Hotel Review of the Hilton Sukhumvit Bangkok, Thailand
The Hilton Sukhumvit Bangkok was the last stop on our recent trip to Thailand and we were really looking forward to our first ever stay at this fairly new hotel which has only been open for three years. Unfortunately we found that they were still experiencing quite a few teething issues that have not yet been addressed and this turned out to be our least favourite hotel of the trip.
Upon arrival we were warmly greeted and as Hilton HHonors Diamond members were taken up to the executive lounge for check-in. Check-in however was quite a long drawn out process which involved three different staff members and a great deal of time. While they were apologetic and kept serving us refreshments, it took way too long and once they had finished we were not even allocated inter-connecting rooms as requested. While the two rooms were on the same level, they were at opposite ends of the hall which makes it hard when you are travelling with a young family (kids aged 9 & 10).
The rooms were quite comfortable and modern and we were delivered little birdcages containing chocolates when we arrived which was a nice touch. There is a good sized work desk with plenty of universal power outlets. The bathroom was a good size which comes complete with bath tub and a nice big separate shower. There is a turn down service but we found it quite varied each night. Usually only one of our two rooms received a turn down each night which we found a bit odd. You can view our you tube Hilton Sukhumvit room walk through video here.
We had access to the executive lounge which is situated on level 4 here at the Hilton Sukhumvit. This is quite a comfortable spacious lounge with plenty of seating (also some outside seating available). Breakfast is available from 6.00am to 10.30am (weekdays) and 11.00am (weekends). Afternoon Tea is served between 2.00pm and 4.00pm and the Evening Canapés and Drinks are available from 6.00pm to 8.00pm. There were two hot dishes and some cold canapés each night which varied daily. We found there was a good selection of breads but unfortunately no cheese or meats to put with them. They have a big salad bar which hardly seemed to be touched most nights so in our opinion we would cut back the salad bar a little and add some cold cuts and a selection of cheeses. They did however have a nice selection of desserts there. The drinks are self serve with juices, soft drinks, white wines, spirits and Chang beer available. Staff however were quite slow to re-stock the fridge and quite a few times we had to ask them to bring out more drinks.
We did not try out breakfast in the lounge as we had the option of the buffet breakfast at Scalini Restaurant which we opted for instead. This is not a huge buffet and we found the options a bit limited.
The other main restaurant/cafe at the Hilton Sukhumvit is Mondo which is located at lobby level and provides a more casual dining option. This area is based around the theme of this hotel which is the love story of Jay & Daisy who are two lovers that met while travelling the world. Here you will see lots of suitcases used as part of the decor as well as passport menus. While it is a nice little area and has a lot of potential, there was just no atmosphere here and we hardly ever saw anyone dining or even having a drink at the bar.
You will find statues of Jay & Daisy (as well as their dog) all about the Hilton Sukhumvit, with the main ones in the lobby and the pool area. It is a nice theme for the hotel to work with but just needs to be utilised a bit better by management.
The rooftop pool here on level 26 is a nice little chill out area, especially on a hot Bangkok afternoon. There is plenty of shaded areas as well as Lapse pool bar which also serves meals. There was no kids menu however so it was rather expensive to eat here for us as the kids had to eat adult meals. You can view our Hilton Sukhumvit Pool Area Video here.
There is also a 24 hour Fitness Center on level 26 which is not huge but has a nice view overlooking the pool and Sukhumvit skyline.
We found the concierge staff here really friendly and very helpful is assisting us on where and how to get around the City of Bangkok.
The Hilton Sukhumvit is situated in the heart of Sukhumvit’s business, shopping and entertainment district. Right across the road is the Emporium Mall and just a few minutes walk up the street is the Phrom Phong BTS Skytrain station where you can catch the train to Siam where the big shopping centres are (MBK, Central World and Siam Paragon). If you are in Bangkok on a weekend then would recommend going to Chatuchack Weekend Market which is also on the same train line – get off at Mo Chit which is the end of the line and just follow the crowds.
For Hilton HHonors members deciding which Hilton property to stay at while in Bangkok, we have also previously stayed at the Millennium Hilton Bangkok (review here) and the Conrad Bangkok (review here) and have to say that we would definitely return to those two again but probably not this hotel. We also did not receive any Hilton HHonors points when we checked out and had to wait two weeks before we could get the Hilton HHonors desk to follow up and award us our points, which was quite frustrating.
For more information on the Hilton Sukhumvit Hotel go to www.hilton.com
