Valia Hotel Bangkok — Hotel in Khlong Tan Subdistrict

We travel to Thailand every year and usually stay close to a month each visit. This is the first time we switch to this new hotel based on its modern rooms and new suites. Check-in service was extremely long for no explicable reason. The rooms are clean and nice for 3 but that was about the only positive thing we could say about this hotel. Bathroom is nicely modern but lacking in safety as the shower floor is quite slippery when wet and no mat is provided. The shower heads have no adjustable settings as at other hotels. Water pressure is not the best, and sudden bursts of hot and cold water for no apparent reason. The glass door should be open inward instead of outward because water droplets from the shower glass door would drip all over the floor when open outward and if you try to place a floor mat or stepping towel on the floor, it will get caught underneath the shower door. Breakfast buffet was the worst we ever had in Thailand. We tried to be fair and didn’t want to compare their breakfast items to those of Marriott, Hilton or Holiday Inn, but even Central Point hotel breakfast was way better than what they served at Valia. Their foods were bad and cold, or at least not sufficiently hot. Their breakfast room was always overstaffed, we counted at least 10 busy waiters and waitresses bustling around in a small dining area but with no efficiency at all. They also pre-brewed tea in metal carafes with no offer of various tea choices as at other hotels for guests to help themselves, and often the pre-brewed tea would turn cold as they sit in a metal carafe throughout breakfast service hours. One time, a waitress came up to me and rush me to finish “eating the food” on my plate since the breakfast time would end in 10 mins. I looked around and saw other guests still getting up for more foods and some tables were still occupied. That was outrageously rude! No restaurant, especially hotels would rush their guests to finish eating. At Central Point, the staff usually go to each table to politely let guests know their buffet would close in 30 mins so if they need to get more food, they could but never would the staff rush guests to finish eating what is already on their plates within 10 mins. You can easily tell staff at Central Point are better trained and they usually allow diners to leisurely stay past breakfast hours just to chit chat or socialize (they are on vacation after all) while staff are still cleaning up, instead of rushing them out the door. Now let’s talk about shuttle service. The hotel advertises that a shuttle service is available every 15 mins, except when there is traffic during peak hours, which is quite understandable. However, on at least 3 occasions, we had to wait at Emporium Suites (1 of the pick-up points) for longer than 45 mins and it was at 11pm (no traffic at that hour), and another time at 9:30pm (again no traffic), and again at 10:30pm. Luckily, we could use a local sim card to call the hotel and they sent a shuttle tuktuk to pick us up but for those travelers who don’t have access to a local phone, it would have been frustrating for them since shuttle service would end at 12 midnight and they may get stranded and neglected at a pick-up point at such a late hour. We hope the Valia management would take our review into consideration and improve their services so that we would return next year and would be able to recommend our business partners, colleagues, friends and families to this hotel. Thanks...

I would NEVER go back to this hotel. I do not recommend at all. I unfortunately had to spend 5 days there, but would definitely cancel my booking if I knew before.

1- When we arrived at the hotel for check in, the employees told us to go for a stroll somewhere because our room (which was booked 3 months earlier) was not ready and cleaned yet. So we had to wait. When we consequently asked for late check out, the staff categorically refused.

I cannot explain how rude and unfriendly the staff is. They don’t speak English and do not understand most of it.

SOMETHING THAT THEY DO NOT TELL YOU: Some rooms are in another building. To access your room, you’d have to cross the street to access another building to go to your room. So you don’t have direct access to the reception. Plus, the street on which the hotel is smells really really bad.

The telephone in the room doesn’t work. So we always had to go down our building, cross the street and go to the reception to complain about things.

Horrible experience: the staff at the reception hide behind their colleages or ignore you whenever they do not want to help you. They clearly saw us everytime, but whenever they saw us approaching the reception desk, they would go behind their colleages and whisper something before disappearing. It seems that they are shy or do not want to deal with clients. I wonder why they work at the reception desk in the first place.

ANOTHER THING THEY DO NOT TELL YOU: their restaurant for breakfast is tiny! This means that whenever you come for breakfast, the staff asks you to wait up to ONE HOUR to be able to eat. They make you queue in front of the restaurant. The manager (a guy) picks and chooses customers he likes to cut off the queue and allows them to eat before you. When we complained, he even tried to approach us, saying that he would treat us better than everyone else!!

