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

During my two-part birthday trip to the Golden Triangle, I checked out four different hotels in Bangkok, given that it’s one of the world’s best value cities for luxury hotels, and the market keeps getting better.

In this installment, I’d like to review the 158-key Rosewood Bangkok, which opened back in 2019. This is where I spent the first night, and then separately, I’ll review the Capella Bangkok, Four Seasons Bangkok, and Aman Bangkok (which I stayed at in that order).

Rosewood is a stellar hotel brand, and I was curious to see in exactly what league the Rosewood Bangkok operates, especially given how high quality the Rosewood Hong Kong is. Well, I’d say the Rosewood Bangkok is a good city hotel, if not a bit generic and corporate. It’s a solid option for the price, but definitely not part of the top tier of Bangkok hotels. This also isn’t the Rosewood Hong Kong in terms of design quality or vibe.

Admittedly it’s priced accordingly, and especially given the perks I received on a one-night stay, I really can’t argue with the value, and would recommend the hotel. The property certainly has a central location, with friendly service, and a good restaurant and bar.

Booking the Rosewood Bangkok

I paid cash for my one-night stay at the Rosewood Bangkok. I booked an entry level room at a rate of around $320. I used an Amex $300 hotel credit, meaning I only paid $20 out of pocket.

For booking through Amex FHR, I received complimentary breakfast, a room upgrade, a $150 property credit (yes, this hotel offers a $150 credit, rather than the standard $100 credit), and more. That’s a value you really can’t argue with. In terms of pricing, this is probably most comparable to properties like the Park Hyatt Bangkok and Waldorf Astoria Bangkok, so I was looking forward to seeing how the Rosewood experience would compare.

Let me mention that aside from some credit card programs when redeeming a credit, your best bet for booking any Rosewood property is to use the Rosewood Elite program. This is Rosewood’s program for select travel advisors, and is also the best way to book virtually any Rosewood stay.

Those booking through Rosewood Elite receive a room upgrade subject to availability, a property credit, complimentary breakfast for two, etc. Ford and his team are happy to help with these requests, and can be reached at [email protected].

Rosewood Bangkok location

The Rosewood Bangkok is located in the city’s central business and embassy district, along Ploenchit Road, in the Pathumwan area. The hotel is in a 30-story building, which is pretty cool-looking, if you ask me.

If arriving by car, the hotel has a large driveway off the street, so it’s easy to access.

Meanwhile if arriving by public transportation, the hotel is adjacent to the Phloen Chit BTS Skytrain station, and provides direct access to it via a walkway, which is useful.

When it comes to the location of Bangkok luxury hotels, they typically fall into one of two categories. You have properties like the Rosewood, which are right in the heart of the city, so they’re convenient in terms of public transportation and proximity to other locations, but they’re not necessarily the most serene settings as such.

Then you have a bunch of hotels along the Chao Phraya River, which are generally preferred in terms of views and vibes, but aren’t necessarily so central. Personally I prefer to stay by the river, but of course I realize there are pros and cons to both locations.

Rosewood Bangkok lobby & check-in

When it comes to accessing the Rosewood Bangkok, the arrival area is on the first floor, the access to the BTS Skytrain is on the third floor, and then the main lobby is on the seventh floor. So upon arrival at the hotel, I was welcomed by a friendly bellman, and escorted up to the seventh floor lobby.

The seventh floor lobby is visually interesting, but not terribly “grand,” in terms of its size. It provides access to the three sets of elevators (one set leading to the ground floor, one set leading to guest rooms, and another set leading to food & beverage outlets).

The lobby then also has a reception desk over to the side, with a bit of seating.

My check-in process was quick and efficient, and I was offered water while that was processed. I was informed that I had been upgraded from a deluxe room to an executive room, and all the inclusions with my rate were also gone over. I was then walked over to the elevator, where I then headed up to the 20th floor, where my room was located (the hotel has 30 floors).

Rosewood Bangkok guest room

Upon exiting the elevator on the 20th floor at the Rosewood Bangkok, I walked down the hall, and then found the entrance to room 2001 on the left, where I’d be staying for the night.

Executive rooms at the Rosewood Bangkok are marketed as being 452 square feet, or 42 square meters. So that’s a great size for a guest room, but smaller than a suite (as you’d expect).

Upon opening the door I found myself in the entryway, which then flowed into the living area, and then the sleeping area.

The room boasted a king size bed, which was comfortable, but not overly so (which is to say that it wasn’t a Four Seasons bed in terms of comfort). Across from the bed was a wall-mounted TV, as well as a sliding door leading to the bathroom.

