Shangri-La Bangkok

“An Oasis in Bangkok by the river”

From the moment we stepped out of our taxi, we were greeted by Alex, who immediately made us feel like we had arrived home. We did quite a bit of research before we chose the Shangri-la as this hotel is more expensive than what we would normally book, but WOW, it was worth it. I had mentioned tha… more

From the moment we stepped out of our taxi, we were greeted by Alex, who immediately made us feel like we had arrived home. We did quite a bit of research before we chose the Shangri-la as this hotel is more expensive than what we would normally book, but WOW, it was worth it. I had mentioned that this was a present for my wife's birthday, and I even tried to upgrade our room through their bidding process, but unfortunately I was informed that the upgrade room had sold out and was unavailable. We checked in and when we got to our room we realised that we had been upgraded at no extra cost. On top of that, Happy Birthday was playing on the TV and I birthday cake with a note wishing my wife happy birthday was in the room. The service here is impeccable and the staff trained to a very high level. The breakfast is sensational and to be able to sit by the river each morning for a wonderful view of the busy Chao Phraya was the cherry on the cake. Shangri-la, you surpassed all our hopes and expectations It will be difficult to even think of staying anywhere else next time we come to Bangkok. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you

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“Excellent service”

Our experience is that delivering service in normal situations is easy even for a 2 star hotel. (Not to say that everybody passes the test.) It’s in the special situations you can judge the real quality of the hotel. Unfortunately, we got the chance to test Shangri-La in such a situation. My wife g… more

Our experience is that delivering service in normal situations is easy even for a 2 star hotel. (Not to say that everybody passes the test.) It’s in the special situations you can judge the real quality of the hotel. Unfortunately, we got the chance to test Shangri-La in such a situation. My wife got sick a few hours after our check in for a 2 nights stay which ended up being more than 2 weeks. Reception helped to get a doctor who decided to bring my wife to the hospital. In the following days reception and concierge helped to make my life as easy as possible. However, the reason for the 5 stars is the treatment we enjoyed, in the week after my wife was dismissed. Everybody from pool attendants over bell-boys, receptionists and housekeeping to the staff at the breakfast restaurant did their outmost to help us. It is not fair to mention names of employees as the staff in general apparently has a clear understanding of what excellent service implies. However, with Somsak, Chief Steward we will make an exception. He was an invaluable friend every morning helping a.o. to bring breakfast to the table, as my wife couldn’t walk. He was one of the many employees that made us relax and enjoy the extra time we did spend in Shangri-La due to illness,

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“Pleasant stay at the Shangri -La, Krungthep wing”

I had read some negative reviews which made me hesitant to reserve a room in the Krungthep wing. I'm glad that I wasn't swayed by those reviews. We spent five nights in the Krungthep wing. We specifically wanted a river view and as I prefer not to stay in hotel rooms with constant air conditioning… more

I had read some negative reviews which made me hesitant to reserve a room in the Krungthep wing. I'm glad that I wasn't swayed by those reviews. We spent five nights in the Krungthep wing. We specifically wanted a river view and as I prefer not to stay in hotel rooms with constant air conditioning and windows that don’t open, I booked a Krungthep Wing River View with balcony. We made much use of the balcony watching the ferries and barges go by and viewing the beautiful colours in the sky at sunset. The balcony room offered fabulous river views in both directions. The Krungthep wing is located right next to the Sathorn Pier and Saphan Taksin station for the BTS SkyTrain train. It is less than a five-minute walk away. On arrival, be sure to direct your driver to the correct hotel wing as, by road, it is quite a distance to walk between the two buildings. However, one can walk between the two wings in less than two minutes along the river past the pool and spa. There were few people staying in the Krungthep wing. We didn’t once wait for a lift and the lobby was quiet and peaceful. Checking in and out was a pleasure with no queuing. The concierge was helpful, he answered our questions, offered advice and booked taxis and Grab for us. The Krungthep wing does feel older than the Shangri-La wing and the decor is dated. The decor is traditional with a Thai influence. If your preference is for modern, stark and sparklingly new this hotel will not be for you. The room was spacious. The bed, with firm mattress, was very comfortable. Both the room and bathroom were meticulously clean. The bathroom, with large bath, was well equipped with all expected amenities and the shower had good water pressure. There is a retractable clothes line above the bath and an iron and ironing board in the large wardrobe. The Wi-Fi was reliable, fast and stable. There were no wall sockets next to the bed but the wall above the writing desk had two sockets: a 220-vault socket (with a USB charger) and a 110-vault socket. We used type F (Europe) adapters to connect our Australian appliances. (Confusingly, when packing, we discovered that some of our type F adaptors had pins which were slightly smaller - hardly noticeable - in diameter then the others. We packed both types. The ones with the smaller pins were useless as they kept falling out of the socket.) There was also a three-pronged socket at the coffee station which may be a type G plug. The Krungthep wing has a much nicer pool for swimming. The service at the pool was a little slow but I think that was because the drinks and food had to be collected from the Shangri-La wing which was quite busy. The atmosphere around the pool was quiet and relaxed with ample loungers. It was a pleasure to lie beside the pool while watching the boats and ferries pass by. Directly behind the hotel is a side street with a 7-eleven. There is also a food court and a small mall with a Starbucks. We enjoyed our visit and I would happily book accommodation in the Krungthep Wing again.

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“Well located hotel for the sights of Bangkok”

This was our 2nd hotel in Bangkok during our Thailand adventure. The location was excellent, right beside the river, with a shuttle boat to take you across if you wanted. Also very close to the rail system and hop on hop off boats, which is a good way of sightseeing. The staff in the hotel were ve… more

This was our 2nd hotel in Bangkok during our Thailand adventure. The location was excellent, right beside the river, with a shuttle boat to take you across if you wanted. Also very close to the rail system and hop on hop off boats, which is a good way of sightseeing. The staff in the hotel were very friendly and welcoming, but the overall feel of the hotel was lacking the personal touch and had a very corporate feel about it. Our room was on the Club Level, which I would recommend, this enables you to have a more relaxed breakfast in the Club Lounge and canapés with drinks in the afternoon. You also get some fantastic views from these rooms.

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