tsmith12

Stayed here on 2/1/16.

Here's the Welcome letter for Diamond Members..figured it might help answer some questions.

hedge

Recent separate Diamond stays. Both times booked the cheapest room, did not select own room online, and received suites each time.

Lounge is great here, excellent rooftop patio, views, and food selection.

The main negative here is the location. Don't get me wrong, it's great if you're going to the temples as it's right down the river, but that's kind of it. Each time from the airport it took 1.5 or 2 hours to get to the hotel with the insane Bangkok traffic. And you basically have to take the free boat shuttle to get to the nearest practical BTS station, so that time adds up.

Agree with others that say this place has a 'resort feel', especially when comparing to the Conrad, which also had a nice lounge and different city views. Got a better room upgrade at Mill than Conrad, the views are more unique at Mill, but Conrad has the more central location and much nicer rooms overall. Just depends on what you value/need.

onobond

Just about all the things I've experienced too. Having been mocked by limo drivers at pick-up, if I really liked the location, I realised I didn't and looked at Conrad and Plaza Athenée instead

Totopez

Has anyone stayed here with kids? We will be in BKK next month, and are looking at Millennium Hilton.

Do they extend the breakfast for HHG to the kids as well, or is it just one guest? And if we get upgraded to the executive rooms, will all four of us get lounge access?

Kalboz

Just checked in as a HH Diamond:

- Got what I booked - no upgrade not even to the preferable side which is facing Saphan Taksin despite of the fact there is construction. I love to take pictures of construction sites.
- Given choice of breakfast downstairs or on the 31st floor - which you think I should partake?
- Tired old place with very smelly rooms - its glory days have long gone. Needs an update very badly!

DUS

Sorry to hear that! I was never a big fan of the Hilton M. since their upgrade policy has (in my personal experience) always been very poor. Nonetheless, when there was "no upgrade" available for me they did give me a voucher for a free 1 hour massage in the spa, which I quite enjoyed tbh.... Seems they no longer give that either....

monahos

Breakfast downstairs, for sure. It is one thing this property does well, relatively speaking. I am partial to the unassuming-looking beige banana shake near the yogurt section. The sushi, dimsum, and breads are forgettable.

It is the first time I've heard someone claim the side facing a construction site (which I find fascinating as well, but more so the laying of the foundations than having workers peer into my room...) was an upgrade! I would think the hotel's designers thought the upstream side was preferable, as the elevator banks and service areas are on the downstream side, with most of the rooms and the exec lounge facing upstream towards the admittedly faraway grand palace and wats.
IIRC online check-in at this property works, and allows choosing a room to one's preference.

Could you be more specific as to your lack of upgrade? The possibilities are limited by the fact there are no exec twin rooms, and that the few 'plus' rooms seem to be kept out of the upgrade inventory. While I have never been in one of those larger 'plus' rooms, I suspect they are on lower floors, due to the shape of the building, and hence not viewed as particularly desirable. So it comes down to whether a suite was available or not, especially for longer stays. The suites are popular with non-elites, as they come with lounge access (and hence breakfast), and the early/late checkout options are priced the same for rooms and suites, making them a good value for both East Asians and Europeans given the timing of their flights.

My opinion is that this hotel remains a good value for HH golds and diamonds, considering the fact it can often be had for THB2xxx++ during the Hilton sales, a level at which comparable BKK Marriotts and SPG will not stoop these days (well, the ROS can be had for cheap on a BRG, but no free breakfast unless plat). The problem is that it has been prioritizing the tour group and MICE market lately, something which can be said of many of its competitors, including more expensive ones. One has to go really quite far upscale to escape those tour groups (whose behavior demoralize staff and understandably dampens their good will) these days.

NoY

I tend to agree with much of the above.

I always book the room I want here - Executive Suite & usually get the Plus version of same (extra bathroom/best views. I will be here in a couple of weeks, doing just that. Excellent value & unbeatable river location.

The property does many things well. But, of course, this has all been discussed to death already

escape4

You mean the plus suites? Those are rooms xx01 and xx02, all on river side. They are not only on low floors. I have frequently had the plus suites on floors as high as 25 and 27 so it's definitely not limited to low floors. In fact I have never had a plus suite below the 17th floor so I would not be able to confirm that the lower floor plus suites are larger than those on high floors, but I agree it might be the case given the shape of the building.

I believe the reason that plus suites xx01 and xx02 are larger than the regular suites xx27 and xx28 is the staircase between xx27 and xx28 rooms which limits the size of those rooms, hence no 2nd bathroom.

monahos

No, I specifically referred to the 40sqm deluxe plus rooms, a category which wasn't sold separately when the hotel opened, but popped up a few years ago: list of non-exec rooms

Kalboz

Our stay was with 2 kids and 3 adults but we booked 2 suites on points (total of under 80K points for 2 suites per night) and we were given a choice of breakfast - we partook by the river on the ground floor. If you have a question, contact Khun Nannie who is very helpful:





For not placing us on the highest floor facing the bridge (lack of Diamond upgrade) and no availability of our confirmed choice (King bed in one of suites), Khun Nannie offered us a one-hour foot massage for two at their spa and we accepted. The spa treatment was amazing and satisfied our disappointment with choice & location of suites.

Kalboz

Thank you ... that's what they did: one-hour foot massage at their nice spa for both me and the misses.

Took breakfast by the river thanks for the recommendation.

I post at a different online community board called skyscrapercity.com and photos of construction sites are of an important value to continue the conversation about one property or another.

Booked two suites one King and the second twin and received confirmation on both. But when we checked in they gave us two twin suites one with beds pushed together to form a king with a gapping hole in-between. Both suites were on the 28th floor facing upriver (not Saphan Taksin side). This was unacceptable that we not only did NOT get what we booked, we did not get our Diamond upgrade which could have been on a higher floor, facing a preferable side, the Royal Suite , or whatever ....

Agreed, this is a hellava deal on points under 40K points for a suite per night. Currently at the Marriott Sukhumvit 57 upgraded to an executive suite on the 40th floor (same as the Executive Lounge) without having to haggle - so the staff at Hilton Millennium needs to be in tune with their loyalty program and its T&C.

Here are my photos of the property:https://www.flickr.com/photos/kalboz...57651972795984

monahos

Very nice photos as always! ^
I will ask for a room facing the construction site next time around as it looks very interesting indeed
On my last stay 9 months ago I had a great view of its initial stages, when they were driving the piles through the mud to reach the bedrock.

That certainly wasn't a king bed you were given. I do find this hotel's front desk to be the least flexible and efficient of the BKK Hilton properties, although its lounge ladies are of a much more pleasant disposition.

I recall from your posts over the years that the BKK Marriotts have always taken great care of you; Marriott's consistency is certainly hard to beat, and their bed type guarantee appreciable, but pricing at their S57 property has held steady at Conrad levels after a slow start, understandable given its lack of competition in an area which has really taken off.

As for the royal suite, I was going to comment that those points bookings were all but lucrative for the hotel, but then again a fully booked CKS did upgrade me to its royal pool villa on a 80K point booking

buddahas

I booked a few stays here, but now I see on the web site that pool will be closed from May 02 to June 06.

Really, the only reason I book this Hilton is because of pool.

It does say that the alternate pool will be provided with free transfer, so I am wondering if any Bangkok regulars know what pool may that be?

SK AAR

If I were in your shoes, I would hope for the pool at the Conrad which is very nice; no river or similar view from that pool though. However, the transfer to/from Wireless Rd/Ploenchit would be a pain (can easily take 30-60 min with traffic congestion on Sathorn Rd).