Great Location For a Bangkok Break (Arnoma Hotel Bangkok)

Member Name: flodombey

Product:	Arnoma Hotel Bangkok
Date:	07/10/09 (42 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Location, location, location....and the nice rooms and staff

Disadvantages: High prices in the bar and restaurant

I have just returned from a glorious two week break in Thailand and stayed in this hotel on two seperate occasions, two nights at the beginning of our holiday and on our final night before flying home.

We booked our holiday with Kuoni as a triple centre break (Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Krabi) so did not pay the hotel direct, however, in reception rooms were advertised at around 6000BT (£120) per night. I would advise shopping around on the internet for better rates than this if you intend on staying here.

This hotel is officially rated as a 3 star in the Kuoni literature (which I trust) although it does seem to consider itself as a higher class than this. We found it a very good hotel in terms of location and room but I personally think it is a very good 3 star and no higher.

Location
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Absolutely wonderful and if you only have a short time in Bangkok it is ideal. Situated in the modern, shopping district, literally across the road from the World Trade Center which is a massive, indoor mall full of shops, bars and restaurants and topped by the Zense Skybar.

Next to two intersecting skytrain lines (Siam station straddles both lines), it is easy to get further into the city and avoid the amazingly congested streets below. The skytrain is cheap at around 30p a ticket (one way) and its a lovely way to travel, giving a birds eye view of the city.

Being so close to all the shops means that the streets around the hotel are buzzing with market stalls and you can pick up a taxi or a tuk tuk with remarkable ease.

Despite the modern shopping district feel to it, there are also two amazing shrines within spitting distance of the hotel (Erawan Shrine and another Elephant shrine which I am not sure of the name of) which ensure that you never forget you are in spiritual Thailand. At dusk the scent of insense wafts across the 6 lanes of gridlocked traffic and graceful Thai dancers sing away behind the Erawan Shrine, it really is quite a sight.

Lobby / Check In
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On arrival at the hotel (after a 45 minute transfer from the airport), we were very impressed by the grandeur of the place. It has all the trappings of a much posher hotel, liveried door staff and bell boys, a massively high ceilinged entrance lobby with massive chandeliers and a mezzanine level with sweeping staircase. Marble floors and plenty of sofas and chairs scattered about make it feel very nice.

We were checked in pretty quickly on our first visit by a very charming member of staff who spoke pretty good English. We were given a room on the 9th floor and told that breakfast was not included in our room rate and would cost 450BT (approx £9) each in the restaurant off to one side of the lobby. We smiled away whilst both immediately deciding we would be grabbing some breakfast elsewhere!

On arrival for our second stay we had quite a delayed check in process as we seemed to have arrived at the same time as a massive tour group. We still did not have to wait more than a few minutes but the staff were all quite distracted and less attentive.

Rooms
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The two rooms we stayed in, one on the 9th floor and one on the 5th, were absolutely identical, in terms of layout, furniture and standard. We were pretty pleased with them to be honest.

Each room contained a large and incredibly comfortable Queen size bed (the most comfortable hotel bed I have ever stayed in!). A table and chairs, a large sideboard with a big TV on it, a fridge in the cupboard with mini bar drinks in, a desk and chair and a wardrobe with a digital safe in it. There is total climate control which is handy and kept the room nice and cool without being like an ice box.

The bathrooms were large and airy and contained a full length mirror, a deep bath with a power shower over and a basin with a massive surround for all your bits and pieces. There was also a retractable washing line over the bath which was very handy.

The shower was very good in both rooms, powerful and with a consistent temperature, just what you need after a long haul flight or a day walking around in the 30 degree heat! Towels were sufficient but not overly soft and fluffy.

On both occasions our room looked out over what seemed to be a disused piece of ground, but beyond this was the cityscape of Bangkok which was nice, as it got dark it was lovely to watch all the lights coming on, we could also see the giant, neon, colour changing Zense bar on top of the Trade Center.

We did not use the mini bar as the prices were quite high (a consistent theme with this hotel) but we kept our own beers and water in the fridge without a problem. The TV has a full suite of global news channels, including BBC World and CNN and we did not have any problem with the signals here.

There are plenty of plug sockets which was nice for a change and saved unplugging lamps etc when we wanted to charge phones and cameras.


Facilities
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There is a bar as well as a restaurant situated off the lobby and we did venture in here to see what the prices were like. However, the price of a small bottle of beer was 140BT which is around £3 and a lot more than other places we had seen.

We therefore opted to buy beer at the nearby 7/11 for around 50BT per large bottle and drink it in the room instead. The bar did look quite cosy though and had a large screen to show sports on, every time we saw it it was empty which is probably because of the prices!

The restaurant we did not use, again due to the prices. We therefore cannot comment on the food but the restaurant was always pretty busy at breakfast (buffet) and in the evenings so the food was no doubt ok. We did use the Arnoma Bakery which is attached to and owned by the hotel but faces out onto the street, we picked up muffins and pastries from here in the mornings and they were always tasty and freshly baked.

There is another restaurant located on the mezzanine level of the hotel, I believe this was a Chinese restaurant but again we did not use it so I cant comment.

The third floor contains a large indoor swimming pool and a gym and spa area. These always seemed to be fairly busy and looked very well kept when we looked in but we did not use it (too much sightseeing to do!). There is a very small outdoor pool which we could see from our room windows but it was always empty and due to its size seemed a bit pointless!

There are 4 large lifts servicing the hotel and we never had to wait more than a minute for one to arrive. In the lobby they have a porter assigned to call lifts for you which is handy as he generally sees you coming so there is a lift waiting by the time you get there.

Staff
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We found the staff to be incredibly polite and efficient and we had no complaints. Checking out was very quick and easy both times, the reception staff also called us in our room to let us know that our driver was already waiting on our final day (he arrived half an hour early but it was nice of them to let us know).

Some of the staff do not speak much English but they seemed to refer you to the ones who did quickly and without any fuss. The bellboys and porters all earn their tips and are exceptionally friendly.


Overall
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This is a great hotel in an excellent location and I would certainly stay there again if we went back to Bangkok. The only thing to be aware of is the steep prices of food and drink within the hotel, however, there are so many bars, restaurants and shops in the local area there is no need to fork out within the hotel.

The rooms are good - comfortable, quiet and well furnished and the staff are very helpful and polite. We enjoyed both stays here and would certainly recommend it.

Summary: Great option for Bangkok, nice feel, wonderful location.