Debauchery is an excessive indulgence in sensual pleasures like partying, alcohol, and drugs. A wild party inside the pricey Waldorf Astoria hotel in Bangkok may have been fun for the youth who attended, but when it came at the expense of hotel guests, how could the hotel in good conscience allow the shindig to continue?
One Night in Bangkok…A Wild Party In The Royal Suite Of The Waldorf Astoria Bangkok
A long-time Live and Let’s Fly reader reached out with the following story about a recent stay in Bangkok:
On October 23, 2022 I stayed in room 1515 of the Waldorf Astoria in Bangkok. This is a corner room on the top floor of the hotel. Unknown to me at the time I was across the hall from the Royal Suite, room 1518.
This was the third of my three-night stay. The first two nights were very enjoyable without incident. But everything changed the night of the 23rd.
I was already asleep by 10:00 pm but was rudely awoken by loud noises in the hallway a little before 1:00 am. As I normally do, I attempted to ignore it and go back to sleep, but the loud noises from the hallway persisted. I showed what I deemed a high degree of tolerance and endured the disturbance for nearly two hours.
At 3 AM, The Party Escalates
At 3:00 am the noises from the hallway escalated. I arose from my bed and put on my Waldorf robe and opened my door. There I found around 12 people spilling out of the open door of room 1518 and into the hall. I yelled over the noise to get their attention but they ignored my pleas. I then began yelling more loudly until one young Thai man said, “Sorry.” I said please go inside your room and close the door. But they ignored me, continuing their party from the room and into the hallway.
This was a huge party of probably 25-50 young Thai people (difficult to tell how many) partying all night in this room. I was confounded how so many were partying in this one room. It wasn’t until later I realized this was the Royal Suite capable of accommodating many.
This room goes for about $4500 per night. I deduced later that this large group of kids likely all chip in $100 to have a huge party. Actually not a bad idea as it is a good alternative to clubbing for a night when you can bring your own booze.
Security Officer Is Dispatched
Well, this group of kids rented the room, not the hallway. At this point I had exhibited sufficient patience and called the front desk. They said they would send security up but after 20 minutes, no one showed. So, I called again and asked the duty manager to be involved. This time a man who I assume was the head of night security, Tom, arrived.
The hallway had five or six kids in it when he responded to the scene. I opened my door when I realized he arrived to address my complaint in person. I expressed my displeasure at their lack of respect. One of the young Thai men heard me and yelled at me, “This is normal.” I engaged him to reply this is not normal. At this point, he took an aggressive attitude toward me in front of security. Tom did his best to de-escalate.
I went back to my room and Tom cleared the hall but the party was allowed to continue. When I knew Tom was alone in the hallway I opened my door and asked him what he going to do about the party. He said they promised to keep it down. I asked him how could he ensure that with such a large party. He stated he would send a security guard on the floor to maintain peace. To his credit he did and this man remained there all night (which was only about two more hours at this point).
Although he did ensure there was no more congregating and party spillover in the hall, I still endured the constant coming and going of young kids to and from the party. And although he tried to keep them quiet in their transference, it did not provide an environment conducive for sleep. I never slept the rest of the night.
How The Hotel Responded The Following Morning
The next morning I asked for a meeting with the assistant manager, Vanit. He was already aware of the situation and greeted me with apologies. He began by asking what he could do to make this right but I quickly responded I was not seeking, nor would I accept, any compensation. I was not complaining to get something out of it, but to express how egregious this was. I told him that even Thailand has fire codes concerning maximum room occupancy and I was sure Hilton would not be happy to know they were willfully violated.
I further told him I realize this stuff goes on in Bangkok but I thought it was restricted more to Sukhumvit and the associated Sois. I did not expect this from the business area and certainly not at the Waldorf Astoria (am I being naive, I thought?).
He affirmed that this is not normal despite what the young Thai had told me. But I responded I was not so sure about that since the night manager and the head of security allowed this huge party to continue with their full knowledge. He replied they should not have allowed it and he would “train them.”
Vanit did the best he could to appease me even offering me the Astoria suite should I return. I told him again this was not necessary. I was offering him free feedback. The assistant manager was very cordial and patient with me as I relayed my story to him in a non-agitated manner. I credit him for doing the best he could to manage his indefensible position.
