Jason Around the World

Bangkok has hundreds of hotels, many of them in the luxury or super luxury category. On top of that, many of them have extremely affordable rates by US standards, so it’s pretty hard to go wrong when choosing a good hotel. In the past, my choices have usually been the Sheraton Grand Sukhumvit or the Conrad. The Sheraton is unlike any Sheraton in the US, and is a true 4 to 5 star hotel. Amazing staff, great facilities, and superb location. It’s hard to beat.

This time, mainly to be close to my work event and to try something new, I decided to try a couple of new hotels. I’ll try and give a few thoughts on each, though I’ll admit I would need a couple more days at the W in order to get the whole picture.

After a very early morning arrival, I’d booked the prior night at the W to ensure my room was ready upon arrival. It was, the check-in staff was super friendly and efficient, and when I asked to just get the key so I could go sleep (telling them I’d come down later for the details on restaurants, etc) they were super quick and efficient. Since my flight left Delhi at about midnight (which was only around 3pm in DC) I wasn’t tired, but when I finally got to the hotel in Bangkok around 730p, the lack of sleep was catching up to me. Plan was to take a three hour nap…just enough to make it until evening.

Large pair of giant pink sequined muay thai boxing gloves on my bed that said “lights out” – it’s like they knew I was coming!

Slept four solid hours, getting up just before noon. There’s a small office building next to the W which has a Starbucks in it, and for anyone who knows me that was a huge plus. 11a coffee, reset the body clock a bit, and I was ready to go! I worked a few hours, then wandered the neighbourhood near the hotel until sunset, and then it was time to see what I could find to eat and drink. First, a few comments on the “worked a few hours.” The W room was great for working, with a large desk, lots of power outlets, and fast internet. Plus, the room had a bit of a view of the city when sitting at the desk so you didn’t feel quite so isolated. Definitely a good room for being productive on top of W’s usual attempts to be cool and hip.

First stop was the W Terrace, a small bar located outside on the balcony overlooking the street and courtyard. It was still quite warm and humid out, but it felt nice to be outside and enjoy my first Singha of the trip. Again, with the coffee table book, it’s like they knew I was coming…

Jetlag was starting to catch up to me around 8pm, so I decided to just eat in the hotel. Headed to the Kitchen Table restaurant, which was supposed to have a really tasty make your own burger. I hadn’t had a burger in several weeks and it was sounding great, but Thailand probably wasn’t the best place to indulge. The squid ink bun was a bit on the chewy and almost stale side, the beef had a bit of a strange taste to it, but at least the fried egg, bacon, and havarti cheese were amazing…as was the little jar of asparagus bites.

…I almost felt like I was at Starbucks…yet another place that finds Jason incredibly hard to spell:

Got back to my room, and it was a nice ice cold 18.2 degrees. The AC, lights, and pretty much everything were controlled by an iPad-like tablet, which was kind of a cool feature. More importantly, the AC got plenty cold for me to sleep:

Woke up, and back to the Kitchen restaurant, where breakfast was included. Not sure if it was my corporate rate, or if it was because I was an SPG Platinum member, but it doesn’t matter. Even if you have to pay for this breakfast…DO IT. In my opinion, it’s pretty much the single best hotel breakfast I’ve had anywhere in the world. Large selection of fresh sliced fruit, eggs made to order, selection of cheeses, huge selection of pastries, multiple chinese options, multiple Thai options, Indian options, several different fresh squeezed juices, yogurts, etc, you get the idea.

For started, plate full of fresh fruit, salmon, cheese, a pastry, and an omelette…along with great coffee and a New York Times:

Followed by some Dim Sum, a pain au chocolate, and some passionfruit yogurt:

After breakfast, a little more work catching up on the day’s work back in DC, and then off to the Siam Paragon mall. I was feeling the need to walk around and get moving, but in the heat and humidity of Bangkok there’s only so much you can do outdoors.  The W is connected to the SkyTrain by a series of elevated walkways, and it’s very easy to get to. Less than a five minute walk. Once at the Siam Paragon, there was an elephant exhibit, being auctioned for elephant conservation. Punk Rock elephant:

Then there was discoball elephant:

After walking, grabbing some Starbucks to continue fighting jetlag, it was back to the W to collect my bags and head over to the next hotel. First, a wall of lights near the elevators taken from Bangkok’s famous TukTuks:

The W had given me a 5p checkout, meaning I spent about 32 hours in total there. Overall, this is definitely somewhere I would consider on my next trip to Bangkok. I think the rooms were nicer than the Sheraton where I normally stay, but the location and common areas were a small step down. I think I would probably consider it a wash, and it would depend what I was looking for. Either way, I think I would be happy.

