Grand Hyatt Erawan BangkokBangkok is a vibrant city and a major hub in South-East Asia. Although known as the city of angels, some describe it as the city of cars, but don't let that put you off! The capital of Thailand is friendly and colourful with a range of sights in the city (including fantastic temples and the Grand Palace) and further away (such as the floating market, Ayutthaya and numerous experiences in Kanchanaburi). The Thai people are incredibly gracious and Thailand is an exciting destination, where you can ride an elephant bareback, visit ancient temple complexes, learn to cook your favourite dishes or relax with a massage.
The Grand Hyatt Erawan is situated in a major shopping area of Bangkok, a short walk away from Lumpini Park. It is easy to reach from the airport by either limousine, taxi or airport train - allow at least an hour for the journey but it may take less. It is a great mix of a business hotel (with all the conveniences a business traveller needs and a terrific function suite - The Residence) and a leisure hotel (complete with numerous food and beverage outlets, a swimming pool and spa). The hotel has a fantastic club lounge on the 17th floor with some of the best food of any club lounge we have seen, with views over the hustle and bustle of Bangkok and the calm of The Royal Bangkok Sports Club. Grand Suite KingOn our most recent visit (July 2015) we took these pictures are of a newly renovated suite. These are assigned when using a diamond confirmed suite upgrade certificate. The theme of Thai residence style is carried over from the Grand King rooms in typical Tony Chi style and the result is much fresher than the older more colonial era vibe. The suite consists of a living room with upholstered seating, dining and work area with glass topped table, separate bedroom and 1.5 bathrooms (powder room + full bathroom with separate tub and shower). All rooms are of a reasonable size and very clean.
Our diamond amenity was a fruit bowl and tubs of dried mango, coconut and banana - it was nice to see fresh fruit from South-East Asia, and everything was ripe. The coffee machine undoubtedly produces good quality coffee but is laborious to use and I certainly prefer the simplicity of Nespresso. Some will love it though, even if only for its style. The bathroom with twin washbasins is very generous in size and the shower is wonderful. Club LoungeWe are very excited to show you these pictures of the expanded and completely revamped club lounge at Erawan. It was previously our favourite Hyatt club lounge but, in 2013 it got a makeover. Whether you prefer a continental breakfast or pancakes, fried noodles or scrambled eggs they have it all. The orange juice in Thailand seems to us the best in the world. During the day, a range of fresh fruit and cookies are available, along with soft drinks.
The food here in the evening is excellent but recently we've noticed less Thai food and more international cuisine which is a shame. However, if you have club lounge access you won't need to eat out. The food changes daily but on a typical evening there is a large choice of buffet items, including many Western options, such as smoked salmon, breads, quiche and cheeses, in addition to some Asian dishes, including satay chicken skewers, crispy rice crackers and tiny dishes of papaya salad (I usually take about six which makes a child size portion). The beverage list includes a decent choice of white and red wine plus premium spirits, local and international beers and of course, soft drinks. A variety of desserts are available. Spa and Leisure FacilitesAs with the Barai in Hua Hin and Plateau in Hong Kong, iSawan is the residential spa in the Grand Hyatt Erawan. Situated adjacent to the pool area and detached from the main hotel, the spa cottages offer suite-like rooms on the 5th floor, with separate treatment area, living room, bedroom and a large bathroom (with steam room, shower and bath). When paying the daily rate for a spa cottage, the rate includes in-room cocktails in the evening and a daily massage per person. We recommend the spa cottage membership package - 30,000 THB for a host of benefits including a voucher for a free night in a spa cottage, 4 half day spa escapes (up to 3h45 treatment time each), a manicure/pedicure package and discounts at various spas in the Asian Hyatt network as well as 10% discount off the room rate at The Barai.
As you would expect, the hotel offers a modern gym (with rowing machine) and a 25 metre free-form outdoor swimming pool, complete with jacuzzi. Some of the pictures to the left were provided to us by management of the Grand Hyatt Bangkok, as there was an event on at the leisure club during our stay. All other photos are our own. Overall Impression |
Grand King RoomThe Grand Hyatt Erawan underwent a major a refurbishment in 2012/2013. Featured here is one of the renovated King rooms on a lower floor - this is a standard room.
