callmedtop

Thanks everyone - the comments about the Pen pool seal the deal and was exactly the feedback I was looking for. The StR location is a plus as we do have friends staying there while we are in town, but I'm happy to sit in traffic or take the BTS to meet up with them, and enjoy the Pen during the day for some R&R.

MikeFromTokyo

MattEvan

Just curious, but what did you mean earlier in the thread when you mentioned negotiating for a suite at the Pen?

chinmoylad

Siam is the ultimate R&R point (but bad for convenience factor) but reckon Pen comes in a good second. As @bhrubin said, it might be a bit dated but the service is still very good, the hotel has an ideal location and the pool and river-side cafe is wonderful. Colleague stayed at COMO Metropolitan and raved about it: https://www.thesuitelife.com.hk/como...d-hotel-review, but wasn't impressed much by Nahm.

Aventine

Rosewood Bangkok has appointed their GM. I'm not at liberty to mention names but would expect a press release by end-April.

callmedtop

Am now in Hong Kong after a great four night stay at the Peninsula Bangkok. I was a bit apprehensive given what has been written about the property in recent years, but I was impressed (perhaps a function of lowered expectations!). A few thoughts, in no particular order:

• Airport pick-up was seamless and highly recommended - I'm not a big advocate for over-paying for hotel pickup but in BKK it is nice to easily walk from the airport to in-room check-in
• We were not upgraded from our booked Grand Deluxe room, which was fine, though I didn't appreciate the woman checking me in lying and saying that the hotel was fully booked (it was not); I don't believe that Deluxe categories are eligible for complementary upgrades, so no harm done
• The room itself is certainly in an older style, but did not feel overly dated. We enjoyed the highly functional technology/automation - I think the panel with manual buttons to control lighting/shades is much better than the overly-complex touch screen solutions, and this is coming from a tech-oriented millenial
• Breakfast was a bit of a madhouse, and nothing ruins a luxury experience like waiting in a line for 5-10 minutes to be seated at breakfast; once seated, breakfast service, selection, and quality was excellent
• We dined at Thiptara which was spectacular, both in service, quality, and ambiance - highly recommended
• Every night we had drinks at the bar by the river, which was a highlight of our stay. Very much enjoyed the environment and drinks. One night there was a bit of a service snafu which left me annoyed, but otherwise service was excellent
• We spent a few hours at the pool everyday and I was extremely impressed. Excellent service, great cabanas that were almost always available (thanks to the 30-minute rule), and fantastic environment. Drink/food service was very efficient and quite tasty
• I had a Thai massage at the Spa and found the experience extraordinary. I know the MO Spa is supposed to be the absolute best, but we really enjoyed our time here. My fiancee had a facial and had only positive things to say.
• The location was far better than I was expecting, though as a first-time visitor to Bangkok I may not be the best person to judge this

We went over to the MO for pre-dinner drinks one night and found the entire experience absolutely soulless. I am very glad we chose to stay at the Pen, even if they were the same price (the Pen was 50% cheaper). The Bamboo Bar was quite deserted and also freezing (why do they need to pump the AC that much?). The pool area was uncomfortably quiet, the lobby was sterile, and the whole experience felt a bit "eerie". We dined at Sala Rim Naam which was excellent, but 90% of that of Thiptara in our minds (overly oily food). Perhaps we are just the wrong clientele for the MO, but it seemed formal for the sake of it, as if the fun was being sucked out of the room.

We also dined at Nahm, and it goes down as my most disappointing fine dining experience of my life. The chef refuses to modify spice levels of his dishes, which is fine, but made the food completely and totally unenjoyable for me. My fiancee, who handles spice much better, found the food inedible not because of spice, but because of salt. By far some of the most overly-salted dishes I've encountered. Some of the less-spicy dishes which I could eat without crying were simply underwhelming in flavor. Service was adequate, but not to Michelin standards. As to how this was rated so highly by Pellegrino/Michelin is a true mind-bender.

Great trip to Bangkok and I look forward to our return in the future. We will either return to the Peninsula or try the Siam, though I see less of a draw to the Siam after our excellent stay at the Pen (especially given their extremely competitive rates!).

Aventine

Or give Rosewood BKK a whirl when it opens. The sky pool villas are supposed to be something special.

chinmoylad

Colleague had the EXACT same opinion and review of Nahm.

MikeFromTokyo

broadwayboy

Agreed 100% about NAHM. Felt the same way on 2 occasions. Never again.

Even though I have yet to try Park Hyatt (have been putting it off reading about temperature and street noise), I very much look forward to the opening of Waldorf-Astoria, Edition and Rosewood.

MikeFromTokyo

chinmoylad

Agreed, but not selling themselves short are they? Pricing is right up there with The Siam - in fact, I think on some nights it's more expensive than their Chiang Mai property.

Edition should be interesting too.

MikeFromTokyo

MattEvan

Ahhh, got it. I've had to negotiate for upgrades that should've been proactively offered--i.e. Deluxe Suite to Grand Deluxe. Showed the front desk their own inventory :-)

MikeFromTokyo