coffee18

What is the best way to contact the hotel to arrange SHA+ airport pickup and testing? The website does not seem super clear and there does not appear to be an email. Does the hotel reach out to the booked reservations? TIA.

coffee18

Nevermind-- I see this ^^^

thbe

Got a good Virtuoso rate (THB 16k for 3 nights, including Virtuoso benefits) for a standard room in May and June. Haven‘t been at the WA for some years and I‘m looking forward if the WA is really as good right now as mentioned here.

coffee18

For those curious, this is the current T&G package for 2 for THB 7,300:Package inclusions:

• One-way limousine transfer from Bangkok Airport (Suvarnabhumi or Don Muang) to the hotel.

-Mercedes Benz S500e AMG for maximum 2 persons with 2 pieces of regular size luggage or

• Standard Package: One RT-PCR test at the hotel per person, the test result is available within 12 hours.
• Above rates are exclusive of 10% service charge and 7% applicable government tax.

The hotel reserves the right to adjust the applicable government tax according to any changes in the government tax law or tax structure.

Dave510

Apparently the One Bedroom Astoria Suite is off limits for complimentary upgrades, according to the front desk. Neither the Hilton Impresario rate nor the Gold status allow you to upgrade into it, even if you booked the Corner Suite. And even if they have 5+ of the Astoria suites sitting empty for the entire duration of the stay.

Now I’m thinking of just shortening my stay and going to another property. They offered the Astoria suite for an additional 5000 THB per night on top of Corner Suite pricing, which is actually still cheaper than what I’d book at Four Seasons or Capella, but something just rubs me the wrong way about it. I think this property just isn’t meant to be for me.

Dave510

It would be unfair to not follow up with an update after the breakfast I've had. All the other posters who claim this is the best breakfast in Bangkok, they are absolutely not exaggerating. The quality of the food items are great, and so is the service. They've really pulled out all the stops.

I think I'll do my full original booking because apart from the upgrade snafu, it is really an enjoyable stay so far. My hunt for my go-to hotel in Bangkok would've ended here if not for that. Honestly I bet they would've made more by upgrading both of the corner suite guests into the one bedroom Astor suites, since they are absolutely not going to sell that room out, and putting the perpetually sold out Corner Suite back up for booking. Mind baffling.

Kilian Zoll

This must have changed as we were upgraded into this suite from a King Deluxe room a few years ago (pre-Covid).

Great to hear breakfast is still excellent here, would love to come back next time in Bangkok.

EGW1

Maybe, maybe not. I’m ok with this policy in terms of it not impacting my decision (or desire!) to stay … if I really want the extra space of an Astoria Suite, I’ll book it, otherwise I’ll know it’s not going to be offered. There is some sense in keeping higher or premium suites for paid guests only - it reduces the footfall and wear and tear of the suite, less work for housekeeping staff, no need to refresh floral arrangements in the suite etc. Of course, it can be disappointing. The hotel is above the competition in many other aspects (breakfast / food quality generally, bed comfort, staff, location), so I think you are spot on that the “overall stay” makes up for it.

escape4

I can confirm Dave's comment. I am a repeat Diamond guest at WA BKK, I booked corner suite, Impresario rate, Astoria Suites were available every single night of my stay and I did not receive an upgrade.

Whether I am ok with this policy or not, well I view it slightly different from EGW1 . In my opinion they are free to do as they see fit to manage their hotel, and likewise I will make my own stay decisions accordingly. I would mention that many other local hotels upgrade me when I book a premium suite (which the corner suite at WA is): St.Regis, Park Hyatt, both Kempinskis, Kimpton, Capella, etc. WA has now made itself the most uncompetitive and there is now very little point for me to book Deluxe Suites or Corner Suites at WA BKK because even with the dual power of Diamond status (repeat guest) AND Impresario rates, no go. So a first timer hoping for an upgrade would seem like a pipe dream.

