Renaissance Bangkok Ratchaprasong Hotel Review
The Renaissance Bangkok Ratchaprasong is a new addition to the glitzy neighborhood in Bangkok. It's just a block from busy Siam Square and two BTS Skytrain lines converge right there as well. The InterContinental Bangkok and the Grand Hyatt Erawan are just next door.
The Renaissance is a bit set back from the busy (and noisy) road but there is an ugly parking lot right up front and the walk from the road goes through a rather odd strip mall.
Renaissance is Marriott's idea of a boutique-style W Hotel. I had liked my stay at the Renaissance Santiago de Chile a lot, so I was looking forward to this stay.
Check-in was very friendly and fairly quick. I was told that the hotel would be full the next few days. My room was ready at 11AMeven without any Marriott status.
The room was quite a jewel and similar to the Hyatt Regency Dar es Salaam, which is one of my favorite hotels. It was cooled down by an inaudible AC and the bed was perfectly soft and hard and had soft linens.
The bathroom was enormous and featured a lovely rain shower; it looked more akin to an InterContinental in color code and space.
The view was fantastic and there was plenty of sunrise light on that side of the room.
The curtains block out light very effectively if you want to sleep. There could have been a bit less furniture in the room, though. Some items seemed too much design-driven and had no real, practical purpose.
The biggest let-down was the Internet, which was extremely slow at most times. For a few hours, it worked and then it simply stopped. Marriott usually demands a 10 MBit connection for each device and requires properties to monitor that. The Renaissance clearly failed this standard almost all the time I was there (despite fast Internet easily available in Bangkok).
The 22nd floor has an indoor pool (though the windows open out to look over the city) and a gym.
While the gym was well-equipped, I missed a rowing machine (I know, I know) and I struggle with hotel gyms that sell passes to locals. It helps the hotel to make more money but crowds hotel gyms unnecessarily and that was a problem when I was there.
Given the wonderful Bangkok weather, I wanted a place to tan and enjoy the sunshine. No such thing here, as all you can do is swim laps indoors. I found that highly disappointing.
The Renaissance has no rooftop bar like many other hotels in Bangkok. Not a big deal but they are a great way to spend an evening with a drink.
The lower floors feature a number of ballrooms and hotel restaurants which seemed to be extra busy. It seems the hotel is very successful in selling those.
In sum, I was very happy with the room quality but felt it wasn't the right property to work in (with no working Internet) or enjoy the Bangkok weather. Both are things I expected from this stay and this hotel. I likely would not return despite this being a modern, high-quality property for a fair price.
You can book theRenaissance Bangkok Ratchaprasong here.