Sep 21, 2014, 10:57 am
Last edit by: ElevatorEnthusiast
Hotel email address: [email protected]
OR: [email protected]
Lounge: [email protected]
Le Royal Club Benefits + Facilities (As of Feb 20, 2019)
OR: [email protected]
Lounge: [email protected]
Le Royal Club Benefits + Facilities (As of Feb 20, 2019)
The Athenee Hotel (formerly Plaza Athenee), Bangkok, Thailand [Master Thread]
Dec 14, 2010, 3:35 pm
#466
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: IAD
Programs: Chase Million Miler, SPG Gold, HHonors Gold, Hyatt Platinum
Posts: 2,729
This thread has been quite lately, so I thought I'd post an update.
Wife and I are traveling through SE Asia on our honeymoon, and the PA is our first stop amongst many. So far, we're on night two of four at this property.
We arrived BKK on CX from HKG around 5:30pm. Given that it was rush hour, I decided to chance the new local airport train + BTS. Sometimes subtleties escape me (I read the airport express thread on the Thailand forum), so I'll be clear on this one: Don't use this option to reach the PA if you have more bags than your party can handle without assistance (that is, more than all of you can carry on your own) or if your bags are larger than you can easily carry. Put differently, the wife and I each had a 50 lb bag, and that was too much to maneuver through the system and to the hotel. We managed, but I would definitely be cabbing it back to the airport. On the plus side, it cost less than 100 THB for the two of us to get from the airport to the hotel.
We prepaid for a club room through a 35% off promotion by booking 30+ days out -- rate was 5586 THB a/i. The PA FT rep reached out to me prior to arrival. I let him/her know that we are traveling on our honeymoon. Unfortunately, there was no recognition of that at all, nor was there any sort of upgrade as a result of my gold status. I'm a bit disappointed, TBH. Did I *expect* anything? No. But for a hotel trying actively trying to improve their TA image, and for having gold status (which other posters say goes a long way in A/P) I felt disappointed and that something is missing here. For a five-star hotel, no honeymoon recognition rates as a service slip-up.
That's the only real negative, and even then, who can really complain about getting what they paid for?
We have a club room on the 27th floor, very nice size, layout, views (floor-to-ceiling windows), and bathroom. There's a control box by the bed for all of the lights and an-automated do-not-disturb sign. I thought that is cool. For club level guests, there is a DVD player and DVDs in the lounge.
The included breakfast (buffet at the Raintree Cafe) is awesome. Wife says it is the best she has ever had. TBH, a mid-morning breakfast and three rounds of canapes was enough to fill me up for the day. By US standards, it's definitely worth what they charge, assuming it is in the 600 THB range. But for Thailand, is it worth it? That's a judgement call. The wife and I will be traveling around for 5 weeks, and for BKK, we figured that we can enjoy some of the nicer things and save the truly local stuff for other parts of the trip.
Club lounge benefits are good. Canape selection is wonderful, although I do wish they would have some slightly more substantial (ie filling) options. Although, I do have to say, I like the fact the offerings are so light that they won't spoil dinner. The cocktails in the lounge are nothing special -- basically mixers, beer, and wine. Wife liked the wine. According to a lounge attendant, the offerings rotate from the various hotel restaurants every night.
The pool is very nice. It's not large, but is well decorated, especially at night. Very relaxing.
All in all, this is a very nice stay. It's serving it's purpose well -- great place to relax and adjust to the time zone changes. Is the value there? At $186/night (a/i) I think so, but I don't know BKK well enough to know for sure. (Originally I booked a C&P rate, but canceled it when I did the math on upgrading the C&P award vs booking the prepaid room. But I don't really know what $186 would have gotten me elsewhere.)
Wife and I are traveling through SE Asia on our honeymoon, and the PA is our first stop amongst many. So far, we're on night two of four at this property.
We arrived BKK on CX from HKG around 5:30pm. Given that it was rush hour, I decided to chance the new local airport train + BTS. Sometimes subtleties escape me (I read the airport express thread on the Thailand forum), so I'll be clear on this one: Don't use this option to reach the PA if you have more bags than your party can handle without assistance (that is, more than all of you can carry on your own) or if your bags are larger than you can easily carry. Put differently, the wife and I each had a 50 lb bag, and that was too much to maneuver through the system and to the hotel. We managed, but I would definitely be cabbing it back to the airport. On the plus side, it cost less than 100 THB for the two of us to get from the airport to the hotel.
