W Hotel, Bangkok
I was already supposed to be back from Vietnam (a failed trip attempt of epic proportions) so I had the W Bangkok already booked, and I used some of my upgrade nights (a Bonvoy status award option) to try for a marvelous suite.Well, the upgrades worked, and I was given a great room way up the towering hotel.
Now, in the past I have not been much a "W" guy, but it was during Covid and experience at a property not necessarily what you would call the best W, so I didn't really get it. As you will see in this post, if you want to "get" what a W is about, this is the place, and what a place.
Also on the grounds is the repurposed 19th Century Russian Embassy, which is visually amazing, and contains great food and drink plus very desirable event spaces.
Arrival
I took a taxi from the Sheraton now that my unexpected extended stay in Bangkok was back to the original schedule. It's in the Silom district of Bangkok, which I now understand is a very open LGBT area of the city, and slides in with the vibe at a W, a very edgy, open, and technologically advanced type of property.After a minor mix-up with keys (wrong floor and room type) I was into my suite and quickly tried to recoup lost sleep time for the evening's work upcoming.
The Room
A suite that is so much overkill, I didn't know what to do with all the space. Millions of mirrors, large work space, larger lounging couch space. A very large bed for you and 4 of your closest friends (It is a W...).
3D interactive room tour, use your mouse or fingers to move around and see other rooms.
The Floorplan for direct room click access.
Dining and Drinking
There are 6 places to eat, 5 of them with drinks, and another bar on top of all of that. I was able to eat at the Kitchen Table, which is the general mass feeding restaurant (the breakfast buffet and dinner and such). There's also Paii, the Thai Seafood restaurant. The W Lounge has a full bar and decent food offerings (the beef skewers were awesome beyond description), and Bar Sathorn, which is in the old embassy, and is such an elegant bar.What I didn't get time to visit or wasn't hungry and awake when they were open were the Michelin starred Nikau sushi dining, the wet-deck bar and dining, and The Pantry, which is the "fresh food offering" so I don't think I would ever eat there anyways. Mostly was twigs, leaves and grains from what I could see.
Hotel Amenities
As with any high-end W, the Wet Deck, or the pool area, is a prime feature. This one is in typical W flair and style. Colorful and not wanting for sunlight, plus drinks are readily on hand. The gym is good, very segmented smaller areas instead of a large open format. Pretty busy day and night.The real gem though is the old Russian Embassy building. Very well maintained, and even has a little museum in it.
Around The Hotel
So there is a lot that didn't really fit in other categories, but I will put them here, such as exteriors, interesting features, things that grabbed my eye as I was seriously sleep deprived wandering around it.
Manager gifts which I neglected to eat, bad me
What? Free drink cards? If I must
Drink prices, not terrible, but not what I'd consider freely drinkable either
All the delicious drinks
Controls every light in all the rooms except one
Kitchen Table, normal dining with lots of wine
And now the obligatory breakfast buffet of many pics
Noodle stand
Cabbage and fish sauce? Man I am not that open minded
Huge breads line of stuff
I constantly gravitate towards this dish
The Pantry seating, very cafe like
The W Lounge, casual drinks and some food
Such a beautiful space to enjoy in
You have never had anything this good, and it endlessly smells of grilling. I weep for vegetarians
Paii, for the seafood
Smelly beans and Shrimp. Yes. Really. Kinda like lima beans
It wasn't my birthday but someone revealed my Bonvoy status to the server
THE bar
What I really need is time off at night to sit here and drink
Always sunny
Always warm
Always cats fighting
Branding par excellence
Where one can get some computer work done, which I never saw anyone here
Russian Embassy, 1889
The courtyard inside the embassy
The secret dining room (not joking, behind a false wall door)
Entrance
And at night
The view from the pool area looking west into Bangkok (ok, every direction is into Bangkok)
I saw this and thought, wow that's cool, but how do they always have it as morning?
Well, the answer is they change it out for time of day
And when I finally got to this one I smiled very largely, well done W
Yeah, almost a movie like set to pull up to
How do they do that? It's a very precise projector behind the photographer aimed at it
After I got hit with a flight cancellation and 4 hours of rebooking calls, I had to leave much earlier than planned
Summary
A hotel that overwhelmed every expectation I have had, resurrected my faith in the W brand, wowed me, and now has me looking forward to more experiences in Ws.Just stay here, that's the tip.