The Salil Hotel Riverside Bangkok

Despite reading comprehensive reviews and trusting the hotel's standard of service, I was disappointed at almost every step of the way from the start. Upon arrival, the bellboy closed the car door carelessly without any apology (the car had a red license plate). This left the initial atmosphere far from warm and pleasant. The check-in process was handled by a foreign intern who was not yet familiar with the details, requiring several rounds of back and forth to confirm with the staff. While I understand this wasn't the intern's fault, the unsupervised assignment created complications from the start. Despite a much later check-in time, the room wasn't ready (3:30 p.m.) and I was left waiting without any options. Late check-out required manual request instead of automatic, something the hotel should have considered. The disappointment was compounded when my request for a quiet room to fully enjoy the hotel, which I had requested at the time of booking, was not fulfilled. Instead, I was given a connecting room, which was highly inappropriate. The special occasion stay wasn't decorated or set up to the standards expected of a hotel of this caliber, requiring the guest to request a room change. Throughout the process, the staff's coordination seemed more focused on "passing things off" than "handing it off." Upon check-in, I was asked to download the app. There is a chat feature for requests, but no one responded so I had to call to follow up. When I received the new room key card, the staff seemed confused and rang the doorbell again to bring me the old key card. I then said they didn't accept the old key card. There was no proper directions or guidance to the room. I pressed the housekeeping button to clean the room. When I returned after dinner, it turned out that no cleaning had been done. The recommended app to download did not respond to messages and did not provide the information requested. There was no tour or introduction to various parts of the hotel as stated before my stay. Some staff treated guests as if they were just dining in. In some areas, such as the swimming pool, the staff were unfriendly and in a tone of voice, even though I was a guest. I found a hair on the sofa in my room, which, although minor, reflects the need for stricter cleanliness standards. The pool was crowded and noisy, lacking privacy. The area was also open for guests from the restaurant to take photos. The noise from the pool and the hallway in front of the room was noticeable even on higher floors. Although the bed was comfortable, it could not mask the annoyance of the housekeeping in the next room who was careless in placing things. At breakfast, there were too many people, almost one table with the next. I asked the staff to help cut the hard and chewy bread because it was difficult to cut. I passed it to the chef. The chef stated that it was the texture of the bread but did not change it and insisted on cutting another piece that was thicker than usual. The food that was gone was not refilled, just left it empty. When we reported the problem during check-out, the counter staff said that they did not see the request that was made during the booking, blaming the reservation for it. They could only fold their hands to apologize and promise to check for it, but did not solve the immediate problem professionally, as the hotel claims to be a 5-star hotel. Then, they followed us back and handed us a business card, but it belonged to the manager, Korawit S., Ambassador of Impressions Manager, who must have taught us to use this method to solve immediate problems first. This experience turned out to be just paying for a room without any impression from the service, which is not consistent with the hotel's claim and image at all.