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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 king bed, yes that is a tiny elephant on there

A dressing room. If you follow me, you know this is something that really makes my day, and my stay

Really large and let me tell you, HOT water shower. Just what I like. Bryedo bath amenities, very luxurious and nice

Fully decked out with stationery, note cards, post cards. From a more civilized time and experience

A nice note that they came by when I had the do not disturb light on (yes light, not card). Also a handy little pamphlet with directions in Thai explaining how to get to the Conrad - you can give it to your taxi driver

Large, but not the largest. Hilton is stingy on suite upgrades for sure

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.

The end portions I found a little more serene

Full breakfast amazement every day. As much as you care to eat

Even congee and noodles. Very interesting flavors for breakfast for sure

Don't see what you like in the buffet? Here, more choices

My letter outlining my benefits for having access to the lounge. Not a bad amount of free service

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.

The main pool, quite large, surrounded by sun chairs

The tennis courts were clean, large, open to the sun, but not used a lot.

And now onto the gym, on the same level as the pool and the spa. This was a very well-equipped gym. Open 24 hours a day for hotel guests. Apparently, it's such a good gym they sell memberships. I'm impressed with it, room to stretch, limber up and even a proper pullup device.

While wandering the paths and sections on the pool level I stumbled across this. I think it's for wedding receptions or events

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.)

Liu, a very popular place later in the evening

Duck fried rice, something I normally would never have tried at all, but it was excellent. Also, dinner for two ended up being $28 at a fine dining establishment

Full view of the bar from the 2nd floor. Jazz is played to the right

They had Ramen on the menu. It was pretty good, but still isn't on the level of the hole in the wall I found in Tokyo

The pool bar, Terrace. I didn't feel the desire to sit there for a drink for some reason

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.