EGW1

I agree … breakfast buffets in particular in Asia tend to be my idea of a nightmare … a lot of people all trying multiple dishes of largely mediocre quality, kids screaming etc etc. There are some exceptions I’ve found in BKK being the WA, MO, and FS. Otherwise, I’d rather skip them. That said, I agree with other posters that one would expect a better set up and quality from a StR, and the offering is sub par and should have been improved by now.

ralph4878

This is correct...except there are tons of people in the hospitality world doing sabrage don't know what they are actually doing. There's a certification process one *should* go through to learn how to saber a champagne bottle properly, including preparing the bottle at the right temperature (and then doing a final preparation of cooling the neck of the bottle to an even different temperature...). I don't believe the majority of folks know what they are doing/are following the appropriate protocols and processes, and I wouldn't trust any establishment that lets employees saber bottles without first asking if they've been certified - too many stories of people getting hit with shattered glass, among other issues.

MePlatPremier

it’s just physics. By definition, the much higher atmospheric pressure inside the bottle keeps anything from going into it once it’s popped open.
Now, a safety chain can be used to keep the top of the bottle from hitting anyone in the audience. But it just takes away all the glamour from the gimmick.

conde

There have been times that the St Regis has been competitive price-wise with the other Marriott portfolio and non-Marriott hotels in BKK. Just earlier this month I booked a 5 night award stay a couple of months from now at the St Regis for 134000 Bonvoy points. Not great, but it was fewer points than the Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit or the Athenee were offering (175000-195000 points). Last year, while not available to all, the St Regis had really competitive corporate rates. Now both the competitive corporate rates and lower points required for award stays seem to have evaporated. For my 5 night stay last year at the St Regis, it was very pleasant. I still prefer the Sheraton Grand Sukhumvit, but I didn't experience service fails or undesirable attitude from the staff experienced by others. The St Regis can still do better than now, like making the elite happy hour experience much better. Complimentary laundry instead of just daily pressing for elites would also be nice. The breakfast was fine, but I would not stay at the hotel or avoid because of it. If priced competitively with the other BKK offerings, the St Regis is fine. I can see how the St Regis is not worth a price premium and I would not choose it if there were other wonderful hotels that cost less. The criticism of the BKK St Regis seems to be a bit much though.

ralph4878

I didn't say anything about glass getting into the bottle.
Indeed, "it's just physics," which is why folks without training/certification shouldn't be doing this: they have no real control over the pressure in the bottle, nor any idea of how the cork or glass is going to fly from the broken bottle. I've seen plenty of people doing this - including folks with certification - who were just a little too cavalier in their approach and hit the glass around the cork the wrong way. This happened at a French restaurant in Providence I worked at in the late 90s...the owner was certified and was partying a little bit with customers during a private function...they asked him to do a sabrage and 4 people ended up in the ER. It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye...

hhoope01

I've removed a number of off-topic and disruptive posts. The topic of this thread is the St. Regis Bangkok. Lets keep the posts focused on that and not each other, St. Regis as a brand, etc.

Thank you.

hhoope01 - Marriott Bonvoy Forum Co-Moderator

escape4

It used to be free laundry actually, but it's been downgraded to free pressing - another cost cutting move made by the hotel, not previously mentioned

EGW1

By far the benefit I miss the most. And from memory it used to extend to 2 guests, so 8 pieces of laundry a day … now I’d settle for 2 pieces!

Kacee

Not qualified to answer, but agree the breakfast here, even pre-covid, was kind of meh. There are only a handful of decent tables, along the side next to the windows. But even there it's a bit of a squeeze to get in and out. To me, the W/A really sets the standard here in all respects - layout, service, food variety and quality.
It's a great view. Along with the pool, this is the property's most appealing feature IMO.

ralph4878

Have to tried the Sunday brunch in VIU? It's one of the best in Bangkok, hands down, for about $85/person, inclusive of tax, service, and great, fresh non-alcoholic beverages...another $125 for free flowing champagne (last time I went, it was Clicquot, but I've also been there when it's been Moët Brut, Piper, and other good, non-vintaged brands...currently, it's Möet, I believe). The seafood and suckling pig sections alone are worth the $85 (Alaskan king crab, lobster, prawns, oysters - both raw and cooked - wonderful sushi and sashimi, scallops)!

escape4

After having recently tried breakfast at Royal Orchid Sheraton, it's also been downgraded relative to our previous visit and I would now rank it below StR and therefore last of the 14 full service Marriotts in Bangkok. StR moves into 13th place

gerald5

Stayed recently and found a full service laundry right next door. Price is 300 baht for each load of wash and fold.

littlevoices

Had a two night stay here during a busy week as an Ambassador member, I wasn't really blown away as I pretty much got what I paid for (and the room rate is double the nearby hotels), but I needed to stay here for an event. My room upgrade was from a basic room to a basic room with a view of the golf course, so hardly mind-blowing, but I do realise that Thailand is overrun with elites - though the hotel had at least 5 suites available during my short stay as I could see them on the app.

Anyway, I wanted to share a few things that aren't clear above:
1. Member welcome drink is available for anyone who would normally get lounge access, it's better than nothing and it does run from 5-10pm, so that is a nice perk.

Elite member welcome drink options - served in the drawing room or St Regis bar (lobby level)

Elite member welcome drink served - i chose the Ambassador one (it isn't constrained to your level), and they also gave me a free mini-burger with a Thai sausage base, plus nut nibbles, not massive canapes, but this was fairly late in the evening

2. Breakfast - seems to be about the same as my prior pre-COVID trip, though the crab omelette from the egg chef has been replaced with more standard options. I still find it to be a good quality buffet and way better than what you'd typically see in Europe or the US, but for its StR competitors in Asia, nothing very stand out. Here were two al-la-carte options that I tried and enjoyed

Breakfast, cooked to order option - Thai chicken curry

Breakfast, cooked to order option - Ramen

3. These are the benefits for an Ambassador in the welcome letter. I did take advantage of the pressing service, but be aware if you ask in the evening clothes can only be returned at 8am next day, so they don't appear to be pressing on-site (quite unusual for me, and a good job I didn't need them earlier)

Ambassador welcome letter with all the offered benefits/amenities (plus constraints, such as pressing per person limits)

Kacee

That's actually shocking given that StR is supposed to have butler service. At StR Rome last month, I sent out pants for pressing around 8 pm, told the butler overnight was fine. He called about 10 minutes later and asked if it would be okay if he returned them immediately.

ElevatorEnthusiast

“I’m sorry, I just can’t let you go out in Rome with pants like this. Let’s go shopping.”