Dr. HFH

And if you are told, "Better luck next time," I hope that you will ask for the GM. S/he'll know immediately, I expect, how rude that is.

cln

opening offer is available again 3880++ until dec fully refundable double starpoints.... ^


Here you get your second chance to impress me W Bangkok
( 4Points has almost same rate for my dates *_* )

3rdworldresident

Personally i believe that she(fd agent) is absolutely wrong.

If this is the policy of this hotel, it will be the only spg property in thailand that i've never been to.

DurandilToss

Thank you for the advise Martin! I think I will do just that and see what the SOP at this property regarding SNA confirmations.

She was lucky that I only had 1 hour of sleep the night before due to overnight work commitments!

This is the first property which I had used the SNA to request for the better room (of the two available room types) and ended up getting the lower room category after receiving the confirmation letter. Usually, if the hotel cannot secure me the room (eg: executive suite) I requested, they will return me the SNA but will still upgrade me to a junior suite if it is available.

travelswithmyself

With regard to the "better luck next time" comment, perhaps a mis-application of an english colloquialism? Non-native english speakers may not be aware of it's common meaning. The FD agent might have really meant for you to have better luck getting an upgrade the next time...

No no, I don't want to buy that bridge in Brooklyn...

Starwood Lurker III

Hi DurandilToss,

Could you please provide the reservation details to us via private message or by email below so that we can help look into this?

Best Regards,

Christina Zhou
Social Media Specialist
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]

DurandilToss

That might be the case as well, but that does sound a bit like a gamble now based on luck (i.e: chances of getting the SNA request honored)
Thank you for your quick response Christina! I had already sent you the reservation detail to you via PM.

Dr. HFH

^^^ Christina!!!! I don't know if the other chains have lurkers, and I know that I've said this before, but the Lurkers here and their proactive helping attitude are one of the reasons I stay with SPG. Just makes things that much easier.

lcpteck

I second that!

whimike

Wow, the prices at this hotel are changing daily.

I now can't find a single day this year that has the 3880++ price. Standard price is 4800++. Starpicks are now showing and are 4880++ and goes to 5443++ in November.

travelswithmyself

Oct 2013 Trip Report

. there are rather conflicting opinions of this hotel, so decided to give it a whirl
. I know there are many many BKK experts in this forum, with very strong opinions about the SPG properties; if I make any glaring mistakes I hope you'll point it out without too much roasting :P
. am writing this from the aspect of a mostly-newbie traveller to BKK and am going to add a few details about arriving in BKK

Getting into BKK
. arrived at 7pm at Suvarnabhumi. SIM cards easily available from AIS, DTAC, True Move - these are official stores so you don't have to worry about being scammed. To find them just look for the long queues :P
. after dinner headed down to taxi rank on the first floor - chose this option instead of the Airport Rail Link/BTS because with luggage and > 1 person getting on and around on the BTS is really difficult when it's crowded
. I've been lucky so far and have never had issues with taxi meters in BKK in ~ 10 rides. I keep spare change for the two highway tolls (฿25 + ฿50). Ride took ~ 40 mins in light-moderate traffic and cost ~ ฿240
. departing the hotel, we got the bellboys to call one for us, didn't have to pay any extras. Ride from the W to the highway took about 15mins in heavy traffic, then it was fairly smooth sailing to the airport even at 17:00H on a Monday. There are tolls going that way too, but I forget how much they are. Total travel time ~ 45 mins

Check-in and impressions
. turning into the main gate of the W the first thing you see is the colonial building of the former ?Russian embassy, which is still being renovated and which will apparently eventually have duplex-suites
. normally we handle our own (cabin-sized) luggage but the bellboys insisted on taking them from us
. definitely a W-vibe - from the A&F-esque bellboys to the huge W sign at the front door, and the garish purple lighting. I like ^
. we were ushered into the lobby and checked-in immediately - everything was in order as were our connecting room requests which had been confirmed weeks ago
. no welcome drinks or cold towels, but with the thumping house music from WooBar right next to the FD you really don't want to spend too much time at registration - the FD agent and I had to shout to make ourselves heard
. we were given cards for complimentary drinks at WooBar - one per guest to be used at any time during the stay - we didn't use them and passed them on to the guest checking-in next to us as we were checking-out - if you're on FT give us a shout-out!
. Plat amenity is 500 points or breakfast. Not sure what the local gift is
. guests for this weekend seemed to be mostly young well-heeled couples from Hong Kong






