Plaza Athénée Bangkok - a luxury 5 star hotel with royal heritage

Plaza Athénée Bangkok

Plaza Athénée Bangkok A Royal Meridien Hotel is a luxury 5 star hotel in the centre of the bustling city of Bangkok.

On a recent stay I was very impressed with the warm and friendly hotel staff who went out of their way to make me feel at home. To me, where the property really stands out is the people who work Plaza Athénée Bangkok. I found everyone to be well-trained and exceptionally helpful and pleasant.

The beautiful and gleaming Plaza Athénée Bangkok tower rises above the leafy Wireless Road. The decor is very tastefully done with an elegant, yet modern feel. This is evident in the lobby on the ground floor, which is large and inviting, the 374 guest rooms & suites and all the other areas of the hotel. The award-winning Thai colonial decor of the Plaza Athénée Bangkok reflects the royal heritage of Princess Valaya Alongkorn, daughter of King Rama V, who once lived in her Summer Palace on the hotel site.

Le Royal Club Lounge at Plaza Athénée Bangkok

The Plaza Athénée Bangkok rooms and suites represent the Summer Palace with beautiful Thai Royal traditional style benches in each of the King Size Bedrooms. The Royal Club rooms and suites are heavily influenced by the Royal ceremony that took place in the Royal Palace with working desks taking inspiration from the Northern-Thai offering, Kun Tok. The Plaza Athénée Bangkok has excelled in preserving and enriching its historical heritage.

On arrival I was warmly welcomed and taken to the Le Royal Club Lounge on the Level 26 for a checking in. I was then taken to my Royal Club Room, conveniently located on the same floor. There I found a complimentary fruit bowl and welcome note from the hotel manager. Each night small cookies with "sweet dreams" were left on a plate in the room.

My Royal Club Room at Plaza Athénée Bangkok

I was supremely comfortable in my large 44 sq metres room that surrounded me with refined comforts and modern conveniences, including an elegant chaise lounge and a spacious work area with a work desk and ergonomic chair. The large bay windows provided me with excellent views over the city of Bangkok. 

I enjoyed my nightly sleep on a beautiful large king sized signature bed with soft linen and several pillows to choose from. The individually controlled air conditioning meant I could adjust the temperature of the room to my personal choice.

My spacious bathroom had a seperate bathtub and shower cubicle with rain shower which made for a very satisfying shower experience. I enjoyed the range of high end bathroom products as well.

My Royal Club Room at Plaza Athénée Bangkok

A fully-stocked refreshment center, tea/coffee making facilities, illy coffee machine and complimentary bottled water were appreciated.

Other features in my Royal Club Room included a 48-inch LED TV,  multi-purpose cordless phone, in-room safe, and complimentary access to Press Reader so I could assess newspaper and magazine e-publications. High speed internet access made communication with friends back home easy. 

With my Royal Club Room I also enjoyed a host of additional benefits and facilities including access to the exclusive Le Royal Club Lounge. This elegant lounge area has spectacular views overlooking Bangkok. Here I appreciated the luxurious setting and personalised service of the staff who looked after me very well.

Le Royal Club Lounge at Plaza Athénée Bangkok

I enjoyed my continental breakfast, afternoon tea, Happy Hour of evening cocktails, appetizers & desserts and all day tea, coffee & non-alcoholic beverages. Other services I could have used were the complimentary washing or pressing service of two items each day, unlimited city phone calls and 2 hours usage of meeting rooms each day.

There is an excellent range of indulgent dining options at the Plaza Athénée Bangkok, with eight sumptuously remodeled specialty dining venues to choose from. The International, French, Japanese, Thai, Chinese restaurants, chic bars, and the new bakery all pamper the palate with excellent cuisine options from around the world prepared by master chefs.

Situated on the ground floor of the Plaza Athénée Bangkok is the shiny newly renovated Rain Tree Café that serves delicious breakfast, lunch and dinner buffet meals. The decor of the Rain Tree Café has taken its inspiration from the Plaza Athénée Bangkoks' royal heritage, with a modern interpretation of the Thai neo-colonial interior style and design interwoven with threads of touching homeliness.

Rain Tree Café at Plaza Athénée Bangkok

The full International buffet breakfast in the Rain Tree Café is one of the best I have seen with an incredible huge array of food. The buffet included fruits, cereals, yogurts, omelettes & eggs station, noodles station, Thai food, Asian and Japanese soups and entrees, waffles, pancakes & crepes, noodles and Dim Sum, plus a juicing station and ample fruit, hot and cold beverages and pastries. I particularly enjoyed the fresh coconut juice served in the coconut shell and as an ice-cream lover, the homemade ice-cream. I was most impressed with the large variety of choices in the extensive and expressive international buffet. 