We prepaid for a club room through a 35% off promotion by booking 30+ days out -- rate was 5586 THB a/i. The PA FT rep reached out to me prior to arrival. I let him/her know that we are traveling on our honeymoon. Unfortunately, there was no recognition of that at all, nor was there any sort of upgrade as a result of my gold status. I'm a bit disappointed, TBH. Did I *expect* anything? No. But for a hotel trying actively trying to improve their TA image, and for having gold status (which other posters say goes a long way in A/P) I felt disappointed and that something is missing here. For a five-star hotel, no honeymoon recognition rates as a service slip-up.
That's the only real negative, and even then, who can really complain about getting what they paid for?
We have a club room on the 27th floor, very nice size, layout, views (floor-to-ceiling windows), and bathroom. There's a control box by the bed for all of the lights and an-automated do-not-disturb sign. I thought that is cool. For club level guests, there is a DVD player and DVDs in the lounge.
The included breakfast (buffet at the Raintree Cafe) is awesome. Wife says it is the best she has ever had. TBH, a mid-morning breakfast and three rounds of canapes was enough to fill me up for the day. By US standards, it's definitely worth what they charge, assuming it is in the 600 THB range. But for Thailand, is it worth it? That's a judgement call. The wife and I will be traveling around for 5 weeks, and for BKK, we figured that we can enjoy some of the nicer things and save the truly local stuff for other parts of the trip.
Club lounge benefits are good. Canape selection is wonderful, although I do wish they would have some slightly more substantial (ie filling) options. Although, I do have to say, I like the fact the offerings are so light that they won't spoil dinner. The cocktails in the lounge are nothing special -- basically mixers, beer, and wine. Wife liked the wine. According to a lounge attendant, the offerings rotate from the various hotel restaurants every night.
The pool is very nice. It's not large, but is well decorated, especially at night. Very relaxing.
All in all, this is a very nice stay. It's serving it's purpose well -- great place to relax and adjust to the time zone changes. Is the value there? At $186/night (a/i) I think so, but I don't know BKK well enough to know for sure. (Originally I booked a C&P rate, but canceled it when I did the math on upgrading the C&P award vs booking the prepaid room. But I don't really know what $186 would have gotten me elsewhere.)
Dec 14, 2010, 10:19 pm
#467
formerly known as 2lovelife
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: ORF : UA_Premier_Gold4Life, Bonvoy_titanium, Accor_Plat
Posts: 6,952
You did the right thing by selecting a Club room and paying the accompanying price, although expensive. This ensures the club benefits, which make the difference in the entire stay, if you ask me. The standard club room feels a little bare, but has everything you need, including the large screen TV. The bathrooms in these rooms are also top notch.
It's all about the club benefits. Agreed that the breakfast downstairs is among the city's best. With free wifi in the lounge, and coffee/tea available all day, it's near perfect. Yes, the quantity of offerings during happy hour leave you still wanting, it's a good thing. Bangkok has such reasonably priced and delicious food, I am happy to be hungry a little later on
I'd imagine that it's hard to get much of an upgrade as a gold. It's sometimes hard as a Platinum. Had you booked a standard room, you may have still gotten the Club floor, but for a special event it is not worth the chance.
The price you paid can get you MANY MANY great options in Bangkok, yes. But at the Plaza Athenee, your money is well spent. They really provide a solid product. I wouldn't give it a second thought.
As for the honeymoon, I too would have expected some recognition. It wouldn't be bad manners to politely bring this up (with the lounge check-in staff, for instance), and say that you had hoped for something special... but it's not too late
...
Enjoy the honeymoon, and all the best for the future.
It's all about the club benefits. Agreed that the breakfast downstairs is among the city's best. With free wifi in the lounge, and coffee/tea available all day, it's near perfect. Yes, the quantity of offerings during happy hour leave you still wanting, it's a good thing. Bangkok has such reasonably priced and delicious food, I am happy to be hungry a little later on
I'd imagine that it's hard to get much of an upgrade as a gold. It's sometimes hard as a Platinum. Had you booked a standard room, you may have still gotten the Club floor, but for a special event it is not worth the chance.
The price you paid can get you MANY MANY great options in Bangkok, yes. But at the Plaza Athenee, your money is well spent. They really provide a solid product. I wouldn't give it a second thought.
As for the honeymoon, I too would have expected some recognition. It wouldn't be bad manners to politely bring this up (with the lounge check-in staff, for instance), and say that you had hoped for something special... but it's not too late
...Enjoy the honeymoon, and all the best for the future.
Dec 15, 2010, 5:05 am
#468
Suspended
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: SEA(sia)
Posts: 5,181
I very much doubt it, I havent stayed at any spg hotel in Asia Pacific which upgrade Golds to club floors. Even if they were oversold on the standard rooms and need to put you on the club floors, chances are that they would deny you access to the club lounge.
