InterContinental Bangkok Sukhumvit by IHG — Hotel in Khlong Tan Nuea Subdistrict

We spent four nights at the new Intercontinental Bangkok Sukhumvit. There is a second "older" Intercontinental in Bangkok, which is located near the CentralWorld Mall. We previously spent five nights there. I refer to this stay from time to time.

The new Intercontinental is located directly on Sukhumvit Road in the trendy district of Thonglor. The location is good, but not perfect. Thonglor is better known for its nightlife. All other attractions in Bangkok can be reached by BTS, but you have to walk about 5 minutes from the hotel to get to the next station.

Unfortunately, the hotel makes a "cheap" impression, in stark contrast to its counterpart near CentralWorld. Some of the furnishings seem "fake", lacking the impression of quality that one would expect in a hotel of this class. The hotel is relatively small and has a pool on the 32nd floor. This is quite large and offers a wonderful view over Sukhumvit Road. However, it was always very windy on the pool deck during our stay. The pool also gets virtually no sun, which is why the water is very cold. There are only a handful of sun loungers. Although these look very luxurious, there are no other amenities by the pool. On the same floor is the gym, which is very small. It is equipped with the most necessary and brand new equipment, but the size is absolutely out of date for a hotel of this category in this day and age.

Due to our status with IHG, we were upgraded to a premium room, albeit on one of the lower floors (rooms start from the 14th floor) and facing Sukhumvit Road. Unfortunately, the windows of the hotel are not soundproofed, which is why you can clearly hear the traffic and the noise of the BTS. If you're looking for peace and quiet, you're in the wrong place! Otherwise, the room was quite nice, although a little smaller than those in the other Intercontinental.

Housekeeping should also be mentioned positively. The room cleaning was always very good. However, it was not entirely clear to us why the evening turndown service advertised as a "benefit" only took place on 2 out of 4 nights. Unfortunately, housekeeping at this hotel also has a habit of removing everything that is not nailed down from the room. So we were only allowed to enjoy half of our welcome gift. The other half was removed on the 2nd day. Speaking of which, the welcome gift in this hotel is also more meagre than in the other Intercontinental.

Thanks to our status with IHG, we had access to the Intercontinental Club, where check-in also took place. This was very friendly and promising. The lounge itself is quite small and also gives a somewhat "cheap" impression. Everything looks tasteful, but on closer inspection you involuntarily ask yourself whether too much has been saved from time to time. Due to the size of the lounge, there is no real place to retreat to work. In addition, it was often far too cold, then again pleasantly warm.

Unfortunately, the lounge is the worst Intercontinental Club we have ever visited. There are several reasons for this. Firstly, the staff seemed overwhelmed. Orders were not carried out at all or not properly, the service was slow, the tables were only cleared very hesitantly and there was no real personal interaction or only very selectively (very long conversations were held with some tables, almost none at all with others). There was always the same menu every day, but some of the items on it were not available. The buffet was also always 80% the same. The quality of the food was rather mediocre. You couldn't help but wonder whether the chef actually tastes what he cooks. Compared to the lounge at the other Intercontinental, it was like night and day.

You can probably tell from the text that we were absolutely not impressed by this hotel, in contrast to the other Intercontinental in Bangkok. We absolutely cannot recommend the one in Sukhumvit!

Last but not least, an impression: Several times we could observe the marketing manager being busy with some guests for a very long time. Perhaps the hotel is currently working on...

I’m an IHG Platinum Ambassador and have stayed at over 30 IHG hotels around the World. Booked the IC Bangkok Sukhumvit for a long weekend getaway. I would normally stay at the “old” IC in Bangkok (which was recently renovated) but they didn’t have suites available on my dates. Booking was done through the official IHG app/website.

The positives: The IC Bangkok Sukhumvit is new hotel and generally well kept. The rooms still have that “new carpet” smell and feel to them, which is nice. The suites are quite spacious and have a good layout. Large TV with access to Netflix and YouTube and soundbar with sub-woofer. The staff was generally very friendly and courteous. The location is OK with shops, malls and restaurants within walking distance or a short car ride away but if you wanted to go to the downtown area it is a 30 -60 minute trip depending on traffic and mode of transport. There is convenient public transport nearby too. The hotel hosts a popular rooftop bar (operated by a third party, bill cannot be booked on your room account) which was not bad. There is also another bar at level 1, which is hotel-operated and has a nice interior and friendly staff. Drinks at both of these bars are vastly overpriced of course.

