Hotel Crush: U Sukhumvit Bangkok

If “checking out different hotels in Bangkok” qualifies as a hobby, I will totally list that pastime on my future online dating profiles. Because believe it or not, it really is one of my faves. I’ve now tested out upwards of a dozen different lodging options in the city, ranging from Khao San Road cheapies to swank suites on Sukhumvit. Bangkok has some of the best value luxury in the world, and I’m consistently impressed by what you can get for $100 or less in a hotel room here.

Previously, I probably would have listed my favorites as Rikka Inn for Khao San, Lub D for a proper boutique hostel experience, and the Aloft for a high end high rise. But U Sukhumvit was about to give the Aloft a run for its money.

Leaving our plush digs in Koh Samui, our pack thinned to three — Chris, Brian, and I made our way to Bangkok in spite of what appeared to be our own self determination to miss both our ferry and flight. There, we’d meet up with Chief Travel Buddy Heather, who was in the process of relocating to Bali to set up a new chapter of her business. It had been, like, a whopping two months since our European adventures and so we were long overdue for a little debauchery.

I was well looking forward to four nights in one of my favorite cities with some of my favorite people. But where to stay?

Long ago, a new booking site had offered me some credit in order to try them out. It took me a while to get around to actually using the credit — I frequently stay with friends, rent long term apartments, stay in hostels or travel to obscure locations not featured on booking sites.

But finally, in Thailand, I got the chance. Browsing through Bangkok options, I was immediately intrigued when I came across U Sukhumvit. I was also kind of suspicious at first — no one has prices cheaper than Agoda, my normal go-to booking site for Southeast Asia. A reminder to always shop around!

But back to Bangkok. We fell crazy in love with this hotel! Not only is it brand new with an ultra modern design style right up my alley, it had really innovative policies that I’ve never encountered before at any hotel. For example, a 24 hour check-in, check-out policy. If you check-in at 7pm, you don’t have to check out until 7pm on the day of your departure. How cool is that?! I loathe the standard check in and out times at most hotels and wanted to full on mouth kiss the concierge when he was telling me about this approach.

Also, no more sleeping through breakfast — if you miss the standard morning breakfast hours in Uzzie restaurant (more gushing on that below), you can order your complimentary breakfast anywhere, any time of day — if you wake up mid afternoon and want your eggs served poolside, why not? And your welcome drink is whatever you want from the minibar — they had me at Diet Coke upon check in. You also get to pick what pillows, soaps and teas are put in your room, which is kind of fun.

But mostly, have you seen this rooftop?

U Sukhumvit has all the standard amenities of a high-end Sukhumvit area hotel — rooftop pool, free wifi and water, gorgeous gym, bar, and restaurant, and a complimentary tuk tuk shuttle to the sky train. That complimentary shuttle is key, too, as the hotel is located quite far down Soi 15 from the main drag of Sukhumvit. While I was kind of dismayed at the distance at first, between the free bikes and the free shuttle, it quickly faded from my mind.

And while we spent most of our time rooftop, when we were in the rooms, those were pretty heavenly too.

We were also impressed with the food at the hotel. Breakfast buffets are one of my favorite things in the world about staying at hotels, and this one did not disappoint. I also give a thumbs up to the snacks and lunches we ordered poolside, and a double thumbs up to the buy-one-get-one-free happy hour at the rooftop bar from 4-10pm each night.

And here’s the best part: the price! Standard room prices fluctuate but seem to settle around $75 a night.

The takeaway? You should really stay at U Sukhumvit.

What’s your favorite Bangkok hotel?