Dec 15, 2010, 7:58 am
#469
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: India
Programs: Bonvoy Lifetime Titanium, IHG Plat, HH Gold, Trident Plat, DL Diamond, AI Maharajah
Posts: 29,678
not true....i stayed at this property twice when i was gold back in october 2007....for 2 days on my way to phuket & for a day on my way back....both times i was upgraded to a club room & had access to the lounge....
Dec 15, 2010, 10:17 am
#470
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Greater DC
Programs: UA plus
Posts: 12,943
I stayed there a year or two back with two ressies. I upgraded the first (paid) with points, then was downgraded to an spg room once that was over and the award stay kicked in. No lounge access allowed at that point either. I was Gold
Dec 16, 2010, 8:08 pm
#471
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: IAD
Programs: Chase Million Miler, SPG Gold, HHonors Gold, Hyatt Platinum
Posts: 2,729
Apparently I jumped the gun. The PA staff did a very nice job with honeymoon recognition -- left us a nice little cake and decorated the bed and bathroom quite beautifully. Someone let it slip to me that it is hard to sneak into your room when your "do not disturb" light is always on... oops on my part.
They were also accommodating with a later-than-4pm checkout on a busy weekend.
Throughout my years of traveling, I've always been a "hard product" type of guy. Maybe that comes from my time non-revving where you one is happy to get a seat, and gets no service (that's for the "paying" folks) or merely my travels around the US where most service staff seem to like to make you think that they're doing you a favor, but staying here, where every need and reasonable want has been taken care of promptly and happily has made me come to appreciate good service.
They were also accommodating with a later-than-4pm checkout on a busy weekend.
Throughout my years of traveling, I've always been a "hard product" type of guy. Maybe that comes from my time non-revving where you one is happy to get a seat, and gets no service (that's for the "paying" folks) or merely my travels around the US where most service staff seem to like to make you think that they're doing you a favor, but staying here, where every need and reasonable want has been taken care of promptly and happily has made me come to appreciate good service.
Jan 6, 2011, 10:30 pm
#473
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: South Korea
Posts: 1,168
Yes I was here a few weeks ago. As plat, was upgraded to a suite which is very spacious and beautifully appointed. There was a note left by Giuseppe welcoming me back. The only complaint i have about the room is the fact that there was no DVD player connected to the TV in the living room. Not a big deal, but would be a great addition if they did make this amendment!
The service level was great, as usual, but with two kinks. One is the breakfast - i hv said it before and i will say it again. The wait-staff at the breakfast have been, and are still not as courteous, and as far as I am concerned, not up to the Bangkok starwood standards. I won't go into specifics, but if you had come back from SGS or Le Meridien Bangkok, you would feel the difference right away.
The other was a new lady by the name of Grace. It was apparent that she was very new and was still learning her ropes. Still, she had a great attitude with a load of positive energy so I turned a blind eye on a few minor mishaps.
I don't know what else I can add about this hotel that has not been said already. The hotel showcases a great hard product together with their efforts to treat plats very well. You will enjoy your stay here, though I personally prefer its competitors (GH, SGS, LMBKK).
The service level was great, as usual, but with two kinks. One is the breakfast - i hv said it before and i will say it again. The wait-staff at the breakfast have been, and are still not as courteous, and as far as I am concerned, not up to the Bangkok starwood standards. I won't go into specifics, but if you had come back from SGS or Le Meridien Bangkok, you would feel the difference right away.
The other was a new lady by the name of Grace. It was apparent that she was very new and was still learning her ropes. Still, she had a great attitude with a load of positive energy so I turned a blind eye on a few minor mishaps.
I don't know what else I can add about this hotel that has not been said already. The hotel showcases a great hard product together with their efforts to treat plats very well. You will enjoy your stay here, though I personally prefer its competitors (GH, SGS, LMBKK).
Jan 7, 2011, 12:37 am
#474
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: SNA/LAX
Programs: Hertz PC, Hilton DMD, IHG Spire Amb, Bonvoy Titanium Elite & WoH Globalist
Posts: 8,076
We had 3 night stay about a month ago and were upgraded to Suite 1901. As always, great staff, excellent spacious suite, awesome breakfast & happy hour, and other platinum benefits and treatment. ^^^
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kalboz/...7621936814163/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kalboz/...7621936814163/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kalboz/...7621936814163/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kalboz/...7621936814163/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kalboz/...7621936814163/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kalboz/...7621936814163/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kalboz/...th/5243632580/
Will do a complete review here and on TripAdvisor.com sooooon!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kalboz/...7621936814163/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kalboz/...7621936814163/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kalboz/...7621936814163/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kalboz/...7621936814163/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kalboz/...7621936814163/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kalboz/...7621936814163/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kalboz/...th/5243632580/
Will do a complete review here and on TripAdvisor.com sooooon!
