I just completed a 2 night stay at this hotel. It was my first stay at a legacy Marriott property in BKK and I was very impressed. So far in BKK, I’ve stayed at:
Aloft
The Athenee
Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit
Westin Grande Sukhumvit
Le Meridien Bangkok
Le Meridien Suvarnabhumi
Royal Orchid Sheraton
I used my 2 Cat 4 Chase free night certificates (one of which was supposed to expire in Aug, but CS extended for me) to pay for the stay. The hotel sent me a welcome email about a week before arrival and I mentioned that it would be my first stay and I would appreciate a suite if one was available. (I couldn’t apply any SNAs as they are in my Starwood account, but I had to book this from my Marriott account to use the certs.) My contact was non-committal and said it would depend on availability. Day before arrival, I could see on the app that I was in a suite and I did OLCI (but based on previous experience, I knew that meant nothing).
Location is excellent within easy walking distance of the Nana stop on the BTS. I used the Airlink train + BTS to get there. I checked in at the front desk (even though I had been told I could go to the lounge on the 16th floor) and was pleasantly surprised when the FD agent confirmed my suite upgrade. She thanked me for my Platinum Premier status (Ambassador doesn’t show up on my Marriott account), and I asked if I might be able to try the breakfast in the restaurant in lieu of the lounge. (I absolutely love Asian breakfasts with their variety of noodles, rice and vegetables.) The agent said that’s not a usual benefit, but she would check with her manager to see if they could make an exception and it was approved.
She escorted me to my room which was a nicely appointed 2 room suite with 1.5 baths. There was a large fruit plate and welcome letter waiting for me. Benefits also include 3 pieces of laundry per day.
I was on the 18th floor but there was a large staircase joining the 16th, 17th and 18th floors for ease of access to the lounge. At the lounge, I was greeted by Nathalie the Executive Floor Mgr, who welcomed me warmly and said they had been expecting me. She showed me around. The lounge was exceptionally large with lots of seating (mostly tables and chairs but there were a few couches) and an outdoor terrace. There was a quiet room at the back with a few computers.
The food in the lounge was substantial and there was enough to make a meal. The first night was BBQ night and they were serving large pieces of steak grilled by a chef in the serving area. On the second night, they were cooking sliders. They also had vegetable quesadillas which they were making on the same grill, but they offered to cook one for me in the kitchen since I am a vegetarian (and didn’t want grease from the burgers touching my food). There were veggies, salads, cold cuts and cheese on offer as well. The bar offerings included beer, wine and a good selection of alcohol. Servers came by to refill glasses of wine. Overall, this was an excellent lounge. Lounge hours are as follows:
Breakfast 06:00-10:00 (11:00 on weekends)
High tea 14:30-16:30
Open bar 16:30-20:30
Evening snacks 18:00-20:00
The first morning, I tried buffet breakfast in the main restaurant. I was told the restaurant had been recently renovated and just re-opened a month ago. The selection was outstanding. There was a halal section, an Indian food section, a fruit and vegetable juice station, a noodle station, a made to order section, etc. It just went on and on. I was in Asian breakfast heaven! The second morning, I thought I’d try the lounge breakfast, but a quick walk through convinced me to go back downstairs. The lounge breakfast was perfectly adequate with fruit, cereal, pastries, eggs and lots of breakfast meat but couldn’t hold a candle to the buffet on the main floor especially for a vegetarian.
I had a mojito in the lobby bar in the afternoon and was pleased to see that they had made the switch to paper straws. The drink was the same price as my 1 hr massage, but it was discounted by 20% when it was applied to my bill.
I checked out the pool and the gym on the 6th floor. Pool looked nice with lots of lounge chairs. The gym was quite large with plenty of equipment.
In summary, I was extremely impressed with the hotel (even though a refresh of the hallways and rooms would be in order) and the lounge and would definitely return here if the price was right. I also found the Platinum recognition to be excellent (unlike some of my past experiences at legacy Marriott properties). I look forward to trying more Marriott properties in BKK.