Another reason why I enjoyed our trip to Bangkok is because of our hotel. With so many options to choose from, here’s why we picked Galleria 12 Sukhumvit as our home during our stay in the city.
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Bangkok is the most visited city in the world in 2016 (as per MasterCard Global Destinations Cities Index) and has been one of the most visited cities in the world for the past few years so it’s no surprise to find so many hotels here, from the basic bed space to five star. This is probably the city with the most number of hotels I’ve ever been to as I realized when I was looking for a hotel. There are just literally hundreds of options to choose from and I got a headache sorting through these.
Quantity alone did not make selection difficult but the quality of options as well. Most of the hotels only costed a fraction of equivalent hotels in Manila and by all gauges, the hotels in Bangkok are much better! Imagine for an equivalent of ₱2,000 you can already find an overnight accommodation in a good hotel in a great location with a decent swimming pool and breakfast for two!
We eventually picked Galleria 12 Sukhumvit primarily because of the location. It is just steps away from both the BTS Sukhumvit Line Asok Station and MRT Sukhumvit Station! The latter is just a station away from the MRT interchange station with the Airport Rail Link so getting to and from the airport is very convenient. It is also walking distance away from shopping malls and other hotels.
Location of Galleria 12 Sukhumvit
From Suvarnabhumi Airport, we took the Airport Rail Link and alighted at Makkasan Station. From here, we went down the stairs out of the station and followed the path to the subway, the MRT Phetchaburi Station. We alighted on the next stop, Sukhumvit Station, and walked from there to Galleria 12 Sukhumvit.
When we arrived, we were greeted by their friendly English-speaking staff and within minutes, we were already entering our room. And this is what our room looked like.
Our room has a very modern design with a huge window and the usual amenities you’d expect from a hotel. We didn’t have any problems with the power outlets as there are a lot of them in our room and is compatible with all our devices from the Philippines. What surprised us was the glass wall of the toilet facing the window (naughty, naughty!), but a blind is installed for privacy.
The toilet is very modern as well and is spacious enough to comfortably move around. Toiletries are provided and there’s hot water in the shower.
Overall, I’m very satisfied with our room. It just felt like our wall wasn’t utilized well which lead to having only a very small closet for a decently-sized room.
Food is another aspect that lead up to pick Galleria 12 Sukhumvit. An overnight stay included a buffet breakfast for two so that’s real value for money. After having their breakfast buffet three times during our stay, I don’t have any complaints. The selection may not be that many but they’re all good.
Perhaps one of the most used modern amenity every traveler avails in a hotel is the Wi-Fi. Sad to say but their Wi-Fi is disappointing. That speaks a lot coming from a person who came from a country with one of the worst internet services in the planet. The signal from our room is decent at most, and the speed is just good enough for casual browsing. I had to leave my laptop on overnight just for my Google Photos backup to complete.
A swimming pool is nice to have in a hotel but for this trip, I explicitly looked for a hotel with a decent swimming pool. As I mentioned earlier, cost of accommodations in Bangkok are very reasonable so we could afford a hotel with one so in case we have some spare time, we could squeeze a lap. Galleria 12 Sukhumvit’s swimming pool is too small to do a lap, but it’s more than enough for dipping and relaxing, especially with the hot Bangkok weather. There were always guests in the pool during the day, sunbathing, but we had it to ourselves that one night we decided to take a dip. The pool has pressurized nozzles that worked like a jacuzzi so it’s perfect for just hanging around.
Galleria 12 Sukhumvit also provides a shuttle service to the main road near BTS Sukhumvit Line Asok Station despite being very near. They use a golf cart that is designed more like a “tuktuk” and we only got to use it on our last day when we were hauling our luggages.
A tourist counter is also located near their front desk. It’s here where we got to know some tours that we could do, and it’s because of them that we were able to get to the floating market. They apparently have a gym as well but due to time constraints, we’ve never actually used or seen it.
Finally, the service. I have no complaints. Our room was tidied-up when we expected them to be and never ran into any language barrier. Everyone was friendly and always willing to answer our touristy questions.
For me, Galleria 12 Sukhumvit is highly recommended. The hotel is clean and modern, buffet breakfast with good food included, there’s a nice pool for lounging, and the location is great. The Wi-Fi could be better though but since we were away most of the time, it really didn’t bother us that much. Their staff were very accommodating and they don’t have trouble speaking in English. Our four days-three nights stay only summed up to ฿5,383.93 (around ₱7,753 or $156) so it’s a great value!
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Bangkok Diaries:
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