The Rain Tree Café makes excellent use of natural light and comprises three zones offering a choice of distinctive dining styles. The Bronze Kitchen has been upgraded with interactive live cooking stations for a more involved culinary experience, The Valaya Room incorporates a formal library-style “VIP” space and The Secret Garden is true to its name with a secluded vibe that sets the tone for a more private affair.

Rain Tree Café at Plaza Athénée Bangkok

The Sunday brunch at The Rain Tree Café offers indulgent dining including specialist dishes prepared by their Thai, Indian, Japanese, Cantonese and European speciality head chefs. Then for lunch and dinner diners can experience an gourmet buffet attentively prepared across multiple interactive cooking stations.

Fridays and Saturdays at The Rain Tree Cafe are a foodie-dream for the seafood connoisseur, with a seafood buffet offering everything from fresh oysters, mussels, prawns, to Alaskan king crab, rock lobster and more.

The Rain Tree Café has three separate but complementary spaces. The Bronze Kitchen has been recently upgraded with interactive live cooking stations, The Valaya Room has a formal library-style “VIP” space and The Secret Garden is ideal for more private affairs.

I was most impressed with the leisure facilities of the Plaza Athénée Bangkok.

Lagoon pool at Plaza Athénée Bangkok

I enjoyed swimming each day in the Swimming Pool with its deep aqua blue colour tiles located on the rooftop Level 4 garden of the hotel. The shallow and deep ends of the resort styled pool are separated by a stone fountain, classically sculpted to resemble Thai children playing. This is a newly remodelled outdoor lagoon-style pool in a beautiful tropical lush garden setting with sun lounges and sun beds, large sun umbrellas and an orchard of indigenous trees and blossoming plants.  Food and drinks from the poolside The View Bar & Cafe can be ordered to make for a complete relaxing experience.

Athénée Fitness is a state-of-the-art fitness centre on Level 4. This well-spaced, all-new facility is ideally arranged for energising workouts and is definitely above average with lots of cardio machines and free weights. There are lovely garden views looking out the large windows whilst exercising and the provision of complimentary fresh towels, drinking water and fresh fruit baskets.

I enjoyed using the steam room and dry heat sauna in the males change rooms each day. Unfortuantely I did not have time to make use of the fitness classes offered free to hotel guests, such as the core power class and the "Fight for Fit" Muay Thai workout. 

Le Royal Club Lounge at Plaza Athénée Bangkok

On my next stay at the Plaza Athénée Bangkok I must make use of the award-winning Spa Athénée located on Level 5. This luxury spa fuses the high style of France with the mystique of Siam. Here guests can be pampered by inspired spa treatments such as facial therapies and massages.

Plaza Athénée Bangkok offers large and versatile meeting and event spaces in central Bangkok. There are 28 Function Rooms, 3 Grand Ballrooms and breakout and reception spaces with over 5,600 sqm of meeting space. The largest room has a capacity of 1.500 people. The latest technology, convenient access and expert event planning support are provided for conferences, banquets, corporate meetings, social gatherings, or weddings.

Plaza Athénée Bangkok, A Royal Meridien Hotel is part of Marriott International, Inc., the world’s leading hotel and leisure company.

Kandhavas,  the Palace of Princess Valaya Alongkorn 

The Plaza Athénée Bangkok has a rich history and a royal connection. The hotel is built on the site of Kandhavas, the Palace of Princess Valaya Alongkorn. The hotel has been lovingly and extensively designed to celebrate its royal heritage. The hotel has achieved this by designing the hotel with the Thai-Colonial style of Princess Valaya Alongkorn's era, sympathetically combining it with the modern world defining “Thai Transitional Luxury”.  

The design of Plaza Athénée Bangkok beautifully honours motifs directly drawn from the Kandhavas Palace creating captivating aesthetic impressions of the kingdom and paying elegant deference to its royal roots. 

Lobby of Plaza Athénée Bangkok

The Plaza Athénée Bangkok is ideally located on Wireless Road, a leafy boulevard in Central Bangkok with several Embassies nearby.  It is just a 5 minutes' walk from the Phloen Chit BTS SkyTrain station, Central Embassy Shopping Mall and All Seasons Shopping Place Mall. Lumpini Park, the largest park in Central Bangkok, is also within walking distance.

The Plaza Athénée Bangkok, A Royal Meridien Hotel, is a luxurious hotel with exceptional guest service. It is an exceptional hotel for business or leisure guests in Bangkok. The excellent location and easy access to transport make it an ideal hotel to work or relax in whilst in Bangkok. The comfortable guest rooms and suites, luxuriant Le Royal Club Lounge, extensive dining options, relaxing leisure facilities of lagoon pool, fitness centre and Spa make for a most enjoyable stay.

Plaza Athénée Bangkok,
A Royal Méridien Hotel

61 Wireless Road (Witthayu), Lumpini, Pathumwan, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand

Phone: +66 (0) 2650 8800
Bangkok@lemeridien.com

www.plazaatheneebangkok.com/