alanslegal

It's all good so no worries; if the OP (or anyone else wants) relaxation (such as a two day visit only) where The Pen can provide some luxury and tranquility away from the hustle and bustle of Bangkok city - especially if one has no plans to head across the river and just do everything in the hotel grounds.

Another solid review of this property.

How is it over there at the Surangwonse Marriott? It is always rated highly on Tripadvisor - so I am tempted to spend some time there. I'm interested in the pool / rooftop spaces and restaurants? Thanks in advance.

Great comparison between the St Regis (where I have had multiple stays, and remains my favourite hotel in Bangkok) but that WA's CA suite looks special. Doubt I would be prepared to pay 10K BHT for a room in hope for the upgrade though, that would get me 3 nights at the Hilton Sukhumvit (my preferred location for what I do in Bangkok) or 4 nights at the Doubletree. Yes its completely different hotels and completely different target market.

escape4

Indeed for people looking for a "resort within a city" Pen would be a good choice. For this kind of hotel, Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit as well I would say.

Please check out the Marriott Surawongse thread, I posted a review over there. Bottom line it's a good hotel but it's not perfect like just about every other hotel in the city so personally I think it's good but not deserving the #1 spot out of 1000 hotels in Bangkok on TA. In terms of lounge + breakfast benefit, I prefer Hilton Sukhumvit rather than Marriott Surawongse. Some people in the Marriott thread discussed fake reviews and management of some hotels pushing to have negative reviews removed, which makes TA rankings questionable. Unfortunately I did not try the pool and restaurant at Marriott, sorry.

When not prepared to pay more than 10k THB in the hope of a generous upgrade, I would be perfectly fine paying sub 7k THB during sales for the entry level room at WA and have a chance for the more modest upgrade to the deluxe suite, which is still as good if not better than what we can usually hope for at Hilton Sukhumvit or DT Sukhumvit. I like to stay at those two when I do not expect to spend as much time at the hotel, when I want to save money, and when I want the free lounge of Hilton or happy hour at DT which is good value. In addition those two hotels are good for mattress runs during stay-based promos. But different price range relative to WA as you mentioned, that said it's good to have options because for some trips, that will suit me just fine ^ As much as I like WA, there is no hotel that I would pick 100% of the time - each trip is different so more hotel choices is better than having just one good hotel.

alanslegal

Thanks for your comments, will def check out the Marriott threads - used to spend most of my time there once upon a time. Anyway I just took a shower of all things and as I was soaping up my hair, it made me think about my next Bangkok visit which happens straight after a week at the WA Maldives. It is weird that I would hesitate paying 10k BHT for a night at the WA Bangkok but have no issue (and expect to) spend the equivalent of 10k BHT or more per dinner at the Maldives property.

EGW1

I agree, the StR is also my favourite large chain hotel in Bangkok (The Mandarin Oriental being my top of the list for Bangkok). 10K THB is a lot for Bangkok, and truthfully although I do now really like the WA and have stayed around 8 times, 10k is comparatively a lot. It is a nice hotel, but I'd start to look elsewhere at that sort of price, especially in a city that offers so many good hotels! That's not to say I can especially fault the WA, I'm just not sure it's worth that money...and those rooms/suites at the front of the hotel are for me too noisy (I'm a light sleeper), so I have been known to refuse them and take a "lesser" room. The ones at the back of the hotel are better for me. Yes the hardware is great, as is the spa, as are the bars, and the staff remember preferences like an extra bread roll with your soup … but the StR can be half he price (or less on corporate rates :-) ) and although escape4 compared to the CA suite, there is also the StR suite which is just as nice in my opinion! WA is definitely one to experience and is a lovely hotel, but there comes a point for me it's not value for money...I tend to switch between the WA and StR during my stays so that I can have my laundry done at the StR, enjoy the spa and bars/food at the WA.

thbe

I absolutely agree with that. Bangkok offers so many different good hotels, not to forget boutique hotels like Hansar or Oriental Residence. I've also had only good experiences with Airbnb in BKK so far, but that is less recommendable for legal reasons these days.

Btw: I've heard, that HH will add confirmed upgrades for DIA this year. The WA would be a good place to take use of them.

Not weird at all, as not having an issue with spending 10k THB for a dinner at a Maldives property is a good approach to enjoy the Maldives. But you can easily still enjoy BKK, if you hesitate paying 10k THB for a night at a hotel.

Kacee

With base room rates in the 9k THB range, plus taxes and fees of 18% (so total around $350 US), it's also not a bad use of an AMEX weekend night cert.

standbyalldtime

Just as an update for those that helped me out earlier in the thread: I ended up booking through AMEX FHR and attached my Honors number to the reservation. The reservation appeared in my Hilton app immediately. I read a TPG article (by one of the few authors I actually respect) that says Hilton and Hyatt stays through FHR earn points/stay credit and receive elite benefits as well, so I'm hoping that I will be able to double dip on some of the benefits while still earning full Honors points. Even all else being equal, I value the $100 credit since I plan to do afternoon tea and have a few drinks at the Champagne bar, and the flexible cancellation is good for the peace of mind also. Also hoping that the upgrade with Amex FHR combined with Diamond status will result in a better upgrade than through either benefit individually.

standbyalldtime

The hotel's Best Flexible Rate (at least on the days I'm going to be there) dropped from 9Kthb to 8.5kthb per night, or about ~$15 USD. A reminder for anybody that has refundable stays booked to check the rates frequently. Not a huge difference, but easy enough to rebook and take advantage of the lower rate.

stargold

Just a note for those considering booking Amex FHR and who are also Diamond:

WA BKK normally offers 1x 1,000 THB Spa coupon and 2x 500 THB F&B coupons for Diamond guests. They also offer complimentary breakfast for both Golds and Diamonds.