Then the sitting area had a loveseat of sorts, along with a chair, so this could easily double as a dining or working area. I appreciate when non-suites actually have a place you can have a meal or a space where multiple people can sit comfortably, as all too often, that’s not the case.

Waiting for me in the room upon arrival was a welcome amenity, consisting of a sweet mango tart, as well as some fruit (longans). Yum. There was also a welcome note from the general manager, which was appreciated, but it would be nice if my name had been spelled right.

The minibar was right next to the living area, and had a complimentary selection of Nespresso coffee and tea, along with milk in the fridge (much appreciated, since so many hotels don’t provide milk with their in-room coffee). Then there were a variety of drinks and snacks for purchase.

When it comes to the bathroom, that was a great size, with double sinks, a soaking tub, a walk-in shower, and a toilet in a partitioned off space.

Toiletries were in reusable containers, and were generically Rosewood branded.

The room also had a closet space next to the bathroom and toward the entrance, which was a good size.

In terms of views, the room just mainly looked out over the city, including directly facing a highway. So it wasn’t a bad view, but also wasn’t the most exciting.

All-in-all, it was a nice room. The only thing I’d mention is that the construction quality felt a little cheap. I’m not trying to be shady here, but I find that in general, Bangkok luxury hotels fall into two categories.

Some have excellent construction and finishes, while others might look nice but feel a bit cheap when it comes to finishes. This includes everything from flimsy doors, to drawers not quite closing correctly. For example, I also recently stayed at the Ritz-Carlton Bangkok, and had a similar impression. However, I didn’t at all feel that way at the Capella, Four Seasons, or Aman.

Rosewood Bangkok pool & gym

The Rosewood Bangkok pool and gym are located on the ninth floor. The pool is open daily from 6AM until 9PM, and people will either love or hate it. The hotel has a 20-meter outdoor pool, and it’s almost entirely covered by the rest of the building, so is in the shade all day.

As someone who generally avoids the sun, I personally love this. However, if you’re a sun-starved Australian or Brit looking to lather yourself in tanning oil and catch those rays, you might not love this setup.

At the end of the pool, you’ll find an infinity-edge (well, sort of) hot tub, looking out over the city.

The pool area only has a total of a dozen loungers, with six being on each side of the pool and hot tub, so that’s not exactly a big space.

This definitely isn’t a hotel you’re going to want to book if one of your primary objectives is is to lounge at the pool.

The hotel also has a 24/7 gym, located on the same level, right next to the pool. The gym is on the small side, but more than sufficient, and has high quality equipment. My only annoyance (and this is so common with hotels) is that I wish there were more than one bench for free weights (since those are most frequently used).

On the same level as the pool and gym you’ll also find a sauna, steam room, and showers, so you really can use all kinds of spa-like facilities without actually visiting the spa.

Rosewood Bangkok spa

Rosewood Bangkok has a full service spa on the sixth floor, branded as Sense Spa (the name of spas at most Rosewood properties). The spa is open daily from 9AM until 8PM, and has five treatment rooms, two of which are for couples, in addition to a salon area. You can find the spa treatment menu here.

On the morning of check-out, I hadn’t used most of my $150 credit, so I decided to get a massage at the last minute. I settled on a 60-minute foot massage, which was relaxing, and cost just over $100.

While the treatment as such was great, the spa didn’t strike me as being particularly impressive, in terms of the number of amenities.

Rosewood Bangkok restaurants & bars

The Rosewood Bangkok has a solid selection of food & beverage outlets:

• Lakorn is the hotel’s all-day dining restaurant, located on the lobby level, and it serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with a focus on Thai dishes
• Nan Bei is the hotel’s signature Chinese restaurant, located on the 19th floor, and it serves lunch and dinner
• Lennon’s is the hotel’s vinyl-themed bar, and it’s open in the evenings and late into the night
• G&O is the hotel’s poolside cafe, open during the day, serving drinks, snacks, and healthy meals

Let’s go over each of the venues, starting with Lakorn. Lakorn serves breakfast from 7AM until 10:30AM, lunch from 11:30AM until 2:30PM, afternoon tea from 2PM until 5PM, dinner from 5PM until 10PM, and drinks and snacks all day. Essentially think of this as being the all-day lobby bar and restaurant — you can find all the menus here.

It’s a nice enough space that feels a bit like a cafe — I can’t say it’s the most exciting or inspiring space (at least compared to the other venues at the hotel), but it’s nice.

I ended up having dinner here, since I wanted to have Thai food on my first night, and I had a credit to spend. At the start of the meal, I was brought some prawn crackers with sweet chili sauce.

