Staying at The Sukhothai Hotel, Bangkok
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The Sukhothai is considered one of the best hotels not only in Bangkok, but also the world - how does it measure up?
Spent last weekend staying at The Sukhothai hotel in Bangkok as a special birthday treat for my girlfriend. The Sukhothai bills itself as one of "The world's leading hotels" and certainly it has a distinct regal opulence to it. For such a large hotel, the Sukhothai feels quite intimate, thanks to being split up over several distinct buildings within its grounds off Sathorn Road. The interior is a mix of Thai and Khmer influenced architecture, with lots of statues and artifacts, both real and replica, from the Angkor Empire, tastefully scattered along the corridors and lobbies.
We had a Superior Room, pretty much the cheapest one you can get, which overlooked one of the very pretty formal gardens. The room is quite small but uses its space well. The bathroom is beautiful with lots of wood and marble, huge wall mirror, a well appointed bathtub and a separate shower stall with excellent, full power shower. The bed was divine, quite soft mattress, huge pillows - easy to fall asleep and very difficult to leave in the morning.
As such, the Sukhothai room fulfilled the most essential things I like in a hotel room - good bed and good shower. The only criticisms I have are that you had to pay for internet access - 700 Baht a day! - which is ridiculous for a business-class hotel where you're already paying $200 a night, and that the super slinky Bang and Olufsen television had dreadful staticy sound - we didn't watch much TV, so I didn't bother to complain about that. There's no DVD player provided in the Superior Room either, which seems a bit tight.
Breakfast was excellent and included in the room price, although make sure you check that's the case if you make a booking yourself. The Colonnade restaurant is a high vaulted dining space with a sumptuous buffet breakfast with pretty much everything you could want. If you can get one of the window seats overlooking the pond, it's pretty much perfect, especially as there are plenty of newspapers to hand too.
There is a large swimming pool with plenty of sun loungers at the hotel too, although they seem a bit cramped together. We didn't try the La Scala or award winning Celadon Thai Restaurants, the latter of which is in a separate building to the main hotel as it looked a bit too formal for our tastes. Indeed, Sukhothai has a definite "old money" feel to it - it is elegant but also a bit stuffy feeling rather than an "old world" atmosphere. That said, the staff are truly impressive - very friendly, polite and unobtrusive and with an excellent command of English from the concierge to the bellboy.
As such, I can only recommend The Sukhothai if you like more formal luxury hotels. While it is expensive for Bangkok, it's comparatively cheap compared to what $200 US a night would get you in London. I still want to go and stay at The Oriental, or at least go and have a wander around its public areas - the Oriental is more of a Bangkok institution rather than just a hotel.
If you're looking for hotels in Sukhothai, Thailand - Sukhothai being the birth of Thai civilisation - then take a look at my article about Sukhothai and the amazing temples you can see there.
You might also want to see my review of the Anantara Golden Triangle luxury hotel that I visited for my birthday last year.
Other Travelhappy stories of interest:
- Sukhothai In 1981
- Bangkok Hotels: The Davis Bangkok
- Hotel Review: Saint Gregory’s Hotel, Shoreditch, London
- Finding Bangkok’s Best Hotel Prices
- Chiang Mai Boutique Hotels
