Bangkok Hotels Does 5 Star Really Exist?

[sunseaker]

Disappointment can sometimes not be far away when trying to find a 5star hotel in Thailand.

Most of the top end hotels say they are 5 star but when it comes down to it they are 4 star at best

I just had the worst ever hotel experience at <snip>, we checked out after 30 mins loosing full payment for 3 nights the Management exercised their "F You pay me" policy along with their "not one single F___ given"

Nasty!

Anyone actually had 5 star in Bangkok?

Edited April 19, 2012 by soundman
No name & shame due to defamation issues. Sorry.

[Orac]

Not stayed at the Lebua State Tower for a year or two but when I was there last the service was excellent. Particularly like the 'funky' breakfast which is an experience in itself.

[sunseaker]

Not stayed at the Lebua State Tower for a year or two but when I was there last the service was excellent. Particularly like the 'funky' breakfast which is an experience in itself.

What star rating would you give Lebua then?

[Orac]

Not stayed at the Lebua State Tower for a year or two but when I was there last the service was excellent. Particularly like the 'funky' breakfast which is an experience in itself.

What star rating would you give Lebua then?

Based on the location and comparison with other hotels in Bangkok I would say it is a cut above the four stars out there so I suppose the judgement is subjective, whether it would stand up to comparisons of other 5 stars elsewhere in the world I am not so sure. On the whole I would say the 5 stars is reasonable given the level of service I got there and the facilities.

[glbv]

I stayed at the grand millennium a little while back, we had a exec suite, was nice and the breakfast was great. It was expensive and if I was the one paying it wouldn't have been worth it in my opinion but thats the closest ive seen to true 5star service in BKK.

I used to stay at the Waldorf quite a bit in NY and the Millennium was comparable. I will say just that extra little thats required for a true 5 star experience the little details that you can see at hotels such as the Waldorf arent seen here very often.

[kaspercat]

Try and stay at the Shangri-la or Oriental hotel. They are consistently rank among the best hotels in the world. I have never had any service problem at these two.

[givenall]

If you ask Agoda, they say the hotels rate themself. So there are no rating standard that they go by

[jalansanitwong]

The Sukothai hotel on Sathorn near the OZ embassy used to rate itself a 6 star or business hotel that doesnt allow more than an alloted number of tourists compared to hi-rollers and diplomats etc. Nice place with private bungalow style accomodation. Brilliant a/c. Nothing like the bungalow or dog kennels you get at the resorts.

Expensive but worth it.

Australian PM 's have stayed there if thats worth anything.

[MEL1]

The Mandarin Oriental is a top 5* in which I have stayed quite a few times.

http://www.mandarinoriental.com/bangkok/

If you want a true 5* in BKK then this is one of them.

-mel.

[rfukata]

I would much rather stay in the JW's Marriotts, Hilton, Conrad, St.Regis, Sheratons, to ensure a high level of standards and services.

Oriental Mandarin, Shangrila are also very high standard hotels.

[cooked]

I stopped booking hotels in advance years ago, the taxi driver will do his best to get you a hotel in your price category. If you don't like it, he is waiting for you to go on to the next. Usually works unless there is an elephant festival or something.

[sunseaker]

Try and stay at the Shangri-la or Oriental hotel. They are consistently rank among the best hotels in the world. I have never had any service problem at these two.

Yes Kaspercat We went straight from the <snip> to the Shangri-la, and we love it here! very cosy I would say 4 star. The entire building is beautiful, the rooms are cosy and beautiful. I personally think that the missing star to make 5 stars is in the little details and the attitude of the staff eg: "where is the club lounge?" "follow me sir I will take you there" (instead of up there turn left, then right then get lost.. blar )

Edited April 19, 2012 by soundman
See OP.

[Apecks]

I always thought the star rating system was based on facilities rather than services. If it ticks the boxes then it gets the rating

[sunseaker]

The Mandarin Oriental is a top 5* in which I have stayed quite a few times.

http://www.mandarino...al.com/bangkok/

If you want a true 5* in BKK then this is one of them.

