Chatrium Hotel Riverside Bangkok – A Review By Punam Mohandas
The Chatrium Hotel Riverside, situated along the Chao Phraya river, gives onto rather unique panoramas compared to other riverfront hotels. Also, as it’s right along the river curve, it seems to experience less traffic from the public boats and therefore, there’s less exhaust smoke pollution as well as minimal noise disturbance.
The lobby is a functional, rather restricted space that gets crowded quickly when half a dozen people are checking in at the same time. The Reception counter is back-lit in orange. There’s a lovely Buddhist prayer gong off to one side, that leads to the lifts. To the opposite side is the Lobby Lounge, which, in turn, leads to the main restaurant as well as outside to the hotel pier.
The hotel consists of 396-keys and is divided into two zones for guest convenience, with floors 7-16 comprising the Low Zone, while 17-36 comprise the High Zone. As an added security measure, keycards need to be tapped at an electronic pad in the lifts, for access to the rooms. Rooms are categorized as: Grand Deluxe City View (60sqm); Grand Deluxe River View (60sqm); One Bedroom Suite City View (70-sqm); One Bedroom Suite River View (70-sqm); One Bedroom Skyline Suite (70-sqm); Two Bedroom Suite City View (120-sqm); Two Bedroom Suite River View (120-sqm); One Bedroom Premier Suite (125-sqm); Two Bedroom Premier Suite (250-sqm) and the Presidential Suite (465-sqm).
The colour theme for the corridor as well as room carpeting is a striking navy blue and mustard yellow on a pale grey background. Settees in the rooms are the same pale grey, accentuated by throw cushions in navy and mustard and an armchair in navy blue, with some delicate Thai wall art complementing the whole. The 60-sqm rooms can be either king or twin-bedded. A major win-win point for this hotel is that the rooms come with balconies (the suites have larger balconies); it’s really refreshing to sit looking out at the river and enjoying the pleasant, cool breeze.
It must be said the rooms are quite generously endowed. While each is equipped with tea/coffee makers, large-screen televisions (the suites have two), bathrobes, electronic safes, two complimentary bottles of drinking water, iron and ironing board, the suites have huge pantries that are kitted out with large-size refrigerators, microwaves, cooking hobs and sinks, with utensils/crockery available on request. Clever use has been made of space and so the washbasins are outside the bathing and toilet area, fitting neatly into the angle of the building, however, I did find it rather odd that a Thai hotel would not have jet sprays in the bathrooms.
There are, of course, lots of hotels along the riverfront and the only way to stand out and be counted is to do something different. While the Chatrium cannot provide river views for all its rooms as it’s situated where the Chao Phraya curves, it ensures little touches such as providing the minibar complimentary (non-alcoholic drinks) on the first day, toiletries from the prestigious Thai brand, Panpuri across all room categories, and bathtubs in all rooms with plump little pillows to rest one’s head on, compensate for any lack of view.
The air conditioning is super effective, although the boilers take a while to kick into action and so you have to wait a couple of minutes for hot water in the shower. While the linen has a pleasing detergent fragrance and the beds are really very comfortable, the same cannot be said of the pillows, which tend to flop; perhaps the hotel could consider a pillow menu for guests who prefer firmer pillows.
F&B options at the moment rely mainly on the all-day dining River Barge restaurant, that has 150-covers indoors and can accommodate another 50 on the outdoor patio overlooking the river. The 100-cover Chinese restaurant Silver Leaves (with two PDR’s) is currently closed for renovations. Apart from this, there’s The Curve with 40-covers, accessible by a staircase leading from the River Barge and meant only for Club guests, that serves a scrumptious High Tea between 2-4PM and Happy Hours with hors d’ oeuvres from 5.30-7.30PM. The Lobby Lounge, with 40 comfortable, high-backed armchairs, is adjacent to the lobby and is a small, all-day dining outlet serving snacks, pastries, chocolates, juices and hot drinks. There’s also the Pool Bar serving drinks and light snacks.
