Millennium Hilton Bangkok – A Review By Punam Mohandas
The Millennium Hilton team like to describe the hotel as a “riverside sanctuary” and it truly lives up to that claim. Although the façade isn’t very prepossessing, the panoramic views of the mighty Chao Phraya river as well as the glittering Bangkok city skyline more than make up for it.
Globally, the hospitality industry has been through an extremely challenging time caused by the pandemic. The Millennium Hilton turned this challenge around and used the many months without footfalls constructively, by refitting and renovating the rooms as well as public areas, and one steps into sparkling clean spaces with pleasure. A lush lotus pond situated just outside the entrance leads to the driveway and a wide porch. The lobby is quite a large, rectangular space, light and airy, filled with soft, piped music. Unlike most hotels, the Millennium Hilton offers plenty of lobby seating in hushed shades of grey and silver, with each seating area discreetly enclosed by low screens, all of it offset by aquamarine carpeting and a set of eight, absolutely regal chairs in dull grey with carved animal heads at the armrests. The centerpiece is a chandelier made of colourful glass beads in the shape of fighting fish, surrounded by various hanging lanterns. There’s an almost atrium-like element as the lobby ceiling is extremely high and the floors are constructed in a horseshoe-shape around this.
Following the new norm of the time, there are temperature scanners and sanitisers placed around the lobby and the entrance to restaurants. The Millennium Hilton also has sanitization stickers sealing each room, so that guests are assured proper hygiene measures have been carried out prior to their checking in. The property offers a staggering accommodation count of 533-keys and, what’s even more noteworthy, is that all rooms are river-facing, equipped with bathtubs and kitted with Crabtree & Evelyn toiletries. Room categories include Deluxe and Premium Rooms at 34sqm respectively; the Executive Rooms, also at 34-sqm but located on the upper floors (the other differences being espresso-making machines in the rooms and access to the Executive Lounge, otherwise, the room fitments are the same); and the Family Suites and Panoramic Suites at 67-sqm respectively.
The corridor carpet is a muddy beige with sea urchin motifs patterned on one side in deep brown and gold. The Executive rooms have grey-blue carpeting complementing a sofa and very wide twin beds, much more so than the standard size. Amenities include international plug/socket points; 46-inch flat screen television; minibar; four complimentary drinking water bottles (more available on request); electronic safe; bathrobe; iron and ironing board. The shower and toilet (with jet spray) are housed in separate cubicles. Executive room guests also get two items of laundry complimentary.
I stayed in a Panoramic Suite, which, true to its name, offers an absolutely commanding view of the Chao Phraya river. Unpolished, wooden planed floors – such a natural, refreshing look after all the gilt and varnish most city hotels opt for – in the living space offset a long, grey sofa, a single armchair and a circular carpet in grey with a dark blue design and splashes of mustard to complement the deep mustard throw cushions. Three round tables of differing designs offer a touch of modernity against a huge, carved wooden frame the size and width of a door, that is mounted on one wall, opposite a television. To the far side of this room is an uncluttered, glass-topped oval shaped work desk. There is also a small WC in this corner.
The bedroom, where, most sensibly, the bed looks out over the river view, has carpeting in swirls of white, grey and midnight blue, and drapes of steel grey gauze with a second, over-layer of thick, silver grey silk curtains river. There’s a television in this room as well. Soft sheets smell pleasingly of a delicate fabric softener. The pillows, however, are a disappointment as they’re too soft and shapeless; perhaps, the hotel could consider offering guests a ‘pillow menu’.
A narrow wardrobe area with two cupboards leads to the wide bathroom – a space often overlooked by hotels – where a lot of attention has been given to detailing.
For instance, the light in the toilet is bright enough to read by. The bathtub is fitted out with a Jacuzzi! while the hand-held shower here has three settings, including a massage option. It would be a nice touch for the Hilton to think of bath salts, as I imagine a lot of guests would indulge in time well spent in a bathtub such as this. The bathroom is also equipped with a magnifying mirror and weighing scale. The Crabtree & Evelyn toiletries are of a larger size in the suites, compared to the other room categories.
I must confess I was rather puzzled not to find any in-room menu or compendium around, till I was informed what those stickers on the centre tables meant. In its effort to be environmentally friendly, the Millennium Hilton has done away with the useless waste of paper and scrapped (pun unintended!) such books; guests can now scan the QR code stickers in the rooms and restaurants, to see the facilities as well as food menu on offer. The hotel also uses glass water bottles in its bid to stay green.
