Review: Waldorf Astoria Bangkok (King Corner Suite)

Hilton Honors loyalists are spoilt for choice in Bangkok, with both a Conrad and Waldorf Astoria plus a plethora of lower brands. On my trip to Bangkok in March 2022, I set out to stay at both the Conrad and Waldorf Astoria. I will admit I had a degree of wariness when deciding to stay at the Waldorf Astoria Bangkok. While reviews of the hotel were generally excellent, my only experience with the Waldorf Astoria brand was a poor one at the Waldorf Astoria Berlin. Thus I was a bit dubious if the brand really lived up to its reputation. Having already been left a bit underwhelmed by the Conrad Bangkok, would the Waldorf Astoria Bangkok live up its branding and reputation?

Spoiler alert: it did, despite a slightly rough start. The Waldorf Astoria Bangkok is a hotel that exudes luxury and tries it’s best to actually be luxurious. It’s not cheap by Bangkok standard, but I’m already itching to return.

Waldorf Astoria Bangkok: Booking and Pre-Arrival

For my one-night stay at the Waldorf Astoria Bangkok, I opted to book a Hilton Impresario rate. Compared to the lowest available rate, the difference was only around THB1,000 The Impresario rates gave me the following benefits:

• USD100 property credit
• Complimentary full breakfast
• Room upgrade (subject to availability)
• Double Hilton Honors points
• Priority early check-in and late checkout (if available)

While I would have received most of those benefits as a Hilton Honors Diamond, the USD100 credit was more than the difference in Impresario vs cheapest rate, making it a no-brainer. My one-night booking for the entry-level Deluxe King room was THB8,800 (approx SGD358) plus taxes and fees, or THB10,358 all-in (~SGD420).

The day after I made my reservation (around 2 weeks before I was due to stay), the Reservations Manager reached out via email to enquire if I was marking any special occasions, had an accompanying guest, and my arrival details. It was a pleasant surprise to see the proactiveness of the hotel to reach out immediately after my booking. It gave the impression that the hotel really strives to deliver an “unforgettable memory” as the Reservation Manager’s email stated, which bode well for the actual stay.

72h before my stay, the advance upgrade email landed in my email.

A check on the Hilton Honors app showed I had been upgraded to a King Deluxe Suite. On the morning of check-in day, I had a look at the my app again and it showed a further upgrade to a King Corner Suite. Unbeknownst to me at the time, this would later present a small issue.

Waldorf Astoria Bangkok: Arrival

The Waldorf Astoria Bangkok is located on Rtachadamri Road, not far from the Erawan Shrine. This puts it somewhat near 3 BTS stations – Ratchadamri, Chit Lom and Siam, though it is still quite a walk to any of them. It is also possible to walk to the shopping areas around Siam, but be prepared to sweat.

I checked out of the Conrad Bangkok and took a short cab ride to the Waldorf Astoria. In contrast to the Conrad, the Bangkok, the Waldorf Astoria Bangkok is much more modern and stylish building.

Like many Bangkok hotels located in mixed-use buildings, the front desk of the Waldorf Astoria Bangkok isn’t located on the ground floor. Instead, the ground floor has some sitting area and is also where the Front Room restaurant is located.

The actual front desk is located on the the 16th floor of the hotel. In keeping with the light-coloured exterior of the building, the lobby is filled with loads of natural light coming the full-height windows all around. It certainly helps that the lobby largely overlooks the golf course of the Royal Bangkok Sports Club rather than surrounded by other buildings. Walking through the lobby, it felt almost like a retreat from the noise and chaos of the streets below.

At the front desk, I was offered a welcome drink while staff processed my check-in and explained my Impresario benefits. My USD100 credit converted to THB3,100, which was around 8-9% off the day’s spot rates, but I wasn’t complaining too much given the rate I was paying. I was told I could use my credits at any of the F&B, but disappointingly not the spa. (I’ll admit I didn’t pay that much attention to this when booking). The lady also added that as a Diamond member, I would get 25% discount on dining as part of the Hilton Dine ‘Like A Member’ offer (Note: this page is outdated, the offer has been extended to 31 Dec 2022). However, the 25% discount was not stackable with the dining credits, so she recommended using up the credits and separating out any excess to get the 25%.

