First, a little background. I had never stayed in a five-star hotel but when planning our honeymoon in Thailand, we decided to treat ourselves to a little luxury. We stayed at five star accommodations across Thailand and Tokyo, but for the purpose of a direct comparison, I’ve only presented the particulars of our two Bangkok stays, once at the beginning of our trip for two nights and once at the end of our trip for one night.
We stayed at The Peninsula first and then The Mandarin Oriental, both considered to be the go-to five-star hotels in Bangkok and primarily booked with Westerners. They glare at each other from across the Chao Phraya River for the Five Star Face-off.
While you can’t go wrong with either hotel, there are certainly some key aspects where one outshines the other. Below, I’ve outlined a few things they both do very well and then a few areas where one beat up on the other.
These things are expected of all five-star hotels and are areas where they both shined:
- The service was exceptional. They had a large staff-to-guest ratio and there was always someone eager to help. Respectful staff escorted us to our rooms, pointed out key features and had our luggage promptly delivered.
- Both had spacious rooms with plush, comfy beds. There was ample room for spreading out luggage, full baths with hand-held shower heads (as well as separate stand-up showers) and full room controls next to each side of the bed.
- They had nice big pools with large amounts of shade. There was pool-side service as well as salas for a comfy, shaded lounge-fest.
- As mentioned, both hotels sit on the Chao Phraya River so they both had river views and provided river shuttles to key location points.
- Perhaps most importantly, the hotels provided a quiet haven from the bustle of Bangkok. Outside their lush landscaping your feet ache, you’re sweating from the heat and chaos that comes with navigating Bangkok and people are constantly trying to sell you something. Inside, the world is a breeze and you just float right along with it.
Our room at The Peninsula.
Breakfast, including honey dripping from the comb, at The Peninsula.
The Peninsula beat up The Mandarin Oriental via:
- Price: we booked a junior suite with a balcony for the same price as a king room at The Oriental. The room at The Peninsula was more spacious and included a separate area for luggage and changing.
- Food: we had the breakfast buffet at both and The Peninsula’s was far better for about the same price. The Peninsula offered a wider selection of food but more than that, the food just tasted better. As a testament to this, included in the breakfast buffet was honey dripping from the actual hive. We also had a Thai lunch and dinner at both hotels and those meals were also much better at The Peninsula.
- Guests: The Peninsula felt less “snooty” than The Oriental. The Oriental has a “no shorts after 7:00pm” rule in the lobby. Keep in mind that it is still 85 degrees with 95% humidity after 7:00pm in Bangkok. In my mind, this calls for shorts. Nice shorts, mind you, but shorts nonetheless. How very American of me.
- Internet: it came free with the room.
- Helipad: It had one, if you need that sort of thing.
- Quiet: The Peninsula was less noisy than The Oriental, both in terms of the guests and the hotel itself.
- View: The Peninsula towered over The Oriental. We had an amazing view of the river and the city resulting in a better overall view of Bangkok.
- The little extras: Our Peninsula room included a TV in the bathroom, next to the huge tub.
Our room at The Mandarin Oriental.
The Mandarin Oriental beat up The Peninsula via:
- Convenience: Going to the most famous Wats in Thailand? The public water taxi conveniently picked up tourists right outside of the Oriental. There was no need to cross the river, as we had to do from the Peninsula via their free river shuttle.
- Service: It was a bit better at the Oriental. We never had to wait in line if we needed something, three people were there immediately to help us. They delivered fresh-squeezed orange juice to our room just after check-in and arranged a better (and cheaper) taxi service upon our departure. The hotel’s staff also had really cute Thai uniforms. Not a must, but a little visual perk indeed.
- Going beyond: Our flight to Japan didn’t leave until 11:00pm. The Oriental gave us a free late check-out and also held our luggage in storage while we went out for a few hours of last-minute Thai haggling. I mean shopping.
- Food options: While the food wasn’t as good as The Peninsula, there were more options in terms of restaurants. They had a high-end Thai restaurant serving mainly seafood, a traditional Thai restaurant and an Italian bistro.
- Television: I hate to even mention this as it belies how Justin and I spent much of our last day in Thailand. We were exhausted and resting up for Tokyo in front of the TV in The Oriental. They had a better variety of channels than the Peninsula. This point really doesn’t hold much water unless Bangkok leaves you exhausted like it did us.
- The little extras: The Oriental had better toiletries (dental kits, razor kit, talc, detergent, four bottles of water a day vs. The Peninsula’s two). They also gave us a plate full of bread at breakfast to feed the big fish swimming in the river next to us.
So which hotel wins the Five Star Face-off?
The Peninsula is the best choice if you prefer better food and value over slightly better service. It would be my pick for another stay.
Final Conclusion
We’ve ruined ourselves for all future travel. Now that we’ve been spoiled by huge comfy beds, robes and slippers and someone always at our beck and call, I’m not sure how we’ll adjust back to lowly Hyatts and Hiltons.
Posted by Rachel
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