-mel.

Yes Mandarine Oriental is TOPS, we checked the price, for the comparable room it was almost 3 times more at Oriental than Shangri-la

and they are very closely comparable in terms of quality and STARS.

Deluxe room Mandarine Oriental 16.300 baht

Executive River view Shangri-la 5700 baht (Thai price booked in my wifes name, they asked to see my Thai DVLC when we checked in)

Mandarine Price list attached.

[CharlieH]

Interesting the Hotel you mention is no 25 ranking on "Trip advisor" whereas the other Hotels mentioned by others here are all in the top 6.

That said the reviews for the Lebua state are in majority very good. Everyone has there own view and experience I guess, shame yours was bad, hope the rest of your stay is good.

[lensta]

Be interested to know exactly what made you check out after 30 minutes, must have been a shocker.

[tfc]

Another vote for Mandarin Oriental as a good 5 star hotel.

[sunseaker]

Be interested to know exactly what made you check out after 30 minutes, must have been a shocker.

Ok you asked for it, i wasn't going to Blurt it all out as obviously its only our perception and opinion and we are aware that others have enjoyed the <snip>,

Here's the list of things that p____ed us off, you have to remember that we were seeking a 5star experience (me the wife and our baby daughter)

we wanted a warm cosy room with 5star room facilities.

Dark cold feeling as you enter the hotel, Cold reception from staff at lobby did not help us with our bags or even say hello as we walked up to the counter. the building felt so OLD and Decrepit. (pic attached of dark entrance looks like a closed down shopping centre)

They had not prepared our reservation even though we had phoned on our way to confirm our immanent arrival, we were told to sit and wait for them to sort a room out. the reception staff looked stressed and under staffed, no land of smiles here. they kept demanding ID card for our daughter! asking her name and DOB etc, shes only 6 months we dont have any passport for her or ID yet.

On arrival in our lonely room on the 56th floor, that had probably not seen a guest for years, No alcohol in minibar! we arrived hot and went straight to the fridge for a cold one.. it only had coke and water! no snacks or chocolate etc as per normal mini bar ( NOT 5 STAR!! )

Room basic and old, not even any paintings or pics on the white washed walls! drab, and NOT COSY (pic attached of cold white washed wall bedroom)

The Room actually felt like an old serviced apartment like you can get on Sukhomvit for 1500 per night, not a hotel room. (pic attached of horrible old kitchen)

Paint on balcony was all coming off, No chair on furniture on the large balcony. (waste of space)

The shape of the room was horrible, it was Long and only had window at one end, so the lounge part of the Suite was all dark and dreary with not even a TV to relax and watch with a cold beer, the lounge was a wasted space, we were told that all of the 1 bedroom 1 lounge rooms are this shape.

We found out that due to the size of the hotel and lack of guests they have shut down massive parts of the building, its like a ghost town building, we were up on the 56th floor, and she said there was not any other rooms occupied on that floor or near. (anyone seen the Shining?) it was a weird feeling.

The duty manager was stone cold and blatantly rude to me when i called her to our room to try to cancel our booking, not apologetic "Not even 1 F___ given"

"we have your money so F you".. atitude.

This is not even close to 5star, to be high class you dont just need a beautifully decorated warm building you need warm staff to match and we didn't see either.

within 1 minute of entering the Shangri-la we felt warm and welcome the place has a lovely vibe, and amazing staff, the room is fit for a king beautifully decorated with wall paper and pictures, mahogany furniture, gorgeous mini bar full of treats, bathroom also fit for donald trump.

Edited April 19, 2012 by soundman
See OP.

[soundman]

Sorry - as much as I like to get good information on services, I cannot allow "direct" naming & shaming of the hotel concerned due to Thailand's rather harsh and eccentric defamation laws.

I have edited the OP and a few replies to protect both Thai Visa and member concerned.

[Javabear]

I'm a fan of the Peninsula, Siam Kempinsky, and the Intercontinental. For my money the Peninsula is the best but it's pricey. I'd love to know where you left. PM me if you can.

