My BKK Hotels

On this trip to SE Asia I would sty at seven different Starwood hotels for 16 nights. I had already achieved SPG 75 status (as well as lifetime Platinum status) earlier this year. This trip and the 10 nights I got from holding the Starwood personal and business credit cards would put me very close to 100 nights for 22015 and the SPG Ambassador level.

The Sheraton Grande ranks right behind the St. Regis in terms of luxury among the nine Starwood hotels in BKK. I’ve stayed there twice before, but normally avoid this property because it also usually ranks right behind the St. Regis in price as well. Although the Plaza Athenee, a Royal Meridien Hotel, and even the W can sometimes be priced higher, IMO the Sheraton Grande tops them on service and location. On this occasion, the weakening Thai baht and fall off in tourism since the coup and more recently the terrorist bombing, brought rates down to about $120/night before tax. That is still more than I like to pay for a five-star hotel in Thailand. But since this was a really good deal compared to normal rates, I decided to splurge for a two-night stay.

My flight from HKG was scheduled to arrive around midnight and I anticipated getting to the hotel around 1 a.m.. To have a hotel room available for check in at that hour would mean booking the hotel for check in on the previous day except that as a SPG75 Platium, I could use the Your24 benefit, which allows me to select the time of my check in at any time in a 24-hour period. It saves booking an extra night for late-night or early-morning arrivals.

I did not get a suite but the room was spacious and nicely appointed.

There was a huge walk-in closet.

And the bathroom more than met expectations.

The hotel had prepared a welcome letter outlining the Platinum benefits I would receive.

The welcome letter states that in addition to the standard platinum benefits, 24-hour butler services are available including, unpacking and packing, shoe shine, washing and pressing of two pieces per day, and coffee or tea with wake up or any time during the day. The laundry and pressing would have been much needed at the end of my trip.

The Sheraton Grande offers great views of the BKK skyline.

The Sheraton Grande has an excellent location on Sukuhmvit Road. The Sukuhmvit area brims with restaurants, shopping, and nightlife. Terminal 21 shopping mall and cinema complex is just across the street and is connected to the hotel by an elevated walkway.

Terminal 21 has the latest Hollywood movies in English with Thai subtitles. And the Asok BTS Skytrain station is right next to Terminal 21. So is the Sukuhmvit MTR subway. The BTS and MTR systems allow quick and cheap transportation to key points throughout BKK. They also connect to the Airport Express train making getting from and to the Suvarnabhumi airport a breeze.

Evening cocktails and appetizers are part of the standard Platinum benefits. They are available at three differeent locations in this hotel. The only one I tried was in the Living Room on Level 1.

The Living room is very quiet and relaxing. It is located just off the main restaurant. Most SPG complimentary evening cocktails and appetizers are self serve, buffet style. In this hotel there was a menu and waitresses to bring drinks and food.

The quality of the drinks and food was excellent. However, I prefer buffet style rather than wait for a waitress when I want something.

The breakfast buffet was quite extensive. It included everything you might want for an American, Japanese, Chinese or Indian breakfast. I could have taken a dozen pictures to show everything that was available.