pure12345

Freetotravel

Recent long stay. Overall excellent. I didn't get any sort of upgrade but the hotel was full as there was a concert in Bangkok quickly followed by CNY. When I arrived, I was escorted up to the EL to check in and my bags were taken and sent to my room later. At the EL I was immediately offered a drink while checking in and again while waiting for my room to be prepared. Great views from my room and also from the lounge which is on floor 29. Separate bath and rain shower. I did not like the toiletries in the white bottles at all (Mojave). Much prefer the Crabtree offered at Hiltons. An exceptionally generous amenity was dropped off later - 2 bottles of Pelegrino, large whole fruit bowl, a couple of packets of dried fruits, and a selection of chocolates. The bed is extremely comfortable and a lot of storage, including in the small walk in wardrobe. Usual robes and slippers. TV - nothing special, a couple of movie channels plus the normal diet of news. A lot of local programming. Very quiet throughout.

I agree with other recent posters completely about the breakfast on Level 2 - its good but not outstanding. It seems that the main options change every 3 days on a cycle - alternating Asian and western hot dishes, Indian option, noodle bar option, pancake and pastry fillings, that kind of thing. I liked the three daily smoothies which were offered near the juice area where there was also bottled soda water. Then moving round clockwise: a noodle station, congee station, egg station, hot western station, Indian station, middle eastern station, Japanese (which was interesting but the food essentially the same each day), a few Thai hot dishes, bread, pancakes, waffles, and in the center cold cuts, cheese, yoghurt, western cereal, fresh whole and cut fruit, salad bar. Coffee and Dilmah exceptional tea were served by the server. I got there when it opened to avoid crowds.

Normally FTers recommend against breakfast in the EL on the basis that the selection is smaller and there isn't a chef to cook to order. However I think maybe Conrad BKK is a bit of an exception. First because the main restaurant on level 2 is rather hot and uninspiring, no views and not the best space. But also because the EL had an a la carte menu on top of the regular buffet which offered 2 complementary items per guest per stay. 5 Asian and 5 western options provided. I ordered middle eastern style poached eggs which was delicious. These were made in the lounge by one of two chefs who were working the breakfast service. So the noodle station and egg station were replicated. Also the buffet had more Thai options than downstairs (for some reason) and honestly not much was missing from the selection in the main restaurant that I could detect. It has the distinct advantage of a nice window seat and no rush to move on.

The food in the EL was nice but strangely not that much of it at the evening service. What was good was the options seemed to be different every day, not on a cycle. There is a vegan a la carte menu (which is a very nice touch) - what you get is kind of an appetizer size portion of something like Thai curry, mushroom toasties or quinoa salad. There were 2 or 3 plated hot dishes (again prepared in the lounge by a chef) daily, 2 plated deserts, a selection of crudites and dips. Again the food is very nice - presented perfectly on individual miniature plates, tasting great. But I was left with the nagging question - why not provide a selection of bread and cold cuts, a salad bar of some sort, cheese board and some cut fruits as well?

I thought afternoon tea generally better than the food in the evening. 2 types of scone, several plated deserts (usually something Thai - one day there was sticky rice with mango for instance), flawlessly cut and presented sandwiches. I really appreciated the effort put in to make guests feel that the food had just been served throughout - by redressing the plates, replacing sandwiches, plated deserts, or scones continuously. Very nice indeed.

The 7th floor health club remains one of the stand outs at this property for me. Nice warm pool which is very well used and well staffed all day. I really appreciated that smoking is not allowed by the pool and that on arrival an attendant prepares a lounger for the guest(s) by pointing out open seats, then placing the fresh towels onto the lounger as the guest arrives. The gym inside is excellent in every way. Is is quite well used but also very large and there is not a sense of not enough space or equipment at all. Changing rooms have lockers with keys you get at reception, loads of towels and separate M/F sauna and steam facilities and this whole area must be cleaned and checked every 20 mins or even less. It is spotlessly clean and fresh looking. The service on the health club floor is absolutely exceptional in every area.

I appreciated the shuttle bus to the BTS. If you are staying and want to find cheaper food outlets there is the small mall which connects to the hotel on the ground floor. There is a TOPS grocery store there too. Nothing special compared with the multitude of food courts at the malls across BKK but avoids going outside at all.

Prepaid taxi back to the airport is 500 THB including tolls - booked by the concierge desk.

One thing not so good is the long wait at certain times of day for elevators - there just aren't enough of them but I guess what to do? And what is it with executive lounges and news channels!!!! BBC news on (admittedly with no volume) all day. Not my favorite at all.

