W Bangkok and The House on Sathorn: Review

PUBLISHED February 7th, 2017 05:00 am | UPDATED March 26th, 2019 01:11 pm

For a hotel brand styling itself as a chic playground for adults away from home, the marriage of a sparkling, 31-story glass tower and a century-old European-inspired heritage house at W Bangkok might come off a little strange. To learn the story behind this odd pair, we checked into the stylish property on a recent trip to the Thai capital city.

Featuring 403 rooms and suites spread over six main categories, the interiors of the property was designed by Thailand-based firm SODA, which managed to fuse W’s signature edgy and neon-bold touches with Thai myths and folklore. The incorporation of a pair of Siamese cats at the WET® Deck and the wall-length crystal mural of a phoenix and a tiger in battle at the W Lounge are just a few examples. Symbols of power and strength, you’ll find the latter two creatures printed on bed throws in the rooms as well. The team also brought in iconic graffiti artist Alex Face to tell the story of the quintessential Thai act of ‘making merit’.

Speaking of rooms, our Spectacular Room was essentially 43 square metres (462 square feet) of triangular space anchored by the gleaming free-standing tub – separate bathroom and shower facilities included – behind the coloured-glass panel separator, the king-sized W Signature Bed, and a glass work desk that looks out to the city. The windows are not exactly floor-to-ceiling but they still let in plenty of natural light. The mainly monochromatic room is accented with abstract art and playful props like the Muay Thai glove cushions on the bed for pops of colour.

The W brand has always been proponents of high-tech hospitality, so you can expect flat screen LED televisions (minimum 40 inches), jack pack stations with a sound bar system, high speed wireless Internet access, and touch-screen controls in the guestrooms. Upon check-in, you’re also assigned a W Insider, who can give you tips on what to see and do in the Thai City of Angels! Couples who’d like even more space can opt for the Studio Suite; at 64 square metres (688 square feet), it features double vanities in the larger bathroom and a sitting area for more living space.

Breakfast is served at The Kitchen Table, which offers a huge variety of international and local items in the morning. Eggs are cooked to order in the kitchen instead of a ‘live station’ – something we’re very happy about since you start on other parts of the spread instead of waiting in line. We totally understand the need to detox before ‘retox’, so we’re quite impressed with the effort in making cold press juice mixes and local remedies like chrysanthemum tea available at the pantry area (just outside the restaurant) during breakfast.

The House on Sathorn

About 130 years old, the colonial mansion originally housed the Russian Embassy (and a hotel before that). The heritage building had to be renovated under the auspices of Bangkok’s Department of Fine Art, and was left in the hands of NYC design firm AvroKO for the interior restoration.

The result? The fusion of Russian and Thai royal glamour – think ornate pillars and gilded pieces – amidst distinctively Western architecture.

Walking past the reception, you’ll first step into The Dining Room, which serves tasting menus as well as an a la carte menu in the evening. In the day, the space serves as seating for The Couryard’s all-day comfort food menu. Both concepts contrast petty well; the former sees a more refined meal served in a well-appointed room dotted with art and filled with plush, mahogany hued furniture while the latter is decked out with monochromatic sunshades and classy patio furniture in yellow, gray, and black. Both are overseen by Turkish Chef Fatih Tutak, who has spent time in kitchens like Noma and The Bellbrook in Hong Kong.

We headed down to lunch at The Courtyard on a cloudy day. It wasn’t too humid and the sunshades were doing their jobs, so we understand how they can serve an English-style afternoon tea daily between 2.30-5.30pm. Our meal started with a couple of seafood appetisers, the Crispy Squid (B300) and the Jumbo Tiger Prawns Som Tum (B550). The slices of fresh green papaya could be julienned into even thinner slices to better soak up Chef Fatih’s slightly spicy, secret dressing but the grilled jumbo prawns were flawless and the crunchy sakura ebi was a nice touch of extra savoury crunch.

Who says no to fried chicken…especially if it comes in between carbs? The Fried Chicken Bao (B500) sees cucumber, coleslaw, and fried chicken drizzled with sweet-savoury okonomiyaki sauce sandwiched in a slider-sized Chinese bun. The fluffy bread was hefty enough to hold everything together when you sink your teeth into the burger tower and that’s good enough for us. Comes in a trio and served with hand-cut fries.

We also had a taste of Thai beef cooked on the robata grill with the 400g 55-Day Dry Aged Grass Fed Ribeye (B2,100). While the beefy flavour of the cut satisfies, it’s possible that Thai cattle aren’t bred with as much fat as the beef we’ve been eating from Australia or the States so don’t expect a certain amount of marbling. The Mentaiko Mac & Cheese (B200) was rather disappointing since I was expecting the mentaiko to burst (literally and metaphorically) on my tongue; needless to say, it didn’t happen.

However, the restaurant more than redeemed itself with the Sake-Kasu Soufflé (B500) with Okinawa black sugar ice cream. The velvety pudding with notes of egg, rice, and slight bitterness of alcohol contrasted perfectly with the almost-caramel flavour of the ice cream; if there’s one dish I’ll return to The House on Sathorn for, this sweet treat is it.

Last but not least, the complex also has The Bar, which whips up a separate menu of refreshing and floral cocktails for The Courtyard as well as its own list of signature cocktails like Ocean Flair (B420), a uniquely savoury concoction of white rum, fresh apple juice, wakame, yuzu, and seaweed powder.

W Bangkok is located at 106 North Sathorn Road, Silom, Bangrak, Bangkok, 10500, Thailand, p. +66 2344 4000. The House on Sathorn is open 12pm-12am daily, Dining Room open 6pm-10.30pm daily, Bar open Sun-Tue 12pm-12am, Wed-Sat 12pm-2am.

Top Image: Spectacular Room