I’m No Stranger To Bangkok
I have traveled extensively over the years logging an average of about 4-5 months per year in hotels (all non-business stays, so many weekend nights). That is enough experience to know when something is beyond the pale. I have of course experienced partying in hotels before, but nothing of this scale, never in a hotel of the prestige as the Waldorf, and never without management putting an end to it.
The next three nights I spent next door at the Grand Hyatt. These nights went, as usual, without incident even though I was again on the top floor, corner room (an area of the hotel where I believe partying would be more frequent). The three nights I spent prior to my stay at the Waldorf, at the nearby St Regis, also transpired without incident.
Now I will inform I have a retirement visa for Thailand and have logged many, many nights in Bangkok. Including hotels in the party areas of the city. As much as “anything goes in Bangkok”, much like Vegas, I know this is aberrant behavior even for Bangkok, at least this area of the city. I’m not saying it doesn’t happen, but it’s usually restricted to certain hotels that accommodate this behavior.
I expect they did not want to interfere with a patron willing to spend $4500 for the suite so they were quite lenient with their rules in this case. But, as I told Vanit, they do so at the risk of being labeled a Bangkok party hotel rather than a business hotel. But perhaps that’s where they want to go with business travel down? I wonder what William Waldorf Astor would have thought? Or at least the Hilton brand.
Next time I’ll stay on the river. I’ve always had good experiences there.
CONCLUSION
That’s quite a story, isn’t it? While it sounds like the Waldorf Astoria Bangkok tried to make it right, my question is why the party was allowed in the first place (at least to continue so late into the night). Then again, money always talks…and that does seem like a clever way to party (sure beats a nightclub when you create your own in a posh hotel suite and bring your own booze instead of overpaying for it). Monetizing suites is the bread and butter of luxury hotels, but the Waldorf Astoria Bangkok should think twice about allowing these sorts of parties.
How would you have dealt with a wild party at the Waldorf Astoria Bangkok or any luxury hotel?
These kind of situations suck. When you’re in a hotel and folks are throwing a loud party that is interrupting your sleep, all you can really do is call the hotel management and if they won’t handle it, you’re pretty much stuck listening to it unless you can move to a different room or hotel. Usually it pretty much ruins your night.
I threw a party in the Presidential Suite at the Ritz several years ago. We didn’t tell the hotel we’d be hosting a party we just did it. It was New Year’s Eve and we had the party from about 7-930p (idea was pre-party for NYE). The Ritz sent up 2 security guards to make sure we kept it in the room and that it didn’t become too rowdy– they handled it really well. Sorry the Waldorf didn’t do a better job.
Sounds more like an elaborate promo for the Grand Hyatt he stayed at the next night, and a defamation rant on the Waldorf Astoria! Just doesn’t make any sense that he refused to accept their offer for compensation or a free room.
I think Fathiss explained the rationale way…I bet the hotel guest, by principle, thought the same thing.
Sorry for partying? If you can’t beat them, join them?
Yayy let them be young. B7t they gotta keep it out of the hall.
Matthew, how does one get in contact with you?
You have referenced a few times about folks getting in contact with you, but I don’t see any way to do so.
At the top of the page on the main navigation bar there is an option that for Contact in between About and Privacy: https://liveandletsfly.com/contact/
Thanks ECH. I can also be reached on Twitter or Instagram.
But how do we know that it’s really you on Twitter? The blue checkmark?
Waldorf Astoria Bangkok… “at the risk of being labeled a Bangkok party hotel rather than a business hotel.”
That would be considered a fancy business hotel.
We experienced a similar situation at an American luxury hotel where we are frequent guest. We were directly across the hall from the presidential suite where wedding guests partied all night. I called security several times but 5e started back at it within minutes.
When I complained the next morning, I learned the suite was part of the wedding package. Like the Posters incident, I suspect the hotel didn’t want to anger the couple who spent well into six figures for the event.
Ordinarily I am a very calm, reasonable individual. But I have been sob screaming for the past hour. My sense of safety (SOS) status is currently at 3%. The world is extremely mentally dangerous for semitrans women of color.
