Originally Posted by escape4

Introduction For a change in scenery from the traditional hotels I booked a few nights at W Bangkok. I stayed there before and it’s a decent property, although not my favorite in the city which is why I am not a regular but I enjoy staying from time to time. The hotel is solid in various ways and I can recommend it, that said there is clearly a premium to pay over more standard (and boring?) Marriott chain hotels especially those with a lounge with happy hour for guests Platinum or above. The one hotel which is the most comparable is Sofitel SO and if we stack up W against SO then W wins especially because of the more generous suite upgrades. Room My booking was split in two, for the first part I booked the studio suite with cash in my Ambassador account, and for the second part I booked a free night redemption from my wife’s Platinum account. We were upgraded to the Marvelous Suite for both reservations and were not required to switch rooms which was appreciated. The Marvelous Suite is the same size overall (84 sqm) as the room type below which is the Fantastic Suite. The main differences are the color schemes and the fact that the Marvelous Suite has 1.5 bathrooms instead of only one for the Fantastic Suite. In the latter, instead of a half bath there is extra empty space near the entrance which is not particularly useful although for a solo traveler it would not matter to be missing the half bath and probably not worth paying the material price difference between Fantastic and Marvelous.A manager at W informed me that she has a friend at Marriott Surawongse nearby who told W about the upcoming birth of our baby so they prepared a nice arrangement in the room with balloons and a welcome note which was a nice touch. The room at W ticks the box for being out of the ordinary and a sharp break from cookie-cutter hotels, for example I liked the futuristic glass walls and mirrors, although having doors that we can partially see through is a bit odd for the toilets which is why the room has a sliding curtain to close off the main bathroom. Anyway, overall in my opinion the room is visually attractive and suitable for guests who want to book a special occasion. Dining At the beginning of our stay hotel occupancy was fairly low and the breakfast was entirely a la carte. The menu was fairly extensive with multiple healthy options such as smoked salmon on avocado toast, a quinoa fried rice, and a rice bowl with coconut, all of which were delicious. In the second part of our stay it was a public holiday with higher hotel occupancy so they brought back the buffet which looked quite similar to pre-covid in terms of quality and quantity which I would rate average for a hotel of this caliber – I have seen better and I have seen worse. I had a strong preference for the a la carte menu than the buffet and I suspect the former is only a temporary thing unfortunately.The House on Sathorn restaurant (not for breakfast) is not physically attached to W and is completely different style-wise to W – someone might not even know it’s linked to W. It’s one of the restaurants where dining is good enough that guests can easily be interested in going for dinner without being hotel guests. We had dinner with a fellow FTer a week before our stay at W and had a memorable feast. W still provides welcome drinks vouchers for guests Platinum or above; I received 1 per person as in the past. Wifi Wifi worked fine but speed was so-so; it was generally under 10 Mbps. Overall Overall I would say some of the newer Ws I have visited are superior to W Bangkok which is a bit older but it can nonetheless be a decent option for a different kind of hotel, especially since Bangkok does not have any Design Hotel, there is also no Andaz, no Canopy by Hilton, etc. And while W is not always the best value for the money, it beats Sofitel SO for guests who have elite status at both chains.