[gamini]

Hotels call themselves 5 star. But the best hotels don't bother because they are so well known and much better than so-called 5 star e.g. The Oriental

[canuckoverseas]

The premium international brands usually have the best standards and service, due to their international reputations. IMO difference between a good four star and a five star comes down to service and attention to detail (ie. always addressing customers by their name ect...)

Edited April 19, 2012 by canuckoverseas

[frankold]

Leboa needs a renovation. That's all. Other than that the services etc are there to make it 5*. Would I personally pay 6k for the club room that is pictures, no way. A friend of mine stays there every time, and seems perfectly happy with it though. You must have used the back entrance that comes into the side of the reception.

[frankold]

I stopped booking hotels in advance years ago, the taxi driver will do his best to get you a hotel in your price category. If you don't like it, he is waiting for you to go on to the next. Usually works unless there is an elephant festival or something.

That's asking to pay over the odds. Edited April 19, 2012 by frankold

[RaoulDuke]

That would depend a lot on what system you are using, the European system is a lot more generous than the USA standard. Regardless, I much prefer to get a 3-4 star hotel, at a very low price, easily done in BKK, the '5 star' hotels here are just as absurdly overpriced as any other capital city. I come to Thailand in part because things are generally cheaper, not because I want to drops ton of money to have my asset kissed...I can get that at home or anywhere else in the world.

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[josephbloggs]

Hmmmm, if you are talking about where I think you are talking about - impossible to tell because of the ridiculous paranoia that doesn't let you say so, if it was as bad as he says it is not libel. But if you are talking about a very tall hotel that we are not allowed to talk about then it is ridiculous to think it is 5-star. I don't believe it is advertised as 5-star anywhere. I stayed there once in the presidential suite for a weekend treat and it is 3.5/4 star. Great value for what it is though, but no more than 4 star. Don't believe it tries to be more than that.

Having said that, and especially so if you are talking about a tall hotel near Baiyoke 1 that we can't talk about, your slating of all Thai hotels is ludicrous. Bangkok probably has more true 5-star hotels than most major cities. And complaining that nobody actually went with you to where you asked directions sounds petty.

Not sticking up for the place as it is a bit run down (if we are indeed talking about the same tall hotel), but to expect a 5-star service there, and then to extrapolate and say Bangkok has no true 5 star hotels doesn't help your cause one little bit.

Be interested to know exactly what made you check out after 30 minutes, must have been a shocker.

Ok you asked for it, i wasn't going to Blurt it all out as obviously its only our perception and opinion and we are aware that others have enjoyed the <snip>,

Here's the list of things that p____ed us off, you have to remember that we were seeking a 5star experience (me the wife and our baby daughter)

we wanted a warm cosy room with 5star room facilities.

Dark cold feeling as you enter the hotel, Cold reception from staff at lobby did not help us with our bags or even say hello as we walked up to the counter. the building felt so OLD and Decrepit. (pic attached of dark entrance looks like a closed down shopping centre)

They had not prepared our reservation even though we had phoned on our way to confirm our immanent arrival, we were told to sit and wait for them to sort a room out. the reception staff looked stressed and under staffed, no land of smiles here. they kept demanding ID card for our daughter! asking her name and DOB etc, shes only 6 months we dont have any passport for her or ID yet.

On arrival in our lonely room on the 56th floor, that had probably not seen a guest for years, No alcohol in minibar! we arrived hot and went straight to the fridge for a cold one.. it only had coke and water! no snacks or chocolate etc as per normal mini bar ( NOT 5 STAR!! )

Room basic and old, not even any paintings or pics on the white washed walls! drab, and NOT COSY (pic attached of cold white washed wall bedroom)

The Room actually felt like an old serviced apartment like you can get on Sukhomvit for 1500 per night, not a hotel room. (pic attached of horrible old kitchen)

Paint on balcony was all coming off, No chair on furniture on the large balcony. (waste of space)

The shape of the room was horrible, it was Long and only had window at one end, so the lounge part of the Suite was all dark and dreary with not even a TV to relax and watch with a cold beer, the lounge was a wasted space, we were told that all of the 1 bedroom 1 lounge rooms are this shape.