F&B options include Flow, the all-day dining with indoor as well as outdoor seating overlooking the river, that caters to a reduced 150-200 covers due to the social distancing rule, while pre-COVID days it could accommodate 450-pax. The tabletops and general décor here takes its inspiration from the river, with hues of brown and muddy green. Superbly starched, spotless white napkins enhance the culinary experience here. The 360 Rooftop Bar offers glorious views of the river and can seat 30-50 pax; the outside area is being renovated in a Havana Club theme and will essentially be a smoking area. The 360 Jazz Lounge is done up in shades of fawn, brown and delicate green, with a dash of dull plum and mustard in the throw cushions; it can seat 120-pax. The Executive Lounge on the 31st floor, with indoor as well as outdoor seating, provides very generous refreshments for high tea between 2-4PM and evening cocktails between 5-7PM, available to all Executive room and Suite guests. There’s also the Lantern and the Lobby Lounge with a combined seating of 50-60 pax, that serve tea/coffee, pastries and freshly baked cookies. Overall, F&B pricing at the Millennium Hilton is surprisingly quite reasonable.
Recreational facilities include a rather small swimming pool on the 4th floor, but what it lacks in size, it more than makes up by artfully placed loungers in shallow water at either end that overlook the river. There is considerable seating available flanking the pool, in a soothing colour scheme of circular cane chairs in grey with purple cushions. Plenty of grey beanbags directly in front of the pool afford a more casual style. There is also a J-shaped table with bar stool seating. A compact gym that’s well equipped with weights, treadmills and cross fit machines addresses the needs of fitness enthusiasts.
The E’Forea Spa is at lobby level, situated just adjacent to the main hotel building. It has 12 treatment rooms (two couple rooms) and offers a range of massages and beauty treatments. I couldn’t check it out in detail as it now operates from Thursday through Sunday only; a fall-out of the COVID and low number of guests.
MICE facilities include 18 meeting and convention rooms. Grey carpeting patterned with the fighting fish motif in gold offsets the surprisingly wide pre-function area, with the capacity for a 30-booth set-up, that leads to the Grand Ballroom with a capacity of 700-pax cocktail style, which can be further partitioned into three smaller halls. It is a rectangular ballroom, stately in its simplicity, with a hammered tin patina to the high ceiling, lit by lotus leaf-shaped light shades in brass. The Thonburi room can accommodate 250-pax theatre style.
Smaller halls are all named after famous world rivers such as the Seine, Mekong, Chao Phraya, Mississippi, Nile, Danube, Yangtze, Amazon, Ganges and Thames, with a capacity of 50-pax theatre style. Fittingly, they all afford river views and are flooded (pun unintended!) by natural light. There is a separate Business Centre as well (now closed) with a boardroom to accommodate 10-pax and a complimentary computer station for guest use. There is free wifi across the hotel.
The Engineering department must be complimented for boiler as well as air conditioning operating efficiency. The Front Office team is courteous and helpful. Housekeeping is most amenable and respond very promptly to calls. The chefs are cheerful and on stand-by during the breakfast rush hour. F&B service is attentive but non-intrusive; also, a special shout-out for their willingness to go that extra mile in service. As a test, I asked if they could whip up a couple of items for me not on the (rather limited at present) menu. Unfazed, the maitre’d went off to check and returned with the glad news that the chef was happy to cook it for me. Rather unusually for a city hotel, breakfast timings here are till 10.30AM on weekdays and 11AM on weekends.
There’s plenty to see and do near the Millennium Hilton. Icon Siam mall is just beside the hotel and Asiatique mall is further down from the hotel. Across the river is River City Mall. 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.
To get to the hotel from the city, take the BTS to Krun Thonburi station, switch to the connected Gold Line and alight at Charoen Nakhon station, one stop away; the Gold Line is a driverless train and is more like a delightful toy train with a couple of carriages only that are spanking new; the entire line isn’t in operation yet. Alternatively, you can take the BTS to Saphan Taksin station and then take the ferry across to the other side of the river to Khlong San pier, right beside the Millennium Hilton.
While all major airlines used to fly into Bangkok, there are currently restrictions in place due to the COVID, therefore, please check on requirements such as vaccination, quarantine and tests, before you plan your trip.
MILLENNIUM HILTON BANGKOK
TEL: +66 (0) 2442 2000
FAX: +66 (0) 2442 2089
EMAIL: [email protected]
WEBSITE: www.bangkok.hilton.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.
