Akara Bangkok — Hotel in Thanon Phaya Thai Subdistrict

My take on this hotel is a bit of a mixed bag.

Let's start with the positives – the room is a steal for its price. It's elegant and beautiful, their images on their site don't do it justice. One of the best rooms I've had in years, despite its size. Just sitting in there made me so comfortable that I found myself reaching out to the lobby to extend my stay. It offers everything I wish for in a hotel and more, with impressive design and a bathtub that's simply top-notch.

While we skipped breakfast, our lunch at Ross was a game-changer. We had The beef curry (Gaeng-Ra-Waeng-Nue แกงระแวงเนื้อ) and fried prawn with tamarind sauce . And let me tell you, they were surprisingly authentic and downright delicious. It's like they haven't compromised the taste for foreign palates at all. As a Thai, I'd confidently say it rivals other famous Thai restaurants, but with the presentation of fine dining. It's a crime that this restaurant isn't as well-known as its neighbors – easily ranking among the best Thai spots (and I've been to a one-star Michelin).

On top of everything, they treated us to a complimentary serving of Mango and sticky rice as part of their promotion. The fact that this entire meal was nearly the same cost as the breakfast left me pleasantly astonished. What a fantastic choice we made.

Now, onto the hiccups – the service.

The staff is not bad or mean; they have a service mindset and are somewhat helpful. However, not all of them exude professionalism, and issues stemming from being understaffed and undertrained are glaring. Doorman is not always present, and no one offered to take my luggage to the room, which is unusual for a 5-star hotel.

Communication is another puzzle. Some speak English well, some barely, some can manage Thai, and others struggle. It's a guessing game.

For instance, the staff at Ross seemed bewildered, as if they'd never had a lunch guest. Instead of a warm welcome or a professional introduction, they appeared panicked and had someone ask me what I wanted in a casual Thai manner that left me confused (though he was polite and friendly).

It feels like the hotel excels at routine tasks but struggles with unusual situations, and the language barrier adds an extra layer of challenge. I had to ask twice for almost everything – at the lounge, requesting two glasses resulted in the staff pointing to an empty tray. When asking for a razor and cotton, I received two cotton pads with no razor.

On the unprofessional side, a waiter at Ross repeatedly glanced at my girlfriend during lunch by repeatedly poking his head out, even setting up the same table behind us ...TWICE in an empty restaurant. While it may be an attempt to check if we need assistance, it does come off as a bit odd.

In conclusion, the hotel has its quirks that I find less than professional. Yet, I love the room and hope they invest more in staff training to make this place perfect.

P.S. I almost forgot to mention the location – it's great, close to ARL and walkable to BTS. However, the real gem of this location is the nearby cafe, "Grey Ray." The coffee there is absolutely divine, and there's this big, nonchalant orange cat named "Audrey." I think it's a must-visit for every guest. I felt sad that I didn't have time to visit...

Our weekend getaway started with a re-timed flight by Scoot which strangely works out to our advantage. We chose this hotel due to it's convenience from the airport. It's located near the Airport Rail Line which makes it very convenient to get to if you are flying into Suvarnabhumi. The cost of the train ride is 40baht. You alight at Ratchaprarop station, second last stop for the line. The walk is about 5 mins and the route is generally flat with the more challenging steps as you leave the train station. You should take the lift once you exit the gantry. There are tuktuk and motorbikes available if you would not like to walk.

Although convenient, access to nearby shopping areas need some walking which is a downer. However Grab is readily available and right in front of the hotel there's a turn for vehicles to come directly into the hotel drive way. Generally a walk to Platinum Fashion Mall is about 1.3KM. But from there you can take the "bridges" to nearby shopping area like Siam, Paragon, Central World etc.

Hotel staff are generally very helpful and polite. They require a 1000baht deposit upon check-in and will refund when you check-out after room inspection. There's a rooftop bar and restaurant in the hotel but we didn't try. The mini bar is well stock with snacks and they have some wines and beers available. If you wish to purchase more there's a 7-11 convenient store a few steps away. There's a kettle for you to boil water as well as a coffee maker. There are two robes provided and some hangers for your clothes. I didn't see an iron and we didn't need one either. The hairdryer is located in a drawer in the vanity area. A digital scale is provided under the sink.

The wifi is good throughout our stay and we can connect multiple devices. The power plug are all local connection so bring your adapter if your plug is different configuration than Thailand's. To keep the electricity you have to insert your room access card into the slot by the door. Most of the control can be done via the control panel next to the bed.

Room is brightly lighted and there's a control station at the night stand for you to control the Air condition, lights and TV. The bathroom is connected to the bed room by a pane of glass. The toilet on the other hand is located separately which makes it a bit weird when you want to wash your hands after you have visited the toilet. The shower has a circular tub which makes it nice but it's quite high and you will have to step over the edge to get in for your shower. Remember to put in the rub floor mat to prevent slipping. The vanity lights are located separately from the main control by a switch near the mirror. There's a handheld shower head and there's a rain style. Hot water and water pressure are both good. Toilet flush is too brief in my opinion and you have to hold down the button in order to get a good flush.

All in all a good place to stay.. relatively safe and away from the main buzzing streets if you don't mind walking to...

The Akara Hotel is a beautiful place. For the price we paid (about $75 a night) we were expecting a low level hotel that didn’t match the pictures online. On the contrary, it is exactly as described! Beautiful, clean, modern, with a fabulous rooftop pool and gorgeous furnishings. It felt first class all the way! We didn’t get to experience their afternoon tea (unfortunately) but we did get the free breakfast which was excellent! The location is easy to get to from the airport - the train stops right around the corner - but it’s about 20 minutes from the old town, mostly due to the crazy Bangkok traffic. Our room was comfortable and clean, with a great A/C and good space for your stuff.

Customer service was good - they were friendly and willing to help, but didn’t always understand exactly what we were asking and didn’t know some basic things we were surprised about. For example, we needed help getting to a bike tour downtown, and they seemed very confused and unsure about how we could get there. I would think a hotel would get that question a lot and have transportation options on hand, especially in Bangkok which is notorious for crazy traffic. But they definitely tried to help.

While our room was super modern, clean, and comfortable, there were a couple of issues you should be aware of that were strange for such a modern accommodation. First, all of the lighting in the room is controlled by a tablet, which is cool but was NOT convenient.You have to go over to the tablet to turn ANY lights on or off. That’s hard in the middle of the night or if you are on the other side of the bed. The bed reading lights only turned on with other lights (making them pointless) and you couldn’t turn on individual lights because they had presets. It was weird.

Additionally, charging was a problem. When you turn off the lights to go to bed, it would turn off the outlets by the bed so you couldn’t charge overnight. There was only ONE outlet in the room that worked for us to charge at night- over by the desk. And ALL the outlets turn off when you leave the room, meaning you cannot charge while you are gone. This is a MAJOR issue and made us have to plan our charging schedule carefully. HINT: Unplug the refrigerator and use that outlet when you leave the room - it stays on.

Finally, while the bathroom was very pretty, it was not very functional. There is NO counter space at all to put your toiletries or toiletry bag - I had to keep mine out in the entryway. There isn’t even a shelf in the shower to put a razor or shampoo bottles - super weird. Plus, when you shower it goes EVERYWHERE. An open shower is not a new concept, but this designer should be fired. I mean, the floor got covered with water all the way past the toilet, and don’t put your towel on the toilet seat because it will get sprayed wet.

Other than those issues, we had a great experience there, and would recommend the hotel as a clean, modern, convenient...