Furama Silom — Hotel in Si Lom Subdistrict

Conveniently located in the middle of Silom Rd with a 7/11 and a bus stop right next door. 12 minutes walk to what remained of the former Patpong night market (only half the size now) and the infamous redlight destrict. No BTS (sky train) here (walk 10 minutes to the next station). Big hotel on 19 floors with a rooftop pool on the 20th floor. Need to walk up steep stairs one floor from the 19th-20th. They fill most of their rooftop space with a bar and tables and have only about 14 sunchairs squeezed for the entire hotel (always occupied when the hotel is busy) and of those few sunchair some are placed so squeezed in a tiny corner that you can't even move them. Apart from that they are quite uncomfortable to lie on. Huge unused space on the back side of the rooftop bar but they wouldn't put sunchairs there (and you can't take them there yourself as they are too heavy and the number of provided sunchairs too little plus again some stairs there. Reception area and lobby are very unspectacular (you enter in a garage entrance). Reception staff is mostly unfriendly and not helpful at all (really worst reception work mentality I have met in all over Thailand). Whatever extra you ask, answer in 99% of cases is "No, we can't". Hardly a friendly welcome at all, hardly a friendly smile, no goodbye thank you come again... literally they give a ** if you're there and satisfied or not. Don't forget to ask back your 1000THB cash deposit upon departure. Lots of Chinese and Indian customers. Rooms are different according to category, quite big in size and really big beds. Nice bathrooms. Safetybox is big enough for Laptob computer and little fridge does a good job. Rooms (at least deluxe category that is bigger in size and more expensive) do have VERY dirty, disgusting old carpets (hardly a single room has a carpet without lots of spots and although housekeeping do have vacuum cleaners, they don't clean properly (probably not enough time given per room or bad vaccuum cleaners (?) - however you'll always find a lot of dirt on the carpet easily). We had some uninvited guests (bugs) in the room (ideal for them as they can hide in the carpet and find plenty of food there) but luckily they were friendly and not stinging afterall. Rooms do have a balcony but for some years they now are always closed by key so you can't use your balcony or even just open the balcony door to get some fresh air in which really is veeery annoying (what good is a balcony that is always closed?!?). Don't even try to ask reception to open the balcony door (you know the standart answer... and housekeeping claims not to have keys for it) even if you travel without kids. Very spacious shower. Friendly cleaning staff (tipping helps for extras here). Loud aircon but adjustable and you can turn it off. Even their blackout curtains won't really make the room dark dark. But that doesn't matter as talking, laughing or partying neighbours next door or screaming kids running up and down the corridor will wake you up in the morning anyway (especially if you're anywhere close to the only 2 elevators). And if they don't, housekeeping will do the job (chatting and laughing loudly in the corridor). Curtains and windows are very old and dirty. Furniture is mostly old and it shows (at least they now replaced some of their completly damaged old office chairs at least in some rooms now). Breakfast is ok but nothing spectacular nor in quality or variation neither in presentation. Huge breakfast room, gets busy and loud easily. All in all nowhere close to a 4 star hotel except for the size of rooms and beds. Why do you book it? Because they sometimes have reasonable prices (but may rise to ridiculous during peak events like new year...

The stay at Furama Silom started with a glimmer of hope. The check-in was fast. But the moment we opened the door to our room, that hope diminished. The room resembled an old, neglected guesthouse. I understand the building's age, but the state of the room was shocking,completely outdated, unloved, and unkempt. The nightmare truly began with the shower window. Imagine sharing a room with family, friends, or a partner, only to find a window in the shower with no cover, no blind nothing. Privacy? Nonexistent. It was as if the room was designed to strip away comfort .But that wasn’t the end of it. The bin was rusted and broken. The bed sheet was not just torn but stained with blood. Blood. I couldn’t believe my eyes.

