Conrad Hilton Hotel, Bangkok
I was making an incredibly roundabout trip to Thailand, and with my recently re-acquired Hilton status, I wanted to give the Conrad there a try to see how it affected my stay and compare it to the JW Marriott in Bangkok which in my view is the equivalent luxury brand at Marriott where I have always enjoyed astounding stays when in Thailand.Arrival
After 3 days, yes, that's right, 3 days of flying, I landed at Suvarnabhumi airport, where my bag arrived, well, trashed. Lock missing, covered in mud. W T F Malaysia Airlines, W T F. Nothing was missing but the luggage counter rep at the airport was just horrible. Anyways, I took the airport rail link train to Phaya Thai station (the terminus) and got on the Sukhumvit line BTS (monorail above ground) towards Kheha and got off at the Phloen Chit station. On the south side of the road at entrance 5 (in front of the Mahatun Plaza building at the bus stop) there is a free shuttle to All Seasons Place and the Conrad. It runs 7am to 9pm. Sometimes 5 minutes in between, sometimes 15. I finally arrived and went to the lobby where they took me to the 29th floor lounge for the Executive check-in desk.The Room
I was upgraded to a corner executive room. Actually has a lot of space, and a dressing room! The bathroom was quite huge also, so while not a suite, it was a really big room.The Lounge
So, my favorite features of this class of hotel is the Executive Lounge, and this one was right at the level I had hoped and expected it to be. This really is a great feature of the hotel.Facilities
The pools here were great, honestly I could not believe how cold the water was given it was 90 outside but once I got used to it, it was great. A super large main pool. I'm not sure what the side pool was for - maybe kids.Dining
Now, I have neglected dining at hotels much because they can be pretty expensive, but I also realized I'm missing out on a key element of the information people are going to want to have, so I have changed recently to make an effort to dine a lot more at the hotels. This was my 2nd one since I have made that change, and I now realize, for years I have missed out myself. Also... more content!There are 5 places to eat and drink in the hotel. This is past the number that I consider qualifies for a resort. With everything else this hotel has, I consider it a destination unto itself and therefore in Rob's book, it's a resort.
I ate at two of the 4 primary dining locations, Liu the Cantonese restaurant, and Diplomat, the very American style bar with also a full menu. On this trip, I did not eat at Kisara, the Japanese establishment, or Cafe@2, the breakfast spread. (Well, because I had the lounge even though I had my option to go there free, I didn't take the opportunity.)
Summary
This is a 5 star level property. Very swank, very exclusive. The executive lounge is a further level of exclusivity. Great area of the city (away from gogo bars) near so many embassies and parks. Free shuttle to the BTS system. Anything you want, they will take care of. This is a luxury hotel.Now, I will say, having equivalent levels of status with Marriott and Hilton, I have been consistently upgraded more at the JW here, and the services are a smidge higher, but this is still a seriously quality place to stay.
Tip: I know I say this a lot, but hey, the benefits to it are great, so get a room with lounge access. It's really worth it. Also use public transport as much as you can, the traffic is worse than you can really imagine.