The Location

Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit Hotel sits along the main artillery road in Bangkok – Sukhumvit Road, which leads towards the city centre. The hotel is located about 5 mins walk from Terminal 21 Shopping Mall, and there are numerous food and shopping options surrounding the hotel. Despite not being situated in the heart of Bangkok, Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit is wedged between two BTS stations – Nana and Asok stations, and both are around 5 mins walk from the hotel, making exploring the city of Bangkok via public transport a breeze. Although the two stations are equidistance from the hotel, I prefer to walk to Asok station (despite being one station further to central Bangkok than Nana station) via the covered walkway with a direct link to the hotel that sheltered us from the hot sun in Bangkok. Besides the BTS, the hotel is also very well located within 6 mins walk to Sukhumvit MRT station, which gives us the additional choice of transport for exploring Bangkok.

The Opera Suite

We originally booked the Prestige Suite and were given an upgrade to one of the three Opera Suites upon checking in due to my friend’s Diamond status with Accor. The 104m² Opera Suite is spacious and decorated with both Thai elements and French themes in different parts of the suite. I like the small balcony attached to the suite, which gave us a spot to look out into the Bangkok skyline around the Asok area.

Living Room

The entirety of the living room unfolds before our eyes from the entryway the moment we enter the suite, where we get our first glimpse of the spaciousness of the suite. The wooden floorings and the dark brown dining table graced the Opera Suite at Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit Hotel with a sense of cosiness. The huge dining table furnished with four chairs sits near the entrance of the Opera Suite, providing ample space for the occupants to feast. Besides this for dining, we mostly used this table to place the things we bought. A marble-laid powder room next to the entrance to the suite provided us with additional toilet facilities, which also prevented the awkwardness of guests of the occupants of the Opera Suite having to bash through the bedroom to use the toilet.

The lounge area, located after the dining table, occupies most of the space in the living room. I like how Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit Hotel only furnishes the Opera Suite with practical furniture instead of over cluttering the space, giving the suite a sense of spaciousness and certainly more space for its occupants to move around. The lounge area is furnished with one five-seater couch, an armchair and an ottoman-like chair. I also find the dark brown wooden coffee table the right size and not unnecessarily large. The LED TV mounted by the wall seems to be a tad too small for the size of the living room. There are numerous channels (over 50 channels) on the TV catering to international guests. I find the TV channels boring as there are limited English channels on the TV (they do not even have Discovery Channel and the only National Geographic channel is in Thai). Most of the channels on the TV in Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit Hotel are in the Thai language, and a few more are in various European and Asia languages.

The mini bar is placed inside the Thai-style wooden cabinet under the TV. The mini-fridge, well-stocked with overpriced drinks and snacks (as with most hotels), is hidden in the right-most cabinet. While cups, glasses, and tea are found on the left cabinet. The hotel uses the Illy espresso machine and provides Opera Suite quests with three capsules per day, and I find it weird that the hotel charges THB150 per capsule for extra capsules. However, Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit Hotel is generous with providing drinking water, placing them in strategic spots throughout the suite.

A large glass-top work desk sits in one corner of the living room by the floor-to-ceiling window, farthest away from the main entrance to the Opera Suite. The chair with the work desk is comfortable enough for guests to work for hours. I like that Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit Hotel furnishes an armchair with a small side table in the other corner, opposite the work desk. This armchair provides guests with a place to read a book or chill while looking out into the Bangkok skyline.

Balcony

The Opera Suite is one of the few rooms in Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit Hotel that comes with a balcony. While the balcony is not a large space, it is a great spot that we used to look out into the Bangkok skyline. The balcony has two large chairs and a table, but we find the chairs to be a little dirty to sit on.