The new rooms are much lighter and more modern, yet still retain some oriental influences. The rooms are designed by Tony Chi with his trademark clean lines. The room is designed in a Thai Residence style, and different flooring is used to separate the functional areas of the room: the entrance has Thai tiles and the bedroom is carpeted. One major change is to the working area, which instead of a traditional desk now has a glass table with a chair and a comfy couch to sit at. So, you can work, admire the view and interact with a travelling partner all at once. Throughout, there are numerous sockets available so you can charge all your gadgets, and the minibar also has some more local touches. One of our favourite technologies in the hotel are the bed-side controllers, which allow the A/C fan speed to be adjusted, the lights dimmed or the master off switch for the lights - fantastic not to have to get out of bed to do these things. The room also has new focussed beam lamps by the bed, so you can read or work whilst your partner sleeps. The new bathrooms contain a small but sufficient bath and a separate rain shower, which is of a good size. The quality of the fittings and the small touches make for a big improvement on the old rooms. Grand Executive SuiteOn one of our many stays couple of years ago, we were treated to a Grand Executive Suite (after booking a Grand Room). These suites enter through double doors into a large lounge with a guest cloakroom on the left. The lounge is very spacious has comfortable seating for a small group, with a dining table for 6. On one side of the lounge is a great personal bar with a range of premium spirits, 3 red wines, 3 white wines, champagne and soft drinks (all charged).
The suite also has a small kitchen - provided with bread, Erawan Bakery jams and a toaster, which is a nice touch. The bedroom area of the Executive Suite is the same as a Grand Suite with a comfortable chaise for lounging and admiring the view. The bathroom of the Executive Suite is larger than the Grand Suite, with a huge rain-shower, twin sinks and a jacuzzi bath-tub (complete with in-mirror TV). Our diamond welcome amenity on this stay included a deluxe fruit selection, a bottle of red wine (good quality Chilean Cab Sauv) macaroons, Voss water and a trio of snacks (nuts, dried banana and dried coconut). DiningThe Grand Hyatt Erawan offers a range of dining options with something to please most any taste, including Tables (offering European fine dining with live-cooking stations), the Italian restaurant Spasso, buffet from the Dining Room, noodles from You & Mee, sandwiches from Snax and sweet temptations from the Erawan Bakery or Erawan Tea-room. Additionally, there is the casual dining option of Breezeaway, located near the pool, and a number of bars, such as the Juice Bar or Bar@494, offering 30 different wines by the glass, starting from as little as 99 Baht.
Although not included for diamond members, room service breakfast is good value, and we can recommend the dim sum (2 kinds of steamed dim sum and 2 kinds of steamed bun) and the fresh fruit. Our selection was delivered a little early (we were still in the shower) but the dim sum remained hot in the heated box until we were ready around 10 minutes later. Meetings and EventsOne of the best features of many Hyatts we have visited is the Residence events space, offering a show kitchen, meeting rooms and break-out areas. The Grand Hyatt Erawan was the first Hyatt hotel to have such an event space and once again it was designed by Tony Chi.
The Residences are a beautiful space suitable for a large corporate gathering, traditional meetings or a group event, such as a cocktail reception. Of particular note is Residence 5, which is like a residence within the Residences. The entrance to this space is through a display of whiskies reminiscent of a cellar in a top hotel. Inside is a spacious dining area suitable for groups of around 30-60, as well as a high-end show kitchen and lounge area for informal socialising. Perhaps most unique is the loggia situated off the lounge, with a meeting space for a small group. This room is a real sun catch (although don't worry - it's air conditioned) and has fantastic views over the Erawan Shrine which was built to protect the hotel. It is hard to do justice to this extensive and flexible conference and training centre facility photographically, go have a look next time you're in Bangkok. |
Bangkok is one of our favourite cities, and Thailand an interesting, varied and friendly country. The Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok is a great hotel for business and leisure travellers alike, especially now that the rennovations have been completed. The club lounge has some of the best evening offerings we have seen, the customer service at the hotel is extremely good and activities on offer near the hotel are incredibly diverse.