[Review] Kritthai Residence - Super Near National Stadium BTS @ Bangkok [Thailand] #kritthairesidence

Earlier this afternoon, i gave a strong endorsement for the buffet breakfast at Kritthai Residence. Now's my review for the 4-night stay at this hotel that's right next to National Stadium BTS!

The above accurately shows its super close proximity to the BTS although you may wish to note that there's only an escalator and it's upward-riding. Hence, even though you can get to the BTS platform quickly, your return back to the residence is less straightforward. To be honest, not an issue to us.

Our arrival at the residence for my last Bangkok trip in November 2018 was past midnight and as i couldn't have a good sleep on the plane; you can just imagine how shagged i was when i did the check-in.

Assigned to Room 604. 

Hotel wasn't huge, with only nine floors and 49 rooms; there's only one elevator which means you can't squeeze in at times. However, the staircase was well-lit and there were occasions whereby i walked down instead.

Floor directory for the 6th floor. Room 600 appeared to be the largest and it's likely the residence's double king room which can sleep 4 persons.

Bright corridor - the kind that 'allows' me to go in and out of my hotel room without any fear as i have a phobia of stepping out of hotel rooms as i always get the feeling, in dimly lit corridors, that someone is hiding and getting ready to scare me.

Our designated room for the next 4 nights; 604! Obviously, i have to adhere to the most common taboo before stepping into a new hotel room; knock! To ensure a peaceful 'stay', do check out the other taboos that are listed here! 

Room

Pictures of the Deluxe Triple room for your viewing pleasure; is this decor called minimalist? I thought there's some Japanese element to it though and absolutely love the classic alarm clock!

No enclosed closet by the way. 

Very important warning; do not set the temperature before 20 degrees celcius. A weird request especially when Bangkok is hotter and even more humid than Singapore. However, Singaporeans are known to follow by the book and likewise, we didn't play punk by tuning the knob lower. 

View outside our room; yes, we can literally say hi to all the passengers on the train but as National Stadium BTS is the end station; the trains along this particular track are for the purpose of changing track and hence, don't have any passengers. 

Toilet / Bathroom 

Yes, there's a bathtub which Alex liked very much. Well, i prefer a quick shower to a long bath whenever i am overseas; why waste time unless there's really nothing for me to do outside of the hotel. 

Breakfast 

Much has been mentioned of the buffet breakfast at Kritthai Residence this afternoon. In summary, despite the not-so-wide spread, this was one buffet breakfast i looked forward to every morning! Click here for the pictures. 

Always nice to have full height glass overlooking the outdoor; people watching in the comfort of the air-conditioned arena while having a delicious breakfast.

By the way, the bistro is on the same level as the reception and as you can see from above, there's not much of segregation although for the few days i stayed there; no one has ever attempted to eat breakfast off the sofa.

Business Centre

In case you need to check your email and / or need some printing / copying services. As residents, you would be given 3 complimentary black / white pages for one room. 

Sunbath Lounge

Let's check out the sunbath lounge on the top level of the hotel. p.s. it's not accessible by lift and you need to climb a flight to stairs.

As the name suggests, you can do plenty of suntanning although you have to keep in mind that there's no swimming pool! Quite a nice place to chill out at night with a few bottles of beer. 

There are actually two stadiums but you can't really see the one on the left. Right behind is the prestigious chulalongkorn university and further away, you would catch sight of the pixelated building called MahaNakhon Tower.

Issues

Now's the time to share the issues i faced and first on the list is that the soundproofing was rather bad. I am not exactly a light sleeper yet i can hear the shower running in the bathroom even though the door was closed! 

Second is the lack of curtains for the shower / bath! This means the floor would definitely be wet every morning and night since i wash up at least twice a day! 

This is related to soundproofing too. Even though the train track is right beside the hotel, i didn't face any problem with the noise from the trains. However, the energetic and persistent whistling from the guy in charge of traffic for the office building next door means there's no way i can sleep in on a weekday. 

Lastly, connectivity to WiFi. While it's rare to find super strong signal in hotels, it's frustrating to be given the username and password yet there's no way i can connect. 

Apparently i am not the only one as a notice in the lift actually indicated the step by step process to connect to the WiFi and it's applicable for both phone and laptop users! 

There's still an error and i eventually resolved it by going directly to the receptionist and requested for help. They were apologetic about it and my advice to those going to stay at Kritthai Residence; no point pulling out your hair and just approach the reception. 

In spite of the issues, i must say i did enjoy my stay in Kritthai Residence; to the extent that i was seriously contemplating returning to the same hotel for my upcoming trip! 

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Address

931/1 Soi Kasemsan 2 Rama 1 Rd. Wangmai, 

Pathumwan Bangkok, 10330 Thailand

Location Map

As above. 

Website

http://www.kritthai.com/

Pricing

Deluxe Triple Room with Breakfast - S$120.32 per night via hotels.com

Additional Information

Airport taxi rate, in case you are interested. 

Do check out my 5-day-, 4-night itinerary to Bangkok for more information on what i did and what i had in the City of Angels!

The Amazing Breakfast Buffet Spread @ Kritthai Residence [Bangkok, Thailand] #kritthairesidencebreakfast

I usually don't opt for breakfast whenever i book my overseas accommodations as i often feel that the price differentials are not worth the deal, especially when food is likely to be dismal and there are plenty of dining options outside the hotel. 

