Aventine

I think it'd be better to do that kind of maintenance during the day. I'd be furious if that happened to me between prime sleeping hours and then to get a bag of banana chips? That's pretty low.

stargold

Lights and power going out during 1AM-5AM, whilst not ideal, is not the end of the world. But what actually happened sounds like an unmitigated disaster for a supposed luxury hotel (and I'm far from one to rush to hyperbole), and I would be disputing the credit charge for the simple fact that you were deprived of the purpose of staying in a hotel (i.e. sleep) unless the hotel is forthcoming with a more suitable compensation very soon.

The very aghast and apologetic GM at Four Seasons Dubai invited my boss back for a complimentary night's stay with barely a word when he had a fire alarm during the night, which sounds much preferable to what happened at GH BKK. Personally, I would have returned the banana chip addressed to the GM making my displeasure amply clear.

Kalboz

Bingo! The basic purpose of a hotel is to provide nighttime accommodations and when they don't deliver, it's a definite failure!

Someone already posted the incident on TripAdvisor: https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUser...ECK_RATES_CONT

rwm818

I assume the reason they didn't schedule for the day is that it included elevator & WiFi outage - the elevator would esp be a problem during daytime?
They called this "annual" maintenance...so agree, they must have known it would happen? Because of the nature of the light controllers being electric - not manual switches.

I can confirm that I also rec'd the apology letter & banana chips yesterday...I'll stay tuned to see if anyone posts about receiving any add'l comp...but not holding my breath

Aventine

Possible to do it anytime but hotel just needs to be very transparent and mindful with guests. Can't believe they didn't think of the electrical devices going nuts like that.

LIH Prem

Did you already check out?

If you get the post-stay survey invite, definitely fill it out in detail.

pWei

Just left after a stay that included the transformer maintenance night. Was in a xx28 base suite; used DSU in advance. Living room lights came on multiple times, but thankfully bedroom lights did not. AC was reset to a rather warm level. These both disrupted sleep multiple times. The notification letter was removed during that day's housekeeping run - which explains why LIH Prem can't find it. Lounge staff didn't ask, and I didn't mention it. Nothing was offered.

They seem to be training a number of new staff at the lounge. At checkout, I could make out that a more senior member was instructing another to remove dining room breakfast charges. Bell - it seems the more senior staff are really good - I came back from a shopping run with a box, and they proactively sent up some tape so I could pack it.
And yes, Gai (Goi?), the senior lady in the lounge, was very good.

June Jacobs branded amenities was noticeably worse than others at eg. Grand Hyatt KL. Good thing they offer Thann. Breakfast wasn't that great - though the staff try hard. Yes, they compare favorably to most US GHs, but look at GH KL.

Honestly, not sure I'll be back. Perhaps I'll try St Regis next - was sold out on a couple days this time.

Dining and Service Gripes
There seems to be a number of new/untrained staff at the hotel. At the dining room, I asked about the difference between the Dining Room and Tables Sunday brunch. Answer: I don't know - and she left it at that. Staff at the dining reservations desk just outside the Dining Room told me the difference was that Tables had lobster termidor while Dining Room had alaska king crab. Spasso was also serving a Italian brunch. Better, but still incorrect.

I eventually visited Tables on Saturday and got the lowdown. Staff there was fairly knowledgeable about their offerings, and invited me to take a look for myself while they were still setting up. They must have called the star of the show - Tables Assistant Manager P Poonnapol - he answered my original question in detail, and was knowledgeable about both venue's offerings. He also brought my attention to the menu which offered the lobster termidor, pan seared scallops, foie gras, etc in addition to the buffet that was setup, and the fact that they serve champagne at Tables, while the more expensive drink option downstairs only served sparkling wine (go figure).

We eventually dined at the Dining Room for sunday brunch. My party included someone local, who later commented that their seafood offerings seemed to have taken a rather big turn for the worse since the last time she was there a few months ago. I got the feeling that she wouldn't be back. I inquired about a 15% discount with my Amex Platinum - same staff member that gave me the "I don't know" response declined, saying the promotion was over. I later looked it up, and it wasn't over. Lounge staff advocated for me - the new excuse was that it was for cards issued in Thailand only. Not according to my reading - but didn't pursue further was they would likely have came up with another excuse anyway.
https://www.americanexpress.com/th/e...num-card/#sub6 (Note the differing T&C for each benefit, and that certain benefits do say it's only for Thai issued cards)

rwm818

no, I check out on Friday...yes, will definitely do that!

escape4

I have not stayed at GH Erawan since June 2016. It's not that I did not like my stay, but since then it seems rates at this property keep going up, and from what I read on FT various issues keep popping up. Last time I stayed, I paid 4700++ THB but nowadays I almost never see anything below 5500++ THB. I almost always find something cheaper at Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit, and more often than not, something cheaper at Athenee Bangkok. On top of that, I am regularly successful on Starwood BRG in Bangkok so that makes the price differential between GH Erawan and Luxury Collection Starwood properties even greater. If I compare with various Hilton options in town, of course GH Erawan is a notch above all of them but if I have to pay double for GH then I would rather stay at Conrad or Millenium Hilton for half the price.

