Westin Grande Sukhumvit Bangkok, the location is there the rest less so

Sukhumvit is the heart of Bangkok's nightlife, or rather was, since in this post-pandemic world many things are not what they used to be.

The tourist development of hotels in the 1950s started here and then expanded to the rest of the megalopolis. This structure is not 70 years old, but definitely, compared to other Marriott properties, it is very old and the flaws are all visible.

Reservation

As I have already had occasion to say in all my other reviews of hotels in the capital of Thailand, prices are very low, using stitches in these situations is always possible but not recommended since the conversion rate would not be the best.

In addition, one of the rare Bonvoy promotions was in place. which allowed you to accumulate many bonus points for each stay, as well as qualifying double nights. I personally took advantage of this promo to get for the first time Platinum Elite status In Marriott's loyalty program.

In this trip of mine to Bangkok I tried three different facilities, all from the Marriott group. First the W Hotel, then this Westin and finally the nearby Aloft.

The location

This hotel is on the central artery of the city, Probably the busiest road in all of Thailand, but it is also the one that houses dozens and dozens of hotels and major shopping malls that are connected to the BTS (it runs exactly above this road).

In this case, the hotel does not have a connecting bridge, but you have to exit and walk up the flight of stairs to get to the turnstiles of the LRT.

Check-in

As is often the case in these large facilities, the reception desk is not on the ground floor, but on the seventh. In fact, on the street level there are only the doormen who take charge of luggage and a sort of waiting room to shelter from the heat when waiting for a cab or a grab, the local version of Uber.

If you move to Asia, Grab is a must-have app, How Uber does everything and more. It allows you to book a cab, order food, even pay for everything by linking it to your credit card.

The elevator leaves goes directly to the floor, here in addition to the reception, there are the bar and two of the 4 restaurants inside the hotel.

Quick procedures and to my surprise, since with Marriott's Gold level you don't get treated as with the Gold from Hilton, I have Received a free upgrade to a room of a higher level.

The room

My room was on the 20th floor, out of 30. The room was large, there is hardly a shortage of space in these hotels; however, you could see that it was from the early 2000s at best and that, like everything else in the facility, it needs revamping.

In the room, the equipment is standard, but significantly lower than what is offered at W Bangkok or in other dhe Marriott family in the area. The difference is all in the location. One is on the road, several kilometers long, where the heart of the city flows. Temples, markets, and other tourist spots are not here, but everything else is there or within walking distance (assuming it is not too hot).

The bathroom also shows its years, as does the rest of the facility.

The only nod to modernity was the home automation with which some room functions could be managed.

One thing, however, is a reminder that we are in a high-end facility and especially in Asia: the room is tidied up in the afternoon. The mid-day staff handover is a thing now gone in almost all chains, even some of the more luxurious ones. The same happens on cruises where it used to be a custom but now, unless you sail in suites, it is a distant memory.

The view was not an added value to this room either.

Services

It is a famous location for weddings; in fact, in the two days of my stay there were two parties.

Nothing to disturb the quiet of the guests, except that the restaurant in the roof top "Altitude" and the large hall on the lobby floor were dedicated to these two private ceremonies.

There is a gym, it is not large but there is always a personal trainer available to guests. As small (and sad) is the swimming pool.

On the walls are photos of the pre-Covid world, when they still had pool parties and the night was the real star of this area of Bangkok.

Also on the seventh floor are the main bar, the breakfast (and Sunday brunch) restaurant, and a floor above is a third Japanese restaurant. Unfortunately, I was unable to sample the breakfast because the first morning I woke up that the service was already over, and the second morning I was leaving very early and the service had not yet started.

In conclusion

This Westin is a flagship of the Marriott group in Bangkok; however, it needs to upgrade because the area offers so many more modern and more style-conscious 2020s-era facilities. Of course, price also matters, but there are hotels with similar prices that allow you to stay in a much cooler and more attractive facility than this one.

This is just one of many reviews you can read on our site. Every Wednesday we publish a review of a lounge airport, while every Friday you can read the review of one of our flights or a hotel where we stayed.

The verdict

This facility does not reach a sufficiency, because otherwise I would have to raise all the Bangkok hotels I have already reviewed of the same category by at least one point. Everything is too old, pool sad, and even the rest of the facilities are not cheerful anymore. Of course I did not try the cuisine and that may have hurt the final rating. The location is okay, but there are plenty of alternative and definitely better quality facilities in the area.

5.5

Pro

• The position

Against

• All too old