choices such as eggs and bacon, and congee was the only Asian choice.  For a brand which wants to be considered luxury, offering a top notch breakfast is easy to do to make up for the aging hardware, but unfortunately they took the easy way out.  To their credit, when I asked if I could get something different than the menu for example fried rice with some veggies on the side, they accepted.  But as can be seen from the picture they were not particularly generous with the veggies on the side and a far cry from the plentiful breakfasts on offer elsewhere in Bangkok.  Fruits were also nothing impressive: no berries, no mangoes, no passion fruits, etc.

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The restaurant, as other public spaces in the hotel, was a strength and looked quite nice. 

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The lounge was temporarily closed during covid so I could not compare it to other lounges I have seen in Bangkok.  They did not serve alcohol to guests during happy hour in public places because of covid however they allowed guests to drink from their room.  I asked for a couple of wine glasses and instead they generously brought an entire bottle which was the complete opposite than their cost-cutting on the subpar breakfast. 

Wifi

Wifi was ok with speeds of about 10 Mbps but I would note that most hotels in Bangkok have better. 

Overall

Overall I had high expectations and I was moderately disappointed.  The service was very good considering that I was just a first timer at this hotel, and the elite benefits are on par with other hotel chains (suite upgrade, lounge, breakfast) which is sometimes a weakness of GHA, but not at this property.  They should definitely rethink their breakfast during covid and perhaps this is only a temporary situation – I would have to return to see what is their normal offering.  Also I should include a review of their lounge to have a more complete opinion once it reopens after covid restrictions are lifted.  Regarding the room that is another matter though as some aspects will remain “vintage” although renovations would help mitigate the weakness.  The property was most likely a stunner back in the day, but now it is past its prime and it might be time for a refresh.  Anantara Siam might not be in the same price range as Waldorf Astoria or even St.Regis so the comparison is not entirely fair, but even hotels such as Athenee and Conrad have renovated their rooms and the suites at Athenee look far superior so Anantara could consider following suit.

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