In a pre-arrival e-mail, I was advised that if you book an FHR rate, the USD 100 property credit will be in place of the two coupons above - in other words, assuming you planned to use both the spa coupon and the F&B coupon as a Diamond in full, the marginal value of the USD 100 credit will be more like ~1000 THB. (USD 100 = ~THB 3,000)

The hotel also advised that they only upgrade 1 category for a Diamond. Perhaps this is the official line and it would be different on the day, but in any case, I decided to cancel my FHR booking and make a pre-pay sale rate booking on Hilton.com instead. This allowed me to book the Deluxe Park View room at a lower rate than the base category room at the FHR rate, with hopefully a better upgrade.

Kacee

Test run here on Monday night. Booked Corner Suite at a very reasonable rate. Upgraded almost immediately (per the App) to an Astor Suite. Overall a very pleasant stay. Key impressions:

• Astor Suite (10th Floor) was quite nice, with great view of the Sports Club. There was some traffic noise, but it did not impact my sleep. I do think the CA Suite at StR is more impressive, both in decor and overall livability. I missed having a desk in the living room, since I had lots of work to do. Also found the W/A bathroom a bit tight, particularly where they have the bathtub jammed awkwardly into a corner. And the no door on the shower thing is a trend I really don't like. Predictably, the bathroom floor wound up soaked.

• Location is nice, but I wish BTS access were a little easier (though it's not too bad if you cut through GH Erawan).

• Staff overall were very good. But that's what I expect at a Bangkok 4 or 5 star. Some still seemed a bit inexperienced.

• I liked the layout. Both lobbies (ground floor and 15) had nice seating areas, and you can directly access the rooms from the ground floor. Definitely preferred to the mandatory two elevator system employed by many other new luxury properties.

• Pool and fitness center I found disappointing. Pool is not nearly so nice as StR. Fitness center lacking in equipment, with dumbbells going only to 16 kg. (I was told 18, 20, and 24 kg are on order.)

• Ordered room service for a working dinner. Menu awfully limited. Food was mixed - a great tom yum goong; extremely bland pad kee mao. Prices were reasonable.

• Breakfast was a mixed experience. The food quality was fantastic. Definitely the best I've had in Bangkok. Asian food in particular was exquisite. Service was mixed. Arriving at 6:30 am to a completely empty restaurant, I was seated at the table most convenient to the hostess, with a mundane urban Bangkok view. Didn't even realize there were tables on the other side with a much better Sports Club view. Set-up was not explained to me, and I was initially quite confused by the lack of choices at the station I had been seated next to. I did wind up being well taken care of by Yuth, the manager on duty, who graciously moved me to a Sports Club view table and gave me a tour of the two other food stations. Though I was outnumbered by staff about 18:1, empty plates sat on my table for quite some time. Reminded me of Prince Gallery Tokyo, with lots of very friendly staff standing around doing absolutely nothing

• Booked the (somewhat pricey) car service to BKK, and was met at the curb by staff who escorted me first to check-in counter, and then all the way to fastrack security. A nice ending touch.

Overall, I felt value was quite good. Corner Suite cost about the same as Grand Suite at SGS (or Grand Metropolitan Suite at StR), and with the upgrade to Astor Suite, a definite win for the W/A hard product. While I don't think it will supplant SGS as my first choice, and I would rank slightly behind StR on hard product, I will definitely add it to the Bangkok mix.

escape4

@Kacee thanks for the feedback, I am glad you had a nice stay. I am most surprised at the subpar service during breakfast, for me I can barely reach half empty for my water glass that I already get a refill. Empty plate always removed and new set of cutlery brought. For a first timer I am also surprised they sat you at the entrance of the restaurant without showing you the buffet particularly since you arrived early. On my first visit they brought me to the end so that during the walk there I could see the entire spread.

Kilian Zoll

Likewise. Service at breakfast when we stayed (in Feb) was absolutely phenomenal.

jinrop

I'm staying here now, I'll echo the exceptional service at breakfast and say the asian options and french pastries are EXCELLENT. The spread is not the largest I have seen, but it's still plenty big, but as far as food quality goes this may be the best hotel breakfast I have EVER had.

The fit and finishes in the room are top notch, housekeeping has been great. I did have one minor hiccup last night which I found a bit disappointing when they for some reason would only offer me a table in the lobby right near the entrance/elevator to do some work and make a couple of phone calls despite the rest of the lobby being unoccupied they said it was closed (I needed a quiet place to make a couple of phone calls at 3 AM)

Really a great hotel though, although for me I go against the grain and the park hyatt will remain my home base. Even though the finishes are less luxurious, I prefer the style of the hotel, the location, and have built a relationship with much of the stafff over many visits and get exceptional service there.

I really can't fault much at the waldorf though, I think everyone should try it, it's a beautiful hotel and service has been fantastic barring one strange incident.

Kacee

I was literally the only guest in the restaurant the entire time I was there. I do wonder how they are doing. Hotel was dead empty (on a night SGS was sold out).
The cabinetry is cheap. Not as nice as StR or Rosewood (or even SGS). The furniture was good quality though.

Also surprised by the single pane windows. I noticed in Peacock Alley the frames seemed to be fitted for two panes, but the second had not been installed. This seems a common cost cutting move in recent Bangkok construction.

xmzzn123

Going to check in after midnight later this week, will this be a problem?