However, in the case of Kritthai Residence, the breakfast was already included in the room price and while i initially thought i would maybe give it a try once or at most twice in my 4-day trip; i was so impressed that i looked forward to having breakfast at the hotel every single morning! 

Bet i am not the only one as it's the same with my travel mates and i guess the 49-room hotel residents felt the same way too as the lobby was crowded with people every single morning.

The spread wasn't huge, to be honest, and can't be compared to those in international hotel chains. However, as far as taste is concerned; it has far exceeded my expectations! p.s. there's even homemade yogurt! 

Everything looked so fresh and it's rare to find me eating and enjoying stuff other than plain toast with jam and fried egg for breakfast; can't imagine that i stepped out every morning with a full stomach and this is coming from a person who doesn't see breakfast as a regular meal back in Singapore!

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Location

Kritthai Residence,

Bangkok, Thailand

Operating Hours

Breakfast Buffet - 7.00 am to 10.30 am.

Do check out my 5-day-, 4-night itinerary to Bangkok for more information on what i did and what i had in the City of Angels! 

The Series of Unfortunate Events @ Guizhou [China]

The sad story behind the Dong (minority tribe) Drum Tower isn't just the only suay (bad luck) thing i had in Guizhou. One of them was pretty minor; my dad emptied half the shampoo i brought from Singapore on the very first day in China as he thought it was shower gel. 

He also didn't bring any thicker clothing despite my insistence, and with temperature going as low as 3 degrees celsius; i had to pass him mine. Thankfully, i was able to endure the cold and was glad i stood firm in buying the windbreaker from Uniqlo in the departure hall of Changi Airport!

When we arrived at Guangzhou Baiyun airport, his shoe's sole came out and for his safety; i changed his shoes with mine. In just an hour's time, the other sole dislodged too! Again, i must applaud myself as my dad did adhere to my advice to bring an extra pair of shoes. 

The other major unfortunate incident happened at this beautiful Maling River Grand Canyon (马岭河峡谷). Saw that red arrow? That's the place i slipped and fell down the flight of stairs! 

In my haste to break the fall, i cut my finger and my wrist with blood oozing from the open wounds. The above pictures were actually taken around 1-2 hours later when i was back in the coach. While i felt a sore on my thigh, i didn't think too much about it.

Until i went back to the hotel and stripped down to take a shower; that's when i realized there's a large bruise decorated with lacerations! The colour was pretty faint and the above was shot when i was back in Singapore. At the moment, the bruise is barely noticeable. 

No matter what, the series of unfortunate events didn't alter the fact that my dad and i totally enjoyed the tour organized by Chan Brothers. Would i be back to Guizhou? You bet. 

The Sad Story Behind the Dong Tribe Drum Tower @ Kaili [Guizhou, China] #sadstory

I just returned from a tour to Guizhou (China) and those who have asked if i had enjoyed the trip; i would immediately say i definitely did and it's in fact the best tour i ever have in China! 

Not everything is rosy though and today, i am going to tell a sad story behind this unique pavilion that was built based on the traditional drum tower of the ethnic tribe; the Dong which is the second largest minority tribe in Guizhou province. 

Known as "迎客亭" which literally means the welcome guests pavilion; my dad and i decided to rest our feet at the wooden benches since we still had about 10 minutes to go before we met up with our tour mates for dinner. 

Since it's still pretty cold, i unzipped the tumbler to pour out the warm ginger tea for my dad. As i was carrying quite a number of things, i placed my DSLR on the side (as photoshopped in as above). Now, that's when the story gets sad; I forgot about the camera and by the time i realized about 10 minutes later; my Nikon D750 was gone. 

Six days of photographs, numbering at least 2,000; all gone. This painful lesson and the image of the pavilion (red arrow above) would be permanently etched in my memory. There were other unfortunate incidents which i would share in due course. 

Hongkong Style Bubble Egg Waffle from 香港米芝莲 (Mai Chi Lin) @ Guangzhou Baiyun Airport [China]

Airport food is renowned to be expensive and doesn't quite match up in terms of taste; hence, Alex always prefers to have fast food which is, at the very least, comparable to what you get on the streets. 

On my recent trip to Guizhou, where i had to transit at Guangzhou, i chanced upon a Hongkong cafe selling an item that i had been craving for since 1997. Yes, it's been that long and while i managed to get what i want in Singapore; it just didn't taste as good as what i had in Hongkong over 20 years ago! 

I know the name is a bit strange since its pronunciation sounds almost like it's a michelin-endorsed outlet. Nevertheless, the decor is very much Hongkong-cafe style. Look closely at the supposedly mosaic tiles; they were in fact real mahjong tiles!

In about 6-7 minutes, the freshly made Hongkong style egg waffle (also known as bubble waffle) was passed to me! With an enticing aroma that brought me back to the winter in 1997; i carefully plucked off an "egg" and popped it into my mouth.

MMmmmmm; finally, that unforgettable buttery yet egg-rich flavour! Soft on the inside with an exterior crust that's lightly crisp; the only feedback i had was that this could have been left longer in the griddle for a crispier bite!

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Location

Within the Domestic Departure Hall,

Guangzhou Baiyun Airport, China

Menu

As above.

Pricing

Egg Waffle - RMB 15.00