If your main purpose is to shop when you are in
Bangkok, than
Novotel Platinum Pratunam Hotel is the place to stay: above the new wing of
Platinum Fashion Mall and right next to the old wing of
Platinum Fashion Mall. Besides
Platinum Fashion Mall, it's also within a 5 minute walk to
Pantip (selling computer-related stuff),
Pratunum Market (open-air market),
Central World (modern shopping centre with lots of eateries),
Big C (a hypermarket), the
Erawan Shrine (the four-faced Buddha) and
Siam Paragon (shopping center with IMAX). Surrounding the hotel are plenty of roadside food stalls and stalls selling everything from clothes to accessories to toys.
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| The iconic elephant sculpture that will greet you when you are going to your room |
Since this trip was meant to be free and easy (with mostly shopping on our minds) we decided on
Novotel Platinum Pratunam Hotel for our 3 nights in
Bangkok. There might have been some hits and misses, but overall it was an excellent stay. Here is an overview of how our stay went, from getting to the hotel from the airport to the room, service and breakfast.
Getting there from the airport
As there were 4 of us, we took a taxi as it was more economical and more convenient as it would be quite a cumbersome walk (the uneven streets with luggage in tow in the humid weather) to the hotel if we had taken the train to the nearest station.
Getting to the hotel via taxi was simple: we went to level 1 and queued up in the taxi queue, where there were machines to help regulate the flow of the taxis. All we had to do when it was our turn was to press the green button on the screen, wait for a bit and a receipt with the details of the taxi (e.g. driver name, car plate, parking lot that the taxi will be waiting) was printed out. The ride to the hotel cost us
500 baht and took about 30 minutes (traffic was too bad that day).
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| The taxi stand at level 1 of Suvarnabhumi Airport |
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| Thankfully there wasn't much of a queue that day. |
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| The machine which would generate your ticket and taxi driver details etc... |
The moment we arrived, the concierge opened the door for us and greeted us with smiles. Once we were escorted in to the ground floor lobby, our luggage was whisked away to our rooms while we headed to the 6th floor to check-in.
The Lobby, Lounge and Square Café
As the hotel is located within the
Platinum Fashion Mall,
Novotel Platinum Pratunam Hotel’s lounge and lobby/reception are located at 6th floor. Also located on the lobby is the hotel’s café, where breakfast is served every morning from 6-10am. The lobby is a huge space with colorful chairs/sofas where guests can seat to rest their tired feet or while waiting to check-in/for their rooms to be ready.
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| The lobby and reception for check-in/check-out |
The lounge is also located on this floor. So if you want to grab a drink, listen to some ‘live’ music and/or relax, than this is the place to be. But if you ask me, I’d rather upgrade to executive to enjoy the executive lounge on the 24th floor for more privacy instead. Being near the reception area and the common floor where guests have to pass by to go outside or back to their rooms, the 6th floor can be a tad too crowded at times.
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| The lounge, which has 'live' jazz music in the evenings |
The
Square Café was quite large and breakfast every morning (no matter the time) was quite a rowdy affair. While the variety might seem to be a lot, there wasn’t any particular food item that stood out. There were the usual cold cuts, vegetables, breads, cakes, fruits, Asian dishes and Western (e.g. sausages, toast, pancakes etc…).
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| The Square Cafe |
The egg station already had pre-made (normal) scrambled eggs and omelets, which kind of took the fun out of an egg station. The noodle station was a good attempt, but unfortunately I was lost on the taste of the soup flavor (it was more unnaturally sweet than I would have liked it to be), and the pancakes were tasteless, a little too dry and too thick, which were a joy kill.
If your booking does not come with breakfast, there is really no love lost there as there are plenty of other options outside the hotel. Being near the
Platinum Fashion Mall you have local options (e.g. foodcourt, street food etc…) or
Starbucks,
Macdonald’s etc… All within walking distance.:)
The Check-in Experience
Usually I would just book via a 3rd party to get a cheaper price, but this time I decided to book directly with the hotel as I wanted to test/try out their best price guarantee. The email correspondence with the hotel staff was fast and responsive, with our decision to use part of the
3,333 baht (from the price guarantee) for room upgrade to executive privileges on the last night for 2 rooms. [
Novotel Platinum Pratunam Hotel Best Price Guarantee]
But when we were checking in, we had to clarify with the receptionist again. Due to communication breakdown internally, the request somehow did not reach the reception. But they were quick enough to clarify the issue and resolve it. It took about 3 hours for them to confirm that there was such a request and that there was
3,333 baht on credit (from the price guarantee which we could use). Unfortunately, due to the communication breakdown, my request for a surprise for DramaQueen’s birthday surprise was forgotten. But the executive experience was worth the upgrade as it consisted of:
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| Premier Lounge |
- Daily International buffet breakfast and evening cocktails at the Premier Lounge (24th floor)
- Personalized check-in and check-out at the Premier Lounge on the 24th floor.
