MO Bangkok

Old Jul 12, 2020, 3:00 pm
  #91  
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Yes, the split level rooms are in the Garden Wing.
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Old Jul 12, 2020, 9:19 pm
  #92  
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Originally Posted by MattEvan
The room you were assigned is actually a garden wing room, not river. Its nice but not newly upgraded like the other wing.

Edit: never mind I am wrong, the reclassified the garden wing room names.
According to their (new) naming convention of rooms, which ones are in the more newly upgraded wing? I might want to try a different room type next type and see how they compare.
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Old Mar 14, 2021, 9:07 am
  #93  
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I recently stayed at the MO BKK on a Staycation rate for 17,500THB which is about the most one can pay for a hotel room in Thailand at the moment, but came with 50% credit which I used towards a dinner at Le Normandie. I am a relatively frequent visitor to the MO for F&B (most recently to try the new Kinu by Takagi behind Lord Jim's) so this was about experiencing the legendary guest service for me.

Being alone, I booked an entry level room and that's exactly what I got. It was relatively spacious, though the bathroom was notably smaller than one would get in a new build luxury hotel of its caliber nowadays. The refurb was high quality as you'd expect, and I liked little touches like the metal mini toiletries and the various goodies which were waiting for me (potentially as part of the staycation rate). At the MO's price point, you are clearly paying primarily for the service and not the room though - it doesn't compare to the Siam or Waldorf Astoria rooms, though in those I haven't seen the entry level rooms as other hotels appear to be much more generous with upgrades at the moment.

Service was classical and highly polished. I can see how the hotel has built its reputation on it. For me personally I found it a touch cold (with the exception of reception, who were lovely) and wasn't a fan of the way staff members would often about turn and run away if I entered the corridor or the way they had a habit of lurking around corners (e.g. by the pool) to keep an eye on me without being fully seen - while offering excellent service, of course. What I noticed most was the sheer number of staff, more than any other hotel I can remember seeing recently. The middle level management were also highly visible, including someone who greeted me by name as I walked out of the elevator in the morning apparently by my demographics of being a single white man alone.

F&B is obviously legendary here. The Bamboo Bar is always special and I enjoyed the chance to try Le Normandie including their signature uni and caviar which matched with the right wine was rather special. Whenever I am in Bangkok I expect I will be returning to eat or drink here, but I didn't feel the hotel overall is a great fit for my personal preferences. At the absolute top end of the Bangkok hotel market, I feel more comfortable at the Siam which to me personally just feels much more welcoming and where you get a true stunner of a room at twice the size.
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Old Mar 14, 2021, 7:10 pm
  #94  
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Originally Posted by EuropeanPete
...the way staff members would often about turn and run away if I entered the corridor or the way they had a habit of lurking around corners (e.g. by the pool) to keep an eye on me without being fully seen
Kind of creepy staff behavior, what's going on here? Can't ever remember receiving that kind of service at a hotel before and wouldn't want to return if I did. Perhaps foreigners are viewed as potential COVID carriers that need to be monitored?
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Old Mar 14, 2021, 7:42 pm
  #95  
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Originally Posted by Nagasaki Joe
Kind of creepy staff behavior, what's going on here? Can't ever remember receiving that kind of service at a hotel before and wouldn't want to return if I did. Perhaps foreigners are viewed as potential COVID carriers that need to be monitored?
This is old-skool Asian service. I experienced it in Japan in the 1980s, and at places like the MO Bangkok. Scariest of them all is the guy who would step into the elevator with you at lobby level and press your floor button and step right out. Not just any random floor button, the one corresponding to your actual floor.
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Old Mar 14, 2021, 8:02 pm
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Originally Posted by Pickles
This is old-skool Asian service. I experienced it in Japan in the 1980s, and at places like the MO Bangkok. Scariest of them all is the guy who would step into the elevator with you at lobby level and press your floor button and step right out. Not just any random floor button, the one corresponding to your actual floor.
OK, but wouldn't that be an example of excellent service? In other words, staff know who you are and what floor you're staying on and even push the elevator floor button for you. I've experienced the elevator button push by staff before and just thought they were trying to be helpful. The OP was referring more to staff avoiding and even hiding from him, which I fail to see as old-school Asian service.
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Old Mar 14, 2021, 8:42 pm
  #97  
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Originally Posted by Pickles
This is old-skool Asian service. I experienced it in Japan in the 1980s, and at places like the MO Bangkok. Scariest of them all is the guy who would step into the elevator with you at lobby level and press your floor button and step right out. Not just any random floor button, the one corresponding to your actual floor.
I've seen the same thing in places like Kiev and Bombay. I wouldn't apply a racial tag to it. It is only at some of the best hotels in the world.
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Old Mar 14, 2021, 10:39 pm
  #98  
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Originally Posted by Pickles
This is old-skool Asian service. I experienced it in Japan in the 1980s, and at places like the MO Bangkok. Scariest of them all is the guy who would step into the elevator with you at lobby level and press your floor button and step right out. Not just any random floor button, the one corresponding to your actual floor.
I would take it one step further: at MO Bangkok, on occasion they would not only press our floor button in the elevator, but accompany us all the way to our room and unlock the door for us without having to even say what room we were in to begin with. They just knew.

Originally Posted by Nagasaki Joe
OK, but wouldn't that be an example of excellent service?
Exactly. If I had to use the word "scary" it would be to say "scary good" service.

