Staying at the same hotel (Hotel Royal in Bangkok) twice within a year is a feat for me and I was adamant to book a new hotel for my recent visit to the capital of Thailand; hereby introducing AETAS Lumpini; a five-star establishment!
What caught my attention was its proximity to the MRT station! Lumpini MRT station (exit 1) is less than a hundred meters away and the hotel was only about 500 meters away from Lumpini Park and Benchakitti Park.
Don't you find it interesting?! The door handles were in the shape of hotel's logo, which looks like an A in my opinion. I thought it was nice to incorporate the logo into something so functional, and memorable for guests.
Modern and comfortable hotel lobby!
Chandelier that lighted up the pathway going to the basement where "The Hourglass Restaurant" was. Serving buffet breakfast, I didn't bother checking it out since I didn't opt for breakfast.
One area that I frequently numerous times on a daily basis would be complimentary refreshment, where beverages switched from plain water, pandan water, chrysanthemum and roselle! I would have a cup or two when I left the hotel and another cup or two when I returned.
Continuing the check-in process, where we were allocated room 1415. That's quite a disappointment as I did request for high floor and AETAS Lumpini is 28-floor high. Nevertheless, request doesn't mean a guarantee.
Room - 1415
Stepping into our Deluxe King Room, after giving a few knocks on the door. First up would be the corridor with the luggage rack and wardrobe on our right, and entrance to the bathroom on the left.
At 42 square meters, it was spacious for a hotel that's considered to be at the city center, and you wouldn't believe that it cost us less than S$100 a night. p.s. the king size bed appeared queen in the above photo.
Do you like this all-in-one console (except for the TV controls)? I found it to be a remnant of the olden times although I had to admit that everything worked well; the air-conditioning was god damn cold, to the extent I had to switch it off in the morning before I took my morning shower.
Television was small compared to the 86-inch TV in my house. But I think I have mentioned before; I seldom switch on the television when I am in hotels as I prefer watching from the convenience of my mobile phone.
Desk with lamp; would have been useful for me to catch up with work but for this particular trip, I was on mandatory block leave (MBL) and had to stay away from replying any emails / messages! Frankly, I need more of such MBLs as it was an incredibly relaxing trip for me. p.s. numerous three-pin plugs in the room!
Mini-fridge, electric kettle, tea and coffee sachets were at this corner nearing the window! That's so far from the taps in the bathroom and for the sake of being eco-friendly, glass bottles of water were provided.
Chargeable drinks in the mini-fridge.
p.s. the plastic bottles of water were free, I guess?
Window view from our room. One feedback, they would need to improve the sound proofing as there were two hospitals near AETAS Lumpini and I can hear the ambulance sirens so clearly; they actually affected my sleep!
Inside the wardrobe; including ironing board, iron, bathrobes, slippers, in-room safe, and an umbrella! The things I would make use of would be the safe and the plastic laundry bags; latter assisted in keeping the foul smell of my dirty laundry!
Time to check out the bathroom!
From right to left; toilet bowl, separate shower area, vanity space, and then bathtub. Nowadays, I actually use the bathtub as I am obsessed with the toys hidden in the bath bombs from Don Don Donki!
The amenities; a hair dryer was also provided in one of the drawers but it was unsatisfyingly weak! I am better off drying my hair using the bath towel.
I recalled reading somewhere that the rooms were newly renovated; hence, another stint of disappointment with the shower. Shouldn't they upgrade to a rainfall shower instead? Saving grace was the tray of aromatic Cocomilk products which made me look forward to showering every time!
Eco-friendly measures that are quite standard nowadays.
Kids Club
A small playroom for the young kids; a facility that has no appeal for me since I have no kids and both my niece and nephews are already in their rebellious teenage age.
Located right next to Kids Club on the 9th floor would be the swimming pool, said to be heated! On booking websites like Trip.com, you get the impression there were two pools; one indoor, one outdoor.
Turned out to be one singular pool with about half that's sheltered. I brought along my swimming trunks but didn't have time to take a dip as my time in Bangkok is usually spent exploring the rest of the city! The hotel room, in essence, was just a place to sleep and shower.
While it's not a big draw yet, you would be assured that the rates for AETAS Lumpini would shoot up once this huge development right across the road is completed; One Bangkok!
A jacuzzi at the side!
More photographs of the swimming pool for your reference; god knows why I took so many when I didn't even bother swimming in it!
Those loving some alcohol while suntanning or after swim can page for a service staff from GMT Lounge on the same floor. I am stingy and preferred to walk about a 100 meters to 7-11 convenience store for a few bottles of Thai beer.
One activity that I have yet to get around to enjoying it. Maybe I would like it eventually, as I did with onsen, after my inaugural trip to Japan, to Hokkaido!
A sign at the lift lobby pointing to the direction of the gym wouldn't be too much of a surprise but the point was; I actually got stuck in the beginning.
I actually had to get past the above door.
Which led me to more doors; how could a five-star hotel fail in such a simply wayfinding of a facility so proudly displayed on their website?
Finally found the entrance to the gym. If not for the glass door showing its equipment, I can confidently say I would have just walked past on my first try.
Guess what's the one thing that caught my attention? Not the towels; it would have to be the line of plastic water bottles which would have been handier than the glass bottles in the our deluxe king room!
So loving the equipment in the gymnasium and it helped that there were not too many people using it when I visited. Frankly, I don't need too many varied equipment and happy with just simple weights, treadmills etc.
But this Cybex multiple-station training set totally blew me away; to the extent I would have loved to set aside one room just to accommodate it. My favorite has to be the modular assisted chin-up! Maybe I will return to AETAS Lumpini for the gym. On second thought, maybe not with the incessant ambulance sirens throughout the night.
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1030 4 Rama IV Rd, Thung Maha Mek,
Sathon, Bangkok 10120, Thailand
Map
As above.
Website
Pricing
Deluxe King Room - S$95.81
(Booked via Trip.com)
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