I first discovered this hotel in 1995. A lot has changed since then, in the way of service (they used to have a wonderful program called "Good Morning Bangkok"; you reserved in advance and a van took you at 600am to good ole, green and great big Lumphini Park. You would walk or run around the 2.5 kms track twice, watch the hundreds if not thousands of locals doing aerobics, running, walking, t'ai chi, cooking, praying, etc. Then at 645 the van would pick you up, give you cold towels, ice water, bring you back to the hotel and give you a light breakfast on one of their decks. Those were the days! But before the world economies imploded..... Anyway, this hotel is still elegant and comfortable, and being located right next door to the Si Phraya Pier is SO nice because you do not have to take a taxi to visit Bangkok's best temples, food markets, or the Grand Palace. You just hop on the boat, enjoy the breezes, the Buddhist monks in their lovely saffron robes, carrying Ipads and Ipods, and are whisked away to your destination for about 15-20 baht per person. The concierge at the hotel can give you a map of the boat stops and explain how it works (boats do not run after sunset, and the last ones around sunset are VERY pleasant. The air is cooler and the skies are cleaner and prettier.)...I first discovered this hotel in 1995. A lot has changed since then, in the way of service (they used to have a wonderful program called "Good Morning Bangkok"; you reserved in advance and a van took you at 600am to good ole, green and great big Lumphini Park. You would walk or run around the 2.5 kms track twice, watch the hundreds if not thousands of locals doing aerobics, running, walking, t'ai chi, cooking, praying, etc. Then at 645 the van would pick you up, give you cold towels, ice water, bring you back to the hotel and give you a light breakfast on one of their decks. Those were the days! But before the world economies imploded..... Anyway, this hotel is still elegant and comfortable, and being located right next door to the Si Phraya Pier is SO nice because you do not have to take a taxi to visit Bangkok's best temples, food markets, or the Grand Palace. You just hop on the boat, enjoy the breezes, the Buddhist monks in their lovely saffron robes, carrying Ipads and Ipods, and are whisked away to your destination for about 15-20 baht per person. The concierge at the hotel can give you a map of the boat stops and explain how it works (boats do not run after sunset, and the last ones around sunset are VERY pleasant. The air is cooler and the skies are cleaner and prettier.)
Also, the hotel still boast two nice pools- one that is pretty and not practical, but the other, on the upper deck, that is very good for serious swimmers to do laps. Perfect!
The fitness center is excellent, sauna still good, but too bad they replaced the very wide old shower head, that would release a huge, soothing, gush of water, one at a time. I loved that shower in the ladies' sauna area! Never enjoyed any shower as much as that unique one, many times over the years.
Restaurants still good, although pricey- same for the breakfast buffet- offering both Western and Eastern options, thank the Buddha! Rooms comfortable, clean and well appointed.
However, with their most recent renovations, the rooms are now COMPLETELY devoid of any local or authenticThai charm in their design or decoration. Such a lack of an aesthetic...This is a real pity and a waste of much potential. The rooms are very sterile and boring-looking now, alas. Two big thumbs way down to the decorators, who probably earned millions of baht for their misguided input.
Local street food vendors in the area of the hotel are still superb- outside the River City Shopping Mall and heading down towards the Portuguese church.
One salon on the street opposite, where I had a fantastic scrub and massage- 90 minutes for about 900 baht, was called Magic Hands.... Very, very nice.
For a hotel this size, the Link are could do with a few more computers. Many of us prefer to leave the laptop at home when we travel, if we can.....
Also, staying here on Cash and Points is really hard to beat. Moreover, having arriving in middle of the night, I was told my "type of room sold out", so I was upgraded to a Junior Suite. (still sterile looking with no charm, but clean and comfortable and roomy). Hard deal to beat!
New Road (Charoen Krung) just around the corner, still has excellent shopping- jewelry stores (precious, semi-precious, and costume jewelry, silverware and other house wares, and clothing and accessories).
Also, only about a 10-15 minute walk to Silom Road shopping, or the Skytrain- for too easy access to Chatuchak Weekend Market, and other places (i.e. National Stadium for Jim Thompson House). You hardly need to get in a taxi and deal with the still horrendous Krung Thep traffic....
One last note: last couple of times here, even non-smoking rooms smelled like smoke that had been sprayed over with some other odor. This time, the non smoking room was delightfully odor-free. Yay!
I still highly recommend this hotel. All these years later.....More
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