Review: Rosewood Bangkok, Thailand (Solid, Second Tier Luxury City Hotel)

It’s BTS Phloen Chit, which I guess you don’t know because you never used the BTS.

“Second-tier hotel” - what a snob!

@ Somchai -- I'm confused, you're criticizing my word order for the name of the BTS station, or something else? And regarding the second point, that wasn't meant to be an insult, but instead, to just be accurate -- would you disagree, and say the Rosewood belongs to the top-tier of hotels in the city? I think it's a valuable contrast to much of Rosewood's Asia portfolio, where the brand's properties are among the top in a city (like in Hong Kong and Guangzhou).

It’s quite accurate though (having also stayed there) - the Rosewood isn’t anywhere near the top five best hotels in Bangkok and probably well outside the top ten at this point. That’s not what Rosewood’s marketing sells the brand as, so worth commenting on.

I think I liked the Rosewood Suite I had a lot better than Ben’s room but the hard product in the suite was about where the strengths ended.

As someone who generally avoids the sun, I personally love this.

@Ben, you make yourself sound like a vampire (JK!)

So from the pictures it is generic and could be an InterContinental.

Recently stayed at the InterContinental Sukhumvit for 26k points ~ 130 USD. As a Diamond Ambassador I redeemed a CSU to a Junior Suite and got access to the club.

I don‘t really see a reason to pay more and try a more upscale hotel like the Rosewood.

For sure Amans and Four Seasons are a different topic.

Wow, Capella, Four Seasons, Aman, and Rosewood, back-to-back! Ben, that's an epic trip!

Exactly - this certainly was a bargain at $20, but for $320 you can do a lot better than an executive room if staying at the Anantara, Sofitel/SO etc, and this hotel certainly doesn't look any better than those (personally I'd stay in a Grand Mercure/Pullman which are just a notch below it but charge ca. 75% less).

Really looking forward to the review of each of these hotels. I’ve been going to Bangkok for three decades on business and leisure travel. I’ve always been of the firm belief that there is only one hotel in which to stay in Bangkok, particularly due to its history, and that’s the Oriental. While it hasn’t kept pace on the tech front, its rooms are wonderful; service can’t be touched, and, ahhh, the spa… THE best in the world. The Rosewood, rather shockingly, apparently isn’t in the same league. My hunch is the Capella might come close. I most definitely believe it should be your point of comparison.

@Lucky, what’s with the new ads with audio that keep playing? I can’t seem to read more than a paragraph before some new, loud ad is played. I don’t see any images, just loud sounds and I don’t see any way to make it stop. Infuriating!

Had lunch at the Rosewood Chancery a couple weeks back. Stunning building and beautiful interior space - the room rates are at nosebleed levels even for London.

The Bangkok property doesn't appear to be in the same league as this

One is pleased to note that The Peninsula has received no mention, thankfully.

JD ... Ditto the Oriental . The rest are pale imitations of a motel .

Ignorance of disabled people is evident in the small lavatory not having any wall-attached lift-bars or telephone for assistance .

Yeah, for £2100 per night you can do better, even in central London.

There is only one hotel in its own league in Bangkok, and that is the Oriental.

Oh the horror! Looks nice to me. Indeed, you've become quite the travel snob.

Unalert. Indeed they have accessible rooms. Grab bars, roll in showers wide berth doors and spacing ,etc But you would understand that if you ever could comment on on something you actually have experienced.

i'm also seeing new full-screen ads when using my desktop :'(

Funny, I found the lobby incredibly gaudy. They're clearly targeting a certain clientele... That said, the rooms are terrific, as are the gym and pool.

I don’t think many Australians would describe themselves as “sun starved”.

How dare you Sir!
“Second Tier” indeed.
Nothing Second Tier about Bangkok or Rosewood.
Rosewood Phuket was great if not a bit pretentious.
Not my style.
It’s so fake, everything is like a performance.

I’ll wager not many Miamians do, either; the incidence of melanoma and other skin cancers in southern Florida notwithstanding.

I’m gonna be honest, lately (last couple of years) it feels like Ben mostly responds to haters instead of people asking genuine questions or giving actual feedback.

