Originally Posted by ralph4878

One of the things I love about The Conrad in Bangkok is the service and employees. I've read a lot of comments in this and other spaces about stingy upgrades for elites, not too friendly staff, and other complaints, but my experiences at The Conrad couldn't be further from these. My stay last July was a remarkable one, despite me falling very ill. I initially planned on staying for 5 nights and at check-in, the place was slammed. Despite this, staff were smiling and doing their best to help everyone efficiently. I had booked their cheapest, basic king room and was proactively upgraded to an Executive Room as a Gold...sure, not a suite, but seeing how busy they were, it was unexpected. I loved the room; it wasn't the biggest I've had in Bangkok but it was very clean, well appointed and renovated, and quiet up on the 27th Floor. I spent a lot of time in the Executive Lounge and found the breakfasts to be wonderful: I ordered 2 à la carte options each day - a Thai dish and a Western egg dish - and grabbed noodle soup, pastries (the pandan croissants were to die for), fresh fruit juice, great iced lattes, and charcuterie from the buffet, always satisfied. Was it Sunday brunch at VUE? No, but it was excellent for a place that was charging me $135/night. Some of the floor staff were a little green, but they always went out of their way to make me happy.

I was particularly impressed with Khun Chanel, who was a supervisor in the EL. She greeted me each time I came to the EL with a friendly, familiar-yet-still-professional welcome and guided me to my preferred table in the morning, in the afternoons when I would come to get work done, and in the evenings if I went for the happy hour (I only did this once in what would become a 14-night stay). Unfortunately, I cancelled by jump to Samui after my second night at The Conrad as I got COVID for the first time...I counted myself lucky that BNH has a clinic in the mall over which The Conrad sits, and I deeply appreciated the EL staff who would bring me breakfast from the EL every morning while I isolated in my room, and the folks working in the Lobby who would bring me up the food I had delivered. Khan Chanel would occasionally send a note up to see how I was doing with my breakfast, and she even called a few times to see if I needed any medications from the clinic or Boots. She also saw to it that I could extend my stay, in the same upgraded room at the same rate, for the additional week I spent getting better despite me seeing in the app that prices had gone up significantly. Once I was able to end my isolation, I still wore a mask and the EL team made sure I had a table a bit away from other guests, just to be safe for them. Truly, they spoiled me rotten, and I have never really seen a hotel staff go so above and beyond.

It was truly disheartening, then, when I watched as a guest screamed at some servers and Khun Chanel after he saw that he had misplaced his room key. I watched as this man chose a table that had already been spoken for and proceeded to put his key down on the table before going up to the buffet. When the original occupier of the table came back, he gave the key he saw on the table to the staff working the welcome desk of the lounge, assuming someone had previously left it there. When the "screamer" came back to the table, he first accused the other guy of taking his room key; he was screaming his head off at the poor guy! The screamer's wife tried to calm him down and brought him to another table, but he demanded to speak with the staff. He was accusing folks of plotting to rob him using the room key, refusing to hear anyone until they called the police. I finally said something as I had seen the whole thing and, frankly, had had enough, only to be cussed out and called some slurs by the screamer. Everyone in the EL was staring at the guy as he ruined our breakfasts; his wife was mortified. Eventually, the guy understood what an ... he had made of himself, but he refused to apologize to anyone, choosing instead to blame his behavior on others. Later that evening, when I returned to my room after dinner out for the first time in 10 days, a huge tray filled with fruit juices and waters, fresh mango with sticky rice, oranges and berries, cookies and chocolates waited for me with a note from Khun Chanel, thanking me for trying to intervene (though, to be totally honest, I just wanted the guy to stfu so I could enjoy my breakfast!).

All this is to say that The Conrad itself really impressed me - the room, the pool, the EL, the food (the Chinese restaurant is really good!), the shuttle to the BTS - but what really made the difference were the staff. It's evident from some comments on FT (and the screamer in the EL) that there are some folks out there whose expectations ensure that NOTHING will be good enough for them, but as with most places I've stayed in Thailand (having lived there for three years and returned each year since), patience and gratitude can unlock truly wonderful hospitality and care at The Conrad. Jai yen is the way to go, and The Conrad will always be on my itinerary every year when I go back to the Kingdom.