The SO Sofitel hotel is a 5-star luxury hotel located at the south-east
corner of Lumphini Park. The hotel looks simply amazing, it was designed
by Christian LaCroix and combines the intricacies of Thai culture
with French passion and luxury. Certainly, when you arrive, you will
be taken aback by this hotel.
The rooms feel more cosy than luxury, however, and each room is themed
on either metal, wood, earth or water. The rooms are comfortable but
definitely not spacious, but free Wi-Fi and a complimentary mini bar
are provided. I would have to say that the themes for the rooms are
a little bit tacky, but you may feel otherwise. Remember, this is
still a 5-star luxury hotel.
The hotel has three restaurants on-site, and a beautiful rooftop
bar where you can enjoy the fantastic views over the park and the
city beyond whilst you sip your favourite drink. The breakfast buffet
here is renowned as one of the best, with a huge range of fruits,
continental and Asian cuisines to choose from, or a breakfast cooked
to order from the menu, if you prefer. The staff are attentive, friendly
and helpful, as you would expect at a hotel such as this.
Due to the extreme proximity of one of Bangkok’s largest green
spaces, the hotel provides complimentary bicycles for guest to explore,
which is a nice touch. The park is huge, and has a wide variety of
natural flora and fauna, and is popular with early-morning joggers
and people doing Tai Chi or yoga. There is also a modern fitness centre,
which offers classes as well, and a fantastic thirty-two metre rooftop
pool, where you can also order food and drinks if you so desire.
It should be noted that there is much of interest in the immediate
vicinity of the hotel other than Lumphini park, although the hyper-trendy
area of Silom is only a fairly short walk away with it’s abundance
of restaurants and bars. Silom is essentially the city’s financial
district, but has plenty to see and do. But for more adult-themed
nightlife, you are going to have to travel a bit further from this
hotel.
The adult entertainment districts of Nana plaza and Soi Cowboy are
two and four kilometres away respectively, which, although doesn’t
sound like much, can take some time if you get stuck in the crazy
Bangkok traffic. If you’re coming to Bangkok for this kind of
entertainment I would choose a hotel located on the Sukhumvit road,
rather than out here in Pathumwan. Despite this, the hotel is guest
friendly, with no charge to take friends to your room, although they
have to leave their ID card at the reception.
The rooms at this hotel start at around 6000 Baht ($180) which is
reasonable value for money, but you can get closer to the action with
the same level of luxury for less.
Save your money! Check the specials rates only for you at Sofitel
So Bangkok.
