Rosewood Bangkok — Hotel in Lumphini Subdistrict

I stayed in an Executive room at Rosewood Bangkok and overall I was pleased with the quality of the hardware which I would consider to be among the best in the city. Food & beverage was also reasonably good, and so was service. That said it did not stand head and shoulders above luxury hotels from big chains such as Park Hyatt, Waldorf Astoria, and St.Regis which are all far more generous with room upgrades to elite members of loyalty programs so I doubt I will become a regular at Rosewood for the time being. However I could recommend Rosewood to a solo business traveler who wants top luxury, does not care too much about extra space, and who is not worried about loyalty programs.

The Executive room was 42 square meters which is not very small, but also not overly impressive for luxury standards either. In that regard it falls short of the rooms at StR, WA, and PH, where the majority of standard rooms are 50+ sqm. The views were nice but privacy was questionable as we could see the balcony or window of buildings nearby quite well so it left me wondering how easily we could be seen in our own room from those buildings.

There were several luxury features in the room which made it one of the best I have seen in Bangkok, for example the Dyson hairdryer, the custom-made bathroom amenities from La Bottega, the quality of the furniture in the room in general, the Frette slippers and bathrobes, the thick and heavy glass doors in the shower and toilet, heck even the metallic hotel branded remote control of the TV was not what you would find in a normal hotel room. That said the room was not perfect, for example in the bathroom the trays below the sinks were quite shaky and cheap, the wall above the bed has started to crack, and unfortunately no Toto toilet in the room we had. I also wish the shiny hardwood floors were more prevalent in the room – there was a bit too much carpet especially in the living area, and also in the bedroom the carpet extended all the way to the window unlike some hotels where the carpet is limited to an area around the bed only.

Another luxury feature of the hotel was wifi which was the fastest of any hotel I have stayed worldwide, even exceeding the top notch hotels in Seoul. I clocked download speeds of 350-450 Mbps and upload of about 350 Mbps.

Breakfast was available either in the restaurant or as in-room dining; it was great to have the choice. However I found the menu to be quite limited and would get boring quickly for a long stay. In addition the options were not overly luxurious except perhaps the fruits which were varied. In my opinion the a la carte menu at Park Hyatt is significantly superior to Rosewood, and there are several other breakfasts which I would also pick before Rosewood for example 137 Pillars, Waldorf Astoria, Capella, The Siam, and Sukhothai. One impressive feature of breakfast at Rosewood was not the food itself, but it was the upscale chinaware.

I stopped by Lennon’s bar one evening and had a good time. I rarely see free flow drinks at hotels of this caliber; they currently have unlimited drinks for 1500 THB between 6-8pm at the moment, which included cocktails. While overall the bar was quite good, it’s not at the level of the riverside luxury hotels (Bamboo Bar at Mandarin Oriental, BKK Social Club at Four Seasons, Stella at Capella) and in terms of indoor city hotel bars I would also rank the Champagne Bar at Waldorf ahead of Lennon’s, but otherwise maybe my second favorite for indoors city center hotel bars in Bangkok.

Overall our stay was solid, however in a city with so much competition it’s unlikely Rosewood will take over my other preferred choices. It might be somewhat unfair to Rosewood to expect a generous upgrade as a first-time guest while being a repeat guest at other properties but I do not think upgrades are in Rosewood’s DNA. That said I will not be opposed to returning to Rosewood in the future to see how they treat...

Rosewood Bangkok - A Remarkable stay with an equally Remarkable and Phenomenal staff!

I am often reluctant to use superlatives when reviewing a hotel stay as they usually tend to be mere exaggerations of a simpler truth, but if any hotel review merits such use, it is definitely Rosewood Bangkok. In fact, it would be a disservice not to use superlatives here. We had a truly remarkable stay with an equally remarkable and phenomenal staff who delivered unparalleled and near perfect customer service! That remarkable service was pervasive throughout the property - from the Managing Director, Ms. Sandra Watermann to the room attendant, Mr. Toey!

At check-in we were greeted by the staff with the ubiquitous and inviting smile that Thailand is so well known for, accompanied by the sincerity and warmth of Ms. Nenny, who checked us in. The entire process was relaxed as well as being incredibly professional, with Ms. Nenny escorting us to a stunningly immaculate and gorgeous room! Throughout our stay, Ms. Nenny, along with her colleague, Ms. Bee were never more than a phone call away to assist us with any inquiry or need that we had.

