A Review of Shangri-La Bangkok: Horizon Club Along the Riverside
- Ava Lyn
- Jun 2
- 5 min read
Updated: Jun 18
Shangri-La Bangkok
89 Wat Suan Phlu Alley
Bang Rak
Bangkok 10500
Location
This is our first time staying at Shangri-La Bangkok. The hotel is located along the Chao Phraya River and right next to the BTS station Saphan Taksin. For those who have stayed along the Chao Phraya River, you'd know that alot of the hotels offer a free boat shuttle to Saphan Taksin as it is the easiest way to commute into the main area of Siam where the giant malls like Central World and Siam Center are located. Of course, Shangri-La Bangkok also offers boat shuttle to the likes of Icon Siam from its pier, which makes this an incredible choice and location to stay at.
Walking distance from the hotel sits a whole bunch of Michelin Guide places or Thai Shell Shuan ShimGreen Bowl Awarded places, including Jok Prince, Prachak and Kha Mu Charoensang Silom which makes an ideal location if you are wanting to go foodhunting around the area.
Our Stay
We are currently Shangri-La Circle Jade, and we used this trip to use our upgrade voucher to score a Horizon Club Room. The concierge told us that whilst the rooms are similar in nature, Horizon Club rooms are located on the top three floors of the hotel between Levels 22 and 25 and offer access to the Club Lounge, which I will write a little more about later. We were immediately escorted up to Level 24 for check in at the Club Lounge.
Jade Benefits:
Complimentary Upgrade
Early check in and late check out
Daily breakfast
Welcome amenities
We had booked in for the Shangri-La Wing Deluxe King Room without breakfast since our Jade status offers complimentary breakfast. This was priced at around 200 SGD per night. Our upgrade into the Horizon Club King Room was priced around 315 SGD per night, which makes it a whopping 115 SGD upgrade. The rooms are the same size at 387 sq ft but we are located on a much higher floor with access to the Horizon Club.
Overall, the room was styled in a beautiful classic Thai manner, with gorgeous teak wood everywhere. Whilst everything was in perfect order, we thought it was slightly dated and the bathrooms were very old and some drainage problems and also didn't feel exactly clean enough to have a soak in. The view was very beautiful however and the bedding was comfortable.
We were also offered a free minibar and no one can resist free beer and snacks in Thailand, can they? It is a little of a cheap thrill and one we don't see as often these days. For this, we value it at 5 SGD.
Club Lounge
The club lounge at Shangri La is on Level 24 and has a panoramic view of the Chao Phraya river on one side and the city on the other side of the lounge. During our time there we had a fantastic selection of finger food and the staff came around with different snacks - including mango sticky rice which of course we could not resist. We love a good lounge and this one was fantastic. We value club lounge access at 15 SGD.
Breakfast
Shangri-La is known for its expansive breakfast buffet. Let's just say Shangri-La Bangkok had what felt like never ending stations for the breakfast buffet. Just when you thought you had seen every station, you find another 3 in the outdoor section. There was a huge selection of continentals, as well as local food like Thai chicken rice, Pad Kra Pao, fluffy thai omelette made to order amongst the many others. We wandered around and tried a couple of things before retreating to the Club Lounge for a coffee and a quieter way to enjoy the morning. Let's just say, breakfast at NEXT2 cafe, was extremely loud, considering the size of this hotel. As usual, we value breakfast at the local rate at a cafe, which would be 20 SGD x 2 pax.
Facilities
The property is located on 25 000 sqm of space, which is incredibly big by any standards. It took us a good 10 mins to walk from the main wing to the Krungthep Wing and then back stopping at the fitness center in between the 2 buildings.
When we got to the gym, we were immediately hosted by the team who brought us on a tour around the gym, telling us about the amenities and what they offered, including personal training sessions. Interestingly, the gym is also open to the public, with health club membership rates running from 1300 SGD for off peak annual access to 2500 SGD for the full experience, including a free night stay, spa services as well as laundry services. At around 200 a month, it is pretty good value!
As with all our stay, we tend to utilise the facilities on our last day, together with having a late checkout. Its difficult to put a value on late check outs, so as we have done in the past, we will continue to use 10 % of hotel rate for this, which works out to be 30 SGD in value.
Krungthep Wing
We walked through the entire compound into the Krungthep Wing which was so different from the main tower. In the main tower, there were always people and it was always bustling. But here in the Krungthep Wing, we didnt see a single person and there was also a dedicated pool for guests in this wing. It looked private and rather exclusive. For our next stay, I think our choice would be the Krungthep Wing. It was quieter with less foot traffic overall and seemed like a much nicer wing to be staying in.
Boat Shuttle
One of the perks of staying along the Chao Praya river is that you get to escape the crazy traffic of Bangkok. The few times we have stayed along the river, we have found the boat to be the easiest mode of transport to go around. At Shangri-La, the boat departs the hotel towards Icon Siam every hour at half past (1030, 1130, 1230, 1330, 1430, 1530, 1630, 1730). Simply go towards the pier located at the outdoor bar and there will be a friendly staff giving out tickets to secure your seats as it is first come first serve. The return shuttle departs every hour at 40 past from Icon Siam back to the hotel. Near the pier at Icon Siam, there is a shelter which shows the boat shuttle schedule from every hotel.
Overall
Overall, we had a really good stay at Shangri-La Bangkok. It was a solid hotel stay. Whilst there are the high end places like Four Seasons, Capella and Mandarin Oriental just around the corner, Shangri-La provides a good balance between value and a good hotel stay.
In total, as a Jade member, we saved around 205 SGD, which we think is fantastic value. So if hotel loyalty programs are your kind of thing, do remember to check the next available status match opportunity and join the Shangri-La Circle to start accumulating points.
Would We Recommend?
Yes! at this price point of around 200 SGD for a 36 sqm room, you can't be beat. It may not come with breakfast if you didn't want to pay more or do not have loyalty status with Shangri-La, but you are in Bangkok! A 3 min walk will bring you to some authentic local store for a hearty meal, as would a grab delivery from almost any shop in Bangkok. The location is fantastic, the staff are kind and the room is comfortable. I don't think we can ask for more, especially at this price point (:
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