Hotel Review: JW Marriott, Bangkok

JW Marriott hotels are Marriott’s flagship hotels. Their highest luxury offering. I had the opportunity recently to stay at the JW Marriott in Bangkok, Thailand. This was my first ever stay at a JW and was I impressed. I have been told by others that the Bangkok property is in fact one of Marriott’s best. I hope to stay in more JW Marriott’s in the future and my bar has been set very high.

Location

The JW Marriott in Bangkok is located in prime property in the Sukhumvit area (Soi 2 to be exact). This is a high end area with several other malls, hotels, businesses and restaurants. It is right on the BTS Skytrain line, between the Nana and Asok train stations. Talking of Nana, yes the JW Marriott is located right around the corner from the (in) famous Nana’s Plaza. I could actually see the entrance from Nana’s plaza from my hotel window.

Ambience and Staff

The hotel has an excellent vibe. Clean, neat, with an excellent staff there to help and assist at all times. Right from Check-in to the concierge to the lounge (more on that soon), everyone was exceptional. The lobby is spacious with enough people at the front desk that there was never a line. There was live music in the lobby almost every time I went bye. There are multiple restaurants in the lobby level and other floors. I did not eat at any, except for a cup of coffee with a client in the lobby bar.

And oh yeah, there is a beautiful outdoor pool on the property (pictured above). Too bad I had no time to use it.

Executive Lounge

The highlight of the hotel for me was the executive lounge. It was beautiful, with warm food and myriads drinks available at all times. There was a staff large enough for it to be a full service restaurant. During breakfast and afternoon tea, there was a chef cooking food to order. And you did not have to wait around for the food to get ready, they would bring it to your table. There were TVs all around showing multiple US and European channels. I caught the end of a football game during breakfast, thanks to the time difference to the US. The food was excellent. I was there four days and came to the lounge for breakfast and an early evening snack all four days. There was good variety of Western and Asian/Thai foods and everything I tried was delicious.

The lounge also had a shoe shine service – complimentary. I used it the first day. Dropped my shoes off and they were in my room later that night, all shined up.

The Room

I stay in hotels for the room. The lobby, food, lounge, all can be great, but are all pointless if one does not get a good nights sleep or is able to relax in the room. No complaints here at all. The room were spacious, as one would expect in Asia. There were cloth slippers, a robe and an umbrella (needed for sure in Bangkok) in the room, and plenty of bottled water. The bathroom was spacious and as one finds in Asian hotels, with a large quantity of accessories. Yes, a toothbrush and toothpaste too – something one almost never sees in hotels in the West. There was a fresh Orchid in the bathroom too, which was a nice touch.