Staying @Hansar in Bangkok

We zeroed on in staying at Hansar during our short 3 days stay at Bangkok after reading the fantastic reviews about the hotel.

Staying @Hansar: The first sight was a quite disappointing – looked like a very small hotel, darkly lit, a very business-like lobby – quite a bit of a shock after coming from JW Marriott in Phuket. Worse, the hotel entrance reeked strongly of food and was quite a put off. Did we go wrong with our choice of hotel? We almost panicked!!!

Frankly, the initial opinion changed quite a lot over our stay; we just could not fault the service at the place. We stayed at a Studio Suite with a nice living room/work area and a HUGE bathroom. The room had everything with a minibar thrown in for free (soft drinks and 2 bottles of beer a day!!!). The fruit bowl in the living room would be stocked with the best seasonal fruits — I didn’t have to buy any fruit for my daughter from the market.

The amenities were just perfect and the service too was excellent. Best of all, the staff at Hansar went about their job with a smile. How much of a difference just that much makes!!!

Food @Hansar: Our booking was breakfast inclusive. But the sad part was, it was quite disappointing. The spread is not as extensive and large as 5-star hotels. Further, they open the dining room only at 7 am. A tad late, for all city tours have their pick-ups scheduled for 7.15-7.30. We had to rush through our breakfast – very stressful when you have your kid(s) along with you. And then you worry about hurrying them, lest they should throw up in the cab/bus. The hotel should seriously consider opening the dining room earlier, in the foot-steps of most top hotels.

We also should tell you about an unfriendly staff at the restaurant who had a scowl while serving and found requests irritating in the morning. This simply delayed us even further and added to the stress.

Amenities @Hansar: They have a reasonably good pool there on the 10th floor (if I remember correctly). But there is no splash pool for kids. We made do with the Jacuzzi which was of perfect height for my then 4-year old. They also have a spa and a gym in Hansar, but we didn’t have to time to even look at them, forget using them 😛

Location of Hansar: Hansar is located bang at the city center, very close to the shopping district in Ratchaprasong (actually, walking distance). So we almost always ate our dinner Centre World Mall and Siam Paragon & BigC. The BTS Skywalk is about a 5 seconds walk too, so you are really well connected here.

Final Word: Hansar is certainly not a kid-friendly hotel. It looked more like a hotel for business travellers – with the basics in place but without the usual paraphernalia (you know what I mean). Consider this place if you are alone, on business. It is quiet and will give you the solitude to catch up on mails after a hard day of meetings. But if you are in Bangkok with family on a holiday, find a more cheerful hotel.