Where I Stayed in Bangkok: Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel and Towers

We were immediately greeted by a friendly concierge as soon as we got off from our cab. The ride from the Suvarnabhumi airport to the Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel and Towers was uneventful except maybe for the fact that the cab driver tried to charge us THB500 for the ride without putting the meter on. We of course did not allow him to do that, the fare was only THB300 on the meter including the THB75 for the toll fees. Little did we know that we’ll be having that sort of conversation every time we’ll hail a cab in Bangkok. The city has changed a lot, not for the better I must say – more on that on a different post.

The hotel’s lobby was majestic, with plush seats and typical Thai ornaments. The concierge led us to the check-in counter where another happy and smiling check-in agent greeted us. I gave him our booking confirmation and the voucher which I have; I stayed in this hotel for free hence the voucher. We asked for a smoking room and because of this, we were upgraded to a deluxe premium river view room as there were no smoking rooms available in deluxe river view room category. That’s just fantastic! After the very smooth check-in procedure, we were assisted to our room on the 20^th floor.

The room was amazing! We had two double beds but it doesn’t feel very cramped. The design was very modern with a touch of Thai thru the violet orchid on the table. We can see the local life at the Chao Phraya River from our oversized glass window; it was a sight to see. The bathroom was also huge and of modern design, oversized bathrobes and room slippers which are two of my favorite hotel amenities were provided. Needless to say, I never stay in 4 or 5 star properties whenever I travel. I’ve only stayed in these kinds of hotels if it’s a business trip and if not for the fact that I got the voucher for this marvelous hotel for free – I might not have been able to stay here. Lol.

View from the room.

The bed was glorious! Soft and very comfortable and they’ve given us 4 pillows on each bed which I found very rare for hotels even the luxury ones. I slept all the time with all those pillows surrounding me; I’ve built a fort with it. Yes I know, I’m a child at heart.

After shower, we decided to explore the hotel more. As a Towers’ guests, we had an access to the Towers Lounge but we never used it. We prefer to explore the local area more than sitting and wasting our time in the lounge. I heard you’ve got a fantastic panoramic river view from there though. They’ve got two pools, the garden and the terrace pool. We have the view of the garden pool from our room. I like it better as it’s surrounded by trees and they even have peacocks running around the area. The terrace pool is adjacent to their gym which of course we never used. Who goes for vacation to go to the gym??? Not me. Definitely not me. J

We went to Sambal Terrace to have a drink where the service was fantastic. As soon as the boyfriend finished his glass of beer, a server immediately came to our table to collect the empty glass and asked the boyfriend if he wants another one. That was a little bit creepy yes or maybe we’re just not used to that kind of speedy service. The empty glass has not even touched the surface of the table yet and the waiter was already beside us to collect it. Lol. The free snacks they offered together with our drinks were replenished every time it’s been emptied. Of course it worked well for me as they served really good wasabi balls. YUM! The view from Sambal Terrace was of course the Chao Phraya River, I’d say it’s a great venue to end a long day.

We decided to venture out of the hotel to have some more drinks and I must say that the hotel’s location is probably the best in all of Bangkok. The River City Shopping Center is just beside the hotel offering a lot of choices for your dining and late night drinking needs. We sat at a bar called Viva Aviv and I ordered a fresh coconut juice while the boyfriend of course ordered beer. This bar will be frequented by us for the next couple of nights that we’re in Bangkok; we just didn’t know it yet at the time. 🙂

The breakfast spread of the hotel was one of the best that I have ever tried. They’ve got lots choices for every kind of meals – Asian, American breakfast, fruits, salads, you name it – they’ve got it. They do have an omelet station which is the boyfriend’s favorite and also a noodle station which I was unable to try. The best part of it all was they keep changing the dish every morning so you don’t have to eat the same food over and over again. Feast, the restaurant where they serve their breakfast is huge as well. It doesn’t feel very crowded even if there were a lot of people dining at the time. The buffet table was divided into sections so the guests will also be spread out. The boyfriend agreed with me that this was the best breakfast we’ve ever had in a hotel.

After our check-out on our third day, the concierge hailed a cab for us and made sure that the driver will turn the meter on. That was a good touch and made me feel like we’ve been looked after upto the very last moment of our stay in their property. For my Facebook page fans, you all probably know that we didn’t have a very good time during our stay in Bangkok. This hotel however was able to make us feel better every time we ended our exploration of the city. I do believe that if you’re ever headed to Bangkok and you’d like to escape the noise, pollution and crowd of Sukhumvit – the riverside area is the best place to stay in. On top of that, this hotel will not fail to provide a good and comfortable accommodation for you.

Note: Wi-fi is free in the lobby and the business centre.