InterContinental Bangkok by IHG — Hotel in Lumphini Subdistrict

Intercontinental BKK was never on my wish list simply because it was old. Knowing that it was renovated and reopened in 2023, I decided to give it a go in April 2024.

First impression on arrival was less than great. One of the keycards did not work on the lock at all although I could use it on the elevator. The door lock was also not working like silk as it should. It responded to the other keycard but would not open. Luckily a staff member happened to be around in the small hours of a day and opened the door for me. I did not watch how he did it but it sounded like he pushed on the handle with force and solved the problem for good.

Then the room. Spacious and cosy. Brightly lit up, unlike the rest of the world. Be serious, that level of light is what people expect of but never got in a hotel room. Intercontinental is like the ONLY hotel operator who realizes it. The air conditioning was also very satisfying.

Felt kind of bad when I took shower. They were generous enough to offer you a whole bottle of Byredo shower gel, only to find that it was literally empty. And this was not the only complaint about their inferior housekeeping.

After a night of sleep on a way-too-soft bed, I saw something under it. Two pieces of Kleenex to be exact, apparently used, not mine. Who knows for how long they have been there. I did not tell the hotel to clear them just to test when they would be discovered. The answer was sadly, never. Still there when I checked out days after I found them peacefully lying on the floor.

I love bathing. Intercontinental BKK was the only hotel on the planet that I refrained from enjoying that peaceful moment. I believed it was nothing but disgusting that grime from the last guests (or those before them) was covering the bath tub. Tried to wash them off but then water was NOT draining. This was the moment I decided Intercontinental was not remotely close to what I had expected and this was surely the last time I would stay in one of their hotels. I was never a lucky person and would not try my luck with them.

I was less than certain Intercontinental had a problem with the layout of its minibar, or it was again housekeeping, or worse still, both. Tea bags were not placed alongside coffee capsules on the top but hid deep inside one of the drawers with the cups. Had no problem finding them but it seemed to bother the housekeeper. Coffee capsules were refilled but not tea bags.

Noise insulation was another issue that bothered me. Noise was kept from the street but not from inside of the hotel.

I also literally hated their swimming pool. It was the kind for poolside party or Instagram. The least practical for swimming, much worse than the one in Waldorf Astoria which I used to think was bad enough. Again, Intercontinental was the ONLY hotel in Bangkok that I did not revisit the pool after a mere 15-minute stay. Anyone who needs a pool for photos may find it nice though.

Then what I thought was average about Intercontinental - breakfast at Espresso. I believed in full buffet instead of semi buffet. Decent choices here and tasted reasonably good especially the noodle station. I haven’t expected much element of “fineness” for buffet breakfast but even so, there was really none here. Also not so sure about the bread and pastry. Looked unimpressive and tasted equally unpleasant. For banana cakes and coffee cakes, you may want to reduce the serve size by half. And the egg station was not at its best. The most overcooked scrambled egg I ever had. Thai omelette wasn’t as Thai as I have expected. Coffee here was a seriously bad joke. Not prepared by a barista but by a damn coffee machine. Five-star hotel huh?

And location. It was at a perfect spot for me when in this weekend getaway trip I would not travel more than 1 BTS station from Chitlom. I always knew the location suited me well, just didn’t realize it was so good.

Honorable mention - service. Good enough as a five-star hotel, excluding...

Stayed in this hotel for 5 nights. Have tried lots of its competitors over the years, somehow, through lack of imagination I guess we ended up here.

4 rooms , one one them exec grade cost £8500, probably a bit high for the season but it’s a very good location, opposite the Central World Mall with its 800,000 square meters of retail and restaurants and next to the skytrain for direct trips east and west.

The place is really quite disappointing though on a number of levels . There are 4 lifts, shared between guests and staff. One of them usually out of action or commandeered by the concierge, meaning long waits to go up and down. Several minutes at times and squished in with other guests. Laughably there’s a bell hop person stationed in the lobby to press the button for you to fetch the elevators. Except these (smartly dressed) kids were on engrossed on their phones and rarely looked up in time to intercept the incoming guests in that regard.

