Review: Crowne Plaza Lumpini Park – Bangkok, Thailand

This past week spent in Bangkok I spent the first two nights at the Park Plaza Bangkok Soi 18 and just checked out from a five night stay at the Crowne Plaza Lumpini Park in Bangkok.

The Crowne Plaza Lumpini Park was a property on IHG’s PointBreaks list for stays from May 27 – June 31, 2014. Staying at this hotel for only 5,000 only points per night was a tremendous value. For the five nights I spent a total of 25,000 IHG points and as a Platinum Elite member I received an upgrade to an Executive Club Level room on the 31st floor.

Normally an award night costs 25,000 points per night at the hotel and rates for a standard room run around ~$150 per night. Club level rooms are a bit more expensive and start at ~$240 per night.

Having Platinum Elite status came with the following benefits during this stay:

• Upgrade to Club Lounge Room and free breakfast
• Complimentary internet
• 2 complimentary drinks from the hotel bar
• Welcome gift that included cookies and fruit plate

On Trip Advisor the hotel is ranked #31 among hotels in Bangkok, has a 95% recommendation from reviews, and received a Trip Advisor ‘Certificate of Excellence 2014′.

Location

The hotel is centrally located in Bangkok and on the southwest corner of Lumpini Park. Within walking distance you can reach the Si Lom MRT (metro) and BTS Skytrain stations which will get you to almost anywhere in the city. Other than that you can easily grab a cab for a few bucks.

The hotel itself is located within a massive building with floors 1-22 used as office space for major companies like Oracle and the Associated Press. From Lumpini Park you can see the hotel tucked among the other large high rises.

The entrance to the hotel is very unassuming and actually tucked away from the street.

The Hotel

As soon as we pulled up in our cab the bellhop came and grabbed our bags and put a tag on them with our names. We then headed up to the lobby on the 23rd floor.

When you first enter the building you will find concierge desk is on the ground floor, but to get to reception you actually have to take the elevator up to the 23rd floor.

Everything within the hotel is quite sleek and shiny, with almost too many mirrors in my opinion. Here are the three elevators up to the reception level.

On this level you are immersed into an elegant Thai vibe with intricate designs and moldings along the walls, the ceilings and furniture. The reception lobby serves as both a meeting area, entrance to the hotels Panorama restaurant, and the elevators are directly across from the reception desk.

From the reception level you actually have to take a separate set of elevators up to your hotel room. Ideally this can get a little bit annoying if you make frequent trips from the street level to your room as you have to switch elevators.

I was given room 3112, an Executive Club Level room on the 31st floor. The hallway to the room was very simple and wide, and felt more typical of a Crowne Plaza property.

Executive Club Level Room

The room was a large rectangle shape with an entryway passing the bathroom on the left as you enter. The room was spacious and included a small lounge and desk on the far side. The room had turndown service every night around 7 PM and on our first night we came back to a welcome gift that included a a plate with biscotti’s with chocolate and fruit sauce and a fruit plate.

The decor is not elegant by any means and if anything a bit underwhelming as it is simple with earthy hues, very much the opposite ambiance of that in the lobby and restaurant area. In between the bedroom and bathroom there is a closet that also serves as a divider.

The bathroom is a long rectangle which gives it a less boxy feel and not as cluttered. It fits with the rest of the room and has two sinks, a rain shower and separate bathtub. The toilet is a high-tech gadget and turns on every time you enter the room, it also has many buttons which I couldn’t figure out how to use. Fret not, there is an uncomplicated, standard flush option.

The view from the 31st floor was great during the day and at night the skyline phenomenal.

The Lounge & Breakfast

Club Level rooms on the 31st and 32nd floor have access to the lounge and can be entered from either floor between 6 AM and 11 PM. It also offers breakfast, but I found the breakfast spread downstairs to be much superior and varied so I ate at the main restaurant every morning. The lounge itself is an island in the middle of the 31st floor and is staffed by 3-4 waiters at all times.

The lounge was very large and had both a dining area and large casual relaxing area with books and flat screen TVs.

It featured free beverages until 11 p.m. including coffee, lattes, tea, cookies, pastries, water, soda, fruit, a mac computer and printer as well as free alcoholic beverages and canapés from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m.

The hotel’s main breakfast area is at the Panorama hotel on the 23rd floor and as the name entails offers panoramic views of Bangkok. There is both an air conditioned inside seating area as well as a semi-outside terrace which is still protected with a set of windows though felt humid at times.

The breakfast spread was well appointed and offered both both western breakfast options like eggs, waffles, pancakes, cereal, yogurt, eggs, fresh local fruit, cold cuts, croissant, muffins and if you want an Asian style breakfast there is the option of of pad thai, meats, fried rice, miso soup, noodle options, curries and various stir fry option.

 The Pool & Gym

The hotel has an outdoor swimming pool on the 24th floor which is not large by any means. It has three areas: a standard 4′ deep pool for short laps, a jacuzzi and another small pool with a waterfall. It was rarely used during our stay but did provide a nice place to take a dip during the a hot day or in the evening.

There is also a small gym adjacent to the pool with a handful of treadmills and weight machines, and if you want to venture outdoors you can easily head across the street for a run around Lumpini Park.

Bottom Line on the Crowne Plaza Lumpini Park

I enjoyed the Crowne Plaza Lumpini Park and the stay was very nice. It felt like a big professional hotel that mostly serves business people, but could easily be enjoyed for leisure travel as well. Overall it is a great hotel that is centrally located hotel in Bangkok, and if you happen to book a stay at the PointBreaks rate you are getting an amazing value.

The Crowne Plaza has large spacious rooms, a great lounge, and a more business feel that you may either enjoy or not. The food and service at the hotel is top-notch and staff are more than helpful and friendly.

Have you stayed at the Crowne Plaza Lumpini Park? And if so, what was your stay like?

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