Review: The Excellent Marriott Surawongse – Bangkok, Thailand…

At $150 a night, this is a steal…

As I approached the check in counter, I was quickly greeted at the Marriott Surawongse with an incredibly refreshing, ice cold lemongrass tea. After a short walk in the humidity of Bangkok, the tea went down like it was the last time I’d ever have a chance to hydrate.

After formalities began, I remarked to the polite check in clerk “this place is pretty new”, to which she replied “it’s three months old”. I’ve been to many wonderfully updated hotels around the world, but never one less than three months old. After this stay, I may begin to chase them…

Check In

Check in was prompt, with multiple check in staff at attention, ready and waiting. The hotel lobby is very appealing to the eye, slightly grand in a modern way, and pays excellent homage to Asian design and Thai heritage, with chic and varied seating areas. Continuing forward into the building, guests will quickly find themselves in the keycard protected elevator to their guest room floor.

The Room

There’s just something about that new room smell. No scratches on the power ports, no wear and tear around the corners, and every modern convenience you could ever hope for, all waiting in the wings. Most non suite rooms are of fairly uniform size and amenity, with walk in shower and bath, cozy couch areas along the wall, and a highly desirable bed.

Rooms at the Marriott Surawongse are easily some of the most refined and forward thinking I’ve seen, and were clearly reverse engineered with travelers in mind, with USB ports, universal plugs by the bedside and throughout the room, lightning fast wifi and proactive kits for shaving, flossing, shower caps and so forth.

The Facilities

I’m not going to lie, I booked this place for one reason: the pool. If you’re going to be sweating it out in a city like Bangkok, there’s no greater feeling than grabbing an ice cold drink overlooking the city, and jumping into a gorgeous infinity pool. I’d continue blabbering on, but I think the pool photos complete the sales pitch on this part of the Marriott Surawongse.

The Marriott Surawongse offers an exceptionally good hotel gym, with state of the art running machines, tons of free weights, yoga mats and resistance equipment, plus all the standard old school work out systems. The views are great, and the ice cold towels are even greater. When it comes to food, there’s a relaxing afternoon tea in the lobby lounge, refined Mandarin food in the rooftop restaurant, and an outdoor rooftop cocktail bar, pictured above. Pretty cool.

The club lounge at the Surawongse is very good, offering varied daily breakfast with a view, precise service and a delightful evening canape and cocktail hour. There’s beer, wine, sparkling wine and a selection of signature cocktails. A good old mojito always does the trick! Each night features a varied selection from the chef, such as Vietnamese crepes, as well as finger food buffet.

Overall

This is exceptionally good value for a five star hotel in Bangkok, and very well placed for evening activities, such as the night markets. The Marriott Surawongse averages roughly $150 a night, which is below the prices currently commanded by many five star offerings, yet with a better pool and restaurants equal to or better than most other Bangkok hotels.

With friendly and proactive staff, brand spanking new rooms, fantastic fitness and spa facilities and one of the best pools in the city, I’ll be back.

Will you check out this Marriott property?