Hotel: InterContinental Bangkok
When: January 2024
Status: Platinum Ambassador
Rate: THB ฿6,059/night (IHG 11.11 Flash Sale)
Booked: 1 King Classic High Floor
Received: 1 King Premium Club Lounge Access (one-category upgrade BUT they included the Club access too!)
Big call I know, but this would have to be one of my best hotel stays ever. Really enjoyed it!
I reached out to the hotel via email a few weeks ahead of the trip to get an airport transfer quote, took a while before they responded offering a sky-high rate of THB ฿3,500, or about AUD $150! I went with Welcome Pickups instead, which I have used before in Europe and was a much more reasonable $40.
I then received an email a few days out welcoming me and noting that I would have Club InterContinental access. I wasn't sure if this was just an automated email as in my time as an Ambassador I've never received Club access from an upgrade, but on arrival it turned out to be legit! Arrived at close to 1am due to queues at immigration and the hotel had put my file in a "No Show" folder, but there was no issue and everything was still good to go.
The hotel has just completed a top-to-bottom refurbishment and everything, including the rooms, looks spectacular. My 31st floor room had a plush king bed, lounge by the window and a work desk. Fully stocked mini bar and tea/coffee facilities including Nespresso were also available. In addition to complimentary local bottled water there was a welcome amenity awaiting me, which was a fruit bowl, a bottle of premium water and a plate of sweets. The modern TV included Chromecast and its list of channels was the most impressive I have ever seen; in addition to local channels they had international channels from the US, UK, Australia, France, Germany, China, India, Korea, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman and Kuwait!
The bathroom was spacious, with separate tub and shower. My favourite feature of the bathroom was that the toiletries (standard Bal d'Afrique) were not locked in a holder, I prefer this especially with the lotion as it's so much easier to access and carry to other parts of the room. Two disappointments with the bathroom were that the tiles in the shower came across as a bit slippery and water pressure in the rainfall shower wasn't quite right, so I used the regular showerhead instead.
Club InterContinental benefits include daily breakfast either in the lounge or main restaurant, afternoon high tea and evening coughtails and canapés. Had breakfast in the lounge twice and in the main restaurant once. Both were very different experiences but equally enjoyable. I would say if you want a lighter meal and more refined environment go for the lounge, if you want to try a bit of everything and don't mind the crowds then the breakfast buffet at Espresso is the way to go. If you have a few days, definitely try both! The high tea was lovely, with a high tea set brought around at the start with refills of anything that took your fancy. I was sad I could only make the evening happy hour on one night of my stay because it was excellent! Lounge staff were all really nice and the lounge is open throughout the day, so even outside of meal times you can stop by for a quick snack (fruit, chips etc) or a non-alcoholic beverage.
The hotel location was great for our needs. It is connected to Gaysorn Village shopping centre and from there you can also walk to Big C and Centralworld, Siam Paragon is not far either. There is a BTS station just across the road however given the short stay we only used Grabs, which were cheap and plentiful.
Other hotel facilities included a well-equipped gym and rooftop pool - the pool is spectacular both at day and night as you will see in the pictures! Alongside the pool is the all-day Oasis Pool Bar, the staff there bring towels and complimentary chilled bottled water to your pool chair and provide pool-side drinks service, an excellent way to use up some of your ฿600 Ambassador F&B credit! In terms of other F&B options the hotel has plenty however the only other one I used was the Balcony Lounge in the lobby for a drink. During busier hours they have live music however that had finished when I visited at close to midnight.
A highlight of the hotel would have to be the staff, service managed to be polished but still warm and welcoming. For most of the day they had someone to open the front door and someone in the lift lobby on the ground floor to call the lift for you. Service at restaurants and lounges as well as housekeeping were all really good.
Overall an amazing stay and at just AUD $260/night, unbelievably good value for money. This was my first visit to Bangkok but I'm sure I will be back and I will certainly be returning to the InterContinental!