Platinum Privileges
. room upgrade up to Marvelous Suite
. SNA choices include Studio Suite, Fantastic Suite and Marvelous Suite
. breakfast in the (only) restaurant - until 1030H
. drink coupon at WooBar per guest (not sure if this applies to non-Plat as well)
. late check-out till 4pm
. sadly, no turn-down service/chocolates/snacks

. the hotel DOES NOT participate in the EDM programme (new SPG privilege card for Thailand)


Access
. the W is located on Sathorn Road at the boundary between Silom and Sathon commercial ?districts
. the immediate area is clean and feels safe; we were not hassled by nor did we see any touts. None of the buzz, noise and crowd of Sukhumvit - I could actually see the pavement :P. That may be good or bad depending on what you want. To me that means dragging your pull-along from the BTS is actually feasible
. the nearest BTS is Chong Nonsi, which is accessed by walking out the main gate of the W and along the road. The far better way is by crossing within the W compound to the adjacent Sathorn Square office building, taking escalators up two storeys, and exiting the building to the covered BTS skywalk which leads directly into the station. Uniformed guards open the doors for you, and it is a 3 minute walk in air-conditioned comfort. Not a hassle at all. The guards told us the doors are locked at 22:00H though on a Sunday they were locked by 21:00H
. Chong Nonsi station is on the Silom dark green BTS line, and is 3 stops from Siam station where you can switch to Sukhumvit light green line, and 1 stop from Sala Daeng where a short 7-min walk connects you to the MRT subway. There are huge malls at Siam with food courts aplenty
. Didn't wander much around the hotel, and the nearest 7-11 I saw was the one on the opposite side of Chong Nonsi station - stock up before going back to the W








Food
. the only restaurant is the Kitchen Table. Breakfast is a mix of asian and western dishes, I suppose it varies depending on the clientele for the season
. eggs are cooked ala minute and are ordered from your table
. other cooked food stations are a noodle station and a rice porridge station
. food quality was good. I would rank it on par with Le Meridien. Though I miss the ice-cream counter - nothing equivalent here
. service was good - I think the staff have gotten up to speed - minimal wait for seats even at peak time, plates cleared quickly, egg orders fast and speedy - and they do a GOOD poached egg here









. we also had some simple thai dishes through room service - it was good, not watered-down tourist stuff, and came very quickly


Facilities
. the pool is really... um... not very big :P
. there were hardly any cool spots at 11:00H, but there were plentiful deck chairs and a few cabanas
. the gym looks well-equipped and is an open concept - you step out the elevator lobby and you're in the gym
. the spa is on the same level but we did not use it
. I don't think there's an ATM on-site but there are ATMs and banks in Sathorn Square next door

travelswithmyself

Rooms
. we opted to avoid the Wonderful and Spectacular rooms given that these have had the worst press because of the open-concept bathroom
. also, since there's a dearth of reviews of the mid-tier Cool Corner room and Studio Suite we wanted to have a look

. connecting rooms come in only two configurations: Cool Corner Room (2 Queens) + Studio Suite (King) or Cool Corner Room (2 Queens) + Spectacular Room (King)
. because of the layout of the hotel, these are limited - if you want them you should contact the hotel in advance
. the rooms do not have a connecting door, instead they share an entry alcove and a third door can be closed to create a common door

. as you can see from the picture, purple is a very common theme in this hotel
. also, it's the first W I've been in that doesn't use W scent #5 in the common areas!




