Review: Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok (King Bed Club Access)

Nightly rate: THB 2,769 nett (S$121)
Hyatt Privé package: US$100 hotel credit, breakfast, club lounge, room upgrade
Length of stay: 2 nights (x3)
Membership level: Explorist

Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok opened in 1991 and was last renovated in 2014. The hotel has 22 floors and 380 rooms now.

I stayed in this hotel 3 times (2 nights each) to receive generous Hyatt Privé benefits while waiting for my Globalist status from the current promotion to post. It made sense to book the Hyatt Privé rate as it was only about THB 350 ($15) more than the lowest nightly rate.

I stayed at The Athenee and Marriott Marquis Queen’s Park in between the 3 stays.

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Location

The hotel is located in the heart of Bangkok with convenient access to large malls and a BTS station. The mall and BTS station can be accessed via the lower level, near Erawan Bakery.

• 3 mins walk to Chit Lom BTS station

• 5 mins walk to Central World mall

• 35 mins drive to Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK)

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Arrival

This was my first proper hotel stay in Bangkok and I travelled directly from my quarantine hotel. Upon arrival, we were assisted with our luggages, had our temperatures taken and were directed to the reception.

The lobby was massive, like Sheraton Grand Dubai Creek and most 5-star hotels built in the 1990s.

I knew about the Hyatt Privé benefits beforehand but was pleasantly surprised that the hotel is offering club benefits to Hyatt Privé guests on top of the US$100 credit, breakfast and room upgrade. That’s pretty close to Globalist treatment, only missing the suite upgrade!

I was upgraded by 1 category, to the King Club access room which is similar to the base room, just with a better view and higher floor.

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The room

The room is a decent 40sqm / 430sqft in size. While it didn’t feel modern, it was very well-maintained and there were no obvious signs of wear and tear.

The bathroom felt small, especially the shower area.

There wasn’t a coffee machine in the room, which is quite disappointing for a Grand Hyatt.

I stayed on the 18th, 22nd and 17th floor during my stays and there were not much difference with the views. I could see the huge Central World mall and The Royal Bangkok Sports Club from the rooms.

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Best rooms

In general, I always ask for a room on the highest floor possible and it must not be a connecting room (less noise).

The best rooms in this hotel are those on the higher floors, facing Central World. Get a room on the 17th floor if you would like to stay on the same floor as the club lounge.

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Breakfast

Breakfast is complimentary for Hyatt Privé reservations and can be had at The Dining Room from 7am till 10.30am. Breakfast was served as an assisted buffet and the spread was good. Food quality was just alright.

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Club lounge

The Grand Club lounge is located on level 17. There are stairs connecting the 16th to the 18th floor that can be used to access this lounge. When I was staying on the 18th floor, I found it more convenient than waiting for the lift to go down one floor.

Breakfast was served in the lounge on the Valentine’s Day weekend but on other days, guests could have breakfast at The Dining Room at the lobby.

The lounge was opened from 12 noon till 5.30pm for non-alcoholic drinks and 5.30pm till 7.30pm for hors d’oeuvres and happy hour. There were no Afternoon Tea during my stays.

The light snacks offered during happy hour was weak for the Grand Hyatt brand but it was acceptable to me, considering the nightly rate that I paid.

Because of the really low occupancy, there were only about 5 other tables occupied during happy hour every day.

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You & Mee restaurant

The plan was to use up my USD 100 per stay credit across all 3 restaurants during the 3 stays but we loved the food at You&Mee restaurant so much that we did not visit the others! We enjoyed the lobster curry noodles the most. 4 of this lobster dish can be covered near-perfectly by the credit.

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Other facilities

The swimming pool is located on a low floor and I could hear lots of traffic noise while I was there.

The gym is well-equipped and large for a property of this size.

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Ratings

Breakfast: 8/10
Service: 9/10
Location: 10/10
Room: 8/10
Facilities: 9/10
Executive lounge: 7/10
Elite member recognition: 8/10
Value (for what I paid): 9/10

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Bottom line

Because of the small difference between the lowest room rate and Hyatt Privé rate it was a no-brainer to book the latter.

I experienced inconsistencies with how the hotel converted the US$100 credit at checkout after all 3 stays. There was a receptionist who converted it using the hotel’s exchange rate (with a 6.5% mark-up). After informing him about how I received a better exchange rate on the previous stay, the receptionist mentioned that he will use the “bank’s exchange rate”.

As this were my first experiences with Hyatt Privé, I wonder how other non-American hotels handle the exchange rate.

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