Renovated in 2024, the Berkeley Hotel Pratunam Bangkok is a great choice for accommodation in Bangkok. Boasting a convenient location, the hotel is just 800m from Ratchaprarop and 21km from Don Mueang International Airport. Just a short walk from Ratchaprarop Metro Station, traveling to most city destinations is a breeze. Seeing Bangkok's sights from this hotel is easy with Nana Plaza, Bangkok Art & Culture Centre and Jim Thompson House Museum all close by. In their spare time, guests can explore the hotel's surroundings. For those driving themselves, parking is provided on site. According to our guests, the location of this hotel is one of the best around. For guests traveling with families, this hotel is consistently one of the most popular choices.
"My two-night stay at this five-star hotel was a mixed experience. The hotel enjoys an excellent location, right next to Bangkok's main shopping area, and the entrance is certainly ostentatious, with large columns for parking upon arrival. Despite this first impression, the overall lobby already feels a bit dated and doesn't project the image of a modern five-star hotel.
The rooms are noticeably spacious, which is a big plus, and the bathroom is also roomy. However, the overall decor and furnishings feel somewhat dated; it's clear that it could use a facelift to align with current standards for a hotel of this category. The central space of the room is completely empty and lacks any decorative elements that would add character to the room. Furthermore, the interior hallways leading to the rooms are narrow and noticeably dark, with no decoration to enhance the ambiance.
The common facilities extend up to the 11th floor, and from there, they are divided into two towers (I stayed in the North Tower). Access to the North Tower is inelegant, requiring crossing the pool/children's play area and taking an outdoor corridor that connects the two towers. Furthermore, the views from the pool are not spectacular, as they directly overlook the less attractive part of the shopping malls.
The breakfast experience was mixed. On the first day, it was served on the ground floor of our tower. It was more oriented toward Eastern tastes, although it also caters to Western tastes, but with less variety. A curious detail was that the bread had the hotel's name engraved on it, but overall, while the breakfast was adequate, it couldn't be described as ”phenomenal.”
On the second day, breakfast management was chaotic: the North Tower's breakfast area was closed, and all guests were moved to the central lounge on the 10th floor, which proved to be insufficient for the number of guests. We had to wait between 5 and 10 minutes just to get a table, and the lines persisted until near the end of service (around 10:00). This decision to centralize and reduce space was not appropriate for the hotel's capacity. In short, while the location is good and the rooms are large, the dated decor, the confusing layout of the building, and the poor management of the breakfast service seriously detract from the five-star experience.
The most disappointing experience was check-out. We were initially assisted by the hotel manager, who was very pleasant and helpful. We were in the middle of returning our deposit when we were abruptly interrupted by another guest who, without having yet arrived at the counter, demanded to be served immediately, raising his voice to get the manager's attention. Apparently, he is a regular guest. Unfortunately, the manager assisting us relented, leaving us standing there to serve him, and relegated us to another receptionist. Without further explanation, he was somewhat rude and unprofessional. The handling of this interruption was the lowest point. Despite directly addressing the manager's misconduct, we were only given a forced apology while the customer who interrupted us laughed at the situation. The lack of action to correct the other customer's rudeness and the staff's inaction in the face of the interruption are UNACCEPTABLE for a hotel of this category."