holtju2

Just arrived here today. Will update this tomorrow with pictures and more stuff.

You can find the pictures that I took around the property and the room I had here.

Executive Summary
- As a Platinum member cannot find any reason to stay here again considering all the other Starwood options in Bangkok
- Without any Starwood or other statuses? Maybe as long as the price is in line with the competitors.

Took a taxi from the departure level at the airport as I always do to save the 50 THB airport fee. There was no traffic on Sunday afternoon so it took about 30 minutes to the hotel and the fare was 201 THB. I normally give 20 THB tip and of course pay the tolls (25 THB and 45 THB). Just told the taxi to drive to the Sukhumvit soi 11.

The hotel right now is about half finished. Of the 33 floors the first 18 are ready. The rest are planned to be finished by March/April 2012.

Check in:
There is no separate area or even a sign for Platinums or Gold members to check in. It was not a problem as of now but most likely will be when the hotel is completely build and at capacity.

As I was curious what they were offering for platinum members considering all the other Starwood properties in Bangkok that all go above and beyond, I was surprised that they basically didn’t offer anything.
- Internet access is free for anyone
- The entrance fee waiver is included for all staying at the hotel for Bed Supper Club and Q Bar that they advertise as “trendiest” bars in Bangkok. I agree that they were trendiest at one point maybe five years ago but not anymore.
- They were offering a “drink” coupon. It is valid for coffee and other coffee based drinks. I have received something like these at Aloft’s in the United States so it is probably a brand standard as well.
- They do NOT offer a breakfast or evening happy hour.

Room
I made a short YouTube video using a cell phone. You can access it at http://bit.ly/aloftsukhumvit11bangkok.

Overall they have used the 30 square meters well better than some of the Alofts in the United States. Also, they have a proper AC system unlike the window units found in the States.

The shower setup is similar with shampoo/conditioner and shower gel pump bottles. The soap bar is bit different though. It is not the blueish bliss bar but white looking generic Aloft branded one. I liked the fact that they had the razor and dental kits without having to request one.

The bed is in the middle of the room as in all Alofts. I do think, however, that the bedding material used here is better than the one at the US Alofts.

There is a small sitting are next to the window with a TV on the other side. Room has a small minibar with some soda and couple of beers. They also have some potato chips, nuts, and condoms for sale. The usual connectivity panel that you can use to stream your own stuff to the TV.

Pool / fitness center.
They have both on the 10th floor. The pool is on the shadow for most of the day. There are quite a few sun chairs out. There is a small pool bar area too.

Fitness center is a see through glass next to the pool area. They have the usual cardio set up with built in TV’s, but they don’t have headphones available so remember to bring your own.

cln

thank your for sharing.

broadwayboy

Thank you.

Is it only me or does the video cut off at 01:40?

TRAVELSIG

Thanks Holtju2- good report. In all fairness regarding bed and Qbar, they are not the trendiest- however they certainly win on proximity to the Aloft! I am staying later this month- most curious about any noise if you can post? Or is there proper soundproofing given the area?

Penguinmoon

I just left the hotel today, I had arrived last Friday night, and checked out this morning.

I liked it. As mentioned above, I found that they made good use of the space. The room was well sized, looked very smart. The bed was very comfortable, and I found the room to be very quiet; a nice feat for the area that it is in.

The pool was nice, but a bit on the small side. If you are a sun whore like me, you may wish to avoid this property. It looses all sun by 2:30.

I found the breakfast included in the rate odd. They served it what looks to be a meeting space. It looks like they drug out tables, some buffets, and placed them in a meeting room. You ordered your mains from the waiter (egg, sides), and took the rest from the buffet. Very little variety, with hardly any Asian options.

The lobby and outside areas were VERY LOUD with dance music blasting both evenings. It looks as if the bar/club is located right next to the lobby, and the music can be heard. They even had a large speaker outside of the hotel on Sukhumvit, blasting the same music.

EACH PERSON I encountered was amazing, all the employees were friendly, smiled, and went out of their way to help. I almost cancelled not wanting to stay at such a newly opened property, wanting to wait until the worked out the kinks, but things pretty much went smooth. They were able to solve a difficult problem I had with my next reservation in 8 weeks fairly easily.

There was a Thai Reality show filming all weekend, they were taking up lots of space, but I thing they finished today. So that should not be a problem. I was on the 12th floor and did not hear any construction during my entire stay. However, I did hear the maid in the hall at 7 am knocking on doors, it was loud enough to wake me up.

I did order from the limited menu at the pool. Both items a friend and I ordered weren't they good, a overpriced compared to other hotels.

Overall I had a good stay, and will stay there again. I very much like the location, the employees were amazing, I like the feel of the property, and the rates so far a good.

Keyser

thanks for the reports holtju2 & penguinmoon....

kevino

It didn't cut off for me.

dealswelike

Can the music from the clubs be heard in the guest rooms? I am staying at this hotel right after the new year primarily due to their THB 2111/night rate, which is quite amazing.

Thanks!

Penguinmoon

I was on floor 12, I didn't hear any music from the club or construction. The only thing i heard was the maid in the hall at 7am.

LIH Prem

Thanks for posting the video, very nice. I like the part about you counting the number of times you had to pump the shampoo/conditioner dispensers at various alofts.

I wanted to try this property, but if there's no breakfast benefit etc, should I redirect the 1 night I was going to spend there to the Four Points or Le Meridien? (The SGS is not available for c&p on the night I'm looking at.) I wanted to try all the properties in BKK. Usually I just stay at SGS.

-David

TRAVELSIG

They are selling rates with breakfast included right now which are 250/bht p.p. more per night. So- if you are in two people the 2111 bht rate is 2611 bht. It is still a pretty good price.

TRAVELSIG

Excellent news- this was my major question- out of curiosity were you facing towards Sukhumvit or towards the Fraser executive suites (direction of Q bar etc)?

Penguinmoon

My room directly faced the new condo buidling right next to the hotel, I forget the name of it. Sukhumvit something. If I was a voyeur, it would have been my dream hotel room I could see directly in to many people's bedrooms.

FrankC6

That might well turn out to be this hotel's unique selling point.

DGS822

anybody know how close this is to the st. regis? i might pop over in the morning before i leave BKK to see it and do a quick check-in to get an extra stay. with taxes it's under 80 USD