Great Views
I decided to stay in Baiyoke Sky Hotel, an 88-storey high hotel located in the middle of Bangkok. Baiyoke advertises itself as "Thailand's tallest and most scenic hotel". Their marketing is quite accurate: on the 77th floor, the Baiyoke Sky's Observation Deck lets visitors see the best view of the city through the coin-operated telescope. The Deck also has a mini-museum about Bangkok, showing the city's traditions, architecture, crafts, art, religion, etc.
If the view on the Observation Deck doesn't satisfy you, the Revolving Roof Deck on the 84th floor just might: here, you'll get a 360-degree view of the Bangkok skyline as the Roof Deck rotates. It's nice to check this out at night, so you see the city's lights!
Bioke Sky offers other getaway spots on different levels: from the Sky Coffee Shop and the Sky Lounge Lobby Bar at the 18th floor to the Roof Top Bar and Music Lounge at the 83rd floor, most of these places offer a fantastic view of Bangkok.
Easy Access to Shopping
The area around the Baiyoke Sky Hotel isn't the prettiest spot of Bangkok; it's crowded and rather dirty. But the location of the hotel puts it right next to Bangkok's most popular shopping centers, like MBK, Pratunam Mall, Siam Square, and Siam Paragon. If you're too tired to walk, you can always ride the tuktuks easily accessible outside the hotel.
On weekends, you can just walk from your hotel room to the night market in the Pratunam area right outside the hotel. The Skytrain is also within walking distance from the hotel, which gives you easy access to other shopping spots like the Chatuchak (JJ) weekend market. Baiyoke Sky's central location also works in reverse: the hotel is thankfully easy to "come home to" after a tiring day of shopping, when you're extremely eager to crash into a comfy bed!
Surprisingly Luxurious
The rooms are classed (in ascending order of comfort) into the Standard Zone, Sky Zone, and Space Zone. Our Sky Zone room had no mini-bar, but the view was amazing - two huge plate-glass windows exposed a panoramic view of Bangkok. The bed actually faced the window, so the skyline was the first thing we saw when you woke up, and the last thing we saw before we fell asleep.
The hotel is surprisingly luxurious, even if it is located in the middle of a very busy and crowded street. Guests have the run of the following facilities:
- Limousine service counter
- Swimming pool and snack bar
- Beauty Salon and hair dresser
- Health and Fitness club
- Aromatherapy massage
- Traditional Thai/Swedish and foot massage
Guests also get free access to the Observation Deck and Revolving Roof Deck, which charges admission to non-guests. Your stay also includes freebies like a free foot massage, free car transfer from the hotel to the mall, one free buffet breakfast for every night you stay in the hotel, and one international buffet dinner. The buffet dinner in particular is a sweet deal - they offer a wide variety of food, lots to choose from.
Baiyoke Sky offers a surprising degree of luxury at a reasonable price. Tourists don't need to worry about culture gaps here; the staff understands English quite well, so it was easy to communicate with them, although they would sometimes talk to me in Thai because I looked like a local! I chose Baiyoke Sky for its proximity to Bangkok's shopping places, and I was thankful that it had a lot more to offer than just a central location.