I’m sorry, but I don’t understand the point of complaining to the manager if you do not want any type of compensation in return. Seems like you just want to complain for the sake of complaining.
He said he provided free feedback. When you complain without asking for compensation you expect the hotel will hear you and not allow something like that to happen again.
+1. The implication is that you can’t be bought off to make this go away.
Good luck with that….this isn’t a morality issue, it’s a business issue. You don’t think the hotel didn’t know this situation was wrong? Of course it did….but it made the business decision to allow the partying to continue. If you really want the situation to change you must do what you can to change that calculation and that would be to make the hotel compensate you, as well as any other guests that were affected by the disruptive behavior. Remember, this situation occurred in a hotel room, where one goes to sleep, and not in the event space of the hotel. The ‘free advice’ argument is worthless. This hotel guest was more interested in being ‘right’, than in making change. What incentive does the hotel have to not allow this behavior to continue? Obviously, the hotel runs the risk of losing a hotel guest or guests (that was part of their decision to allow the unruly guests), but to lose a future hotel guest AND the money it would have to pay to compensate guests who were bothered might cause them to not allow such guests in the future.
You truly missed the point. He IS making them pay- that’s what this article is all about .. making well heeled individuals decide NOT to stay in this hotel. That is the entire point-
I think if you accept compensation, it is an implied contract you will not escalate further or expose the situation to a wider audience.
There are times when I will accept compensation and stay quiet after, but if it’s as egregious as this, no way.
Compensation is a form of hush money. If you accept it and not expose, the behavior continues. I know you can accept compensation and expose, but that seems a bit slimy to me.
Just my opinion….
He is just someone who likes to complain. I am glad I will never have to deal with him.
So someone who rents a hotel room in a high end hotel, but can’t sleep all night because of a party across the hall… you prefer someone who doesn’t complain about that?
Sorry for your terrible stay. But I don’t get the point of your story or its objective? Are you complaining, warning other travelers, what exactly? It comes across like you want the reader to fell sorry for you. I am getting lost in your story and the end I am not sure what I’m supposed to take away.
This is an exposure story. I don’t think anyone is asking for sympathy or any emotion other than maybe rage.
I think you’re reading too much into it. If nothing else, it’s an interesting story.
I personally love the stories Mathew puts out there exposing egregious behavior more than any others.
There must be some cheap fun and girls for an American in Bangkok. maybe for 100 bucks or so.
This was definitely an unfortunate situation but what did you want specifically? That the hotel security or police to disband everyone?
I’m not even sure this would have happened in the US, but given your supposed familiarity with Thailand, customer service is paramount and those folks outrank you in people you don’t want to piss of.
For all you know a politician or celebrity arranged this party in which case you are completely out of luck even if the police were called.
Yes, it’s certainly reasonable for hotel security to stop the party of this size. Even in BKK this is a reasonable expectation.
These were just young kids partying.
The hotel management is allowing this to happen in a top tier Hilton hotel. They are representing the Hilton brand. They are obligated to protect the brand.
And if these were kids of a prominent Thai, you’re out of luck. That’s also how Thailand works.
This! I would be willing to bet the person who rented out the room was a prominenet HiSo Thai and you are just unlucky.
I’m confused. Was the 4,500 in Baht or USD? This was probably a case where the party out tipped. The incident was poorly handled and I certainly would have insisted on a hefty compensation. This area generally hasn’t a reputation for this type of nonsense.
It’s said $4500 a night USD
$4500USD roughly.
Accepting compensation taints the feedback in my opinion.
To Fatiss: I don’t believe so. Doubtful an ordinary bunch of thai youths paid $100 to have access. I sincerely doubt the OGs room was USD 4500 according to current charges for that corner suite. And unless you were above the status of whoever booked it, a person of understanding the culture would get it. How these things are addressed is nuanced
Yeah, I didn’t buy the idea of 45 young people paying $100 each to have a place to party… I’ll admit I don’t know that part of that world/culture/etc… but the pragmatic aspects of that– it doesn’t work out. This probably involved a wealthy young person. I had a friend who made around $100mil in 4 years in our early 20s, and we did stuff like this. It happens.
With a title like that, I expected a bit more than an article from a Karen.