However my biggest beef is not their (new) upgrade policy, but the fact that they refuse to acknowledge a change in their policy. I have been upgraded to Astoria Suite on several occasions as documented in my reviews here, sometimes from Deluxe Suite, sometimes even from entry level room (!). So for them to tell them they have not changed is almost insulting my intelligence. Heck even my previous stay in November I booked Deluxe Suite, was upgraded to Corner Suite, and offered 2k THB extra for Astoria Suite which I accepted. And now they offered 5k THB extra to Dave510 and I had no offer whatsoever so my upgrade was zilch, full stop. Not how I would treat repeat guests if it was me, but to each its own.

On a more positive note, I will echo comments about breakfast. Service remains superb, they remember what we want to drink months later, and where we want to sit - table reserved for us without asking anything

Unfortunately upgrades are a key consideration in the value for the money so I can no longer consider WA BKK to be a top hotel for my purposes in the aggregate even if they remain great for many other aspects. The worst of all is arguing with me that nothing has changed, when the facts scream loud and clear that they have indeed changed. Just be upfront about it.

To make matters worse, they are shooting themselves in the foot with an overly complex system of F&B credits and creating conversations with customers which are not worthy of 5-star hotels. There is the 500 THB per person Diamond F&B credit, Amex FHR 100 USD credit, Hilton Impresario credit which used to be 200 USD for suites but apparently 100 USD now with confusion about the date this changed, whether stacking between credits is allowed or not, overflow of credits between dates / reservations, exclusions such as room service for which WA got flamed by LoyaltyLobby a couple of months ago when a guest was denied a restaurant table because it was full on Valentine's Day, and also rigidly denied the credit for room service rather than use their common sense and let him order in the room. I experienced something similar, but in reverse: I wanted to use the credit at The Loft, was refused entry because we have a baby (yet in November no problem going there with baby... and they say nothing has changed? ) and also refused room service at first until I voiced my displeasure. Then mix in more complications such as the Diamond 25% F&B discount and how it interacts with the F&B credits, different guests having different outcomes based on my conversations with different folks. All in all, they irritate some of their non-frequent guests with such things and it leaves a sour taste in their mouth. WA BKK now overly focuses on accounting issues and following rules to the letter even when different staff has different interpretation of the rules, rather than focus on customer satisfaction overall and make sure guests are happy at the end.

As if this was not enough, for my November stay with $3k USD spend I received 3x Hilton points on my Amex Aspire card instead of 14x and the hotel has been unable to explain or fix this issue. I always got 14x in the past so something changed in how to report expenses to Amex, and they say nothing changed.

So my overall takeaway: I used to be the biggest fan boy of WA BKK here on FT. However I have soured considerably - there is no quicker way to lose my loyalty than giving stingy upgrades and not being entirely forthcoming and honest about their change. If I return to WA BKK it's going to be on the cheapest rate possible for entry level room, without F&B credits. For any stay where I want extra space, WA BKK will definitely not be the best place for me to stay in terms of value.

Coincidentally, Park Hyatt used to give a modest +1 upgrade when booking a premium suite. Unlike Dave I did cut my stay at WA short, and moved to Park Hyatt. I booked entry level and received very generous upgrade to the 3rd category of suites when there was not even availability online for any kind of suites (!!!) so I expected a small non-suite upgrade - the absolute complete opposite to what WA is doing: no upgrade when availability exists.

In light of the above, it seems the logical choice to naturally shift a portion of my stays from WA to PH despite WA remaining better than PH in a variety of ways.

Dave510

I’m not booking an entry level room and asking for an Astoria Suite, I booked a Corner Suite. It’s the difference between a 90 m sq suite and a 110 m sq suite. A slightly larger living area and closet isn’t going to make a meaningful difference to a housekeeper’s workload. Like escape4, the biggest grip I have is the hotel not being upfront about it before hand. Perhaps they should let guests know that the Astoria suite is off limits for upgrades before hand, instead of having all these odd “rules” once you’ve arrived on property. What’s more baffling is when I pressed the front desk, they mentioned something about upgrading Diamonds to the Astoria suite if they booked the corner suite, which is clearly not true either in escape’s experience.