What also makes the community feel kind of dead is that replies usually only happen in the first few hours after an article goes live. After that, it’s pretty much silent. We also don’t get notifications or emails when someone replies to our comments.

I still read older articles sometimes and see people asking good questions months later, but nobody notices because there’s no activity around it. The comment section could feel way more alive with a bit more interaction and notifications.

And I don’t wanna sound salty or a bitch here, but I remember Ben was giving away suite/lounge upgrade awards at Hyatt some time ago. I was literally one of the first people to comment, but somehow almost everyone got a reply except me. It genuinely felt like I was intentionally skipped lol. “Thanks for being a Diamond member at OMAAT, I guess.”

@ Gene -- Sorry, did you read the actual review? I talk about how nice the hotel is. My point is to say that typically Rosewood properties are in the first tier in their respective cities, while in Bangkok, it's not quite to the same level as other properties on the continent (which makes sense, given the price point). Is it unfair to point that out?

@ JD -- It's funny, I've heard such good things about the hotel, but from the pictures, I just had a hard time getting excited. I'll need to check that out next time, because a lot of people do swear by the hotel.

@ Cam -- Hah, that's fair. I should've probably said sun starved Brits and sun obsessed Australians.

@ Scott -- Sorry, those ads shouldn't be popping up just while reading, so let me look into what happened.

@ Reyyan -- Hey, I genuinely appreciate the feedback, and what you say is totally fair.

Regarding responding to comments, you're right, I sometimes struggle to find the right balance there. I'm going to make an effort to respond more consistently. This industry is my passion and I promise I spend basically every waking hour where I'm not with my family on the blog, so sometimes it's a tradeoff (writing new posts vs. responding to comments), and I sometimes lose sight of the importance of that as well.

Regarding the Hyatt award giveaway some time back, I'm sorry, I should've explained that better. I believe you were looking for a suite upgrade award for a one-night stay, and those were the ones that there were the fewest of. There were a lot more club access awards (since Globalists don't really have a use for them) and Guest of Honor awards (since people receive elite nights for gifting those to others).

I just didn't have the suite upgrade awards remaining, and for the few that were given by others, I tried to prioritize those for longer stays (some people had week-long stays, and I believe you had a one-night stay). I'm sorry, it's on me for not explaining that better. That being said, if you'd like a suite upgrade award now, please just send me an email and I'll gift one to you, as it's the least I can do.

I appreciate the feedback, and I appreciate you reading!

OH where oh where is that Starwood man now? Oh he made Starwood hotels interesting and sometimes even fun to stay at. It was a first choice for us.
We know he is starting at the high end with just a few properties, hopefully we will see the huge lapse the other hotels fail and don't wish to recognize anymore and open up some wonderful Starwood like hotels.

Looks nice! Totally get you used a credit so its fine, but 100 for a foot massage in Thailand is criminal!

A lot of the newer Rosewood properties are very much second tier, actually. They’ve clearly gone on an expansion drive and are scaling ASAP. Too many openings and not enough quality control is turning it from Peninsula into the variability of Four Seasons.

Great review Lucky. Being from and living in Dallas, I'm so partial to the Rosewood brand - even though, its Dallas beginnings/roots are no longer the case, unfortunately. I still love the Mansion on Turtle Creek here in Big D.

Hey Ben ... The Oriental is Bangkok's Raffles , a long long history of excellence .

@Ben, I really appreciate you taking the time to reply so openly. I totally get that there’s a balance between writing content and replying to comments, especially when you’re basically running everything yourself.

And thanks as well for explaining the Hyatt award giveaway. Looking back, it makes a lot more sense now why longer stays got prioritized. I’ll gladly take you up on the offer and send over the details by email soon.

At the end of the day, I’ve been reading OMAAT for years because your passion has infected me as well, which I can only thank you for 🙂

Everyone is always saying "let Ben make his money" though, when we point out he makes slop articles.

I wonder where all the ardent defenders of that are now.

Not unfair. Yes, I read it.

I wonder what the difference between the “deluxe” and “executive” rooms are. I’ve stayed in both, but have only noticed that they are on different sides of the building.