Sorry to disappoint you Kevin, I mean Roy.
Wow! Another comment from a guy who has no more imagination than to use trite expressions of which he has no idea of the meaning.
Wow! Another comment from a guy who has no more imagination than to use trite expressions of which he has no idea of the meaning.
I think for people who really know Bangkok, there’s a very simple explanation. Someone at the party was from a Bangkok ‘HISO’ (high society) family, possibly even the owner of the hotel. And they basically do whatever they want, without regard to anyone or anything, including the law.
If you’d like to reference something similar, Google the Red Bull heir ‘Boss’ who is accused of killing a police officer by dragging him under his Ferrari without realizing it under the influence of multiple drugs. Hush money and trying to accuse one of the house servants of being the driver didn’t make that one go away, so Boss has just remained out of the country until the statute of limitations will expire in a few more years, living it up and partying around Europe, mostly. Laughably, the current prime minister said ending corruption was his main mission, that was almost eight years ago.
In this case, the security chief and duty manager would have lost their jobs, if in fact they knew who was in the suite and shut down the party. The police would have been scared to get involved if the partiers were from important families. I don’t think it was the $4500, I bet the room wasn’t even paid for? And yes, for this group of Thais, it is ‘normal’ to party like this.
I would have taken a boatload of compensation and it would have been offered without question if my assertion is true.
Ah, cocaine is a magical drug…..
To DJ: thinking also that this was probably family of a connected individual. Such happens. Money & influence overcame good hotel policy. Such happens.
There’s also something off with this story that I can’t put my finger on also.
I use to go to these when I was there. I knocked up 13 women in one year there. I miss Bangkok.
I would have partied with them.
With the heading using the word ‘debauchery’ is it wise to have a picture of an actual person underneath ? Just saying.
It’s ok, he asked for my permission first.
DJ above has the best guess. Anybody spending that kind of money on a suite is probably very well connected.
You’d probably do best to just lay off.
When 50 kids spilt the bill it’s $100 each. Not out of reach at all for young Thais in Bkk. No reason to assume these kids had any connections.
No reason to back off. These situations need to be confronted and exposed.
These things happen in Bkk, I know, but not in this area and not at the Waldorf. The management has a responsibility to protect the reputation of the company (regardless what any individual feels about the Hilton brand).
Have you ever tried to get 50 people under 25 to give you $100 each to rent a suite for a night to party in? It doesn’t work. First of all if you know 100-150 people who would actually do it (not everyone is available on the night you chose), you probably can pay the $4500 yourself… second unless the Bangkok Waldorf rents suites like Dairy Queen selling Blizzards, where each person comes up to the counter with a c-note until the balance is paid and then they hand over the key, then someone– some ONE individual has to put up the $4500, and then collect $100 each from 44 other people. Oh, and guess what, those 44 other people know that they can go party in the suite and not pay you a thing and nothing will ever happen to them, so the ones who really like you (maybe 10-12) will pay, and the rest will not….
The method in which the room was paid is conjecture on everyone’s part but really not that relevant to the story. The take away is Waldorf management allowed it to happen.
This is crazy for this area of Bkk and for this hotel in particular. No one should be allowed to manage a Waldorf hotel in any part of the world and allow this at the expense of other guests.
The method in which the room was paid is conjecture on everyone’s part but really not that relevant to the story. The take away is Waldorf management allowed it to happen.
This is crazy for this area of Bkk and for this hotel in particular. No one should be allowed to manage a Waldorf hotel in any part of the world and allow this at the expense of other guests.
To GS GUY: Exactly. And an expat (resident retiree?) would have understood immediately. Part of my distrust of the whole story. But a to compensation the above group would maximize. I find that odd
No sympathy. Complaintant had to spend one night in the real world. Welcome to the rest of humanity. Too bad that, for once, your wealth did not allow you to self segregate. You could have learned something, but it sounds like you didn’t even try. Maybe try a guesthouse on Khao San Road next time.
Go down the hall and pull a fire alarm. That would clear the whole building. You’re not sleeping anyway.
Oh Matty. You naive American.
You are nobody!
The kids are elite Thai Hi So.
No damns given to u by the hotel.
Wasn’t me. Try re-reading again.