It must be said that the food here is truly of a superior quality. Pretty much everything I sampled was well-made. Although the Happy Hours isn’t much to talk about, the High Tea goodies somehow hit the right spot between a missed lunch-evening tea. As for the daily breakfast spread, it’s an absolute repast, with Chinese, Indian (I cannot imagine who designs the menu, though, as nobody eats daal and naan for breakfast), Thai and international dishes featured. Every Friday-Sunday features a generous lunch dimsum buffet, while dinner time sees a seafood buffet – a misnomer if ever there’s one, as the tables are groaning under a huge variety of food that includes freshly grilled river prawns, lasagna, sushi, chicken and the ubiquitous Thai favourite, Som Tam. The pastry chef must be complimented for turning out some excellent desserts. I was not surprised to find that resident guests preferred dining in during the weekend lunch as well dinner buffets.
Recreation facilities include a functional Fitness Centre on the fourth floor, with separate sauna facilities for men and women, as also a plunge pool, kids pool and outdoor jacuzzi on the sixth floor. The pool is accentuated by a couple of striking female sculptures, small lotus ponds, as well as a herb garden off to one side. Considering the hotel was at near-full occupancy, it seemed a tad strange that the sauna wasn’t kept switched on for guest use.
Convention facilities at the Chatrium Hotel Riverside include the Grand Ballroom done up in muted purple and grey with overhead lighting in broken curves that look like overlapping waves, which can accommodate 700-pax cocktail style. It has a large terrace overlooking the river, that serves as the pre-function area. Apart from this there are smaller conference rooms; Ravipa I and II can seat 40-pax when the partition is removed, while III and IV can seat 15-pax each. These rooms do not offer river views. At the moment, the Business Centre is closed. There is free wifi across the hotel.
My vote goes unequivocally to the F&B team at this hotel! Khun Raviwan at River Barge is a whirlwind; her eagle eye misses nothing and, under her able guidance, her team really rise to the occasion, dealing with the breakfast rush and no tables available, with equanimity and smiling efficiency. The hotel had near full occupancy on a Friday and I witnessed a full dining hall for breakfast as well as the seafood dinner and yet, the team’s spirits never seemed to lag. The Front Office staff do seem overwhelmed at times, dealing with the rush. Housekeeping staff are amenable and co-operative. They also need to be congratulated for keeping the bathrooms so spick and span; it’s rare to not to find the odd hair from previous guests littering the washbasin or bathtub and to find the soap/shampoo dispensers topped up.
There’s plenty to see and do near the Chatrium Hotel Riverside. The Icon Siam mall is just across the river. It’s also easy enough to visit Wat Arun, the Grand Palace, Wat Phra Kaew and Wat Pho, or even, China Town (Yaowrat) and Little India (Phahurat). Do check timings for the temples, as this could have changed due to the COVID rules. The Chatrium provides a free shuttle boat service to Saphan Taksin pier as also Icon Siam – be warned that the public ferry is not allowed to dock at the hotel jetty. Be sure to check the hotel shuttle boat timings, as some of the Front Office as well as boat staff themselves seem uncertain about this.
To get to the hotel from the city, take the BTS to Saphan Taksin station and then wait for the hotel boat. Alternatively, you can take the free Icon Siam boat to the mall and browse around for a while before taking the hotel shuttle boat from Pier 4.
While all major airlines used to fly into Bangkok, do check for current restrictions in place due to the COVID. At the moment of going to press, there was no requirement for a Thailand Pass and no need for quarantine however, given the unpredictable nature of the coronavirus and its repercussions, please check on requirements such as vaccination, quarantine and tests before you plan your trip.
CHATRIUM HOTEL RIVERSIDE BANGKOK
TEL: +66 2 307 8888
FAX: +66 2307 8899
EMAIL: [email protected]
WEBSITE: www.chatrium.com
Punam Mohandas asserts her right to be identified as the author of this work. Any views or opinions expressed in this review is that of the author.
