Shangri-La resisted for a long time giving me a status match, and continued to refuse even during covid when in theory they should have been hurting for business.  Consequently I have resisted staying at their hotels simply because I was unwilling to start from scratch with no benefits and have to work my way up to Diamond status (50 nights required) without the benefits that I would have at the big hotel chains.  That said I am running out of new hotels to try in Bangkok so out of curiosity I booked at Shangri-La for the bare minimum, a one-night staycation package which excludes loyalty benefits which was not a restriction that would apply to me anyway.  My stay was more or less aligned with my expectations with good service, an above average breakfast buffet, nice river views, however the room was entirely forgettable and moderately aging so it confirmed that it’s not a hotel I would want to stay at simply to make progress to elite status.  I would not mind staying at SL again, but not at the expense of giving up on the generous room / suite upgrades at other programs.  

Room

The Deluxe river view room was in decent condition but it has seen better days, which is not entirely different from other riverside hotels such as Peninsula and Royal Orchid Sheraton which have not been renovated for a while.  The one which was renovated is Millenium Hilton and they were unable to raise rates substantially afterwards so I cannot blame Shangri-La for not spending big money on renovations.  

My other concern about the room is that it was not very spacious for luxury hotel standards at 36 square meters and materially smaller than the rooms at Peninsula which start at 45 sqm.  Very little in the room stood out positively including the bathroom which was ok but nothing special.  The body lotion was L’Occitane but the rest was unbranded made in China although specifically made for Shangri-La and marked as being without parabens.

Dining

The breakfast was a strong point, first off the venue was excellent with lots of seating options outdoors by the river which makes it one of the best breakfast locations in the entire city.  The buffet itself was varied with a Thai station, Indian station, sushi station, etc.  The buffet was not self-service as a covid precaution; there was plenty of staff available to serve guests what they wanted which was better than some other less careful hotels right now which allow guests to manipulate tongs by themselves. 

We had a food & beverage credit to use during our stay and we did not want to go to the restaurant.  In-room dining was far less impressive than breakfast - I do not recall any 5-star hotel in Bangkok only offering three Asian main courses – this was very weak.

Location

Among the riverside hotels in Bangkok, Shangri-La has possibly the best location of all because the hotel is adjacent to the Saphan Taksin sky train BTS station.  

Pool

We did not use the pool but it seemed quite nice and gave a resort-style feeling.

Wifi

Wifi worked well with download speed 45 Mbps and upload speed 25 Mbps.

Overall

Overall the hotel was ok and can be a cheaper option than Peninsula, but more expensive than Royal Orchid Sheraton and Millenium Hilton.  The later two provide generous elite benefits which make it a hard sell for me to return at Shangri-La without breakfast, lounge access, and room upgrades because SL was ok but not fantastic enough to draw me back.  This is only a hotel I would recommend to travelers who do not have elite status at any hotel chain and who do not have the budget to pay for Peninsula or other more expensive riverside hotels.