ElevatorEnthusiast

I saw the same - the nights I have booked are at 10K, but a few nights before, the hotel is going for over 20K.

lost_in_translation

Back here now and had a chat with front desk - to follow up on the pricing discussion above, apparently occupancy here basically never drops below 70% now so clearly they are doing something right!

Also lucked into a Governor’s Suite upgrade from booked Park Deluxe Suite which is a great room and takes the sting out of pricing a bit.

ElevatorEnthusiast

There is definitely a noise issue at this hotel close to floor 30 facing Wireless Road - the motorcycles, my goodness. However, in noisy hotels, I can still sleep well by playing looping white noise via Spotify on my phone.

This is also the first PH for me where it took trying 3 rooms to find one suitable - oh, my!

m0hamed

Unbearable.

Travelchurner

What is the difference between the Park Suite King and Park Deluxe Suite at this property?
Which is better?

Nevermind, found the floor plan on the website.
The Park Suite King has as powder room while the Park Deluxe Suite has a bit more space

ElevatorEnthusiast

The initial room I was placed in was supposedly a Park Deluxe Suite - it didn’t look like the floor plan online and had a powder room. Now, maybe, they just assigned me a Park Suite instead - who knows?

lost_in_translation

The quality of build in the rooms is absolutely this hotel’s Achilles heel and it extends to the soundproofing, sadly. It blows my mind they would spend so much on design then economise so much on the final finishes. I’ve been lucky so far that I haven’t had a really noisy room in four stays (always facing the empty site) but assume it’s coming. It’s a shame as the soft product and rest of the hard product (gym, pool area, etc) are very good.

The only other thing to say on noise is many of the closest competitors (e.g. WA) are actually worse right now!

ElevatorEnthusiast

It will be interesting to try the WA later this trip to compare. Generally, despite some obvious issues and a less-than-effective arrival experience, I feel relatively positive about this property as I like the bed and the breakfast was good this morning. It's definitely better than my AC view at the St. Regis where they started off my check-in with a list of available up charges.

The problem with arrival is that I had used a SUA for a Park Deluxe Suite. Upon arrival at 3 PM, they told me the suite was occupied by a Globalist and that it wouldn't be ready until 5-6 PM. To their credit, they offered a standard "resting" room while I waited, which I declined as I wanted to head out for an early dinner. When I returned at 5:30, they offered a free drink at the Bar, which only had beer, wine, or tea cooler options. The suite ended up being on the lowest floor (12), was very warm with a very stuffy bathroom, and had a stain on the couch. The second room they offered (a Deluxe room) smelled like smoke. The third room they offered was a Park Executive Suite, which didn't have these issues. So, I didn't really get in and settled until around 7 or so.

lost_in_translation

Ah, that sucks a bit. This is an issue with many Hyatt and Marriott properties in Bangkok now, though, given the number of elites - lots of suites are occupied by guests entitled to a 4pm check out which is part of the double-edged sword of staying there. The point I broke up with The Athenee was the time I booked a Royal Club Suite and was kept in the lounge until after 7pm waiting for it to be ready with no proactive updates - pretty pathetic for a returning guest booking an above entry level suite, really. If I want a specific suite for a longer stay these days and will be arriving before around 4pm I often now book a standard room for the first night and then change on the second night. There is a point at which 4pm check out is being offered to too many guests in my opinion and it is no longer in the hotel’s interest.

ElevatorEnthusiast

Photos of the first suite - not sure if Park Deluxe Suite or Park Suite

ElevatorEnthusiast

I will go ahead and add on my impressions and the photos of the property and Park Executive Suite I ended up staying in the past two nights. In short, this isn’t the best (but definitely isn’t the worst) hotel I have stayed at in Bangkok. Would I consider returning? Sure, for the right price.

• See above quoted post for my arrival and upgrade experience - in short, I ended up in a higher-floor Park Executive Suite, which is a premium suite, after trying out multiple attempts to get a room I felt was issue-free enough for this class of hotel
• The Park Executive has an interesting layout - the living room isn’t the best as the couch is too shallow to really be restful - however, the bedroom, closet, bathroom combo is really quite pleasant
• As discussed, decor generally looks good but can feel a tad cheap in places (safe drawer tried to come loose from its hinge - some unevenness in the flooring, etc)
• Noise is definitely apparent - use white noise if that helps
• Bed was comfortable - relatively plush mattress, plush pillows, relatively plush covers for BKK (not sure why my bed was made with two covers the first night - I liked it as I could layer them - the second night, they replaced it with one big cover)
• Shower pressure is fine - definitely not amazing
• Drainage feels slow - both in shower and sinks
• Noticed (and killed) several flying insects
• TVs have Chromecast (well, not in my first suite as the input device was missing)
• No issue with 4 PM late checkout
• As discussed by others, the ground floor motor lobby seems to not have AC and is very hot
• I enjoyed breakfast - mostly an a la carte menu - food all tasted good - really enjoyed the pancakes, Benedicts, hashbrowns, scrambled eggs, and morning delight smoothies - croissants were good quality

Photos of Park Executive:

khabah

Thanks as always for your reviews, ElevatorEnthusiast! Do you know if the hotel is still conducting their little Globalist happy hour? Any details you can share around that would be appreciated.

Keep the reviews coming, and safe travels as always.

khabah

ElevatorEnthusiast

There is no Globalist happy hour. Interestingly, I was given a no-price menu for wine, beer, tea, and sparkling wine at the lobby Bar during my wait for my room, but I don’t believe this is proactively offered to Globalists anymore (it also wasn’t busy). I’m assuming this menu is a holdover from the previous offering.

EuropeanPete

The Globalist Happy Hour died some years ago unfortunately. They sometimes sell rates or packages for some of the F&B, so maybe the menu was meant for one of those customers.

Singapore_Air

Thanks for the review ElevatorEnthusiast. Unable to like the post.