Decor wise, the lobby is dumbed down Dubai chic and the rooms and corridors the physical embodiment of elevator music. Characterless and inoffensive. Would have been nice if the food was even this good, but we gave up with the hotel breakfast buffet - it was so boring- and tended to go over to the mall for boat noodles mid morning instead. We ate at the Exec Club one morning. The pad Thai had been microwaved. Room service was a write off. That one we returned. How can a ‘global brand’ flagship in the absolute premium centre of the capital in one of the world’s leading food cultures have food that bad!

The rooms were spacious, fitted to a high quality and furniture arranged around the TV and straight out of corporate central casting. The ladies in our group noted the straight lines , bland colours and absence of mirrors to conclude the designer must have been a man. I suspect a committee of male middle managers were to blame, as is the way of these large organisations.

The roof top lounge was deserted when we looked in so didn’t try again. The pool area is ok (although on floor 37, not 36 as labelled in the lift). It’s a strangely sterile set up though, with lots of hard surfaces and concrete, broken by a few populated beds of planting obscuring the water from lounging guests. . One high point of the stay was up here though - the barman made a delightful freshly blended mango smoothie for me in evening just before it was closing (at 10pm). Absolute treat, put the man in charge!

Another notable feature is the gym which is really very good indeed. Super well equipped with modern gear, a boxing ring and Muay Thai training for the young and brave. The exercise bike on the far end of the cardio suite had the best view in Bangkok pretty much, over the Royal Bangkok Sports club golf course towards the Mahanakhon - the ‘Minecraft building’ as the kids used to call it.

Would not go back here, so many better places to chose from. On a jog Lumpini park one morning I noticed that the Regus has been bought out and is currently being refurbished. Might be worth a try . The top floor maisonette above that place has been the most expense condo for sale in Bangkok for the last few years. Maybe when the works are complete they’ll be able to finally sell. Favourite around here remains the smaller Waldorf with Rosewood a...

InterContinental Bangkok Stay: April 14–19, 2025 Booking: 5-night points redemption Status: Diamond Elite + Lounge Access Room booked: Classic Room (upgraded with CSU to Junior Suite)

We arrived at the hotel during a busy festival period. It was quite chaotic, and we had to unload our luggage ourselves because the staff was assisting the car in front of us. However, once a staff member saw us, they quickly came over to help and provided luggage tags.

The main lobby was very crowded. After getting our queue number, we were escorted to the Club Lounge for check-in, which was much quieter and more relaxing. The staff explained all the benefits of our stay clearly and thoroughly.

We had requested a high-floor room, but were assigned one on the 18th floor, which unfortunately had no view — quite disappointing for a “high floor” request.

The Junior Suite was well-designed, with a separate living room and bedroom divided by a door. The living room had a sofa and TV, and there was another TV in the bedroom. I personally really liked this layout — it was much better than the Premium Room I’d stayed in previously.

There were some fruits and mineral water in the room as part of the elite welcome amenities, but no welcome card. When we got to the room, we found that the Chromecast on the bedroom TV wasn’t working. After reporting it, the Duty Manager called to apologize and explained that the Chromecast unit was missing and no replacement was available. They offered to move the Chromecast from the living room to the bedroom, which was fine since I mainly watch TV in bed. However, this meant the Chromecast in the living room couldn’t be used at all during our 5-night stay. I brought this up again with the Club Lounge staff, hoping for a room change or some form of compensation, but nothing was offered — quite disappointing.

Breakfast at the Club Lounge was excellent. They offered steak cooked to order, which was delicious, and a well-prepared salmon bento. I had tried the main restaurant (Espresso) for breakfast during a previous visit — it was also good and consistent with expectations for a hotel of this class.

Afternoon Tea was served as a set. The items were tasty, and the scones were warm and soft — very enjoyable overall.

Evening Cocktails featured a menu of small plates you could order repeatedly. The selection changed daily, and everything tasted great. Since I don’t drink alcohol, I went with the two available mocktails — both were sweet and pleasant.

One ongoing issue was the mineral water benefit. I only received it on the first night of the stay, even though it should have been replenished daily. I had mentioned this in a previous visit (when I didn’t receive any), and although I got mineral water the first night this time, it was not restocked on the remaining nights.

The Club Lounge staff were generally professional, though not particularly warm. However, one staff member (whose name I didn’t catch) stood out — they recognized me from a previous stay, were very friendly, and even gave me a small farewell gift upon checkout. That gesture left a strong...