ORIENTAL RESIDENCE

Bangkok

PROPERTY

My husband and I arrived at the Oriental Residence early evening, after a long car trip through the very busy streets of Bangkok. We had just spent 3 nights at my favourite hotel in Bali, so I wasn't expecting to be wowed by this hotel by any means. Boy was I wrong! Once we entered the lobby the first thing we noticed were the amazing floral arrangements scattered throughout the hotel. They were truly stunning and filled the air with sweet perfume. The lobby has a very open plan design with marble and chandeliers- so it feels really luxurious, but also has modern eclectic pictures on the wall to break up the feeling of being too classic. The perfect balance. We made our way to the rooftop pool after we settled in. More wow factor! It was a plain but beautifully designed pool, with large white rattan cocoons, chic beige and white towels and a pool bar overlooking the Bangkok skyline. In terms of location- It is situated next to the US Embassy which is about a half hour walk away from the MBK shopping mall- so it's far away from the chaos, but close enough to walk to the city centre. We really were so impressed with this hotel!

ROOMS

We chose the corner suite with lounge room and kitchenette- the specials in Bangkok at the moment are so reasonable for what you get. It was stunning- neutral tones, large double beds with quality linen, a massive marble bathroom with separate bath and shower, two vanity mirrors, lots of beautiful bath products, fluffy slippers and robes and even some welcome pouches of sticky rice with coconut milk (so delicious!). We felt really pampered and relaxed from the moment we arrived to the moment we left. We did not use the kitchenette, but having the lounge room space was really handy to leave our luggage. The room also has a balcony overlooking the gardens below- something I didn't expect to see was so much undeveloped land full of lush greenery. It felt a world away from the bustling city we passed through on our way. The bed was SO comfortable. We both slept 9 hours without waking up once- which is really unusual for us!  Many English speaking TV channels, lots of power points for charging electronics, thick curtains to block out the light and complimentary bottled water. The list goes on! It has everything you need and more- we couldn't fault the rooms.

FOOD

We dined at Cafe Claire which was so lovely. I will be doing a separate review of this restaurant, but needless to say it did not disappoint and the ambiance is amazing!

SERVICE:

Faultless. One staff member in particular went out of her way to accommodate all of our needs. Joy was the manager of reservations and was an absolute delight from start to finish. You could tell she was genuinely wanting to provide good service and was interested in making your time in Bangkok as enjoyable as possible. We will be writing an email to the hotel management to let them know she is an absolute asset to their establishment and deserved recognition. Please email me if you would like her details for reservations.

OVERALL:

I absolutely recommend this hotel for anyone visiting Bangkok. Lots of travellers are (understandably) wary of Bangkok due to the civil unrest, but we never felt like we were in harms way or never felt the least bit uneasy. This hotel is not close to any protests that we could see. We arrived on the day that martial law was introduced into Bangkok and we walked the main streets and didn't feel unsafe at any time. It is such a shame this beautiful hotel is running at such a low occupancy due to the situation in Bangkok. We will hopefully be back soon!

For more information or bookings, please visit: www.oriental-residence.com

All photos by Belinda- www.outoftheoffice.com.au