President Palace Hotel - Bangkok Guest Friendly Hotel Review

Recently one of my best friends came over to Bangkok for a visit. He had asked if there were any new hotels in Bangkok near the red light districts that just opened recently. "This is Bangkok." I simply said, implying that there are always new hotels popping up every year like a pimple on a teen. From the 5 star super luxurious accommodations designed to pamper the jet set to dingy yet comfortable budget hostels for the backpackers living on 300 Baht a day.

Most of my friends have discerning taste so I wanted to be careful about my hotel selection. Or else I wouldn't hear the end of it. I could always suggest the classic standbys such as the Peninsula Bangkok, the Hyatt Erawan or the Four Seasons. All are well known hotel names famous for impeccable service, quality and astronomical room rates.

But my friend requested a new hotel. Preferably one close to the red light districts of Nana and Soi Cowboy.

One hotel then immediately came to mind after one of my clients who've recently stayed their recommended them to me. It's called the President Palace Hotel which opened around August of 2009. It had fit my friend's criteria perfectly. It's located between Nana and Soi Cowboy red light districts with plenty of clubs and bars right in the area. So it's also no surprise that the President Palace is also a guest friendly hotel. This means that the hotel will not charge my friend a fee if he chooses to take a companion back to his room for an overnight stay.

I'm totally familiar with the the President name because they have a handful of properties all along the Sukhumvit area, a popular commercial zone with a sizable expat community.

Located on Sukhumvit Soi 11 or as I like to call it "Snob Club Central", the President Bangkok is surrounded by many upscale bars and clubs where Thai high society (Hi-So) and expats mingle, drink, eat and party. It's certainly a different type set of crowds compared to the denizens of Bangkok's go go bars. However, there are pricey freelance prostitutes that do float around the circuit hoping to land a supporter with deep pockets or a man looking for an expensive company for the night.

One of the first things you'll notice at the front of the building one of the first officially franchised Manchester's United Restaurant & Bar in Bangkok. As hard core football fans we couldn't resist the urge to visit the establishment before checking in after my friend handed over his luggage to some overly eager bell boys.

The place was done up really well with many memorabilia with a classic pub atmosphere. No surprise that we were amidst a crew of Brits in a midday drinking binge. We ordered up a few local beers ourselves only to have the Brits put our drinks on their tab. After chatting for an hour my friend decided to go check in after exchanging contact numbers with our new found friends.

We headed to the huge lobby and was directed to the checkin in desk by a well dressed man with a huge smile, probably a manager.

After being handed a welcome drink and a cool moist towel, my friend provided his check in information to a very cute Thai lady, tall, slim with fair skin, her hair was neatly placed, with not a strand astray and tied in the shape of a lotus flower. Her crisp grey uniform accentuated her shape and her smile could melt Hitler's heart. My friend immediately went into flirt mode.

After 5 minutes of watching my friend make a fool of himself he received his room keycard. For a busy late afternoon 5 minutes is pretty fast, considering people are checking out and checking in at the same time. So President Palace gets a point for that.

Behind us the a bell boy was already waiting for us and the bellboy was told my friend's room number we proceeded to the elevator banks. Within another 5 minutes we were on the 14th floor and in a really spacious, modern and well appointed deluxe room.

Everything was in excellent order as expected for a new hotel. Since flat screen televisions are the norm these days for new hotels the 32" screen was good for watching the stock ticker on Bloomberg business news. The king sized mattress on his bed was big and comfortable. And there was even an office chair next to a decent sized desk, the ones where you can push a lever to lower or increase the height for comfort.

The bathroom was quite spacious as well. With a nice glass door shower with powerful water pressure. The toilet was wide and you had plenty of space around your knees so you aren't scrunched up against any objects.

Suffice to say, my friend was really pleased.

I took a look outside the window. There wasn't much of a view since Sukhumvit neighborhood is a concrete jungle with a bunch of office buildings and more hotels surrounding the President Palace. I could see the pool below and to be quite honest I don't think it's so great to catch a tan there since there are taller buildings adjacent.

After staying at the President Palace Bangkok for a total of 10 days my friend really enjoyed his hotel stay and would love to come back in a few months. Which isn't really a surprise since it's a new hotel managed from a company that is well known for quality and customer service.

There are many other hotels in Bangkok with expensive room rates that he could easily afford but he says that the President Palace could easily match their luxury classed competitors.

At the time he booked his deluxe room he paid 3100 Baht per night which included taxes and a free buffet breakfast which he really enjoyed which is served at the Manchester United Restaurant. A superior room here cost 2599 Baht also including taxes and a free buffet breakfast.

The rates are kind of high now since he booked it during high season which is November through late march. Check out Reservation 24 a local Thai hotel reservation that I recommended my friend to check prices. They offer better rates then booking directly. You might want to check out Agoda too and compare prices. Both are highly recommended companies specialing in the Thai hotels.

President Palace hotel is in an excellent location to enjoy Bangkok's red light districts and they do have a guest friendly policy, so you won't get charged a joiner's fee. There is a BTS Sky Train station just a 10 minute walk away which will easily take you to other commecial parts of Bangkok and plenty of taxis are in the area. There are many excellent ethnic and local Thai restaurants nearby too. It's really well worth the money.