- Complimentary daily newspaper.
- Complimentary use of conference room for two (2) hours per day. Excess will be charged THB 700.00 per hour. Please make your booking at least one (1) day before.
- Complimentary 24-hour Internet access in-room and at the Premier Lounge.
- Complimentary Pressing of one (1) suit set (jacket and trousers/skirt) or one (1) dress upon arrival and 15% discount on Laundry throughout your stay.
Once our booking was confirmed, our passports were photocopied and we had to fill in our details on a form before being handed the card keys to our room on the 19th floor. After confirming with reception that there was not much difference between the room on the 19th floor and those on the executive floor, we
were persuaded decided to just stay in the same room throughout our stay, with the executive benefits on the last night and breakfast at the 24th floor executive lounge.
[
Read about the Superior Room Review here]
[
Read about the Executive Privileges on the last night & breakfast at the Premier Lounge]
The Facilities
The hotel has a gym, spa and pool area, all of them located at the 9th floor. The bar was also at the same level.
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| Chill out at Bar 9 and enjoy the city view |
The gym was quite equipped and opens until 10pm. There weren’t a lot of people that were using the gym when we went, but the treadmill that I wanted was taken so I tried to use a machine that used the walking motion (don’t know what that machine is called). Since it was my first time being in a gym (quite an accomplishment I think haha) and the fact that I did not adjust the level of resistance well… I lasted an amazing record of…. 2.5 minutes! Wahahaha Well, at least it’s a start?
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| A corner of the gym |
The pool might have been designed as an infinity pool but it was not that big, so if you are expecting something spectacular (like MBS infinity pool) than you might be slightly disappointed. However, no matter the size, it looked really tempting to take a dip on a sunny day!
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| The view of the pool at night and in the day time |
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| If you don't want to take a dip, having a cuppa by the pool is a great idea too |
As for the spa area, it was apparently somewhere to the side of the pool. Although we did not get to see it, DramaQueen’s parents enjoyed themselves thoroughly with a foot massage. DramaQueen topped up the credit that we had left to let her parents have some r&r, while the 2 of us just lazed about in the comfy room till it was time for check-out.
Complimentary Tuk Tuk Service / Concierge Service
Novotel Platinum Pratunam Hotel has this really cool service: there is a tuk tuk from the hotel that would will bring you around/to the nearest
BTS Station and shopping malls (e.g.
Siam Paragon,
Big C,
Central World).
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| The tuk tuk route and timings |
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| The 'sparkling' white tuk tuk rearing to go |
It is on a first come first serve basis and can accommodate up to 6 persons at a time. So make sure you check with the concierge at level 1 and they will arrange the ride for you. We used this service on our 3rd day to visit
Central World, where we watch “
Jurassic Park”. [
Getting to Central World on a tuk tuk and Movie Experience]
Do note that this service is one-way only. I think it would have been better if it were two-ways (e.g. pickup from certain BTS at certain timing which could be set or arranged with guests); thereby increasing the value of the service.
The Check-out Experience
Check-out time is usually 12pm, but I managed to get a late check-out at 1pm because our flight was in the late afternoon. There was a little confusion upon check-out ast the credit (yes, there was about 860baht credit left that we could use) but based on another calculation that the reception used, they stated that I should pay an additional 182 baht. However, that was soon rectified as I explained (again) to the manager (at the reception) that we still had credit (from the price guarantee) left that we could use and that the 182 baht was wrongly calculated. A quick call to the reservations team and it was clarified (again). Moral of the story? Make sure you know your facts and present them confidently. Lol
The overall experience was slightly marred by the miscommunication between the reservation team and reception, but it was a positive experience nonetheless. If the price is right, I'd definitely stay here again for my shopping spree fix.
Booking: Via the
website OR online for a better pricing
Hotel address: 220 Petchaburi Road Ratchatevee 10400 BANGKOK THAILAND
The tuk tuk service looks like a fantastic idea!
ReplyDeleteIt is, definitely a value added service! You should try it when you are there. :)
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