This whole ordeal just makes it seem like they’re making up ways to be stingy. I think it needs to be repeated that this doesn’t even make business sense. Looking at upcoming dates, the corner suite gets booked more often than not, while more than half the Astoria suites remain empty. Does it really make sense that the supposedly reduced wear and tear and housekeeping would compensate for the loss of revenue they would’ve earned from being able to sell 2 more corner suites? The hotel is clearly free to do whatever they wish in regards to upgrades, but in a city with such fierce competition, why would I not simply stay at PH, FS, Capella or Rosewood (apparently tentatively reopening in Oct, when I spoke to staff at Lennon’s last night)? If there was a time to be generous (or just not parsimonious) with upgrades, it’d be during COVID, when occupancy is below 15%, or else it might as well be never.

Anyways, I’d still end on a positive note and say that this is a great hotel, and every staff from the doormen to the restaurants to the gym is at the top of their game. If you don’t value upgrades at all when paying for suites, then this may very well be the right property for you, but there are many great hotels in the city, and I’m not sure that they are so much above the competition that they can choose to not offer what every other luxury property here offers.

escape4

I believe the Astoria Suite is more like 140 sqm compared to Corner Suite 90 sqm, so the difference is material, plus the fact that views are better from Astoria Suites and less street noise because they are on higher floors; the price difference indicates this as well. It's a meaningful jump from Corner Suite to Astoria Suite so if they want to deny upgrades, fine, but the fact remains that other hotels do not, and my problem is the arguments with customers that nothing has changed - they will never be able to convince me of this given my previous upgrade history.

And insinuating to a Gold guest that Diamonds might get the Astoria Suite is simply a way to shut the customer up, while giving false information. This is not the kind of behavior I can condone in any way, shape, or form, even when done to someone other than myself. It is not something I want from a top notch hotel. Bangkok has lots of competition and you have to be nearly perfect to remain at the top. WA is not close to being perfect at the moment.

Dave510

I wonder what sort of excuse they would’ve given me if I checked out mid-stay (which would put me in Diamond), and returned a few days later as a Diamond booking the Corner Suite. Alas, I’m not into playing the sort of games the hotel seems to be playing. Btw, it was your original reviews that nudged me towards booking a corner suite at WA, when I had trouble deciding between this property and PH, FS and Capella. Sad to know things have changed significantly since then (although I still don’t regret staying here at all), but others will know what to expect in terms of upgrades going forward.

escape4

I am sorry that they treated you this way and that I influenced you in booking at WA. Unfortunately, it seems clear that my previous reviews are stale and obsolete in some regards.

Dave510

As I said, I do not regret the stay, if anything you saved me from the Buridan's donkey (flyertalk refuses to let me type the more common name) dilemma

EGW1

Interesting perspectives - I have not been lucky at Park Hyatt (which I would view as the most direct competitor) with upgrades, so tend to discount it, and I’ve also experienced too many noise and drainage issues to want to return. The Astoria Suite is a step up from the average suite upgrade offered in BKK, so I can see why it is no longer offered, but I would concede that any policy change or position should be made clearer, so that those booking a certain suite types know that no further upgrade will be provided.

Re Loyalty Lobby, to digress slightly, whilst an informative blog, the “compensation clinic” strikes me as being sensationalised and the result of knowing the complaint system(s) pretty well, and being familiar with what will ultimately result in service recovery (meaning points or $ credits). Some of the complaints are overshadowed by triviality. I won’t say more than I checked into WA BKK hotel the same day (around 4pm) and Front Room had space (last couple of tables). I found the “compensation clinic” review to be contradictory (the F&B credit was indeed used, but compensation was nonetheless sought …) , and angling for service recovery from the outset, and not a true reflection of WA BKK service.

As ever, interesting insights. I’ll be heading back to BKK in a couple of weeks … I’ll no doubt end up at the WA for part of that stay, and I think the sweet spot for me in terms overall value is an upgrade to Deluxe Suite.