When I realized my Amex KFA voucher was expiring in Dec 2019, I hatched a plan to use it without having to take leave. And the general consensus for the property to get the most value out of it is Conrad Bangkok.

But rooms look terribly dated then and I never ventured near since.

And so I thought it was timely that they have recently completed their extensive refurbishment so the stars were aligned.

But I didn’t expect that the Executive Lounge would be under renovations during my stay dates – and the property did not have any notice about this on their website (up til today!). I was super bummed that we wouldn’t have the full Executive Lounge experience as the 29th floor space looked quite nice with the views. I wrote in to the Diamond desk to express my disappointment as I would have booked another property otherwise but there was nothing they could do. So I looked forward to my stay anyways.

Lobby looked spanking new and felt truly 5-stars:

Address – 87 Wireless Road, Phatumwan,Bangkok, 10330, Thailand. Website.

Contact – Tel: +66 2 690 9999. Email: bkkci.info@conradhotels.com.

Location – Nearest BTS is Phloen Chit station, but there is also a shuttle service shared with the attached office building All Seasons. I thought it would have been more efficient for them to offer a tuk tuk service instead though.

Price – THB5,268.80++ (THB6,201.38 = SGD$270) per room per night for a Premium King booked under the Members Sale. THB500++ to upgrade to Grand Premium King which would have granted access to Executive Lounge (in any case which I would have access to due to being Diamond) and snag a bigger corner room. It was a little complicated as I was booking my 2nd night with the Amex Krisflyer Ascend complimentary night voucher – and only the Deluxe room type was eligible for the free stay.

So I emailed the hotel to ask them to combine the reservations so I don’t have to change room and they kind upgraded my free Deluxe room to Premium due to my Diamond.

But with my luck, nothing like planning for a trip without some drama.

Soon after, the Amex offer of SGD$300 to get $60 back got involved, so I had to bump up the spending as my bill was about THB623 (SGD30) short. And it had to be posted by 15 Sept. So I emailed the hotel for some suggestions and room reservations offered a THB500++ (SGD26) top up for an upgrade to the “Grand Premium Suite” – which I could not find any such room type of. But in any case, the price point was just what I needed and I agreed.

THEN, I got an email from the same lady apologizing and said the upgrade is actually THB1,800++ (SGD93!)! I pushed back, expressing frustration for the misinformation and asking the Duty Manager to honor the initial rate. They eventually did.

Now, I completely agree that there is a chance this being a genuine mistake but I refuse to comply with them ‘jacking up’ the price after I’ve agreed – for all you know this was a deliberate move (I’m cynical). But all is good now. Yays.

Check In – I arrived at 10am on a Sat morning and the room was immediately available – yays! But not before they asked me to pay the ‘top up’ rate of THB500++ for my stay. Which I already paid in July on my Amex. I told the gentleman so and he looked confused, checked the system again, and eventually said oh yes its been settled and sorry for the confusion. I was also passed a letter explaining the Executive Lounge benefits.

Room – I was assigned Grand Premier King (53SqM), Room 2619. The original Premium Room would have been 41SqM which would have definitely felt smaller. But new rooms are always nice for sure – huge comfy king bed, a little walk-in wardrobe, a desk and swivel chair in one corner, 2 sofa chairs + coffee table. Very cosy setup and perfect for chilling.

 

Blinds were electronic and controlled by buttons on the bedside. Multiple USB ports also available to feed hungry electronics.

Bathroom was quite big and had a bathtub, a separate but non frosted shower partition, and the soothing Shanghai Tang toiletries.

 

Executive Lounge – during the period of renovation, guests who are entitled to Executve Lounge benefits can have breakfast at KiSara on level 3. The Willow rooms, also located on level 3, served as the temporary lounge after breakfast hours.

Breakfast @ KiSara –

Breakfast was a quiet affair on both days and a much needed respite from the hustle and bustle of the main restaurant Café@2. Space wise, not crowded because of the generous layout of the place. Options were a lot for a Lounge but of course very much welcomed. No queuing at the egg station – staff will encourage you to be seated and your omelette will be served to you at your table. A huge honeycomb was also on display which was a delicious condiment to my morning yoghurt!

But the staff seemed to prefer huddling around to chat than watch out for guests who need assistance. But of course more than helpful when approached.

Evening Cocktails @ Willow Rooms –

Evening cocktails turned out to be a nice affair despite the initial apprehension. The team seems to be working hard to maintain the Executive Lounge experience for guests so well done! Sorry for the bad pics with the seating types – the lounge was crowded and I couldn’t take any decent pics without being awkward.

Alcohol wise, a very nice prosecco was on offer, alongside red / white wines and beer.

They also had premium spirits on offer for a charge on each table.

Food wise – very decent with both carbs and non carbs options. They even had a very good tempura on the first night. But crappy coffee.

Facilities –  there were spa and fitness facilities located on level 7 but unfortunately it slipped my mind to check it out so I know nuts about it.

Shuttle Bus – I just wanted to highlight that the shuttle was really useful and effortless to hop on. It is a All Seasons branded van but they also do have ‘Conrad Bangkok’ written on the bus for easy identification. Yes, the front 3 seats have a reserved sticker on them for in-house guests but I went on a weekend thus the office locals crowd were non existent. There is no reservation needed – it comes every 15mins or so and the staff will ring a bell and carry a shuttle bus sign around the lobby once the vehicle arrives.

Service – for a Conrad, I was expecting flawless service but it was not to be so unfortunately. Multiple service issues left me wondering what happened:

Housekeeping – the day of check in, we wanted to wash up only to realize the toiletry set were the half-used balance leftover from the previous guest. Yucks. Had to call to ask for new ones. Day 1 evening, we came back to find that they didn’t give us any extra water so had to call to ask for more. Day 2 evening they left us an empty tissue box without replenishing it and we had to again call to ask for more.

Shower – the shower had erratic temperatures no matter how we set it. 1 second hot, next second cool. And it made a low revving noise whenever switched on which quickly became annoying after a while.

Doors – the doors to rooms does not come equipped with a soft closing mechanism and would slam shut loudly if you let it close on its own. The first morning we were woken up by multiple slamming doors as guests on the same floor were leaving their room for breakfast.

These are issues which I wouldn’t have expected from a Conrad property.

Check Out – I was once again asked to make payment for the room upgrade cost which I thought was settled at check in. I got really annoyed and got ready to pull up my credit card payment screenshots. But they managed to settle it soon enough somehow.

In Summary,

beautiful hardware but very patchy software. The issues I faced was unbecoming of a refurnished property, “enhanced” by the disappointing service. Wouldn’t come back here again unfortunately.