During my review trip to Bangkok, I had one night in Bangkok. I ended up booking the Ritz-Carlton Bangkok for my one night stay, as it’s still a new property, having only opened in late 2024. Why did I book it? Well, a variety of reasons — I need a couple more nights to requalify for Marriott Ambassador status, I had a $300 Amex hotel credit to use at an eligible property, and the hotel also looked genuinely nice.
I’ve gotta say, I had a great stay at the Ritz-Carlton Bangkok, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it. Now, Bangkok is an incredible hotel market (Aman, Capella, Four Seasons, etc.), so I don’t think this quite ranks in the city’s top tier of hotels. But it’s still an elegant property with excellent service, and a phenomenal club lounge (which is a bit of a curse in a city like Bangkok).
While I’ll have a full review soon, in this post I’d like to share my initial thoughts.
In this post:
The Ritz-Carlton Bangkok is modern and elegant, with nice rooms
The Ritz-Carlton is located in the One Bangkok development, so the fact that it’s so new means that the hotel feels super modern, while still having an elegant and timeless design.
Funny anecdote — I always photograph hotel public spaces very early in the morning, at 4-5AM, to avoid having people in the pictures. At just about an hotel, I have the lobby to myself at that hour. Man, Bangkok is a special beast, as I’ve never seen so much traffic in a lobby at 5AM. I’ll let you use your imagination, but the elevator at that hour was as busy as you’d expect it to be in the middle of the day.
On a different note, the hotel has a nice outdoor pool, and an expansive gym.
I had booked a club room, and I got an upgraded to a club room with a balcony. I’m so happy I choose to spend $23,000 per year with Marriott, so that I can score these generous $17 upgrades. 😉
In fairness, it’s not like I need a suite when traveling alone, and the room was lovely. The only thing I didn’t think was great was the view — some rooms have views of Lumpini Park, while others… just look straight into a nearby building, though at an angle, you can see the city.
The Ritz-Carlton Bangkok club lounge is great, and that’s a problem
I decided to book a club room for my one night stay. Ritz-Carltons don’t offer free upgrades to the club for elite members, and these lounges are generally very high quality. This club lounge was spectacular. For one, it was a physically beautiful space, with great views.
Half of the reason I love club lounges is because it gives me somewhere other than my room to work from, and how nice of an office “view” is this?
Now, the problem with a club lounge is obvious, especially in a city like Bangkok. Bangkok is an incredible food city, and Ritz-Carlton club lounges have five food presentations per day. It’s basically like an all-inclusive resort. So you really have to do some mental gymnastics to justify the cost.
It’s not worth it if you don’t indulge in the offerings, and at the same time, if you’re just eating in the club lounge the whole time, you’re missing out. But yeah, this is a great lounge, with attentive and kind staff.
Nothing beats Southeast Asian luxury hotel breakfasts
Hotel breakfasts in Southeast Asia and the Middle East really are on a different level. I used to travel to Southeast Asia all the time, though in recent years, I’ve been there a lot less. Breakfasts are just so damn over the top, with everything you could possibly imagine at the main buffet, and then some.
On top of that, there’s an expansive a la carte menu you can supplement the buffet with, and you can order as much as you want. And we’re not just talking about small, pre-plated things, but instead, dishes that are meals in and of themselves.
Bottom line
The Ritz-Carlton Bangkok is an excellent hotel, which I’d absolutely recommend. It’s modern, luxurious, has nicely appointed rooms, and has good amenities, including an incredible club lounge. I’d add three caveats, though.
First, this definitely isn’t the best value luxury Marriott property in Bangkok. It’s the highest priced to begin with, and of course Bonvoy benefits at Ritz-Carlton properties are weak. Second, if you are willing to splurge, there are some hotels that are no doubt a tier above this, like the Capella and Four Seasons. Third, while I don’t think the location is terrible, it’s not great either, and there are definitely more preferable areas to stay in.
So I’m happy I stayed here, and if you’re a Bonvoy loyalist looking for a great luxury property within the portfolio, this is a good option. I tend to not return to the same hotels (since I like to review as many as possible), so I’d put this hotel in the category of being one that I enjoyed, but not one that I need to return to.
What do you make of the Ritz-Carlton Bangkok?
Have to agree Ben, generous elite treatment in the Bonvoy program is such a crap-shoot even at the ambassador level. After our four years of ambassador, it just isn't worth making the extra effort to stay at all the extra Marriotts during the year.
When traveling alone in Bangkok I rely on the great selection of the club lounge spreads. Just too convenient, but I have not encountered one with five presentations! No need to ever leave the hotel.
How much did the club room cost?
@ Mark -- Including taxes and fees, I paid around $650 for the club room, before the $300 Amex credit (so I paid $350 out of pocket).
Hi Ben, thanks for the nice review. I really enjoyed our stay in March as well. We stayed for five nights and were upgraded to the Amaranth Suite, which I believe is the second-highest suite category. After two days, we were also invited to use the club lounge complimentary, which was a lovely surprise. We loved the view from the corner area—right where you took your photo. One minor issue we noticed was the weak...
Hi Ben, thanks for the nice review. I really enjoyed our stay in March as well. We stayed for five nights and were upgraded to the Amaranth Suite, which I believe is the second-highest suite category. After two days, we were also invited to use the club lounge complimentary, which was a lovely surprise. We loved the view from the corner area—right where you took your photo. One minor issue we noticed was the weak noise insulation in the room, which you didn’t mention in your review. Still, we’d love to come back one day!
@ Bushbandit -- Happy to hear you had a great experience! And you're absolutely right about the noise insulation, it's a detail I was going to include in my full review. That was the one issue with the construction, as I saw it.
Looks fantastic and definitely worth a look, but is the toilet door see through and not even frosted glass? That’s going to upset some people!
Yes that would be a hard pass. Plus one side of the bed is just too close to the tub.
Great little preview! You were looking directly at the So/Bangkok Hotel which I love for the views but the Ritz is definitely a solid step up and a good 12? years newer. I heard the bar at the Ritz is top tier but have yet to check it out. Hopefully you didn't get caught up in all the rain and flooding they've been experiencing.
Agree on the Southeast Asia breakfast buffets. Everything thing you can think of for breakfast alone would be on offer, even things you wouldn't even think to have for breakfast!
While I haven't been (only heard by mouth), a lot of folks have mentioned that the former Sofitel in Manila had the best buffet they've ever had. From cheese, to drinks, pretty much everything you could think of.
And the prices are reasonable compared to...
Agree on the Southeast Asia breakfast buffets. Everything thing you can think of for breakfast alone would be on offer, even things you wouldn't even think to have for breakfast!
While I haven't been (only heard by mouth), a lot of folks have mentioned that the former Sofitel in Manila had the best buffet they've ever had. From cheese, to drinks, pretty much everything you could think of.
And the prices are reasonable compared to the buffets one would go to in the U.S.
Newsflash: The very limited (and unhealthy) range of foods that Americans consider "breakfast" have no relevance in most of the rest of the world.
By any chance, have you been to Starbucks Reserve at OneBangkok? Or my eyes fooled me.
@ Endre -- Your eyes fooled you, I'm afraid!
That's a a stingy upgrade when booking through FHR and having status.
@ Gertrude -- Yeah, though to the hotel's credit, they did seem to be nearly sold out, and when I checked in, only the top suite was still for sale.