The staff working at the restaurant - SOOOO UNHYGIENIC!! I was watching them while eating my food and felt disgusted. One of the ladies was clearly ill, her eyes were red and was coughing in her hand, then serving the food to customers. They can barely walk with their heels and short skirts. The men‘s uniform are always crumpled with shirts partly outside of their pants. No class at all! One day they sent us into another room to have breakfast as the restaurant was too packed. They sent us into their bar, which was a small and very dark room. They did not even offer the same food as in the restaurant below us. We felt very uneasy.

When we booked from their official website, we were offered a free minivan service to a shopping mall (in addition to the shuttlebus) When we showed our printed reservation with the offers from the hotel to the staff, they stayed quiet. Did not respond and finally said that the information is not correct as they are not aware about such services that are offered by the hotel. (Information that is clearly on our booking info and on their website) At last they said that the manager was going to approach us concerning this issue - but never heard from him during the 5 days we stayed there. So they promise services on their website and are not even aware of it. Very dissappointing.

I have many other complaints but that would take too much of my time to write. To anyone thinking about going to this hotel, please do yourself a favour and don’t. Go to a REAL 5 star hotel and save your money. This...

WARNING WARNING WARNING stayed for 2 nights. And the overall experience isn’t that well.

First is the room. The rooms it self is okay. We stayed in the junior suite. Spacious but the layout is kinda weird.

Second is Service. Well there’s barely any service. What I don’t like is the guy at the lobby. Idk if he’s the manager or whatever. But he’s got this rushing attitude that dosent sit well with me. for instance. The hotel offers free shuttle every 15 minutes to the Em shopping center near Sukhumvit. But while I was there waiting for the shuttle. For around 20 minutes. I didn’t see a shuttle. I went inside to ask. And he said shuttle left. I said when?? I’ve been outside waiting and didn’t see the shuttle. He say left already. You keep waiting next one. I’m just like what? I didn’t see anybody. Where’s the shuttle. And he left.

Location. I really think the only reason this place is cheaper than the rest of the 5 star hotel around this area is due to the location. It’s kinda far away from the BTS. If u want a great location then maybe this place isn’t it. Stay near Sukhumvit

THIS IS WHERE IT GETS BAD. The biggest problem I have with this place is how it tries to scam you. We booked 2 nights thru Agoda. And we accidentally booked another 2 nights by mistake. We cancel the 2 nights by mistake yet they still charge us half of the price for it. We talked to the front receptionist. And they told us to talk thru Agoda. Agoda confirms with us that they didn’t charge us anything and that it’s the hotel itself charging us for the cancellation fee. The funny thing is… the hotel reception clearly told us that they won’t charge us as long as Agoda agrees. Yet now they wont refund the money even tho Agoda itself claims to have nothing to do with it. And my bank statement proves that it’s the hotel that won’t return the cancellation fee because it didn’t go thru Agoda but Valia hotel itself. THIS IS THE PART THAT DOSENT MAKE SENSE. @@@ If the hotel has no intention of returning the cancellation fee then why bother telling us to go talk to Agoda in the first place?!?!?!?!? Why waste my time and Agodas time when they can just admit that they charged us for the cancellation and not Agoda. Even after multiple email. The hotel offers a late checkout time next time we stay there as a compensation for this refund drama. ( but the late checkout won’t even apply to the suite that we normally booked) NO THANK YOU. You don’t deserve my business.

ANOTHER BAD THING. The hotel charges 2000 baht deposit for every night u stay there! 2000!?!? So if u stay for 5 days they’ll charge you 10,000 baht!!?! For what? I’ve stayed at better 5 star hotels that only as u to put down 2000 baht cash when you check in. And when you check out. They will check the room and return the deposit. But 2000 baht A NIGHT!?!? And the crazy thing is. Even if u cancel the room. And don’t show up. They still charge u for the deposit thru ur credit card!?! Why did they charge me for the deposit if I didn’t even stay there!?!? That’s crazy. If I’m not staying there then I won’t be able to use any of the amenities inside the room hence I don’t see the point for a deposit if the room is cancelled.

People. Stay at a better hotel. Carlton, Skyview. GM estate. Hyatt. Ascott. All of these have better customer service and better location overall. This...