The staff also confirmed I had been upgraded to a King Corner Suite, and that it was a “very big upgrade”. From my understanding, Diamonds typically get upgraded to a Deluxe Suite at this hotel, so Corner Suite is certainly a little better than the norm.

Once the check-in formalities was completed, a staff member guided back to the lifts and down to the 6th floor where my King Corner Suite was located. Unusually for Bangkok hotels, at least in experience, the rooms were all located below the lobby level. The 6th is the lowest room level, and it came with a big drawback which I’ll explain later.

Waldorf Astoria Bangkok: King Corner Suite

From the lifts, it was a walk down a narrowing corridor to my suite, 617. Unlike the rest of the public spaces, the corridor seemed to suffer from a lack of air-conditioning, and was too warm and stifling. I guess guests don’t spend much time hanging around corridors, so some savings could be had from not keeping the corridors cold.

Upon entering, I was immediately impressed by the room. Less impressive however, was the sight outside the windows. As it turned out, 617 faces Ratchadamri Road and the BTS tracks that runs above it. Unfortunately, the 6th happens to be exactly level with the higher track grade. I immediately told the accompanying staff member that this was unacceptable. What ensued was a 10min back and forth between the myself, the front desk and the poor lady who had escorted me to my room. The resulting conclusion was that no other Corner Suites, or even Deluxe Suites, were available. I was offered an Astoria Suite for an upcharge, which I declined. Since I was only staying for one night, I reluctantly accepted 617, but throughout my stay minimally the day curtains were kept closed, if not the blackout curtains.

With the situation over the choice of rooms settled, it was time to explore the suite.

King Corner Suite: Living Room

At the entrance, a half bathroom is located to the left.

Stepping into the room proper, on the left was a standing shelf. I’m not sure if it was the intended purpose, but I found it very useful for placing small items such as my wallet and coins. It was thoughtful design to have this here.

On the right of the entryway right was a large cabinet. Hidden inside this was the minibar, coffee machine, kettle, coffee and tea, and associated glassware and cutlery. Unlike at the Conrad Bangkok, the minibar here was fully stock, including two complimentary coconuts. While the coconut water in these coconuts were absolutely delicious and refreshing for the Bangkok climate, I found it a massive challenge opening them despite the tops being partially cut. Perhaps it was user problem?

Also of note, the Waldorf Astoria uses carton water rather than plastic bottles. These are cute and more environmentally sustainable, though a bit on the small side. Of course, additional (complimentary) cartons are just a call away.

The living room was dominated by a large curved sofa, designed to fit the curve of the window behind it. There was also a single armchair and low circular coffee table, as well as a smaller stand for the TV remote and other items. On the coffee table, there was a welcome amenity of fruit tarts. The tarts were sweet and delicious, much better than run-of-the-mill store bought ones.

At the rear of the living space, there was a circular table that could function as dining or work table. I wonder if the Conrad Bangkok took inspiration from the Waldorf Astoria when deciding to refurbish their rooms with circular tables? In any case, this table offered up the same issue, namely that I felt further from my food/laptop than I wanted to be. It certainly doesn’t when one is more rotund than health and one’s stomach forms an opposite convex shape to the table….lol. The console beside the table had all the required ports: two universal power outlets, USB, HDMI.

King Corner Suite: Bedroom

Moving into the bedroom, the king bed faces the windows, facing the buildings down Ratchadamri Road. A TV is tucked into the corner. The bed was superbly comfortable. It was a massive struggle to get up for breakfast and catch my 9.40am SQ705 home.

The small dressing table was squeezed in a gap between a pillar and window. A power outlet was conveniently located here for any electrical grooming accessories.

Two identical bedside tables flanked the bed, though each had different gadgets positioned on them. On one bedside table was a tablet for controlling the lighting and climate in the room. Of course if you prefer an old-fashioned way to adjust the lighting, there were touch sensitive buttons built into the beside table. Be careful to avoid bumping into these with huge force during the night though.

On the opposite bedside table was a combination radio clock/iPhone/iPod dock.

At first glance, there didn’t appear to be any power outlets bedside. However a close examination of the bedside located these deep inside the open storage space of the bedside tables. A neat way to keep these largely out of sight. even if it required a bit of wire bending when trying to use a device while charging.

