escape4

Introduction I normally like to mix things up when in Bangkok rather than be a regular at just one hotel, but I was impressed enough three weeks ago to return to WA quickly, rather than wait several months. Once again I had an excellent stay, in fact possibly even better than the first time and I was impressed to see how they treat returning guests. Service I was upgraded several days ahead of time to a Deluxe Suite as Diamond and got the same room as last time except it was a couple of floors higher. I was welcomed back to the hotel at check-in and escorted to the room. In my previous stay I had made a special request for a couple of pillow types from the pillow menu, and I also asked for a razor to be brought by housekeeping. Upon my arrival in my room this time I was pleased to see the exact same pillows that I had ordered from the menu in my previous stay, and a razor in the bathroom as well. They are obviously keeping a log of customer preferences and aim to please. It was my birthday during the stay at WA; during the evening they delivered to my room a nice bottle of Cava along with a birthday cake and a birthday card. The card was signed by several staff members, in fact not only signed, but it contained handwritten notes and well wishes more extensive than just “happy birthday”. Very touching! In the morning I received a special pancake birthday treat. Service was top notch once again - I mentioned a few examples of service above regarding the pillows and my birthday. Other examples of great service:- Our water glass during breakfast never stayed half empty more than 30 seconds, also once they pick up your empty plates they will quickly bring new cutlery – you never wait for anything. They are ahead of customer needs all the time. - Breakfast is until 11am all week which is good for people who wake up late. One morning we were in the restaurant until 11:30am and they brought a fruit plate without us asking for anything, in case we wanted to nibble on something given that the buffet was finished. - One morning we asked for a table by the window with the view of the sports club and the table was a bit small particularly since I had brought my laptop. Once they saw that our table was a bit full, they proactively brought a small round table to lay my laptop on it. Moments later they informed us that a larger table had become available and asked if we wanted to move. We said no thank you we can stay put, although I mentioned that indeed I liked that larger table so perhaps we could sit there the next day. Well the next morning, without asking anything when we arrived at the restaurant we were brought to that very specific table. - One evening we had a reservation at the The Loft bar. As soon as we got out of the elevators we were welcomed by name despite having not been to The Loft before and we had not seen the staff there before. Bottom line regarding service, if we compare to StR in some ways StR is better due to the sheer number of staff and also the very generous laundry benefit which is convenient compared to WA which has none. However now as a repeat guest of both properties, I can see other ways in which WA is superior, many staff addressing us by name, WA remembering guest preferences, etc. Dining In my previous review I did not comment on the roof top bar. This time we went to The Loft for happy hour one evening. The views from the 56th floor are fabulous and the bar itself looks fantastic. Happy hour and Diamond benefits are not the strength of Waldorf since you get 1000 THB per stay compared to unlimited drinks in many hotels with lounges, or free flow drinks at the bar at Le Meridien or Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit. At St.Regis it’s one drink per person per day which is also more generous than Waldorf. However, to be fair the venue at Waldorf is a clear notch above all of them. As much as I like BarSu at SGS and the St.Regis Bar, you simply cannot compare to The Loft at Waldorf therefore I would suggest it might be partially unfair to expect WA to give unlimited drinks for happy hour. So yes I wish happy hour was more generous at WA, but just like for the price of the room what you get at WA is superior to St.Regis and you need to pay a premium for it, that premium being warranted.I discussed at length the Waldorf breakfast in my previous review, but I cannot stress enough how excellent the breakfast at is, both food quality and how quiet + peaceful the restaurant is; night and day with St.Regis. One morning I was pleased to find fried rice with scallops - a far cry from the bland vegetarian fried rice at St.Regis, and that is just one example. I had seen crab fried rice or seafood fried rice at breakfast of other hotels before, but scallops was a first for me. Overall Overall I stand by my previous comments: WA Bangkok is one of the best hotels in the Hilton portfolio, worldwide. Given the early reports and pictures I have seen of the new Rosewood Bangkok hotel, and some struggles of Park Hyatt Bangkok, not only is WA a top Hilton property, but within Bangkok I think it’s a very good choice in this price range. And I say this coming from someone who normally values lounges and/or happy hour, which is not the strength of this hotel, so that is telling on how excellent the hardware, breakfast, and service are. I will definitely return sooner rather than later.