Accommodation, Part 16: Elegance Suites Sathorn

There are a couple of entrances - this is the one I used

[As you'll see in the comments below the hotel is now closed, so I've removed the info and links. I'll leave the story as a remembrance of a place I liked, though.]

A forum friend recommended the Elegance Suites to me and I've had two stays there, both enjoyable experiences.  It's no more than a 10 minute walk from the Saphan Taksin BTS station and boat pier, and because of that it's a really convenient place that's not all that far away from many other popular areas.

As a caveat, when I went to look at current rates for the place there was a mention on tripadvisor of it being closed for refurbishing and their own site isn't up and running today but Orbitz was accepting reservations for the coming weekend on a junior suite for two, with breakfast, for $52USD. Of course, being that close to the Chao Phraya river it's probably a crap shoot that it IS open now, but the post is here for future reference, if not for now. I wouldn't book it myself today, but I definitely would again in the future.

The Chao Phraya river from the Saphan Taksin river boat stop - in calmer times

The hotel is on Thanon Charoen Wiang (in the Bangkrak part of Sathorn), just down the road from where Robinsons and the Centre Point apartments are on Thanon Charoen Krung.  That intersection is - as the crow flies - somewhere about two football/soccer fields from the Le Bua hotel, home to the Sky Bar.  It's also within a mile of the Shangri-La and a short taxi ride to Lumphini Park, the Patpong Night Market and the rest of the night life, for that matter.

Part of the living room, with a view of the bedroom through the sliding doorway

All 76 rooms are suites, most being 43 square meters/463 square feet, all with high speed internet, safe, and sliding doors to separate the bedroom from the rest of the unit. There's a small gym with a couple of treadmills and a half-dozen other machines; simple, but usable.

A portion of the rooftop pool/jacuzzi garden area

The rooftop pool area is spacious and quiet, with a beverage bar, plenty of lounge chairs and a table stacked with clean pool towels.  It was quiet enough there that I had a couple of visits with the guys working the reception area who came up to get away from the work phones (and use their own, of course).

The shopping center at the far end of the block.

For those who like to wander around and see how the folks there live there's a lot of area to cover. I took a lot of photos on many morning strolls, as well as to and from the BTS station and other places. At the end of the street (right by the Saphan Taksin BTS station) is a shopping center with a Robinsons department store, a grocery store and several places to eat without subjecting yourself to the McTrash.

Ready for breakfast in the dining room. Part of the buffet shows here.

The dining room was spacious and fully stocked with well-prepared food, both Western and Thai. The coffee was brought to you whipped out of a machine around the corner, and there was an omelet station with a person who knew how to make a proper omelet (at least, while I was there there was).

Suites are available with one large or two twin beds

The beds have been slightly firm, but nothing like some of the extra-firm slabs you can run across in some hotels.  The linens were fresh, and the towels in the bathroom were soft and fluffy.  Another point worth mentioning is that I believe all of the suites have a shower within a proper bath tub.

No place is perfect, so in fairness I should mention that my taxi driver had a hell of a time finding the place the first visit, and another had to stop and make a phone call on another stay, but that's a minor thing.  If I'm staying near a BTS station (which I prefer anyway) most taxi drivers can find the stations, and then it's just fine tuning.  Also, one stay there was a wedding banquet in the dining room, and there was a lot of foot traffic in and out of the place that evening... and at 10pm there was some music audible in the suite that the front desk apologized for.  The level dropped a bit shortly after I called.

I hope they're doing all right during this current flooding - again, they're within flood range from the Chao Phraya - and I'll look forward to another visit some time in the future.