Bedroom

The bedroom of the Opera Suite in Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit Hotel is decorated with French elements, from the carpet to the bedside lamps. The bedroom occupies about 1/3 of the space in the Opera Suite, and the large king bed immediately caught my attention as I entered the bedroom. The sleep quality on the king bed is excellent, together with the firm mattress and pillows that the hotel provides, taking away the fatigue from exploring Bangkok, leaving me refreshed the next day to explore the city. In addition, the powerful air conditioner in the suite contributes to the comfort, which took away the brutal Bangkok heat. However, I thought the available space on bedside tables was limited; despite being a fairly large table, the bulk of the table is taken up by the large bedside lamps and the telephone, which hardly works. Fortunately, the drawers at the bedside tables provided me with storage space for smaller items. In front of the king bed is a small sofa we can use to watch TV. However, we mainly use this bed foot bench to put our bags on.

Another LED TV is mounted on the wall opposite the king bed, which allows us to watch whatever we find entertaining on the channels in bed. This LED TV is the same size as that found in the living room of the Opera Suite, but the TV seems of the right size due to the size of the bedroom and the distance between the TV and the bed. The TV has the same entertainment options as that in the living room. An empty cabinet sits below the TV, providing additional space to put away our shopping from Bangkok.

The Opera Suite has three large wardrobes, ideally positioned outside the bedroom’s bathroom entrance. There are plentiful areas for us to stow away our clothing, and I think there are no problems with these wardrobes swallowing up to two weeks worth of clothes that guests might bring with them. In addition, the drawers in one wardrobe provided additional storage space for small clothing items. Here, we found the in-room safe, securely safekeeping our valuable items.

Bathroom

The Opera Suite bathroom screams luxury, using marbles from the floors to the sink counters. The first thing we saw when we opened the double-panelled doors to the bathroom was the oversized countertop with a double sink. I like the space at the sink countertop; despite the space occupied by bathroom amenities provided by the hotel, there is still space for us to put away the toiletries we brought for this trip. The additional drawer below the sinks allows us to put away our toilet bags. Extra towels are neatly folded inside the cabinets on either side of the drawer.

The toilet and the other walk-in shower cubicles are located to the left of the sink. Beyond the glass doors is the porcelain throne in one cubicle and the shower equipped with rain and regular shower heads. The space at the walk-in shower is large enough for us to place our facial wash and glass with our toothpaste without feeling cramped. Sofitel Bangkok provides the luxurious French brand – Balmain shower amenities to guests of the Opera Suite.

The highlight of the Opera Suite at Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit Hotel is the bathtub. The round bathtub is buried into the raised marble platform. Despite looking large, the practical space in the bathtub is rather small. Soaking in the bathtub allowed me to watch TV from the smaller TV mounted onto the wall or look out into the Bangkok skyline at the Asok area through the ceiling windows. Unfortunately, the remote for the TV was nowhere to be found in the suite at the time of our check-in. So we had to call the operator to request the TV remote.

Service

The Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit Hotel staff makes us feel welcome when we step out of the cab from the airport. The staff at the front door sprung into action like clockwork, opening the cab doors for us and unloading our luggage while another staff ushered us to the reception for our check-in. The queue at the reception was very light and was served by Ted, the duty manager, who processed our check-in efficiently and struck up a conversation with us on our visit to Bangkok. Ted acknowledged my friend’s Diamond status with Accor and accorded us an upgrade to the next category room. He took the effort to meticulously went through the details such as the timing and location for breakfast, the timing for afternoon tea and evening cocktail at Club Millésime lounge, and the location of the fitness facilities. Ted even provided information on the ideal way to the nearest BTS station.

Every staff we met at the hotel made us feel welcomed, displaying the warmth the Thais are so famously known for. When we were at the pool, the only staff operating the pool area brought us some drinks when we were settled into our sundeck chairs. The housekeeping staff brought us the items we requested with the biggest smile. The staff at Voilà! greeted us with the warmest smile every morning we popped by for breakfast. Finally, the Club Millésime lounge staff took care of us when we were at the lounge for afternoon tea. They took the time to introduce the food available and kept a distance, being ready to jump in to assist us so that we could enjoy the quiet afternoon tea.