Finally I guess my experience was of outstanding customer service (at Conrad standard) without exception. I did see other comments about this upthread but I found the service impeccable (a lot of little things - like the offer of an evening turndown service and complementary shoe shine, that housekeeping freshened up the fruit plate when they made up the room; in the lounge the regular topping up of food, drinks placed just so on the table, drinks preferences remembered day to day; at the pool the towels on the loungers, constantly clean changing rooms, and in the main lobby the seamlessness of check-in) and this made the stay especially memorable for me. Great vacation.

PaulH1

Just completed a 17 night stay at Conrad Bangkok.
This was my 12th stay at the hotel over the last 15 years.
Here is my perspective -

Pros,
Very comfy beds with huge pillows and the bed linen is changed daily.
Housekeeping was faultless except for one day, turndown was done every evening of our 17 night stay without fail.
Clothes left out on the chair or bed etc were folded for us and the tea, coffee etc were also replenished again at turndown.
Gym is clean, modern and large with a very good selection of newish cardio machines, free weights and weight machines and there was also a workout studio for stretching, yoga etc.
Regular shuttle bus from the hotel to entrance to Ploen Chit BTS station is handy and runs every 5 ton10 minutes on a loop.
Good management, we had a few issues during our stay that were corrected immediately
Lots of taxis available at entrance of hotel, 500 baht to the airport including tolls.
Executive Lounge on 29th floor has been renovated it is nicely decorated and pretty comfortable, however a few more seat cushions would not go amiss.
We were upgraded to a spacious high floor suite which was much appreciated this was given due to some problems we encountered on a previous stay when the ASEAN conference summit was taking place at the hotel.
Evening drinks includes a variety of cocktails and spirits, a sparking white as well as two other white wines, choice of beers and one red wine ( Brista ) a Cabernet Sauvignon which was quite nice.
The fridge was always stocked with fresh juices, water, and soft drinks at all times.

Cons
Un renovated rooms are showing their age and the rooms seem very dated now.
Executive lounge breakfast was average at best, food very limited and items regularly ran out with long waits to get replenished. Basic items like plain yoghurt, bananas and nuts for example were hard to come by on many mornings.
Sometimes it took ages to get a drink and the evening food was very limited, two hot items and two desserts and a very basic salad with no inspiration.
The Conrad Bangkok used to have a great food spread in the lounge which was miles better than what is on offer now.
No Cheeses or breads in the evening now either.
Pool was very busy during our stay, it was not possible to get 4 sun beds together and quite hard to even get two beds together on occasion, lots of noisy young kids in pool and pesky biting flies made it less than relaxing.

Overall a good stay for 6000 baht per night especially with the upgraded suite, lounge access and breakfast as diamond.

Diamonds can take breakfast in Lounge on 29th floor or in Cafe 2 on the second floor which has much more choice and became our preference.

Good massage place in the adjacent Ruamrudee road called The Touch.
500 baht for 90 minutes and they have a promo running if you pay 5000 baht you get 6000 baht credit if you are staying a while worth doing.

Staff were generally very friendly and many could not do enough for you.

asiantraveler

Has any Diamond requested a late check out and was granted? What was the latest they allowed?

digitalfan

Last year in November I asked for 4 pm which confirmed. I did not ask for anything later since for us that was a reasonable time to head to the airport anyway.

JJeffrey

Late checkout is typically never a problem. I've had 6pm granted 2 or 3 times when I specifically asked for it.

FlytheTail

Glad to hear this. I've had challenges getting anything later than 1pm, but my last try was almost a year ago.

If the hotel is full, late checkouts are more challenging. You can still enjoy the swimming pool and fitness room after checkout, I've done that a few times when flights depart late at night.

docbert

As I reported previously, I was denied 2pm as a diamond on my last stay here - although they did eventually give me 1:30pm (after offering 1pm). On previous stays I've had no issues with getting 4-6pm, and being allowed use the lounge after that time.

asiantraveler

Wow, thanks for all the DP. Looks like its a hit or miss and nothing for sure. Was hoping for 4pm check out in February next year but now might have to think the game plan...

asiantraveler

BTW, between Conrad and Grand Hyatt...which one would you guys stay if you're both Diamond and Globalist?

ElevatorEnthusiast

GH will give a Globalist 4 PM late checkout. I really like the GH design.

mcgahat

There are a lot of factors that would make me choose the Conrad but with just the details provided.......Grand Hyatt all day long. I am Diamond and Globalist and have stayed at both. There is nothing wrong with the Conrad but about ever aspect of the property is better at the GH.

antjer

I received 4pm late check out when I was there earlier in April. I'm HHD.

sbams

Like any other (Hilton) hotel it also depends on occupancy - are the rooms needed the same day or not. Marriott Bonvoy has a guaranteed 4pm checkout for their elites in most brands, takes away the stress when a late check-out is really needed.

mcgahat

That is pretty much true for properties outside the USA with regards to Hilton an late checkout. Inside the USA, the answer is pretty much NO since it is not a benefit of status.