Travel | Dusit Thani Bangkok - Old Charm Is Great Always
Its our second time in Bangkok and this time we upped the ante and stayed at the Dusit Thani Bangkok.
The hotel is situated in Silom opposite that of Lumphini Park so request for a room that faces this one. View is breathtaking if you ask me.
Coming off a 3 hour flight, plus an hour of getting your luggage and an hour of travel to this hotel, you might say that you want to rest easy as soon as possible. This is true enough with our trip to Bangkok to cover the Miss Universe 2018 pageant. We arrived here with our heels hitting the pavement in right away.
While my colleagues were off to Pattaya, I was tasked to check in our room here in Dusit Thani. The hotel was an impressive building. With a sweeping driveway leading to a spacious and elegant lobby, I was awed with it all. They only had a handful of staff (unlike in Manila) but the smile greeted me by the door. My trip to the land of smiles had just begun I surmised. :)
A staff helped and dealt my with my luggage and he mentioned that I proceed to the concierge already. Another smile greeted me at the concierge, welcomed me with sawasdeeka and asked for my passport to be scanned. After a keystrokes after, I was checked in, quickly I might add. Then as a requirement, a deposit for THB1,000 per day must be made. We were booked for 3 days, so I gave THB3,000, an amount that was covered by a receipt (don't lose this), and was refundable upon check out minus any charges, if any.
After the usual check in procedures, I was given my keycards and I was given instructions going to my room. It was a bit tricky going there as they had two towers and mine was located at the back. I had to pass through a corridor off to the other building. Was confused at first as there were not directional signs. Good thing staff was present everywhere so I simply asked to be led to the other tower's lift or elevator.
All the while I was wondering where my luggage went. It wasn't in the lobby anymore after my check in. I guess a bellboy took it to my room already, and he did. I found my room with him waiting alongside our luggage. He politely asked for my room keycard and he opened the room for me. He went in after me and placed the luggage inside and left.
The room was huge if you ask me. I always like staying in older hotels as the rooms were still big. For a twin share room, our beds weren't single in size. That goes to say that the room was truly big. We also had large windows, giving us a great view of Lumphini Park, and a large bathroom. This is why I like older hotel rooms, unlike new ones, that are cramped and as they put it, efficient. I like my room big and inefficient :)
Now having old room has its cons, usually room would smell musty (of old carpets), moldy (for the old bathroom fixtures) and hot for age old airconditioning units in them. For Dusit Thani Bangkok, you won't have these. Airconditioning was cold and consistent and you will use the duvet a lot, and I mean a lot, if you are lazy enough to stand to lower down the thermostat. The bathroom was squeaky clean and smelled fresh, and don't make me start with the fluffy and soft towels in there. The carpets were fresh and clean, so musty smell is not there. The room was excellent and exquisite by my standards. It will be a long time when I will see such a room that I truly like.
I have seen Dusit Thani in Manila and the Emirates and this was my first for Bangkok. I would proudly say that service here is top notch. Staff spoke english with great fluency, surprisingly in a country who does not grasp the language that well. They can understand english but conversing is another thing so having people who work here with fluency is a big help to tourists like us. Politeness is everywhere and they always bow their heads with hands (in a praying position) saying sawasdeekap or kup khun ka or krap.
Our stay here did not cover breakfasts (we opted not to) not that we didn't like their breakfast, its just that sometimes our coverage starts early in the morning and we don't have time for it all. So we contented ourselves with buying for our breakfast the night before. Our room had an electric kettle, complete with complimentary water, coffee sachets and tea bags. Great right?
This great hotel is also prestigious during our three day stay. They were also the official residence of the Miss Universe candidates. Talk about prestige. Seeing these lovely candidates roaming in the lobby was truly a spectacular sight. A nice hotel with a great view, with a great atrium, then add in the world class beauties around you. It was truly a wonderful sight to behold.
May I also add that Dusit Thani Bangkok is also accessible by their mass transit systems, so if you plan to go around town, its so easy if you are booked here. Just a few steps from here, you will see Lumphini Park. Go the other direction and you will find your self smack in the center of Silom, an area with lots of stores, shops, restaurants and malls.
The area of Silom by daytime is a quiet business district and comes alive in the evening with lots of street food vendors that has made Bangkok famous. So if you want to try the famous mango sticky rice, its just a corner away from this hotel. Walk more a little bit, I had my filling of the Pork Stew that I truly liked.
Dusit Thani Bangkok might be a little far from the airport, but it is in the heart of the city that will make you feel the warmth of its people.