Jan 7, 2011, 5:26 am
#475
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Singapore
Programs: TG Gold, MPC Silver, Bonvoy Ambassador
Posts: 563
Stayed there last weekend.
I am a plat but no suite upgrade this time, I made my reservation the morning I arrived which may have had something to do with it. As previously stated, it is a pretty solid property all around and you can't go too far wrong for your money.
As a plat, I got upgraded to a club room and access to the club lounge which was really nice, similar sort of vibe to club lounge at the Mandarin in Manila if you have stayed there. As ever, I am not really sure how the club room differs from a standard room other than access to the lounge.
One interesting point was that I wasn't given a choice of plat gift, they automatically add the 500 points without raising it at checkin.
Do overall a good stay, nothing exceptional (I can rely on the LeMeridien for that) but pretty good.
I am a plat but no suite upgrade this time, I made my reservation the morning I arrived which may have had something to do with it. As previously stated, it is a pretty solid property all around and you can't go too far wrong for your money.
As a plat, I got upgraded to a club room and access to the club lounge which was really nice, similar sort of vibe to club lounge at the Mandarin in Manila if you have stayed there. As ever, I am not really sure how the club room differs from a standard room other than access to the lounge.
One interesting point was that I wasn't given a choice of plat gift, they automatically add the 500 points without raising it at checkin.
Do overall a good stay, nothing exceptional (I can rely on the LeMeridien for that) but pretty good.
Jan 7, 2011, 8:19 am
#476
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: IAD
Programs: Chase Million Miler, SPG Gold, HHonors Gold, Hyatt Platinum
Posts: 2,729
Jan 7, 2011, 1:24 pm
#477
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: New York
Programs: Bonvoy LifetimeTitanium, UA Plat 2MM, LHW LeadersClub, IHGPlat, HiltonDiamnd, ASMVPG100K, WyndDiamnd
Posts: 1,227
Was there last week for a night and completely agree. Also very friendly staff in the lounge.
Jan 8, 2011, 7:43 pm
#478
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: YVR
Programs: AC E75, SPG Plat, HH peon-by-choice (ex Gold)
Posts: 8,090
Would people recommend PA or LM?
Wifey and I will be visiting soon and we previously stayed at the WGS. We're wanting to try another hotel.
I "heard" upgrades were easier to get at LM but the immediate vicinity to Patpong isn't very persuasive.
Would people say the chance of (Plat) suite upgrades at PA is about even?
Wifey and I will be visiting soon and we previously stayed at the WGS. We're wanting to try another hotel.
I "heard" upgrades were easier to get at LM but the immediate vicinity to Patpong isn't very persuasive.
Would people say the chance of (Plat) suite upgrades at PA is about even?
Jan 9, 2011, 1:45 am
#479
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Australia
Programs: Accor Plat,SGP plat, Hyatt Dia, PC Plat, QF Plat, SG TPP, TG Gold
Posts: 284
Having stayed at both fairly recently, I'm not sure if there is much of a difference re upgrades. The PA is much more dated than the LM but both are nice in their own way and certainly give much better treatment to platinums than the SGS. Another option is the ROS. I wouldn't be put off the LM by proximity to Patpong. From inside the hotel you barely notice it. It is certainly not catering to a 'patpong market'.
Would people recommend PA or LM?
Wifey and I will be visiting soon and we previously stayed at the WGS. We're wanting to try another hotel.
I "heard" upgrades were easier to get at LM but the immediate vicinity to Patpong isn't very persuasive.
Would people say the chance of (Plat) suite upgrades at PA is about even?
Wifey and I will be visiting soon and we previously stayed at the WGS. We're wanting to try another hotel.
I "heard" upgrades were easier to get at LM but the immediate vicinity to Patpong isn't very persuasive.
Would people say the chance of (Plat) suite upgrades at PA is about even?
Jan 9, 2011, 1:48 am
#480
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: YVR
Programs: AC E75, SPG Plat, HH peon-by-choice (ex Gold)
Posts: 8,090
Thanks for the comments.
We "visited" the ROS and the lack of easy access to MTR/BTS transit makes it a no-go for us. (Yes, I know there's the shuttle but that's pretty limited.)
As for Patpong, we're just worried about getting accosted every time we step out. People have different thresholds for this, and my wife's is pretty low.
We "visited" the ROS and the lack of easy access to MTR/BTS transit makes it a no-go for us. (Yes, I know there's the shuttle but that's pretty limited.)
As for Patpong, we're just worried about getting accosted every time we step out. People have different thresholds for this, and my wife's is pretty low.