Tucked off to the side was the walk-in wardrobe. While perhaps not the biggest walk-in, it should adequate for most. The safe was also located in here, it was large enough to take my Razer Blade 15 with ease so that’s pretty voluminous.

King Corner Suite: Bathroom

The first sight that greeted me in the bathroom is the tub. Unlike the similarly-designed Avani+ Mai Khao Phuket that I stayed it a few days earlier, the Waldorf Astoria fittingly had a much more elegant and luxurious design. The tub wasn’t too large, probably best left for solo use.

His and hers vanities flanked the bathroom entrance. These were identical, though only one had a pump bottle of lotion, and only one had bar hand soap.

Both bathrooms feature TOTO washlets mounted mounted in a small wall shelf. I do wish the hotel had installed auto toilet covers as well though.

The shower was by the window. Of course, there were blinds to keep prying eyes from looking in. Oddly, there was a separate inner door-like panel separating the shower from the window. Perhaps to prevent water from collecting by the window and/or damaging the blinds.

The Waldorf Astoria provides toiletries in large, stylish bronze pump bottles. While I didn’t see any branding, the items smelled like Salvatore Ferragamo Tuscan Soul.

King Corner Suite: Overall

Apart from the view from the living, there was nothing to dislike about the King Corner Suite. Everything feels well thought out. The décor feels modern and luxurious, without being ostentatious. The contrast of the dark wood furniture and flooring against the lighter elements of the room (sofa, off-white walls, marble) really goes well together. This was a room I could look forward to returning to.

Waldorf Astoria Bangkok: Facilities

In terms of facilities, the hotel has a pool, gym and spa. These are all located one level above the lobby.

Pool

The Waldorf Astoria’s pool is probably one of its most iconic features. According to the staff, the design inspiration for this was marigold flowers. It’s not the largest pool, but still adequate for doing laps. It’s not a bad place to chill out in the evening and watch the sunset, which is exactly what I did. On the Thursday evening I was there, it only got a little more crowded after 7pm.

The pool bar also serves various drinks and light snacks. When I first got to the pool, a staff member served me a complimentary fruit skewer and water.

Since I had my dining credits to burn, I ordered a couple of drinks and mango sticky rice after my swim while waiting for sunset. My drinks were served with some olives and mixed nuts.

For reference, this is the price list for drinks at the poolside:

Gym

The Waldorf Astoria Bangkok has a well-equipped gym. Surprisingly it was empty when I stopped by in the evening after leaving the poolside.

Spa

The Waldorf Astoria also has a spa, including a steam room and sauna. Unfortunately I didn’t have time to try the spa on this trip, and both the steam room and sauna when I stopped by, so no pictures of these.

Waldorf Astoria Bangkok: Dining

The Waldorf Astoria Bangkok has a total of 6 dining F&B venues. In addition to these 6,, there is also the pool bar which I mentioned earlier. These are the venues and their current opening hours:

• Bull & Bear: Daily, 11.30am to 2.30pm & 5.30pm to 10pm
• Front Room: Wed to Sun, 1130am to 2pm & 5.30pm to 9.30pm
• Peacock Alley: Daily, 10.30am to 6pm
• The Brasserie: Weekdays 6.30am to 11am. Weekends 6.30am to 11.30am
• The Champagne Bar: Sun to Wed, 5pm to 1am. Thurs to Sat, 5pm to 2am
• The Loft: Daily, 5pm to 1145pm

During my stay, I dined at Front Room for dinner and The Brasserie for breakfast. Both meals were excellent, and I certainly didn’t go away feeling like I wasted calories dining in the hotel.

Front Room

The hotel’s website describes Front Room as offering “a menu of authentic, home-style Thai cuisine which celebrates the eight distinctive Thai flavors of sour, sweet, nutty, salty, spicy, bitter, astringent, and mild.” While an elegant hotel restaurant may seem an unusual setting for home-style Thai cuisine, the restaurant absolutely nailed it for me. All the dishes tasted superb, while delivered in an elegance befitting the surroundings and elevated ingredients.

The meal started with an amuse bouche of seaweed cracker served with a slightly spicy, sticky and sweet Thai sauce. I can’t recall the sauce ingredients, but it went very well with the cracker.