I asked the server what he recommended, and ended up ordering the roti mataba gai (listed under “chef’s favorites”), as well as tom yum goong. Both dishes were excellent, though the tom yum goong was definitely Thai levels of spicy (as you’d expect!), which I wasn’t fully prepared for.

In the morning, breakfast is also served at the restaurant. Southeast Asia is known for extravagant breakfasts, and as is quite common, there’s a buffet, and then that can be supplemented by some a la carte items.

The breakfast buffet included all kinds of freshly baked goods, cheese, cold cuts, yogurt, cereal, veggies, fruit, salad, etc.

You can then find the a la carte section below, which you can order as much from as you’d like.

To drink, I ordered a cappuccino, which tasted great.

Then to eat, I had the acai bowl and khao tom pla, with seabass, boiled rice, and Thai celery.

Ultimately it was a perfectly satisfying breakfast, though Bangkok is often in a different league when it comes to breakfast quality, and I’d say my recent stay at the Ritz-Carlton Bangkok offered a much bigger selection. The one thing that negatively stood out to me was the poor fruit selection, as the buffet just had two types of melon (I know I’m nitpicking here, but I feel like Bangkok is a market where it’s acceptable to nitpick hotel breakfasts, given the high standards.

While I didn’t have the chance to eat here, Nan Bei looked like a gorgeous venue, and serves lunch daily from 11:30AM until 2:30PM, and dinner daily from 6PM until 10PM. It serves Chinese cuisine, and you can find all the menus here. In general, Rosewood does a really job with the theming of its restaurants, and this place is no exception.

Then there’s what’s without a doubt my favorite venue, which is the rooftop bar, Lennon’s. It’s open daily from 6PM until 12AM, and you can find all the menus here. The theme here is unique — as you enter, you’ll almost think you’re in a record store, as there’s a 6,000-vinyl collection. Guests can even pick songs and have them played.

The bar has a lot of natural light and very cool design.

In the back of the above pictures you’ll see a spiral staircase, and that leads up a level to the cigar bar, which is enclosed, so that’s a space that many people (like my dad!) would appreciate.

I decided to come here for a pre-drink here, and I appreciate their commitment to a theme. In addition to a standard menu, you can also view drinks through… well, whatever that thing in the top right of the below picture is. And then you can swap out the “disks” to look at different menus. Very, very fun.

I loved the signature cocktail list, which incorporated Thai flavors into more traditional drinks. For example, I had the sago re-groni (inspired by the negroni) with rum, vermouth, campari, pandas, and sago rainbow. It was as tasty as it was pretty, and I also loved the bar snacks, which included sweet potato chips and tom yum flavored nuts.

The one thing I’d say is that the property just lacked a vibe, but maybe that was a function of when I stayed. For example, admittedly I went to the bar shortly after it opened, but I sat there for almost an hour enjoying the vibe, even though… I was the only guest. Meanwhile when I had dinner, I was also the only guest.

Admittedly I was visiting in the off season, but I can’t imagine that’s normal, as it feels like Bangkok hotels are often very busy, regardless of the time of day.

I think part of the issue is that the two venues that are actually cool are very insulated (in terms of not being incorporated into the other public spaces of the hotel), and as a result, the hotel has a bit of a quiet vibe. It’s not a problem, really, but just something to be aware of, if you’re hoping for a more lively atmosphere.

Rosewood Bangkok service

I found service at the Rosewood Bangkok to be professional across the board. Thailand in general has very high service standards, and service at this property is polished.

Now, there was nothing astonishingly good or memorable about the service, and I’d say of the four properties I stayed at in the city, this had the least remarkable service. Then again, it was also the most reasonably priced, so that shouldn’t come as a surprise.

Bottom line

I had a good stay at the Rosewood Bangkok. I certainly got a great deal on my one-night stay, as I paid $20 after my $300 Amex hotel credit, and also received FHR perks, including breakfast and a $150 property credit.

Ultimately the Rosewood Bangkok is a good city hotel, though it doesn’t necessarily have a huge “wow” factor. It has a nice rooftop bar, friendly service, and a solid gym and pool, though expect this to be more of a business hotel than some sort of an urban resort.

Given the hotel’s price point, I think it’s very competitive in its set, with properties like the Park Hyatt, St. Regis, Waldorf Astoria, etc. However, there’s also a reason it’s priced well below the top tier of Bangkok hotels. So that’s logical, I’m just confirming “you get what you pay for.”

Rosewood is a great hotel brand, and in particular in Asia, Rosewood properties are often known for being among the best in their respective markets. I’d say Bangkok probably isn’t the most remarkable city for the brand.

What do you make of the Rosewood Bangkok?