My Amazing Life-Chapter 4, The Chatrium Hotel Riverside Bangkok Review

We hit the ground at around 11:45 PM local time in Bangkok on November 13, 2013. This was after being in the air or airports for a whopping 27 hours and I was exhausted. There are times I can fall asleep quickly and there are times my body fights every effort to dose off on airplanes. I couldn’t manage more than about an hour or two’s sleep on the way to Asia. So I was eager to get to our hotel.

 

As I have written in a prior post our destination was the Chatrium Hotel Riverside Bangkok located on the banks of the Chao Phraya River. Given the late hour I thought it might have been a little disorganized. I was very wrong. We arrived at the hotel and were given our keys. Our bags were taken separately and arrived approximately 5 minutes after I did. Score a 10 right off the bat! My room was awesome and was more than I anticipated.

 

King Size Bed (I loved It)

King Size Bed (I loved It) Comfy Slippers Also

 

Given it was 3:00 PM at home there was no way I could sleep, even though I gave it a valiant effort. I decided I would skip breakfast, as I knew if I slept it would only be minimal. The first morning was uneventful and I arrived slightly early and checked out the lobby. Much to my surprise there was a lobby full of beauty contestants for the Miss Grand International contest and I found out they would be there our entire stay.

 

It was kind of by coincidence, but I met Ms. Ecuador and had to have a selfie! Beautiful young lady from Quito and originally from Esmeralda on the coast. We headed out for the day and I learned our hotel inspection would be the following afternoon by Sommai Yocapajorn, the hotel’s PR Manager.

 

Ms. Ecuador with The Nomadic Texan

Ms. Ecuador with The Nomadic Texan

 

Ms Grand International Bus

Ms Grand International Bus

 

Malaysia Tourism Board Member Irni Nor with Ms. Malaysia

Malaysia Tourism Board Member Irni Nor with Ms. Malaysia

 

The hotel is a exquisite place to stay in a quiet neighborhood and far enough away from any freeways that one does not hear any traffic. I loved the fact I had my own balcony and it was very good size. The night time views were extraordinary.

 

View of the Chao Phraya River at Night from a Chatrium Balcony

View of the Chao Phraya River at Night from a Chatrium Balcony

 

The room we occupied was a Grand Suite One-Bedroom and comes equipped with a very nice bathroom with separate shower and bath, a small kitchenette with dining area and a large living and entertaining area. The room is 70 square meters. These rooms are above the 17th floor and cost around $100 a night US. That is a fantastic deal, given it is a 5 star hotel. This price requires a three night stay. Its slightly higher for a single night stay.

 

Living Area

Living Area

 

A Two-Bedroom Grand suite is 120 square meters and only runs about $185 Us Dollars. Both bedrooms have work desks and WiFi and all the benefits of the one bedroom are present. This includes the luxurious shower, tub and kitchenette, along with a dining and living area. Not to mention the large balcony. All rooms are equipped with safes, coffee, plates silverware, cups glasses, cooking ware and utensils if you are inclined to stay in and cook. Again the price requires a three night stay.

 

Kitchenette Area

Kitchenette Area

 

The top of the line rooms are the one, two and three bedroom suites located on the 31st through 34th floor with private dining quarters and business office. The One-Bedroom suite is 125 square meters and has access to all days snacks and evening cocktails. A full breakfast is also included. We toured all room examples and I was impressed with the pricing and size of the rooms. You would have to reserve specific dates for a quote on the Chatrium Club rooms as these are known.

 

#35th Floor Decoration

#35th Floor Decoration

 

Chatrium Club Dining Room with Abha Modeling

Chatrium Club Dining Room and Waiting Area

 

Business Office for Chatrium Club Members

Business Office for Chatrium Club Members

 

Breakfast at the hotel was a buffet style set up that includes every type of item one might want to eat early in the day. My friend from Thailand ate a bowl of noodles with vegetables almost every day and I ate plates of fruit, egg dishes, bread and tried various Asian dishes. The breads have an entire room dedicated to your choice or type of wheat, rice or corm flour based product. It was a challenge just to decide this, much less egg dishes or other healthy offerings as he main course.

 

External Photo of the Dining Area

External Photo of the Dining Area

 

The hotel has a wonderful pool area that is spacious and on the 6th floor away from all noise. It is a very nice facility and has a pool bar and changing rooms. If the weather had been nicer I probably would have jumped in.

 

Pool Was Huge

Pool Was Huge

 

Pool Bar

Pool Bar

 

Overall I have to rate the Chatrium Hotel Riverside as a top notch facility. I had no issues except learning how to turn the shower on. A funny story and as I must be thick between the ears I took a completely cold shower the first day before learning that the hot water was in the opposite direction of expectations. I can only say that I know for a fact that I wasn’t the only one and the names of the individuals involved shall remain nameless.

 

Shower for All Rooms (Push Back for Hot Water)

Shower for All Rooms (Push Back for Hot Water)

 

If you find yourself in Bangkok and are searching for a nice hotel with all the facilities of a 5 star complex I would recommend the Chatrium Hotel Riverside for its, service, cleanliness and its economic pricing. The fact that it has its own shuttle to make your way across the Cha0 Phraya River to Wat Arun, the Asiatique shopping center or numbers of other attractions also doesn’t hurt. Try it, you cannot go wrong in my opinion. A huge Thanks goes out to Adrian Brown the General Manager and our host at the hotel.

 

Chao Phraya Shuttle from Hotel

Chao Phraya Shuttle from Hotel

 

 

 

 

 

 

*** My trip to Thailand and Malaysia was sponsored by Thai Airways, the Tourism Authority of Thailand and Tourism Malaysia USA. All opinions are solely mine and as always generated without any influence.

 

 

 

 

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Hotels and Resorts




6 responses to “My Amazing Life-Chapter 4, The Chatrium Hotel Riverside Bangkok Review”

  1. Linda Bibb says:

    Mike, that’s quite an impressive hotel! As Dan and I expect to be in Thailand this year, I’ll keep it in mind. I am sure it’ll be a fabulous place to stay.

    • NOMADICTEXAN says:

      Linda,
      What impressed me the most was the pricing. Unless I did a wrong calculation, it is a spectacular deal for the money. I truly thought it had fantastic facilities (5 star in my feeble mind) and was well worth the price if I had paid for it out of my own pocket and it hadn’t been sponsored! It was superb if you are in Bangkok. You will have to hire transportation (taxi or something to get to the main attractions though). I miss Thailand already. I really love that country and its people, not to mention the food. Ha!
      Mike

  2. Hey! I resemble that remark! Great write up!

    • NOMADICTEXAN says:

      Cindy,
      You resemble that more than me probably, since you keep going to Europe. Hope you get there at least five times this year! Ha!
      Mike

  3. Aloha,

    I will be staying here with my 88 year old hanai mother with mobility issues. Is getting on and off the boat easy? Do they have a ramp or do you have to hop on?
    Thank you for the info!

    • NOMADICTEXAN says:

      Ja-ne,
      To the best of my memory we had to walk on. I don’t believe there was a ramp, but I could be wrong. The Thai people are very nice and I am sure any assistance necessary, will be given freely. Hope you enjoy Bangkok as much as I did.
      Mahalo,
      Mike

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