Called an Uber to take me over to the Peninsula (mainly to try out Uber and see how it worked in Bangkok) and it was a piece of cake and entirely reasonable. Check in was a little on the slow side, but when you’re coordinating a conference with 400+ rooms it’s understandable there’s a bit of procedural stuff that has to happen. That aside, however, the staff was fantastic, and there was definitely an air of refinement and luxury at the Peninsula that wasn’t present at the W. For starters, look at this view of the river from my room:

Went for an evening walk around the local area, and the hotel had a large illuminated poster out front celebrating the King’s birthday:

Headed to the hotel’s Thai restaurant – Thiptara – for dinner. Someone had canceled at the very last minute, so was given this table right next to the river with an amazing view:

The restaurant had a highly recommended set menu, with what looked like several options for each course. Turned out, actually that you got a small helping of ALL the options. For example, the amazing appetizers…the shredded grapefruit salad was amazing:

The whole meal was fantastic, but probably enough for two people. After waddling back to my room and collapsing, it was time to get up and compare the Peninsula’s breakfast to the W’s. Similarly impressed, and almost as large, it might be the second best hotel breakfast I’ve ever had. Seriously, nobody can do hotel breakfasts like the Thai. Another huge plate of fruits, pain au chocolate, and cheese:

Back to my room to work, while looking out on the river:

The one downside, in my opinion, to the Peninsula is it’s location. On the other side of the river, there’s not nearly as much within walking distance. It feels like a slightly quieter neighbourhood which is nice, but you need to take the Peninsula’s boat to the other side to get to the SkyTrain and main parts of the city. Again, not a problem, just less accessible for walking around and being casual. Because of this, I decided to give room service a try for lunch. The Pad Thai was to die for, probably the best I’ve ever had, and I finished every little bit. Similarly, the mango and sticky rice was fantastic…the orchid was a great touch too. All in all, a superb lunch:

After lunch, I check out the Paribatra Lounge. I was hosting a cocktail event later in the week, and the decor in this lounge (according to what I’d seen online) really appealed to the aviation geek in me. First thing I saw, an old Thai Airways model on the ceiling:

…and another:

Look at those views from the 37th floor:

Old Thai logos on the wall:

View of one section of the lounge:

Complete with old Breguet 14 control panel:

Old air routes map on the wall:

Engine mock-up in the entryway:

Entryway:

Little history of Thai’s Boeing 747-400:

Can you tell that lounge impressed me? I had to hold my event there, and it was right at sunset. Fantastic event, and the staff of the Peninsula were super gracious hosts. Couldn’t have asked for a more special venue with amazing views and decor.

After a long week of work events, decided to cap it off by repeating the amazing room service meal I’d had earlier in the week. Wasn’t at all disappointed with the second go-around of Pad Thai:

Close-up of mango and sticky rice with super sweet condensed coconut milk:

Final thoughts – the Peninsula was in a league of its own as far as class and professionalism go. If you’re looking to impress people, and host an amazing event, I don’t think anyone could do a better job. Everything about the hotel was perfect, things ran like clockwork, and they anticipated everything I needed all week without ever having to ask. I’m not sure it would be my first choice, as a tourist, however, mainly because of the location. If I wanted a spa and relax vacation, however, I might consider it. But for an active city and siteseeing vacation there are better options in Bangkok – unless having the pampering of an old-school slightly formal hotel is something that’s important to you.

I was happy to have discovered two more hotel options in Bangkok that were excellent and that I would return to without a second thought. This makes probably 10+ hotels I’ve stayed at in Bangkok now, and never once have I had even a remotely bad experience. It’s really hard to go wrong in this town!