Thailand 2014: Millennium Hilton Bangkok

Introduction
Cathay Pacific Lounge San Francisco
Cathay Pacific First Class San Francisco to Hong Kong
Cathay Pacific Lounge The Pier Hong Kong
Cathay Pacific Business Class Hong Kong to Bangkok
Millennium Hilton Bangkok
Cooking with Poo
Overnight Train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai
Le Meridien Chiang Mai
Patara Elephant Farm
Bangkok Airways Economy Class Chiang Mai to Ko Samui
Conrad Koh Samui
Bangkok Airways Koh Samui to Bangkok
Thai Airways First Class Check-in and Lounge Bangkok
EVA Air Evergreen Lounge Bangkok
Louis’ Tavern First Class CIP Lounge Bangkok
Singapore SilverKris Lounge Bangkok
Thai Airways First Class Bangkok to Hong Kong
Singapore Airlines Lounge Hong Kong
Thai Airways Lounge Hong Kong
Asiana Business Class Hong Kong to Seoul
Asiana Airlines First Class Lounge Seoul
Asiana Airlines First Class Suites Seoul to New York
United Airlines Business Class PS Service New York to San Francisco

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When I was booking the hotel in Bangkok, I was deciding between the Millennium Hilton and the Conrad. I ultimately chose the Millennium due to its supposedly better location for tourists, since it’s located on the river, and many tourist attractions are located along the river. In the future, though, I’d probably try to choose a hotel closer to a BTS station, as it got a little old after the second day to have to take the hotel’s shuttle boat every single time you wanted to get anywhere.

Since our flight arrived quite late at night, the only option was to take a taxi to the hotel, so we went to the taxi queue and got a taxi. At first, the driver tried to take us for a flat fee, but I insisted on the meter. He still ended up taking us on a VERY roundabout way and driving 90+ miles per hour, but at the end, the total cost was 570 baht (450 fare + 50 airport surcharge + 70 for tolls), which was only a couple of dollars more than the fare should have been, and I didn’t feel like arguing at 1am.

The first thing I noticed about the hotel was the mosquitos. Granted, this hotel is in Bangkok, and there are mosquitos in Bangkok, but there were mosquitos in all of the common areas of the hotel, including the lobby, restaurant, and executive lounge. You should definitely wear bug spray whenever you’re not in your room.

I was upgraded to an executive room, which was on the smaller size but adequate. The room was nicely furnished and had a lot of stuff in it, which made it feel a little bit crowded. The bed was large and comfortable, the bathroom was large, but the biggest problem I had with the room was the lack of separation between the bed and the bathroom. There’s no actual wall, but instead there are just slats like a window shade separating the two, which I found less than ideal.

I was told that I could get breakfast at either the executive lounge or at Flow, the hotel’s ground floor restaurant. The first day, I got breakfast at the executive lounge, but I ended up eating at Flow the rest of my stay due to the slightly better selection. The service in the executive lounge was great, and the views were quite good.

I also got afternoon tea in the lounge one day, and they served everyone who arrived an entire tray of snacks that were decently tasty for a complimentary tea.

 

Breakfast in the lounge was a more impersonal affair, but the selection was better. In particular, I enjoyed the hot soy milk and toppings on offer, as well as the noodle bar. Otherwise, I’d probably choose the executive lounge given the better views and service.

 

Overall, I found the breakfast offerings at the hotel to be quite good, and I didn’t get tired of the food after four days. The food ranged from decent to good, and the selection was varied with American, Thai, Japanese, Chinese, and Indian food on offer.

I didn’t use too many of the hotel’s facilities except for the gym, but the pool area seemed to be relatively popular. Besides the pool, there were plenty of places to get some sun, including a fake “beach” area, and a couple of small fresh water jacuzzis. The gym had a decent selection of machines, but I particularly liked the large multi-use room that they had.

Overall, I enjoyed my stay at the Millennium Hilton. The room served my needs, housekeeping was good, breakfast was pretty good, and the service was competent. Honestly, my biggest complaint about the hotel is the elevators, which were terribly slow and often seemed to stop on floors with no one on them. I’m not sure I’d stay at this hotel again due to its location, which is good for first-time visitors to Bangkok, but relatively inconvenient otherwise since you essentially have to take the river boat to get anywhere. The hotel offers complimentary boats to the Saphan Taksin BTS station and to a mall called River City right across the river, but the boat essentially adds 20 minutes each way to any trip.