. we were given the 30th floor (out of 31), great views!
. I think the Cool Corner we got is one of the larger ones, if you compare 3008 vs 3018



. I'll mention some of the common features before going on to the individual rooms

Gizmos
. both wired and wireless, up to 5 devices, and good coverage throughout. Speed is good even to the USA. When you get better than 96% of the country you can't complain



. LED Samsung TV, with lots of ports, and easily accessible because it's mounted on a swing-arm
. strangely enough, no DVD or BD player - it's on request (free). Likewise, no iPod dock - the only clock is a small table top clock
. plentiful universal power ports both at the desk and by the bed
. lights controls - these are controlled from the bedside by the Archos Tablet (which also controls the A/C and the DND sign). There are also lighted light switch panels by the main door and by the toilet entryway which act as manual controls. It's a little confusing but once used to it it's fine
. was very happy with the plentiful bright lighting on the whole
. in-room safe is built-into the wardrobe drawer - top-loading sort - so DSLRs and larger cameras won't fit


Bathroom
. BEST ^^^ water pressure I've ever had for a rain shower, even on the 30th floor!
. stock W amenities - the suites give the larger sizes. No evening top-up though
. shower stalls seem to be standardised with both rain shower and flexible shower hose
. hot water is a bit messy - it fluctuates as you bathe and can go from scalding to cool in seconds - better to stick with warmish and endure occasional cold bursts
. the hotel doesn't participate in the Green Choice programme


So I'll let the pictures do the talking from now...

Cool Corner Room
. this is a more typical hotel room in that the bathroom is separated from the bedroom by a solid wall





I do notice that they use a lot of mirror-like glass - once the lights are on the wall becomes a mirror and you can hardly see out of the room. So privacy isn't that much of an issue, but yes, you can still be seen on the throne.

This picture shows you how much you can see into the corridor from the bathroom... it's actually better and more mirror-like when viewed straight-on rather than from an angle like this. But if privacy is important to you, you may have to consider another hotel.



And of course, the view...

travelswithmyself

Studio Suite

. I liked this room the most actually, because of the spaciousness, and the long bathroom which extends the entire length of the room. That too makes it more private and despite the use of the mirror-glass mentioned before, less of an issue because you are not visible from the bedroom
. the L-sofa is actually long enough for a 6' adult to sleep on, with a bit of bending





Faux crocodile skin :P



So this is the throne room, and the door is just that much translucent...



I like having the tub in the same room as the shower... if you splash around too much you don't have to worry about getting the floor wet. Also, the blinds can be opened to give you a grand view - very much like W Taipei.



Lastly, the 180degree view:

travelswithmyself

Marvelous Suite

. we requested to have our Studio upgraded on the last night to the Marvelous Suite; FD was very pleasant about it and not only allowed it, they allowed us to keep the Marvelous Suite till our late Your24 (tm) checkout at 6pm, instead of pushing us back to the lower-tier Cool Corner

. I found it a bit dim to say the least - firstly the living room furniture is faux pony hair and is BLACK, then they have dim lights because apparently they're afraid bright lights will fade the pony hair too quickly
. but the sofa is very very long and comfortable... better than some hotel beds I've been in
. the 1/2 bathroom is huge in comparison to some, there's space for a shower if they had wanted to install it
. the room is divided into two rectangles - one side is the living space, and the other side are the two bathrooms - and this wall is 2" of translucent purple glass. The bathroom walls are themselves made of the mirror-ed glass I mentioned earlier, and then there's an air gap of about 2" and then the purple glass wall. The purple glass is textured and gives a fuzziness to the people behind the glass, but yes you can still make out people and sort of what they're doing...
. in the picture below you can see the mirror effect in the half-bathroom - with the lights off it becomes normal translucent glass







And here is the infamous curtain that closes off the bathroom area from the bedroom. I actually find it acceptable. It makes the room larger and more airy. It's also not a cheap shower curtain but of a thick velvet-like material.

I was more worried about the little TV which isn't one of those built-in Ad Notam things, but a standard TV mounted on what seemed to be a very loose and flimsy swing arm. For a while I was actually afraid of it dropping into the bathtub!





Thoughts
. I've stayed at the aLoft and the 4 Points, and I agree that for convenience and access those can't be beat. However, it isn't really that difficult to get to Sukhumvit from the W. And the hotel rooms are nice enough to just chillax in. I'd probably come back here again, if the price was right
. the bathroom is a non-issue to me, though I avoided staying in the lower tier rooms
. I would probably go for a Studio Suite because it's brighter, more airy and has a better view. And because it has a tub with a view

LIH Prem

travelswithmyself: very nice visit report and pics and maps! Thanks.

-David