Review: Park Hyatt Bangkok

Bangkok’s newest luxury hotel jumps out as an architectural landmark outside and a masterpiece inside. But is it worth the price tag?

The hotel is located in the heart of the city, just above the brand new Central Embassy luxury mall.

As you enter the beautiful ground level, take a left where a bank of elevators will take you up to the 10th floor lobby.

Park Hyatt Bangkok Check-In

I emailed the hotel the day before my arrival, requesting an early check-in. Less than an hour later, the hotel wrote back granting my 9am request. I ended up not arriving until 11am, but that was still four hour before offical check-in.

An agent named Luck checked me in, welcomed me to the property, and after taking my passport and credit card details, escorted me up to my room. I noticed immediately how beautiful the common areas were.

Park Hyatt Bangkok Deluxe Corner Room

Unlike Kyle, I did not receive a suite upgrade. If it had to be one of us, I was glad it was him (since I was alone and he had his wife and daughter) but it would have been nice also have a suite. Only 40 of the hotel rooms were open (over four floors). Floors above 20 are still being worked on.

Opening my door, I stepped in and turned right. The room started with a hallway with a closet and water closet on the right side and a large bathroom with soaking tub, dual sinks, and a walk-in shower big enough for four. I particularly liked the intricate flower carving in the stonework wall. I also appreciated the standard Park Hyatt La Labo amenities.

But here is what I did not appreciate: no fancy Toto toilet. I know Kyle noted this as well and it is such a #firstworldproblem but it was the frist thing that crossed my mind when I saw it. I had been at the Park Hyatt Hangzhou just two nights earlier and it featured a beautifully tricked out toilet.

The Toilet Issue: Fair?

I believe I’ve mentioned on my blog before that my wife and I have fights over installing a Toto in our 1920’s bungalow (guess which one of us wants it?) so this is an issue near and dear to my heart.  I just find it crazy that a hotel that put so much attention into details would fail to offer the sort of bidet toilet that is standard in this region at fine hotels.

The hallway led to the main room, which felt a little small to be honest. The windows formed a convex arch giving a 180º view of the surrounding area, including the British Embassy below. Drapes and shear curtains were controlled electronically at the bedside.

A square table/desk sat against the window with two chairs and a lamp. A console beside the desk provided several power sources as well as a button to sync your device with the Bose Bluetooth speaker in the room. Kyle reported he was unable to connect, but I did not have any trouble. The sound quality was very appreciated.

A wardrobe contained the mini-bar and a coffee/tea service. I appreciated the sterling silver utensils. A bowl with a sliced mango was also waiting (and fresh, for I didn’t touch it and it browned by evening). No other welcome amenity was presented.

I found the bed fabulously comfortable. Sadly, work kept me up and I only got five hours of sleep, but it was five solid hours of deep sleep.

 

View from the room:

Park Hyatt Bangkok Dining

Breakfast

Let’s start with breakfast, because it really impressed me.

Three words: cold pressed juices. I look at these juice shops that have popped up over LA and scoff at them. Oh, the juice looks lovely, but $6-8 for a small bottle? Yeah, no…

But here they were included. And delicious. So delicious I probably consumed $60 worth of juice over a two hour breakfast.

And there wasn’t just juice. The buffet was beautiful and truly high quality. The homemade Bircher muesli was amazing and the baked goods spectacular. There were even berries and a Bloody Mary station.

PH Bangkok gets the coffee right as well. Cappuccinos came out delicious with the milk perfectly blended.

Let’s assume some day I lose my Globalist status and have to pay for breakfast. I would pay for this without hesitation.

One criticism: I was given a special (presumably Globalist?) breakfast menu with more limited options.

I asked for and was given the full menu:

You can see the differences are minimal. Is a separate menu really necessary? Are pancakes, French Toast, and waffles a hot commodity in Bangkok?

Lunch

In the land of delicious, cheap street food I had a hamburger in the hotel’s café (called “Living Room”). I’ll give the hotel credit here for a reasonably-priced food menu (both in restaurants and room servce). My ~$15 bacon cheeseburger was huge and the garlic fries wonderful. I felt like comfort food and the hotel delivered. There’s no shame in that.

Look at the beautiful dining area:

The Bar

Another beautiful component of this hotel, divided into three distinct areas (a traditional bar, a lounge, and outdoor patio), is the bar. The house specialty is whiskey and an extensive cocktail menu is available. The bar closes at midnight, pretty early if you ask me.

Penthouse Bar and Grill

A rooftop bar and grill is still under development. It is slated to open this summer.

Room Service

Here’s a look at the room service menu:

Park Hyatt Bangkok Fitness and Spa

The 11^th floor fitness center is state-of-the-art. I cannot believe how far workout machines have come over the last decade. My bike had more apps built in than are on my phone. If you’ve forgotten your headphones, you can borrow some there.

Down the hall is a changing room with combination lockers, showers, toilets, a whirpool, and steam room. The steam room was not anywhere close to warm enough, though I saw nowhere to increase the temperature. Then again, who needs a steam room when you are in Bangkok?

Park Hyatt Bangkok Pool

The pool area is beautiful. I loved the stair-like set up of the chairs and cabanas. Kyle mentioned the difficult of reaching the pool, but that can be addressed by signs: it is not a structural defect. If you like the sun, you’ll get plenty of it in the pool area. The water is heated as well.

Park Hyatt Bangkok Service

Service was polished for the most part. No one brought me a menu when I sat down to each lunch in the Living Room. I waited for five minutes before flagging someone down. Perhaps it was because I was taking pictures first?

If you need currency exchange (generally a poor idea due to unfavorable exchange rates) just note that the hotel is not currently licensed to do this. But the adjoining Embassy Mall has a currency exchange. I don’t like using an ATM in Thailand because you get hit with a double fee—one from your bank and one from the theirs. I’ll bring cash and exchange it slowly, though that is also tedious.

Anyway, all other aspects of the hotel’s service proved quite satisfactory.

Park Hyatt Bangkok Price

Finally, let’s talk about price. This hotel isn’t cheap. My rate turned out to be about $275 with taxes ($235 base). That’s almost obscene for Bangkok. While I think $200 (incl. taxes) is a much more reasonable (albeit still high) price, $275 is just too much. I predict once the novelty of the hotel wears off, fewer people than expected will pay such a premium in Bangkok.

CONCLUSION

Was this hotel great? Yes. Are there some issues to work out? Yes. Would I stay again? Of course, but only because I am irrationally loyal to Hyatt. There are comparable options available at less than half price. The Park Hyatt is special. It is beautiful. But it’s pricey.