For my mains, I ordered the Nuea Khem Tom Kati (salted beef cheek in coconut cream), and Pla Thod Phrik Grathiam (Depp-fried Toothfish, crispy chili, crispy garlic). Both dishes were well-executed and full of flavour. The fish in particular was delicately deep-fried, not too greasy and the fish was still soft and moist.

The mains were served with a choice of free-flow Thai white jasmine rice or brown rice. The staff come round with large wok filled with rice and scoop it onto your plate. While a part of me wanted to go healthy with brown rice, I couldn’t resist trying the white rice. It was a choice I didn’t regret. The rice was extremely fragrant with a slightly sticky texture, far better than Thai jasmine rice that I’ve had from the supermarkets here in Singapore.

For dessert, I had another mango sticky rice (yes, more rice!). More than anything, I actually wanted to see if it was any different to the one served poolside. It was. This was an elevated and interesting take, with the use of black (brown?) rice instead of the usual white sticky rice.

Overall, an extremely satisfactory meal and it felt like a good use of my dining credits, even if I did end up going slightly over my THB3,100. Front Room is certainly is a excellent and convenient option for anyone staying at the Waldorf Astoria and too tired to venture out. The menu for Front Room can be found here.

The Brasserie

The Brasserie is the hotel’s breakfast venue and is open from 6.30am. This was fortunate for me since I was planning to checkout at 7.30am to catch my flight home. Breakfast was included in my Impresario rate, but I would have had complimentary breakfast regardless by virtue of my Diamond status.

I’ll come out straight to say it: the breakfast at Waldorf Astoria Bangkok is one of the best hotel breakfast I’ve ever had. The buffet is big, though not massive. The quality of the buffet and a la carte eggs were superb. What stood out to me about the buffet – no doubt helped by the early hour – was how wonderfully presented and organised the layout was. The Brasserie also does not try to overdo with the buffet, keeping the focus on delivering on a selection of well-executed breakfast items. For example, unlike many Bangkok hotel breakfast buffets, there’s no ice cream to be found here. (Though I won’t necessarily say no to ice cream at any time of the day). By having this focus, the buffet can also be a little more creative with what it does offer. Never have I seen a breakfast buffet offer 5(!) types of sausages.

Besides the buffet, there’s also a selection of a la carte, made-to-order eggs. Beverage options were also listed on the menu.

From the menu, I ordered the Truffle Egg. While some restaurants use cheap, “truffle” products that taste and smell awful, The Brasserie seems to use better quality stuff. Even if it’s still not the real deal, at least it doesn’t smell or taste like bad. The poached eggs were also cooked perfectly.

Honestly, the breakfast alone is almost enough to make me pick the Waldorf Astoria for all my future Bangkok stays. It is that good. Considered by some to be the best of all Bangkok breakfast buffets, it certainly would be deserving of that tag.

Waldorf Astoria Bangkok: Service

Across all my interactions, from front desk to F&B to bellhops, all the staff were very friendly and polite. I’m mostly an easygoing guest who just wants everything to go smoothly, and the staff all delivered. They may not be anticipate-your-every-need sharp, but everything was pleasant.

After my stay, when I commented on the terrible view in my post-stay survey, the Front Office Manager replied that they have “noted my room preference and will make sure these are reflected for my next stay”. It remains to see what this means (will they never give me a Corner Suite again??), but at least the hotel took the effort to reply a post-stay survey (or do they not get many guests completing this?)

Waldorf Astoria Bangkok: Overall

This stay was almost perfect. If I had been given a better room, it might have been perfect. That is perhaps not the fault of the hotel itself, more of a location and architectural issue. The hotel has somehow managed to blend classic luxury and modernity together. More importantly, it has somehow managed the feat of feeling like a bright oasis in one of the busiest areas of Bangkok.

Convenient location, not too far from transport, excellent F&B choices, lovely room (view aside). Given that advance purchase rates are can currently still be had less for less than THB10,000++, the Waldorf Astoria is still good value. It has hit the top my list of Bangkok hotels, and I can’t wait to go back.

Anyone else stayed at the Waldorf Astoria Bangkok? Let me know in the comments what you thought of the hotel!