Although breakfast was always a wonderful and delectably elegant experience, of notable mention was the appearance of Ms. Sandra Watermann, who on several different occasions personally greeted us and enquired as to how our stay was going. That was an amazingly simple, yet important and often overlooked gesture from the head of the hotel that truly made us feel welcome. We were also greeted daily by the Sous Chef, Mr. Frank; again, a testament to the hotel’s concern for ensuring that the guest experience is nothing short of incredible. Our breakfast attendants were all equally first-class professionals, and included, among others, Ms. Sara and Ms. Oi. Another exemplary employee was our dinner attendant, Ms. Aom - always helping with a sunny disposition. They were all attentive, all easily accessible and all eager to serve and answer any queries we had.

Mr. Toey, our room attendant, is the definition of a superb service professional - always patient, always kind, always meticulous, always ready to please.

The end of our stay was just as impressive, if not more so, than the beginning. We were greeted again by the Managing Director, Ms. Watrermann, who, although completely unnecessary, made it a point to offer a helping hand during our check-out and personally escort us downstairs to the hotel entrance. Another striking example of excellence and true leadership! It is often said that leaders lead by example. This has never been more true and more apparent than in the leadership of Ms. Sandra Watermann. It is obvious that she not only leads by words but by actually getting out there and doing what she advises her team to do. To paraphrase a biblical verse, which I believe is applicable here, ‘Whoever would be great among you, let him [or her] serve you.’

As I mentioned at the beginning of my review, the entire staff of Rosewood Bangkok delivered unparalleled and phenomenal customer service. This in turn helped to make our stay an unforgettable and an outstanding one! I continue to be impressed by the results of the excellent leadership of Ms. Watermann. As Epictetus once said "Make it your business to draw out the best in others by being an exemplar yourself." Ms. Watermann and Rosewood have definitely made it their business to draw out the best in their staff; and by extension, to deliver the best customer experience to their guests. Thank you, Rosewood, for a truly...

We decided to stay at the Rosewood Bangkok after hearing much about the hotel, but I was really disappointed with the service during the stay.

1. The house keeping staff were not attentive to your preferences in the room unlike other hotels I stayed in Bangkok. When I placed a toilet mat in front of the toilet as the marble floors were cold, they would remove it every time they made up the room. Other hotels that I have stayed in the house keeping staff would take note of your preferences and leave the mat there.

2. We only had breakfast 1 day out of the 7 days as the spread was mediocre and the service was terrible. They would serve you drink without sugar syrup and when asked for it they will look at you weird as if you are asking for something out of the norm. First breakfast i had at the hotel where the eggs Benedict yolk was semi hard.

3. The location of the hotel is terrible if you were to grab alot in Bangkok or take a cab or tuktuk. The drivers are unfamiliar with this hotel and to get to the hotel main lobby there was always a big round you had to go and would get stuck in a big massive Siam jam. For example if you put your destination as The Okura Prestige (this hotel is directly opposite) you would save 20-30 minutes. Hence although as much as I wanted to Grab most of the time as I did alot of shopping I had to just take the train. Although this hotel had a sky bridge to the train directly there is no hotel staff on the 3rd floor waiting to assist you with your shopping.

4. All my plans in Bangkok had to change as the location of the hotel was not ideal so time was tight for me. What made things worse was when I was already rushing for time and needed a quick shower and change before heading out again, they locked me out of my room. When asked the front desk for assistance they had no sense of urgency.

5. In room dining the food was also mediocre the local food tasted much better than the western food. So if you stay here do take note.

6. When all the staff enters your room they do not take off their shoes at the foyer area, they step all over your room with their foot wear.

After all these had happened they offered a bottle alcohol which i returned. As a hotel and being in the service industry don’t they know that not everyone is comfortable with alcohol? Why assume that everyone enjoys alcohol?

The manager at check out was trying to create conversations and joke about what had happened but if you asked me that just made things worst. Perhaps it is just not the hotel for me.

The only reason why I decided to them a 2 star review instead of 1, they offered a complimentary limousine service to the airport and the Rosewood staff stationed at the airport to help me was helpful. She was great help at the airport.

For a 5 star hotel they are certainly lacking in many areas. Do not get your hopes up high. I feel the staff are not well trained.

I will be sharing my experience with the Amex Fine Hotels and Resorts Team as such a hotel should not be on the list in my opinion.

If you are looking for a true 5 star hotel in Bangkok, stay at The Siam Kempinski Bangkok they will not disappoint.

Best breakfast in Bangkok will be the Waldorf Astoria Bangkok.

If you are looking to stay in the Phloen Chit area The Okura Prestige will be better in terms of service...