Originally Posted by bluestrudels

We stayed here for our last night in BKK during late Oct. We did mostly Hilton properties (don't shoot me!) in Asia during to the massive promo over Marriott, and Marriott booking system (constant error out and outage) was a .... show when I was finalizing my travel plans. On and all, we were glad we give this new property a shot.

To sum it all up, we've been to the Conrad, newly opened WA, Hilton at Sukhumvit, hands down in terms of satisfaction of stay, the Marriott Surawongse won our hearts. Maybe also because we were Plat Premier, the staff were extra attentive to our needs. We were diamond with Hilton too, but the level of attention was incomparable. From check in, to suite upgrade, to all the hand written notes from management and M Lounge staffers, we felt so spoiled. We also noticed the staffing are a younger bunch, maybe they connect with us better as Millennials; they are also very willing to go the extra mile when something is requested.

The next highlight was the M lounge, the decor to service felt like we were at a JW, no kidding. Spectacular views, free flow of alcoholic beverage and dedicated chef station for cooked food with different nightly themes. We happened to arrive for Thai night, where they made Thai oyster omelettes and a bunch of other thai entrees, and light refreshments.

I might be biased, but the design resonated a feeling of a very inviting luxury residential living space than a hotel. Compared to the ultra luxury WA, the WA designs and layout felt more like a luxury mall than a living space. Layout of our M Suite was spectacular; clean, modern, contemporary designs with a Thai twist. We lucked out as our view overlooked the pool by a few floors. 2 41" TV mirrored back to back, 1 for the living room and 1 for the BR, with a sliding door for privacy the divide the room. Comfortable dining table by the open concept dry bar. The bed was heavenly! Usually we get mattress that are too soft, but over here, it was just right for us. There were sufficient electric ports through the rooms and by the night stand, the space was very well thought out. We asked what was the difference between the 1 BR suite and the junior suite aka M Suite, and front desk said that 1 BR suite comes with an island dining kitchen and sink.

The speakeasy/chinese inspired rooftop bar was mindblowing. It's so chic that I thought I was at a W back in the days when they had done things so well.
Complimentary snacks, accompanying my delicious cocktail with insane views of the city! It was a double tier bar, ample dining and sitting space, and each nook and cranny gave a really open atmosphere but feeling private at the same time.

Now for the hiccups, when we arrived the pool was under maintenance, it wasn't complete until 12pm the next day. The hotel was giving complimentary shuttle services to the W pool for the inconvenience. So nbd, but we didn't go to the W.

Due to the new merged program, Marriott hotels do not offer elites bfast at their signature restaurant, so we are only limited to the M lounge. It wasn't a deal breaker for us, but when we stayed at all the hiltons, it was nice to be given an option to choose where you want your comp bfast.

The bathroom layout was kindda odd. You have the tub beside the open concept glass windows overseeing the bedroom (no worries because you have shades), but the toilet was also open concept beside the vanity, where as the standing shower is enclosed. Honestly I would prefer the toilet to be enclosed, and the shower over the tub or in a separate area would make more sense.

Lastly the location, it is really tucked out in the outskirts from all the action. Even if you take a tuktuk, it takes about 10 mins to get to the Meridien at Silom.

Having said that, we've been to Bkk multiple times, it was refreshing for once to be out of the tourist area. On our following morning before we checked out, we saw there was a street filled with people, and we decided to check it out to see what's going on. And to our surprise, it was a delight to our senses. A seemingly dead street the night before was revived into a morning market, where all the locals flock to buy breakfast, fresh fruits and veggies, as well as many other knick knaks. If this is where the locals eat, you are never astray from really authentic thai food! What a treat!

My tip to you, this might be a great spot to unwind and stay in for a day or 2 if you are not planning to run around in the city, we would definitely be staying at the Surawongse again. (It's pronounced as the Surawong, se is silent) Probably on our next stay, we'll get more time to explore more of the "heritage" neighborhood that the staff boasts about..