FlyerTalk Forums - Four Seasons Bangkok 2020

Introduction Four Seasons Bangkok opened a couple of months ago and despite knowing that it would most likely not be a well-oiled machine yet, I gave it a try. Based on our stay I can say the hardware is excellent but the soft product remains a work in progress as can be expected for a new hotel so they will need a bit of time. That said the potential is clearly there. Location FS is located in a new complex on the east side of the river close to the Saphan Taksin BTS sky train station. By being next to the river, it is one of the best areas of the city for tourism purposes. One of FS’s competitors Mandarin Oriental is also nearby but north of the BTS station whereas FS is south of the station. FS is immediately next door to Capella Hotel which is also new and has the same owner as FS. Room I booked the entry level room as part of a hotel opening promotion I received a 2-category upgrade to a similar size room but on the river side with the best views (“Premier Riverview Room”). The room is reasonably spacious for luxury hotel standards over 50 sqm and built to a high standard including a combo of hardwood floor and carpet in the living room and floor to ceiling windows in the living room and a nice lounging chair by the window to take advantage of the beautiful views. The bathroom was functional although I might have expected Toto washlets for a hotel of this caliber. Otherwise the technological features were good including electric curtains and blinds plus a tablet to order whatever we wanted ranging from room service, to the pillow menu, or extra bathroom amenities, and we could also chat with customer service. Overall this room would rank among my favorites in Bangkok in terms of non-suites, definitely a step above the room at Mandarin Oriental for example which I found too small. Bathroom amenities were Maison Francis Kurkdjian from La Bottega. The packaging felt light and a bit cheap (also not marked where it was made, China?) especially compared to the luxurious metallic bottles at Mandarin Oriental. Also the smell of MFK was not my favorite. As a minor point, I would also note that various other amenities at FS were a modestly inferior to MO for example the bathrobe (silk at MO and standard at FS); in addition the slippers at FS were more akin to cheap slippers from a Four Points hotel rather than a Four Seasons. Service Service was inconsistent during our stay, sometimes excellent, and sometimes in need for improvement. The best service was in the BKK Social Club where several staff members had the right personality style for working in the bar. Given that the bar only reopened a few days ago following the lifting of covid restrictions, I expected the place to be dead but it was not too bad with good music and an interesting cocktail menu focused on Argentina. Service was also good in the fitness gym and in the restaurant when we were there for breakfast and afternoon tea. At the other end of the scale, when I ordered pillows from the menu it triggered a series of events which exposed some service flaws. They brought pillows to my room as requested but to my surprise they were both without pillow cases. When I pointed out that it was not very sanitary they assured me that the pillows were new and had not been used by anybody else and that after us, they would wash them at very high temperature. Not only is this a questionable practice, but I replied that it was not only a question of how clean they were but also they need linens to feel softer and that we should not use naked pillows like that. Their response was that those pillows had unusual dimensions and they did not have the matching Four Seasons pillow cases yet. Fair enough, it’s a new hotel after all, but I would never expect a Courtyard or DoubleTree hotel to deliver naked pillows to guests in any circumstances. Unfortunately it did not end there. They mentioned that they would bring us substitute pillows with pillow cases which would not match with the rest of the bed linens, which was fine by us – no big deal it’s not a fashion show. However several hours we had not received anything and when I asked again what the status was, they sadly made excuses: they said it was because the “do not disturb” light was on so housekeeping walked away. Any reasonable hotel would simply leave a note, call our room, or they could have also informed me via the chat feature as they did previously, rather than just drop the issue entirely and use DND as the justification for what happened. I pointed out to them that a few hours prior, the DND light did not stop room service from bringing our food order, rather than walk back to the kitchen with our dinner without saying a word. Regarding the rest of the service in the hotel, it was middle of the road, not bad and not great either. It would have helped if they reached out to me ahead of time to be prepared for our arrival with special requests like many top hotels do, but there was nothing. My wife is pregnant and many hotels recently went out of their way to ensure she is having a comfortable stay (hence the pillows) or recognizing the special occasion to make her feel highly welcome at the hotel, but FS did nothing of the sort. While there was nothing wrong being done, there was also nothing to distinguish themselves either, so in my opinion they are currently unquestionably behind Mandarin Oriental for service as this hotel is absolutely world class in that regard at every step of the way. Except for service at the bar, I would say FS might possibly also be modestly behind other big chain brands in Bangkok like Park Hyatt, St.Regis, and Waldorf Astoria, although as a repeat guest at those hotels it is partially unfair to FS as a first time guest. Dining At check-in we asked if we could have breakfast in the room and we were told the breakfast benefit was in the restaurant only; if we wanted room service we would have to pay for it. I noticed that the room service menu had several interesting dishes, so my expectations were high and it set things up for a major disappointment when we went to the restaurant. Breakfast was entirely a la carte which is a plus relative to a buffet, but the menu was very limited, too western oriented, and had no luxury features whatsoever. By comparison the breakfast at 137 Pillars blows FS out of the water, I also preferred Mandarin Oriental and The Siam over FS, and a significantly number of other hotels in a lower price range also have a better breakfast such as Waldorf Astoria, Park Hyatt, Athenee, Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit, Banyan Tree, Sofitel SO, etc. To FS’s credit we were allowed to order some basic items off the menu for example a green salad as there were no veggies available on the menu otherwise, and they also brought me fried rice with shrimps. But even the fruit selection was very basic, a far cry from mangosteens at Park Hyatt, the wide choice of berries at Waldorf Astoria, or freshly cut mangoes at SGS. The chef came to greet us during breakfast and asked for our feedback. I did not complain but I was honest and fair in my assessment - the menu could be improved to match their competitors. He welcomed our feedback and invited us to complimentary afternoon tea which was a good gesture as they probably did not want guests to leave disappointed so kudos to them. Afternoon tea it was quite impressive with lobster tacos and a foie gras amuse-bouche among other things and they also provided cocktails free of charge so all in all they more than made up for the weaker breakfast. Regarding room service we ordered for dinner once, the crab fried rice was excellent with generous pieces of crab, but Gaeng Kiow Wan Gai was subpar with bad pieces of chicken. Other dishes were good, and surprisingly prices on the menu were very reasonable for a hotel of this level – perhaps prices reflect the current state of the economy and prices will be raised in a few months. I have seen far higher menu prices at Park Hyatt, Waldorf Astoria, and St.Regis in the past. Gym In order to go from our room to the fitness gym and spa, it was necessary to walk through the lounge & bar where they serve breakfast and also through the lobby area. I found it less than ideal to have to walk there in exercise clothes especially going back to my room after my workout all stinky and sweaty while people were having their breakfast nearby. The fitness gym itself was as good as expected with new modern equipment. One staff member on site provided good proactive service. Wifi Wifi worked well with speeds of about 50 Mbps. Overall Thankfully improvements in soft product are easier to make than improvements in the rooms and hardware so in my opinion this hotel has good potential. Once tourism recovers I would expect FS to raise prices and they should also improve their breakfast at the same time. On many occasions we could see staff trying to do their best and offer good service, I would give them the benefit of the doubt since they are still new. I will return at some point in the future to re-assess the progress they have made.