You sound a lot like someone who wasn’t there.
Isn’t that symbol that the kids in the top picture are making with their hands some kind of satanic horned sign? I remember when president W did the same and was castigated furiously.
This sucks, but as many have said hotels are often more willing to look the other way with high paying (and likely connected) guests whether it be young Thai elites in a $4500/night suite or a wedding ceremony after party for a couple that just spent 5 to 6 figures on an event. I agree that the party spreading outside the room was crossing a line, but beyond that there’s not too much you can do.
In my experience have found that hotels with explicitly stated quiet hours tend to be less tolerant of this sort of behavior and they likely have the policy to discourage rowdy guests from booking in the first place, but even that’s no guarantee if the price is right or the hotel’s security staff is unwilling to intervene beyond keeping the party in the room.
That said, I think “debauchery” is a bit over the top to describe the situation.
I was going to comment on the “debauchery” use, too. After reading the blog post twice, all I saw was the party was loud and in the hall. This despite the definition of debauchery Matthew explicitly provided to start off his post.
I mean, I get the point – Matthew had an unpleasant experience and wasn’t able to sleep. I sympathize.
What do you think they in the room? Evangelize? Discuss politics?
Hey, when the holy spirit commands you! 🙂
I have read many stories on your blog but none that leave me without words, until now.
I don’t care at all whether this is normal or not in Thailand. I would care if this was a local hotel, but this was a luxury Hilton with an international clientele. In the United States, this behavior is totally unacceptable. I have heard a party this loud once before, and opened my door and asked them to keep it down, and so they complied.
The total lack of respect by the Thais is palpable, but the fact that the hotel allowed this, and the way they handled it afterwords, that leaves me shaking my head. Hotel rooms are not and should not be party zones. If you want to throw a party, do it in your house/apartment/airbnb, or book a room in the main hotel lobby/bar/restaurant/event space. People are sleeping, not everyone wants to get involved in these parties, it doesn’t matter whether it’s Thailand, New York City, or Elizabethtown Kentucky, it is disrespectful, unconscionable and alarming that luxury hotel staff didn’t order it shut down. Shut it down, and ban the host of the room from the hotel forever unless there is immediate compliance and apologies.
Just ask to be moved to a different room
It’s not that big a deal
Much of this could have been solved the building being designed to have better sound insulation between the rooms and the hall.
I am also a frequent traveler to Bangkok for both business and pleasure, and I have stayed at this hotel. I don’t think the situation was handled properly by security and management, but I’m not surprised. I have a different (and long) take on what was going on and have noted a shift in Thai culture over the last 10 to 15 years. Thailand has always had an elite who are subject to different rules than the rest of society, but with prosperity, this group has become much larger. I’ve seen this kind of arrogant behavior from young rich Thais in recent years. It’s reminds me more of behavior I’ve witnessed by the wealthy in Russia than anything I’ve seen in neighboring Malaysia or Singapore. No doubt the security and mid-level management at the Waldorf were afraid of the repercussions they would suffer from coming down too hard on the privileged youth. And it’s the middle class professional Thais who are most upset by this behavior. My Thai work colleagues are always are complaining about some type of the debauched behavior they’ve witnessed by wealthy Thais and they’ve had enough. No one talked like this 15 years ago. Many are now supporting the Thai opposition party Pheu Thai which is a major shift. I think Thailand/Bangkok are headed for more turmoil and conflict.
Nice clickbait title. I imagine that many readers like me were attracted by the title, expecting, well, a more salacious story. This is a noise complaint story, written in far too much detail.
Rich kids in Thailand, same as any country. Do what they want. The exception here is that staff will not stop them, as they are scared of being fired. Rich kid complains, staff get kicked out. It is the way it is I am afriad
I didn’t go through all of the comments but enough of them. Possibly the party was being hosted by a young adult of one of Thailand’s elite families. It would explain why the party was not more forcefully dealt with. This situation could happen in any of a number of countries in Southeast Asia. Foreigners think that they are the top of the society but they are not. When the foreign guest leaves, the hotel still has to deal with the realities on the ground. To save face for everyone, maybe he should have taken compensation in the amount of all three nights and a different room to get the rest of his sleep.