As this was a business trip, we chose a convenient, central location. Our checkin was effortless and the staff were very gracious. It could have come down to the fact that we are A Club members with the Accor Group and we chose to stay on one of two Executive floors. I did take notice of other people checking in and they received wonderful treatment as well.
If you are able to, the Executive floors are fabulous. Not only do you have the normal use of the pool, gym and sauna, you also take advantage of the Executive Floor Business Centre. This was located on the 6th floor. They also offered evening cocktails and pre dinner canapes. Of course, every night at 6pm, we enjoyed a peaceful pre dinner drink prior to leaving for the wonderful nightlife that Bangkok is famous for.
Breakfast was wonderful, with an array of Western and Asian cuisine available. This amounted to the main meal of our day and the made to order eggs were a hit.
The staff need to be congratulated on their wonderful sense of humour, and professionalism. The management run a great hotel that we will definitely visit on our next trip to Bangkok.
The pool, gym and sauna area is relatively compact, though they function perfectly. Do a workout, have a sauna then relax in the pool on a chair.
Compared to a number of hotels I have stayed at recently, this hotel is very clean and our sleep quality was excellent.
The staff all over the hotel, recognised us and always greeted us my name. When we had packages delivered, they sent them to our room and notified us when we returned. We were always greeted with a smile and escorted into the hotel.

The location is in Silom Road with the Patpong night markets on the same road only a Tuk Tuk ride away. There are plenty of taxis and Tuk Tuk's available outside the door. I would recommend one of the drivers that usually sit outside the Novotel as they seem relatively trustworthy.
Across the road is the Holiday Inn where we had dinner one night as the Novotel had a seafood night that we were not interested in. The food there was also very enjoyable.
Also across the road is the "now" famous State Tower, where Hangover 2 was filmed. This is a must see place to visit as the views on the 63rd floor will testify. You will see were the famous scene of the Hangover was filmed overlooking Bangkok. On a clear day (not when we were there) the views would be exceptional. The bar is generally open at night on a walk in basis - no reservation. We unfortunately did not get there at night as we only found this place on our last day. Too busy with meetings etc.
Another place to visit is also just around the corner on the river were you can catch a long boat ride taking you up river and through the the canals of Bangkok.
I was pleasantly surprised with the accommodation and it fitted our needs and purse pocket perfectly.
Please note that you will always receive better treatment if you treat the staff well.

this is a very modern hotel ... best suit for business travelers. new and very clean.

we like bangkok but always come across a lot hassles with the taxi drivers. so every time we get the help from the front desk staff. they are always super helpful - telling us the approximate duration of the ride, writing in big thai words of the addresses we wanted to go to. it was also raining, the concierge staff proactively asked if we need umbrellas, too! =)

the only bummer with the hotel is that there are only two elevators. we found that breakfast time is always the peak hours of these elevators. it took us a long while to get on the elevators on the last day when we were checking out in the morning. and when they are full, they just go directly to the "destinations". so the solution for us was to take the elevator that is going up, and it turned out that when it reached the top floor, we got to get down to the 6th floor (restaurant) with no stops at all.

Let me begin by saying that I am not overly impressed with the Novotel chain. Mostly businessman oriented. However, in June my fiancee and I enjoyed, over a weekend, three nights of Novotel Phenix Silom hospitality. I spent a few extra dollars to stay on the "Executive floor" and it was well worth it. The room was standard sized and had nice features including ipod dock and speakers and an electronically darkening glass wall between the bed and the bath. The room included extras like free wireless, free cocktails and hot canapes every evening, fruit basket, 4pm checkout and more. The room price also included breakfast. . .one of the finest breakfasts buffets in Bangkok, i reckon.

However, the best thing about this hotel is the staff. They all seem genuinely pleased to be working here. Whatever we required, the staff was helpful and thoughtful. Upon checking in I mentioned we had a early am flight in three days. As we were departing at 3:30am, about to drive off into the night, the desk clerk ran out to the taxi with two breakfast boxes. That's never happened to me before.

I would recommend this hotel without hesitation.