With elite status extended to 2021 by most hotel chains I have been trying different properties recently.  I have stayed at most Marriott, Hilton, and Hyatt hotels in Bangkok in the past, so this time I wanted to try Siam Kempinski for the first time.  Kempinski is the #1 option from GHA and it seems to be priced a bit cheaper than Park Hyatt and Waldorf Astoria, but a bit more expensive than St.Regis.  My overall takeaway is that while the hardware is nice, elite benefits do not remotely approach those from the big hotel chains and in a city like Bangkok it is not competitive. 

Location

The Siam Kempinski is in one of the best locations in the city in my opinion.  I love the fact that Park Hyatt is directly connected to the Central Embassy shopping mall, and Siam Kempinski has the same advantage by being directly linked to the Siam Paragon mall, but an argument can be made that Kempinski’s location is even better than PH because when staying at Kempinski, you have direct access to the sky train BTS station Siam which is at the junction of both the Silom line and Sukhumvit line, whereas Park Hyatt is on the Sukhumvit line therefore marginally inferior if you need access to the Silom line.  St.Regis is not far from Kempinski and it is also connected to a BTS station but not a mall.  Waldorf Astoria is arguably in the worst spot of the four despite being walking distance of both St.Regis and Kempinski because WA is not directly linked to either a BTS station or a shopping mall.

Room

I noticed a special rate during covid at Kempinski which included free breakfast and free dinner but that rate was only available for the entry level room type so this is the room I booked.  As GHA Platinum I got a one-category upgrade to a Deluxe Balcony Room as per the rules, nothing more, despite hotel occupancy being only 30%.  For a short stay I did not mind and I did not ask anything further about the upgrade and I just took the room assigned to me, however I would note that it’s very different from the treatment at PH, WA, and StR where I get a suite more than 75% of the time and sometimes they even upgrade to premium suites.  While having GHA Black instead of Platinum might help, however this individual property breaks down their room types into so many categories that suites are the 7th or 8th room type so even as GHA Black, a two category upgrade will not put you in a room anywhere near the level of a suite, and the cash value of the upgrades are only worth a modest amount unlike other GHA properties such as Siam Anantara where a 2-category upgrade can be quite valuable.

The Deluxe Balcony Room is of a decent size at 45 square meters and a bit larger than the entry level room, that said, the basic rooms at Waldorf Astoria are even larger at 50 sq m.  Since personally I value suite upgrades, Kempinski is unlikely to be a good fit but at least the room did not feel cramped and most of the finishes were quite good.  The entrance to the room was hardwood floor and it extended to the far end of the room but there was a bit too much carpet to my taste near the bed and in front of the sofa.  As per the name of the room type there was a small balcony overlooking the inner court of the hotel which might please some guests.  The shower was immediately next to the bedroom with a large glass window with blinds that we could draw down for privacy which gave some natural lighting in the bathroom.  The vanity was not a double, so not quite luxury level but there was another sink near the entrance of the room next to the mini-bar which contained complimentary drinks including two beers plus some snacks, replenished daily.

Overall I thought the design of the room was slick and modern, and I liked the heavy and thick doors but there were some features where they cut corners a bit for example the drawers and cabinets were more Ikea-style.  All in all I found the quality a bit below St.Regis and Waldorf Astoria, but higher than Park Hyatt except for the bathroom which is superb at Park Hyatt.

To conclude regarding the room, bathroom amenities were the Rituals brand which is ok but not my favorite. 

Dining

Understandably the breakfast buffet was suspended because of covid but the a la carte menu was not particularly impressive for a hotel of this caliber.  To the hotel’s credit however, they accepted to prepare items off the menu such as stir-fried veggies with shrimps and noodle soup.  We also requested a fruit plate but it was somewhat disappointing because it only included standard hotel fruits rather than upscale options such as mangoes or passion fruits.  I would note that if it was not for my special rate type, breakfast would not be free as GHA elite guest unlike PH, StR, and WA so it can potentially put Kempinski at a disadvantage.

The restaurant itself was beautiful and grandiose with very high ceilings and it oozed luxury.  It might not beat Waldorf’s restaurant because of WA’s views of the sports club, but it sure was better than St.Regis’ crowded and unpleasant restaurant with too many tables in a small space. 

Part of the attraction of our stay at Kempinski was the special rate which included dinner.  I was not quite sure what would be included but we thought it was worth a try.  Normally the dinner benefit is limited to the restaurant but they accepted to allow us to have it delivered to our room which we appreciated.  I was quite impressed that they were not stingy at all with the dinner offer: we could order two appetizers, two main courses, and two desserts, anything we wanted from the menu.  I wish the menu included Asian dishes but since the restaurant is Mediterranean it was not the case, but nonetheless we had a very enjoyable feast from the comfort of our room and it was the highlight of our stay.

Service

Service was quite good and on par with a luxury hotel brand.  Despite being first timers to this property we were regularly addressed by name including in the hotel restaurant, which sometimes does not even happen at other properties in Bangkok even after several stays for example at St.Regis.

Wifi

Wifi worked well without interruptions with speeds of 10-20 Mbps.

Overall

Overall Kempinski definitely deserves to be considered a luxury hotel but it also has the price tag that comes with it, and without the generous upgrades of other hotel chains it makes the value proposition questionable for people who have elite status with multiple chains.  Perhaps my experience will be different if I return as GHA Black so I could give Kempinski another shot in the future, also they will be able to show how to treat repeat guests.  However if they stick to the published 2-category room upgrade and nothing more, it’s unlikely that I would suddenly become a regular at this property.  The one possible differentiating factor I see for Kempinski is the fact that they have an executive lounge, unlike other luxury options in Bangkok.  Unfortunately I did not book an executive room so I could not try it and because I had a rate that included breakfast and dinner, it was simply not worth paying extra for lounge access.  However because of how they rank room types, having an upgrade to an executive room as GHA Black might be more attainable than a suite upgrade, consequently for a future stay when I might care more about a lounge than a suite, Kempinski could be a decent option to try their lounge and see how it compares with somewhat lesser brands such as Athenee (Luxury Collection) or Conrad.  On another matter, for people who like the Kempinski brand I would note that there is another Kempinski in Bangkok in the pipeline (Sindhorn Kempinski) scheduled to open in October which based on introductory pricing might be better value than Siam Kempinski.