Regarding staff walking away in the hallways my interpretation is that they do not want to be a disturbance and they let you have the way. I never interpreted it as a negative, but more that if it's housekeeping then they have been instructed it's not their role to guide guests to where they are going. However if it's a manager in the hallway, it is indeed their role and they do not walk away, quite the opposite.
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Old Mar 15, 2021, 12:01 am
  #99  
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Originally Posted by Nagasaki Joe
Kind of creepy staff behavior, what's going on here? Can't ever remember receiving that kind of service at a hotel before and wouldn't want to return if I did. Perhaps foreigners are viewed as potential COVID carriers that need to be monitored?
Creepy is unfair, just highly attentive and with a more "classical" or even colonial style than I personally react best to. I was on the same floor as some of the top level suites so there was almost always a Butler in the hallway up to something or other as well as a cleaner who as I mentioned had a habit of about turning and running into the cleaner's closet/ room whenever I was out and about. The closest I'd seen to this was at the Conrad Tokyo where I remember (pre-Covid) staff would often be in the elevators but then conspicuously get out if you then entered (nowadays things would be different - I generally don't share elevators with anyone).

I'm clearly a bit younger and brought up a bit differently to the MO BKK's core clientele (who by the way make great people watching) and simply react better to slightly less formal and deferential luxury. I'll also note that I didn't get anything particularly welcoming or customised in the way that escape4 experienced (e.g. leaving Bamboo bar to get to Le Normandie could have been an opportunity for someone to proactively volunteer to show me the way instead of me having to go find the Concierge desk, be asked for my room number and whether I have a reservation before getting shown up). Still, an interesting experience, and the MO clearly know what they're doing. I'm sure if your family has been visiting for 80+ years it's a very special place indeed.
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Last edited by EuropeanPete; Mar 15, 2021 at 12:06 am
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Old Mar 15, 2021, 12:31 am
  #100  
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Originally Posted by EuropeanPete
Creepy is unfair, just highly attentive and with a more "classical" or even colonial style than I personally react best to. I was on the same floor as some of the top level suites so there was almost always a Butler in the hallway up to something or other as well as a cleaner who as I mentioned had a habit of about turning and running into the cleaner's closet/ room whenever I was out and about. The closest I'd seen to this was at the Conrad Tokyo where I remember (pre-Covid) staff would often be in the elevators but then conspicuously get out if you then entered (nowadays things would be different - I generally don't share elevators with anyone).

I'm clearly a bit younger and brought up a bit differently to the MO BKK's core clientele (who by the way make great people watching) and simply react better to slightly less formal and deferential luxury. I'll also note that I didn't get anything particularly welcoming or customised in the way that escape4 experienced (e.g. leaving Bamboo bar to get to Le Normandie could have been an opportunity for someone to proactively volunteer to show me the way instead of me having to go find the Concierge desk, be asked for my room number and whether I have a reservation before getting shown up). Still, an interesting experience, and the MO clearly know what they're doing. I'm sure if your family has been visiting for 80+ years it's a very special place indeed.
Thanks for providing more context, I was just going by what you said, "...wasn't a fan of the way staff members would often about turn and run away if I entered the corridor or the way they had a habit of lurking around corners (e.g. by the pool) to keep an eye on me without being fully seen..." Per your own words, it sounded like you had an unfavorable opinion of that kind of behavior, but now I understand. I guess Pickles was right, you were talking about "old-skool Asian service" (even if you're not entirely a fan of some aspects of it). At good hotels in Japan, I'd say it's pretty standard for service staff to evacuate the elevator when a guest gets on and sometimes disappear (out of politeness) from your sight when you draw near, but when I stayed at the Conrad Tokyo, they did not run, rather they stopped what they were doing and bowed as you passed by. I guess that's two different types of politeness, run away from the guest or confront them.
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Old Mar 22, 2021, 7:59 am
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Originally Posted by Pickles
This is old-skool Asian service. I experienced it in Japan in the 1980s, and at places like the MO Bangkok. Scariest of them all is the guy who would step into the elevator with you at lobby level and press your floor button and step right out. Not just any random floor button, the one corresponding to your actual floor.
On my first visit to Bangkok in 1992 I stayed at the relatively humble Novotel in Siam Square - they did that lift thing there as well
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Old Mar 24, 2021, 11:58 am
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Originally Posted by Kettering Northants QC
On my first visit to Bangkok in 1992 I stayed at the relatively humble Novotel in Siam Square - they did that lift thing there as well
As a regular at the Oriental for 25 years the little guy at the lift knows what floor I am on without me telling him. He then puts his arm behind him into the lift and presses the correct floor button without actually looking.
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Old Mar 21, 2022, 7:28 am
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Recently completed a combined 10 day stay across Author’s Suite and Deluxe Theme Suite, absolutely fantastic, flawless experience, and still the very best! A perfect sanctuary, can’t wait to return.














Last edited by EGW1; Mar 21, 2022 at 7:42 am
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Old Mar 21, 2022, 1:45 pm
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Originally Posted by EGW1
Recently completed a combined 10 day stay across Author’s Suite and Deluxe Theme Suite, absolutely fantastic, flawless experience, and still the very best! A perfect sanctuary, can’t wait to return.
(duplicates of photos just above deleted by mod)

Thanks for sharing. Could you elaborate more on the quality of the service in general? Especially comparison to pre-COVID

Last edited by RichardInSF; Mar 21, 2022 at 10:25 pm Reason: save space
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Old Mar 21, 2022, 1:48 pm
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Originally Posted by CanaryWharf
Thanks for sharing. Could you elaborate more on the quality of the service in general? Especially comparison to pre-COVID
I was just there. Bangkok is empty of tourists. No one in the airport. The Oriental is running at 10% which is better than some of the others. The service is good as always. The employees are so happy to have guests but several restaurants closed.
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