Previous Installments:
- Introduction: Flying All 3 Big Gulf Carrier Airbus A380s in First Class on a Single Trip
- Check-in and Houston Airport Executive Club
- Air France and KLM Lounges
- Emirates First Class, Houston – Dubai
- Emirates First Class Lounge Dubai – B Concourse
- Emirates Airbus A380 First Class, Dubai – Bangkok
Bangkok is city where it’s difficult for me to pick hotels. Most everything is above average. Even the Holiday Inn Bangkok, at Gaysorn Plaza, is attached to the Intercontinental and practically the same hotel.Arguably the best Sheraton in the world is the Grande Sukhumvit. (And it’s better than the adjacent Westin.)
On the other hand there are very few properties that are so good they’re clearly better than all the others. It’s not a city where I stick to Hyatt, either, because while the Grand Hyatt Erawan is fine I don’t find it special. (I am looking forward to the opening of the new Park Hyatt Bangkok, however.)
For my 3 nights the St. Regis Bangkok was pricing at about $180. I figure when I can book the St. Regis for under $200, that’s an easy decision. Suites were about $50 more. Although the hotel is known for being great with suite upgrades, I decided not to just chance it or use a Suite Night Award but to pay for the suite. Long odds, as reported by others, but I hoped for a further upgrade.
And I lucked into a Caroline Astor suite which – while not huge – was lovely.
The room has a great view — something I saw immediately on arrival, because once I walked into the hotel I was escorted up to the room for in-suite check-in.
Now, the hotel’s lobby is grand but reception requires taking an elevator up — and then a different set of elevators to guest rooms.
In-suite check-in is a perk I really love, just drop bags in the room, as long as the hotel staff make it extremely quick and efficient.
View from the Bedroom
There’s nothing nicer after 24 hours of travel than being in the room already without formalities so keeping those to a minimum is appreciated. And I especially loved that the room was available when I arrived before 10am!
The only glitch with the check-in process would reveal itself the next day, however.
They left behind this welcome letter: (click to enlarge)
For the moment there were two things that I appreciated, aside from the room itself. First was being there early, it meant I’d be able to take a short nap and recover from the flight without hindering my ability to adjust to the time. Second was all of the snack items that were in the room as a welcome, I wouldn’t have to leave the room to have a bit of sustenance.
There was liquid in the room, too, but that wasn’t complimentary… although there were a few bottles of water also, and I asked the staff who checked us in to send up several more.
In the entryway to the room was a small bathroom.
Just past that the desk was on the left and the rest of the living room straight ahead.
Walking from the living room to the bedroom area, the bed was to the right and to the left immediately a walk in closet. Just past that the master bathroom.
The bathroom was large, with floor to ceiling glass, and featured Remede products, a St. Regis standard.
In the morning I went down to breakfast. It was an impressive buffet. Seating was only inside, as it had rained, but we were given a table in the front corner of the restaurant so it was relatively quiet (the place was bustling) and by the window.
Crazy, but the thing I was most impressed by? They had yew char kway along with soup.
I realize this is a lot of pictures of food, but breakfast went on and on, across several rooms. It’s important to survey the options here before committing, and also to be sure to make it all the way to the back where the varied Asian options are housed.
I began with some fish and some soup. I was happy.
Now, the hotel used to provide breakfast complimentary to Starwood Platinum members when they first opened. When Starwood moved to breakfast as a Platinum choice benefit (in lieu of check-in bonus points) at hotels where there’s no lounge, the hotel made breakfast a choice as well. I was happy to give up 500 Starpoints for breakfast here for two people!
However there was a bit of confusion because the check-in staff didn’t record my amenity choice. At the end of breakfast I was brought a bill, and I was told that I would receive “15% off as a Starwood Preferred Guest member.”
I explained that breakfast should be complimentary as it was my Platinum check-in amenity. The woman didn’t know what to do. She went away, came back, and told me I would have to accompany her to the front desk to sort it out.
Surely this wasn’t necessary, but I did as she asked. Only there was only one person working the desk, and they were helping another guest. I was asked to wait. And wait. And wait.
So I sat in the lobby with this staff member from the restaurant until someone could help clear this up. After what was probably just 5 minutes but felt like 15 I asked if I couldn’t just sign whatever she needed, she could sort it out without me, and if for some reason they didn’t want to give us the breakfast she’d have my signed bill? That suggestion was returned with a ‘deer in the headlights’ look.
After another few minutes the staff member at the desk freed up. The restaurant staff member explained the situation, they typed into the computer for about 5 seconds, and we were told that of course our breakfast was complimentary and we were on our way.
I still don’t believe that should have been necessary at this caliber of hotel. They know where I’m staying. They have my credit card on file. If I’m really not supposed to have complimentary breakfast they can sort out the confusion later and let me know the resolution. There was no reason to march me to the front desk where I sat awkwardly as though I was trying to get away with something.
That was the only real ‘fail’ of the stay, but it was strangely memorable. Everything else though was close to perfect.
After breakfast I walked around the property to have a sense of the place. Right off of reception is the bar.