We found out that due to the size of the hotel and lack of guests they have shut down massive parts of the building, its like a ghost town building, we were up on the 56th floor, and she said there was not any other rooms occupied on that floor or near. (anyone seen the Shining?) it was a weird feeling.

The duty manager was stone cold and blatantly rude to me when i called her to our room to try to cancel our booking, not apologetic "Not even 1 F___ given"

"we have your money so F you".. atitude.

This is not even close to 5star, to be high class you dont just need a beautifully decorated warm building you need warm staff to match and we didn't see either.

within 1 minute of entering the Shangri-la we felt warm and welcome the place has a lovely vibe, and amazing staff, the room is fit for a king beautifully decorated with wall paper and pictures, mahogany furniture, gorgeous mini bar full of treats, bathroom also fit for donald trump.

[smokie36]

The Peninsula is the best hotel in Bangkok. True five star service.

You will not find five star in Bangkok for 5000 baht a night. Simply does not exist. Start at around 15000 and work your way up. Shangri La is ridiculously priced.

Edited April 19, 2012 by smokie36

[arkom]

Be interested to know exactly what made you check out after 30 minutes, must have been a shocker.

Ok you asked for it, i wasn't going to Blurt it all out as obviously its only our perception and opinion and we are aware that others have enjoyed the ,

Here's the list of things that p____ed us off, you have to remember that we were seeking a 5star experience (me the wife and our baby daughter)

we wanted a warm cosy room with 5star room facilities.

Dark cold feeling as you enter the hotel, Cold reception from staff at lobby did not help us with our bags or even say hello as we walked up to the counter. the building felt so OLD and Decrepit. (pic attached of dark entrance looks like a closed down shopping centre)

They had not prepared our reservation even though we had phoned on our way to confirm our immanent arrival, we were told to sit and wait for them to sort a room out. the reception staff looked stressed and under staffed, no land of smiles here. they kept demanding ID card for our daughter! asking her name and DOB etc, shes only 6 months we dont have any passport for her or ID yet.

On arrival in our lonely room on the 56th floor, that had probably not seen a guest for years, No alcohol in minibar! we arrived hot and went straight to the fridge for a cold one.. it only had coke and water! no snacks or chocolate etc as per normal mini bar ( NOT 5 STAR!! )

Room basic and old, not even any paintings or pics on the white washed walls! drab, and NOT COSY (pic attached of cold white washed wall bedroom)

The Room actually felt like an old serviced apartment like you can get on Sukhomvit for 1500 per night, not a hotel room. (pic attached of horrible old kitchen)

Paint on balcony was all coming off, No chair on furniture on the large balcony. (waste of space)

The shape of the room was horrible, it was Long and only had window at one end, so the lounge part of the Suite was all dark and dreary with not even a TV to relax and watch with a cold beer, the lounge was a wasted space, we were told that all of the 1 bedroom 1 lounge rooms are this shape.

We found out that due to the size of the hotel and lack of guests they have shut down massive parts of the building, its like a ghost town building, we were up on the 56th floor, and she said there was not any other rooms occupied on that floor or near. (anyone seen the Shining?) it was a weird feeling.

I felt the same way about the rooms, IMO in think it's more of a 3 or 4 star hotel with 5 star rates.

When waiting for check in my girlfriend and I were offered what we thought were welcome drinks. Then a gave showed us the bill for 2 small glasses of orang juice, the total? 500 THB!!!!

The Peninsula, even though it needs a renovation on some of the rooms and the Hilton are much nicer.

[pmugghc]

Not a 5 star, but the Exec floor on the Amari Watergate was quite nice, around 7k.

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[farangme]

Oriental is great, but rooms very small and very expensive. Many nice hotels in bkk as mentioned by others on this thread. Just need to do a little homework before selecting one.

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