We were moved to Room 820 on the 8th floor the next day. At first, it seemed like a fresh start. But the view quickly shattered. The bathrooms were confined, and the housekeeping didn't even seem to exist. The bed remained untouched, the bathroom uncleanead one night, the air conditioning made sounds. It was only on the third night that this issue was fixed. The view from the room was supposed to be a redeeming feature, but the thick layer of dust over everything reminded us that beauty here was only surface deep. Housekeeping was nothing short of a disaster. Breakfast offered a small respite. The food was decent, perhaps better than in some other 4-star hotels. But the bakery selection was scarce, and by 9:30, most items were gone. At precisely 10:00, the staff began closing the breakfast area. There were still five tables of guests eating, but that didn’t matter. Staff members began snatching up dishes and utensils, showing no regard for the guests. When we asked, they coldly responded, “It’s 10. We have to close.” It was, without a doubt, the most absurd service I had ever encountered.

The hotel’s location didn’t help. Situated next to the hotel was an old Chinese graveyard, the walk to the BTS station was over 15 minutes.However, nearby was Park Silom, which offered an escape from our hotel ordeal. One incident, in particular, left us speechless. With five people in our family, we were initially informed that four could eat breakfast in the family room. But a new staff member began arguing that only three were allowed. Even though That morning, one of us didn’t even eat, making her argument not just wrong but entirely pointless, but at least she eventually stopped. Because the chaos, a kind head chef, who had worked at the hotel for over 30 years, offered us more bread and even mentioned that the staff who argued with us would face punishment. We declined. We weren’t looking to get anyone in trouble,we just wanted a decent experience.

The rooftop pool was the best, At night, it offered a moment of peace. But even there, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the whole place needed a deep clean.Furama Silom left us with more than just a bad experience. It's not the same as it was in 2020 everything has changed the hotel is no longer good like how it...

Been staying here in and out for nearly 15 years.

This hotel doesn’t represent Thai hospitality.

The good: Rooms are pretty decent in size. Some are old, some are newer. But not too bad. Rooftop has a good view and pool. Price, quite reasonable given the location and amenities. Location: quite central. easy to get about even by walk. Nice area. Also, there was one member of staff named Julia in my very recent stay who was nice to offer me a room at early check-in since I arrived early. Every trip to Bkk has been early due to flight time being such. Never have I got an early check in. Have to wait till 1-2 pm. And for the first time in 15 years I was able to get a room early check-in. So, thank you Julia for being there that one time. Although, late check out is impossible! Don’t even think about it. Unless you pay extra. Not even a minute, even if the hotel was empty and had no following reservations.

The bad:

I’ll start with breakfast. It has been the very same menu or theme for the last 15 years. No much change. It’s a very boring spread. I suggest you skip breakfast and eat out.

The service! Absolutely terrible service. Usually you’d expect friendly hospitable service from the Thai. But… here… horrendous. Front desk has some ladies, I don’t want to mention names. Might affect their jobs. they aren’t friendly nor courteous. extremely rude! If good service from front desk is what you expect, this isn’t the hotel for you. Room service is staff is not bad. Bellboys aren’t bad too.

Somehow, I never had the feeling that I stay at a ‘hotel’ due to this poor service from front desk. It feels like some ‘boarding school’!

For example, my room was on the 16th floor and at the very end. with elevators being busy, it’s at least a 3-5 minute commute. I was at the lobby waiting for my taxi which was arriving in a minute. I asked the reception if I could have a water bottle.(now I know there are water bottles in a storage room beside the reception lobby) the front desk said that they can’t give me any water bottles. And if I do need I have to go up to my room and get one. It’s just a water bottle!! I didn’t have the time with my taxi arriving soon. It’s quicker for me to go to the convenience store next door and get one paying 7-10 bhat. Which I did!

Conclusion : Should you stay here? Well, if you aren’t too keen on service. And if room/location/price is okay with you. then, this is the place for you. If you really want to enjoy Bangkok and Thailand, and if hotel services do matter, you should stay elsewhere.

Staying here for 15 years, will I continue staying here in the future? probably not. There are a few better options nearby which I cannot mention here. That water bottle incident really ticked me off. And many other incidents...