The hotel has an extensive fitness center.
And there’s a lovely pool.
I’d return to this property in a heartbeat, because outside of the confusion about breakfast the first morning my stay was pretty much perfect.
And, I’m sure no one from Starwood corporate reads this blog. I wouldn’t want to be that restaurant server.
Have you ever tried the Sukhothai Hotel?…….beautiful place ….
No need to worry about the restaurant server. This property has never had the level of service one would expect at a St. Regis. I’ve given them 3 chances since opening and while the hard product is great, service is not their highlight. No need to be concerned that the server will be educated.
BTW the SGS is a not a Sheraron but a Luxury Collection property. Of note when it comes to brand standards but more importantly when it comes to Sheraton Brand promotions.
Lovely!
The look on people’s face on the breakfast room pictures are priceless. They were so happy to be on camera, one can feel the joy …
It looks like a really nice hotel, but I didn’t get the Thai feeling at all. I think the Sheraton and the Sukhothai deliver better on that aspect; they feel more “local”.
Presented in the FWIW Mode: every time I have stayed at a St. Regis property, everything was perfect. Period. When everything is perfect, even a small glitch is “strangely memorable.”
Jeez man, just say bill it to the room and then dispute it at the desk. I thought you traveled for work. Amateur mistake son.
Is that the former Four Seasons property, or is it just nearby?
As another commenter noted, the Sukhothai also is wonderful. I have always found the non-river properties to be incredibly bargains compared to those right on the river (e.g., the Peninsula and the Oriental).
Gary, did your wife have to sit alone at breakfast while they brought you to the front desk. Very unprofessional either way.
Look, the breakfast mishap absolutely positively should not have happened. I think we can all agree on that. But I think some of the comments about it here reflect a bit of cultural insensitivity, and in fact I think we should all have some compassion for the server rather than blaming her. At a high end U.S. hotel, I think it would be reasonable to expect the server to take some ownership of the problem and to tell the guest not to worry, we’ll figure it out. Bangkok is not the U.S. I guarantee you this server was petrified of screwing up, not only from a customer service perspective, but also from her boss’s perspective. I’d be surprised if fear is not at some level involved with the way these hotel employees are trained: these are plum jobs in very poor countries, and that server easily can be replaced if she does something wrong. Gary notes at “deer in the headlights” look when he suggested that he just sign and that it be resolved later. I don’t think that kind of “we’ll figure it out” mentality is consistent with the way they are trained. The server felt the need to get it resolved right then because she did not know the right answer, but felt fear of getting it wrong. If there is blame to be assigned, it is not with the server, but rather with the hotel’s systems for allowing this glitch, and with management for not reassuring its employees that when something like this arrises, they can tell the guest that they will figure it out without having to inconvenience the guest the way that Gary was inconvenienced. (I also agree with the commenter who suggested that Gary could have just signed the check in the restaurant and resolved it himself with the front desk, but then again I’m sure Gary was unaware it would turn into such a lengthy ordeal.)
Not only didn’t I expect it to be such a lengthy ordeal, I also didn’t want to come off as especially forceful or as a jerk — both for cultural reasons and because I was enjoying a nice breakfast with my wife.
@Ken no she came with me
That’s disappointing. Did you return to breakfast or just call it? I understand these things happen, but the employees could be trained to better handle the situation. I like someone else’s suggestion of just signing to the room and dealing with it later.
We were through with breakfast, I asked whether they needed me to sign anything? So the meal was not in any way cut short.
Ahh, so not so bad as I had initially assumed. I probably would’ve been annoyed, but that’s not too bad.
My favorite Bangkok hotel. I would have just signed for the bill and dealt with it later.
Gary,
Did you consider using the Amex Platinum Fine Hotels benefit for this stay? Usually this hotel is offered, many times with 3rd night free. The special amenity lately has been dinner in the hotel, which while not including alcohol, could be considered more valuable than $100 spa credit. Just curious? With the 3rd night free, the rates are about $200-220/night for base room. Wouldn’t your elite benefits layer on top of the Fine Hotel benefits?
@JohnB rates were higher via Amex FHR in this case. I did look into it!
Perfect timing — I’m trying to decide where to stay for five nights in December. I’ve tried the Sheraton Grande and Westin on previous trips and am trying to decide between the St Regis or Plaza Athenee this time. Platinum and it’s a leisure trip, so I’m paying.
@trixie it depends on what you are looking for. The Plaza Athenee breakfast is great. The Lounge is spacious and comfortable. The St. Regis is closer to the BTS and has a great hard product. It is also snobby in attitude without delivering on service quality levels.
The PA is about 3 or 4 minutes walk to BTS and while St Regis is closer to a station, it is on the Silom line so if most activity is in Sukhumvit you have to change at Siam. But both are very convenient.
As for the breakfast issue: that’s a management failure rather than the server.
I don’t like the St Regis brand and style: too fussy and a bit pretentious. Park Hyatt hits the mark better, so yes it will be extremely interesting to see the Bangkok property and how it impacts on the GH.