So basically I have genuinely considered GH Erawan for my last several stays in BKK, but always end up choosing to stay somewhere else. And Park Hyatt pricing is even worse.

I cannot wait to try Hyatt Regency - I hope to see more reasonable pricing and better value for the money because right now Hyatt options in Bangkok are not that great. I did like my brief stay at Hyatt Place but I cannot ask HP to be what it's not intended to be so for a longer stay I will not suit my needs. So perhaps HR can fill a void within the Hyatt portfolio.

Kalboz

Already filled out the survey and got a response from Gordon Fuller who basically said to book now for the next holiday season! Thank you but no thank you - you had your chance!
The rates are up because the GHE is consistently fully booked or near capacity thanks to all that positive feedback we all provided throughout the years.

For the GHE, we booked 2 rooms (for Dec. 26-30) and requested a Globalist cert upgrade for one of the rooms on 10/10. On 12/15, received an email from Jaitip Hongs-Pan informing me that there will not be any suite upgrades. We canceled one the rooms and kept the double. We paid 7,500 Hyatt points + $120 (ai) for the room per night. Which comes up to a value paid of $230 per room per night. Different people have different valuation, but I value Hyatt points at 1.5 CPP.

Let's compare that with the or our first 5 nights in Bangkok (Dec. 21-26), we booked 2 suites at the Conrad (Double for the kids and their grandma and terrace suite for me and Mrs. Kalboz) and paid 57K HH points per suite per night and we had Diamond benefits for all 5 of us. 57K HH points are worth around $230 and there was no ++ charges so it worked out fine. These suites were vast, the breakfast at their restaurant on the 2nd floor was great, teatime was provided at the executive lounge, and happy hour was very good. Regular shuttle service to Ploenchit BTS Station every 15 minutes was available for those who might think the location is challenging. Huge shopping mall attached to the hotel including a grocery store.

The InterContinental Stay: Booked 4 nights here on points + cash rate (30K IHG points plus $47 ai per night). Although we did not have lounge access here, as Platinum Ambassador we were provided breakfast at the 2nd floor buffet restaurant (Espresso) which was a multi-cultural culinary experience that we enjoyed immensely. The comfortable King room was vast at 45SQM and was located at the 31st floor above the GHE Location, IMO, is much better than that of the GHE even though they are across the street from each other. On one morning, we were invited by Espresso manager (Italian gentleman) to partake breakfast the Club IC on their 37th floor. WOW WOW WOW, we were blown away by the views, the food offerings & quality, and the awesome treatment/service. So we paid here under $200 per room per night an left happy.

So, yes, there are other options in Bangkok cheaper and better at this point. Hyatt itself has the Hyatt Place on Sukhumvit 24, the spiffy Park Hyatt which I toured and firmly believe it's a bargain on P+C if you are Globalist, and the upcoming HR located at Sukhumvit proper. Not to mention the many Marriotts, Hiltons, SPGs, etc.


View of the GHE from the InterContinental Bangkok

escape4

Well sounds like we are on the same page here. There is nothing wrong with GHE, but prices seem to have gone up a bit too much given what else is available in the city.

I am a bit curious about your statement above regarding PH which I wish we could move to the PH thread. C+P is 4250 THB + 10k points which using your 1.5 cpp valuation comes out to 8250++ THB. I still find this to be quite onerous relatively speaking, Globalist or not. That is still more than Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit, Athenee, and St.Regis most of the time. I am curious to see what rates will be for Waldorf Astoria and how it will compare to PH.

Kalboz

In my calculations, the P+C rate for PHB is coming to $310 all in which is much better than the $350++ published rate. Globalist gets breakfast for all registered guests plus a social evening (happy hour) at their bar - so there is value there for the Globalist. I have stayed multiple times at all properties you mention above. Nice and great service sure but luxury? Not. This property is on a different level than your GHE or the SGS but maybe on the same par as the St. Regis, the Peninsula, or even the Mandrin Oriental. Just my thoughts - whaddya think?

PHB infinity pool

My entire visit with Khun Henry is here: