Review: Dusit Thani, Bangkok (Dusit Club Room)
Bangkok,
June 2017
Introduction
Dusit
Thani was the first hotel on our trip to South-East Asia in June
2017. We would first stay three nights in Bangkok and then continue our journey to Koh Phangan and Koh Samui respectively.
I picked Dusit for the first two nights because we had a great
experience in Hua Hin's Dusit with my wife about two years earlier,
and I thought it might be fun to visit Lumphini park -
it´s opposite the main entrance.
Dusit Thani is Bangkok's first 5 star hotel, and I guess they also had the
first outdoor pool in Bangkok. When the hotel started its operation
it was the highest building in Bangkok. Now it looks very small
compared to the gigantic towers looming everywhere in the city
center. That will change in a few years when a new Dusit Thani
replaces this old one.
Check-in
Our
transfer (Oriental Escape family van) from the airport to the hotel
parked in the front and we were helped with the luggage and escorted
to the lobby. The lobby has a Thai-style ambience and is quite big
with a few counters.
I
handed out our passports and soon we were taken to the 3rd floor Club
Lounge for a more relaxed check-in.
Friendly associates took care of,
brought us drinks and went through the check-in formalities.
As we arrived early in the morning - our Finnair flight AY89 landed in
Suvarnabhumi airport at about 07:15 - I didn't expect the room to be
ready yet. And sure enough it wasn't. We were offered a chance to
get to have the room rather soon for paying some extra.
I took the
offer since we were quite tired after a longish flight. Breakfast was
included as well, so we decided to have a bit to eat and our daughter
was especially happy since she wasn't too fond of the airplane
breakfast.
Dusit
Club Room
During the breakfast one of the staff came over to tell that our room was
ready and we proceeded there immediately after we finished eating.
The Dusit Club Rooms are located in the upper floors. Ours was in the
18th floor facing Lumphini Park. As the size of the room is about
60sqm we had ample space to spread out. The requested extra bed was
already made and our luggage was waiting, so we took a quick shower
and a little nap. The double bed was big and comfortable, and felt
quite awesome after a sleepless night in an airplane.
Bathroom is large and has a separate bath tub and a shower. A toilet seat is
in a corner shielded a bit by a wall but there isn't a separate door
inside the bathroom for privacy. Perhaps the new Dusit will have a
different solution...
Toiletries are Dusit's own products and there were two sets ready in the
bathroom.
Dusit
Thani Bangkok Club Lounge
Dusit Club Lounge is on the 3rd floor and is for the use of guests in the
club rooms and suites.
Breakfast was quite OK in the lounge, though there was obviously a little less
variety than in the main restaurant. A few different juices, pastries
and bread, maki rolls, cucumber gazpacho, fruit and other items you
usually find in Thai hotels. From the menu one will find made to
order eggs, excellent waffles with whipped cream and blueberry jam
etc. Of course it is a nice, quiet environment to enjoy the breakfast
provided the lounge is not full.
On the other hand the Pavilion restaurant has more variety, so the choice
is yours :)
Evening cocktails and hors d'oeuvres are served 17.30 - 19.30 and a smart
casual dress code is required. There is a small selection of
cocktails and mocktails, as well as beers, spirits and wines
(sparkling, red and white).
Very pretty little portions of nibbles were available with a few hot
dishes, too. Perhaps not quite enough for a real meal, but quite good
indeed.
Service in the lounge was fabulous: attentive and friendly and the staff were excellent with kids, too.
Facilities,
service and location
We liked the little garden area in a courtyard that had quite a lot of
plants and a pond with fish. It was a sweet and tranquil spot to sit
for a while. Climbing about two dozen steps you´ll enter a smallish
pool area and beside it is a gym. The water in the pool had good
temperature, so it felt refreshing but not too cool in the Bangkok
heat.
Breakfast is served in the Pavilion restaurant from 06.00 - 10.30. There is a
good variety to choose from, such as hot Indian and Thai dishes, a
noodle soup (fantastic!) and an omelet station, bread and pastries
and sushi to name a few.
Coffee and tea are served to the tables and waitresses were active to pour more.
Service was excellent all around the hotel premises and facilities felt child-friendly. The personnel were really charming, professional and efficient.
Location is good for those who want to use public transportation. There are
BTS and MRT lines just a few steps from the hotel, and Lumphini Park
is opposite the main entrance. There are no big shopping malls just
around the corner, but a short and cheap taxi ride will take you
quite quickly to one of the Siam neighborhood malls if you´re not
going during the rush hours. A few street food stalls were present
on the side of Silom road very close to Dusit Thani, and we devoured
our portions of Roti and Sticky rice with mango. If you´re looking
for a great quality massage shop continue on Silom Rd for about 1km
and you´ll find Dahra Beauty and Spa on the right side of the road.
Dusit Thani is an easy pick if you'd like to stay in a quality hotel in
Bangkok without breaking a bank. I think the prices are reasonable
for a standard room with breakfast, and if you you feel like splurging a bit, a Club room might well be worth the extra cost.
There is
a very nice Thai feeling in the hotel, and it doesn't strike me as too stiff
and posh like perhaps some very high-end 5 star hotels in the area
that also come with a heftier price tag. The hotel isn't new, that's
for certain, but for us it didn't make much difference since it was
clean, we knew the establishment is old and didn't have super high
expectations. Based on our two night stay we would recommend this
place.