I approached Diamond, one of the duty managers, to notify her of some issues with the suite and table arrangement issues at Voilà! during breakfast before we head out to explore Bangkok. Diamond listened with empathy, immediately addressed our concerns, and got the issues fixed when we returned to the hotel in the evening. The service at Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit Hotel was impeccable, and every staff took very well care of us at the hotel.

Hotel Facilities

Swimming Pool

The swimming pool in Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit Hotel is located on the 9th floor of the hotel. The pentagon-shaped swimming pool is excellent for hotel guests to do decent laps while holidaying in Bangkok. Perhaps due to the hot Bangkok climate, the water temperature in the salted pool felt just nice. I find dipping in the pool refreshing and is very effective in cooling off under the hot Bangkok sun. No trees or tall buildings surround the hotel so one can get a great tan anytime in the day. The swimming pool is very quiet at the time of my stay. Thus the number of sundeck chairs seems abundant. Thanks to the hotel’s mattress lying over the chairs, I find tanning on the sundeck chairs very comfortable. The chairs are so comfortable that I fell asleep while tanning. There are several cabanas around the pool, catering for families or couples who want to laze in the comfortable cabanas.

SoFit Gym

The resident gym – SoFit Gym, is located on the 9th floor in Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit Hotel. The gym is rather sizeable and well-equipped with machines that allow guests to perform total body workouts. Strength conditioning machines work every part of the major muscle group in the body, and different cardio machines like treadmills, static bikes, and elliptical machines. In addition, there are areas in the SoFit gym dedicated to free weight and yoga training. A staff manning the gym, ready to provide any workout advice while keeping the gym spick and span.

Club Millésime

Guests staying in the Opera Suite are entitled to access the Club Millésime lounge, occupying the entire 31st floor of the hotel. The lounge has three areas- the dining area, the lounge area and an office area. The dining area occupies about half the lounge area, mainly furnished with two to four guests dining tables. The lounge area is mainly furnished with sofa seats giving this area a very comfortable vibe and feels perfect for guests to spend their time reading a book. There is even a bar counter in the lounge area, which is not manned on our visit. However, staff patrolled the lounge area, ready to assist guests. Between the dining and the lounge area is a small office area. A few workstations and a printer cater to guests who had to work during their stay in the hotel.

Due to the pandemic measures, the Club Millésime lounge is only open during afternoon tea and evening cocking at 2.30 pm and 5 pm, respectively, where finger food and desserts are made available on a variety of alcoholic non-alcoholic drinks. We visited the lounge only during the afternoon tea and were warmly welcomed by the lounge staff when we stepped out of the elevator. The staff introduced us to the food before showing us to the seat of our choice. Besides a handful of choices for the savoury dishes, most of the food is desserts. The food is delicious and is certainly effective in filling up our stomachs.

Breakfast at Voilà!

Buffet-style breakfast is served at Voilà! Restaurant taking up the entire 2nd storey of the hotel. There are options for western, Chinese, Japanese and Thai cuisines for breakfast. A variety of bread is situated in another part of the restaurant, far from the main food section. Here we found a small chilled cheese room. The food tasted great with a slight variation on different days.

Overall

We had a pleasant four-night stay in the Opera Suite at Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit Hotel. The suite is large and comfortable and has everything found in a home. I particularly like the large dining table, which allows us to consume the take-aways and provides additional space. The sleep quality on the king bed is excellent, and we had no trouble falling asleep every night. The facilities in the hotel are very well maintained, we particularly like the swimming pool on level 9. The service rendered by the staff at Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit Hotel makes our stay even more pleasant. We were immediately met with welcoming staff at the reception, and whenever we requested items, it did not take the staff too long to send them to our Opera Suite. The hotel’s location is excellent, making it a great base for exploring Bangkok and an ideal place to rest for anyone visiting Bangkok.