The negatives: I had a very stressful and unpleasant experience at check-in. I had booked a Junior Suite on high floor and, as IC Ambassador, I expected the guaranteed room upgrade to at least one category higher (which would be the 1 bedroom suite). During the check-in process the staff initially didn’t even bring up any upgrade until I asked. After some “checking” on their side I was told that they cannot give me an upgrade because of their hotel policies. As a very seasoned traveler and loyal IHG customer I knew that wasn’t true. What ensued was 1+ hour of explaining, convincing, excuses and hand-wrangling. I arrived at the hotel just after 3pm and by this time it was past 4:30pm. I was given the Junior Suite a had booked and a couple of hours later at 8pm on that day I was finally moved to the upgraded suite. Very negative, frustrating and stressful experience, that should have never happened in the first place. Being an IC Ambassador doesn’t come cheap and neither was the price of my booking. I’m also a very loyal IHG customer, which I’m sure the staff could have checked upfront. The hotel wasn’t really busy during my stay. Credit goes to Mr. Mark, who was courteous and attentive and managed to diffuse the situation somewhat and ultimately managed to provide me with the “guaranteed” upgrade. The Junior Suite that I got initially on one of the highest floors was facing the next-door condominium, which is not more than 10 meters away from the hotel. That’s almost the entire view from the suite which also looks over another next-door building still under construction and one more construction site nearby. If I had remained in that Junior Suite I would have had to keep the curtains closed during my entire stay just to have basic privacy. The 1 bedroom suite I was eventually upgraded to had a better view (towards downtown) but there is still a building about 20 meters away. The swimming pool and gym are both very small. So is the Club Lounge and its selection of food and drinks but the staff there tried their best to make up for it with their attitude and service.

The main advantage of the IC Sukhumvit over the “old” IC hotel in Bangkok is the larger size and (in my opinion) better layout of the suites. For the rest, there is little competition at the moment. Being a much smaller property, the IC Sukhumvit could differentiate itself by providing a much more personal and attentive service especially towards IHG loyal customers. Sadly, that’s not how it felt for me overall, despite some of the wonderful staff in the club lounge...

Having stayed at both Intercontinental hotels in Bangkok over the last year, I have mixed feelings about the Sukhumvit property. My family and I stayed there for a couple of nights on our way home to Europe. I had booked a King Premium room with lounge access in anticipation of ending our trip with a special luxury experience.

We arrived at around 3:30 PM and were taken to the lounge for check-in. We were told that our room was not ready, there was not an upgrade available for my Diamond Ambassador status, nor was late check out available. We were also told that the lounge was not accessible to us since our child was under 12. We were offered 10,000 points (the equivalent of $50 if I bought them when on sale) as compensation.

I did mention to the nice lady who was handling our check-in that I saw that the Presidential Suite was available and we would be happy to have our Ambassador guaranteed upgrade be in that room. She gave me a polite smile and said that if it was up her, she would put us there. I asked to speak to her manager, who was the decision maker. After pushing the issue a bit, he agreed to put us there if we would wait a bit longer to have it cleaned. It's a 200 square meter room so I was more than willing to wait. We went downstairs and ate lunch in the hotel restaurant., thinking that we would be in in the room by 5:00 at the latest.

Somebody finally came to get us at 6:15 to bring us to our room. Once again, I understand that it's a big room to clean. Of course, we were blown away by the luxurious room and expansive views of the city from the 30th floor. It was like something out of a movie, specifically Hangover 2. This experience was a special memory that my family and I will cherish for a long time. I would like to personally commend the manager for being open-minded enough to fulfil my request for an upgrade in spectacular fashion.

All in all, the rest of our stay was fine, with the exception of housekeeping no making up our room after we were our of the hotel all day. A polite phone call remedied the situation as they visited while we were away for dinner. Perhaps it was miscommunication or the fact that the hotel was at capacity.

The breakfast buffet met the usual high standards expected from the Intercontinental. Everything was fresh, with varied cuisines to suit the tastes of customers from around the world. We also had a good experience at our lunch on the first day. This includes the cocktail hour we were able to take in the restaurant given our child's age.

The one place where this hotel is lacking is in the design of the pool area. After multiple visits to Bangkok hotels, the jaw-dropping infinity pools that you find in the more premium properties are a feature that makes customers choose a specific hotel. At the Intercontinental Sukhumvit, there are only 4 lounge chairs surrounding the pool. I had seen this mentioned in previous reviews but only after I had booked. If you are looking to make the pool a big part of your stay, please be advised. The location, however, cannot be beat if you are into shopping or visiting the sites.

As mentioned above, I do have mixed feelings about this stay. The opportunity to stay in the Presidential Suite was something I will probably never experience again and it was deeply appreciated by me and my family. The 6:15 check-in time for a loyal IHG customer who had been on an airplane with a young child all day? Not so much. That being said, in most other aspects, the Intercontinental Sukhumvit delivered a "just fine" experience. I would recommend this property for the business traveler but those with small kids who need an adequate pool facility may want to...