When we stayed at JW Marriott Bangkok for a few nights, we were floored from the moment we were checking in. We were welcomed like a dignitary with the seriously gorgeous phuang mala, a Thai flower garland symbolizing for luck and respect, on a tray draped in gold silk cloth while I was going through the usual check-in process. My entire party gasped in utter surprise and completely humbled by the fact they gave us these garlands and walked us up with our luggage to our Executive one-bedroom suite.
If you want a video room tour, head to my Instagram Highlights for that.
The room was spacious and it was unexpected to have a kitchen alcove with a large refrigerator, electric burners and pantry storage. The room manages to inject a strong dash of local ambiance on the bedroom’s gray accented wall decorated with traditional Thai drawings and a quote from Sunthorn Phu (nicknamed The Drunk Poet) related to a happy journey. Everything was sleek, modern and stylish. It’s a quiet and comfortable room. In terms of a view, my room faced toward the lovely swimming pool (when I peered downward).
The pool is lovely and there is a separate sauna facilities that were fantastic to relax in.
The JW Marriott’s location is very central and close to the restaurant and bar area of Sukhumvit and Nana and just a short walk to Ploenchit, the closest Skytrain station, which connects visitors to the river and historic sites in thirty minutes.
Executive Lounge
During our stay, we stopped by a few times during the mid-afternoon at the Executive Lounge for some drinks and snacks. During afternoon tea hours, the open kitchen would lay out a very fair amount of fresh sliced local fruits like pineapple, watermelon, and passion fruit (I truly miss the latter), fresh juices, salads, and in its ovens fresh baked pastries and scones. We were welcome to have a glass of wine, a pint of beer or even a cocktail like a gin and tonic.
The lounge itself was spacious with a great view of the city (as you see on the very top of this post). The business meeting area is adjacent to this room and there is an outdoor terrace to eat or linger.
Even though the Executive Club does offer breakfast, we opted to eat down at JW Café since the options are much more expansive every morning we were there. The breakfast buffet has a mix of locals and guests (like me) staying in to dine. The food options run the gamut from Chinese dim sum, Middle Eastern (like shakshuka and mezzes), American style with the cooked eggs of any style made to order, an assortment of regular and gluten-free breads, pastries, muffins, charcuterie and cheeses, and Thai options. The latter speaks to me more since I am in the country and yearn for local options whenever possible. I truly adored the made to order bowls of noodles in soup and it may be customized to my own liking, even if I wanted no noodles and a bevy of vegetables and fish balls, it’s not a problem.
The fruit and juice bar was my favorite station as there’s a certain rotation of fresh fruits to eat everyday and also drink from. The staff stationed there is always happy to make customized vegetable and/or fruit juices. My absolute favorite is the fresh passion fruit and fresh pressed Thai tangerine juice; the next best were fresh coconut water drunk out of a coconut and fresh guava juice.
Dinner at New York Steakhouse
There was one evening in where we had dinner was at the New York Steakhouse since we found out the Tsu Japanese Restaurant was undergoing renovations at that time.
The steakhouse was dark outfitted with lots of wood, white walls with vintage looking New York City photos and prints. Most of the tables had these very heavy, black leather high-back chairs that I rarely, if never, encounter in any steakhouse in New York City. Even a lesser encounter is to have waitstaff to really care about the table; the women who took care of my table were on top of refilling my water, checking if we’re happy with our food (or if we needed more), and scraped our breadcrumbs various times since the bread was delightfully crusty.
My friend and I opted for red wines (Cabernet Sauvignon and a Cabernet-Shiraz) while another friend of mine wanted a fruity, non-alcoholic drink called the Bangkok Sunset.
We shared several dishes since we were sharing the Wagyu tomahawk steak as the main course. The grilled scallops with cauliflower and bacon were tasty and nicely seasoned. The steakhouse salad was a flavorful salad tossed with herb vinaigrette, roasted artichokes, Kalamata olives, and topped with shaved Parmesan cheese. The fresh house baked rolls were so good that we had to stop eating before we become full from bread than the actual dinner.
My friend who opted for fish main course had a beautifully grilled sea bass on a bed of sweet corn, green peas and zucchini succotash. The skin of the fish was crisp while maintaining a moist and flaky flesh and it’s nicely seasoned.
When it comes to the Wagyu tomahawk 1.3kg steak, it’s impressive on many levels and my carnivorous friend and I were very content for its cooking temperature (rare side of medium-rare), the beef’s quality and seasoned well. My robust glass of Casa Silva Reserva Cuvee Colchagua Cabernet Sauvignon 2016 had lots of dark plum, black cherry notes and soft tannins paired wonderfully to the slices of steak. The sides of sauteed shiitake mushrooms with garlic and chives were delicious and meaty and the steamed asparagus with hollandaise sauce was a solid choice without being burdened with a potentially very heavy, creamy side.
Overall, we had a fantastic stay at the JW Marriott Bangkok. The staff from various areas of the hotel from reception, various dining establishments and housekeeping were very professional and more than happy to fulfill my requests. Everyone is friendly and even remembered my name, which is a pleasant surprise. The room and food from the
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Information:
JW Marriott Bangkok
Official Website
4 Sukhumvit Rd, Khwaeng Khlong Toei, Khet Khlong Toei, Krung Thep Maha Nakhon 10110, Thailand
Phone: +66 2 656 7700
