I always get a little apprehensive when some of my favorite hotel brands begin to expand.
In some cases, the cool vibes that wooed me in the first place stem from the fact that a brand is exclusive to just a few cities around the world. Also, I don’t want hordes of tourists suddenly crowding me out of my favorite spots.
Can trendy ever go together with global expansion? Will a beloved boutique brand be able to maintain its unique character with outposts cropping up in cities far and near?
Thankfully, Standard International — the parent company behind The Standard chain of hotels, as well as smaller offshoots like Bunkhouse and The Peri — has defied those odds with its new The Standard, Bangkok Mahanakhon.
The hotel, billed as the company’s new Asia flagship, isn’t Standard’s first foray into international territory from its U.S. homeland. There are Standard flags flying in London, Ibiza and elsewhere in Thailand, not to mention the Maldives.
However, it’s certainly a signal of what is to come for this smaller brand best known for its Meatpacking District hotel in New York City, and that is arguably popular just as much — if not more so — for its celebrity-saturated parties as it is for its guest rooms.
Does anyone care about thread count or what soaps and shampoos are offered when there’s a chance you’ll catch Madonna or Cardi B performing in the bar at the Boom Boom Room upstairs?
While Standard’s Bangkok location has plenty of venues worthy of a pop diva performance, it also makes a strong mark on the city’s luxury hotel scene — showing a top-tier hotel can let its hair down and have fun while still providing exemplary customer service.
After three nights at the new Bangkok hotel, it’s safe to say Standard’s push into more cities around the globe is going to be fun to watch. Plan to stay a few nights, though. Otherwise, you might never come close to sampling all the amenities.
Booking
The Standard, Bangkok Mahanakhon isn’t the easiest to book using points since it’s not part of a hotel loyalty program. Nor is it on American Express Fine Hotels + Resorts (though you can book cash rates through American Express and other travel booking portals).
I ended up booking direct and paying a nightly cash rate of $240 for a Standard King room (the most-affordable option), which also included breakfast each morning of my stay.
Getting there
It’s a 30-minute drive or roughly 1.5-hour train trip from Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) to the Standard, Bangkok Mahanakhon. Since my flight arrived late at night, I booked a car service through the hotel. The fare was 1,000 Thai baht, or about $28.
If you arrive at an earlier hour and have the time, Bangkok’s rail network is a very affordable way to get into the city. For 30 baht (around 80 cents), you can take the Airport Rail Link to Phaya Thai Station and connect to the BTS Skytrain, which — via a connection at Siam Station — has a station across the street from The Standard at Chong Nonsi.
Standout features
- The Standard is a luxury hotel with a wide array of ways to stay and experience its amenities. Guest rooms start at just under $200 a night while starter suites can go for $600 and above. Want to glam out in one of the hotel’s penthouses? One was going for a little over $1,000 on some nights while the larger — billed as “your own luxury Bangkok apartment” — started at $1,500 a night.
- Bangkok may be one of the world’s most-visited cities in part for its food scene, but one can easily spend a good chunk of their visit trying to get to all of The Standard’s bars and restaurants, which range from Thai to Mexican.
- The Standard is high-end but unstuffy with a significantly more youthful vibe than the city’s Four Seasons or Capella. Sit back, unwind with a cocktail by the pool and soak in the slew of Instagram fashion shoots taking place.
- Along with a well-stocked (and staffed) main gym, there is a high-end fitness studio offering classes throughout the day and an outdoor area for al fresco training.
- Everyone — from the front desk staff at check-in to bartenders, restaurant workers and housekeepers — was personable, attentive and just fun to be around, offering advice on everything from jet-lag remedies to which night markets to visit.
Drawbacks
- The hotel feels disjointed due to the Sky Beach bar and Ojo Bangkok restaurant being at the top of the King Power Mahanakorn tower while the rest of the hotel is spread out across lower floors. This means having to leave the hotel, go to a separate observation deck lobby next door and up an elevator with non-hotel guests to access these two spots. Ojo lets guests skip to the front of the line, but sunset at Sky Beach means battling massive crowds.
- The Standard calls Sky Beach “the highest rooftop bar in Bangkok” and goes on to describe it as a place to watch the skyline, “tune out” to a live DJ, have a cocktail and “remember that the sky’s the limit.” What they don’t tell you is just how integrated it is with the King Power’s observation deck, and the crowded atmosphere can make it hard to tune out just about anything.
- The Standard Bangkok’s Central Business District locale isn’t the most appealing. Whenever I ventured out to restaurants or tourist attractions, it was usually at least a 15-minute drive. That said, there is a train station across the street from the hotel for easy connections via public transportation throughout Bangkok.
The vibe
The Standard Bangkok gives off an imperious first impression: If the towering, 1,050-foot building that houses it doesn’t intimidate you, the well-manicured driveway that forks away to the neighboring shopping center might also throw off anyone who doesn’t know where they’re going. In fact, several taxi drivers decided to just drop me off at the end of the driveway because they couldn’t quite figure out where to go.
What does finally greet you on the other side of the welcome mat is worth the navigation travails, though.
It may be in a skyscraper in the middle of a business district, but this is a cooler-than-cool resort rather than some stuffy city hotel.
I was immediately disarmed by an entry area that is simultaneously soaring with its high ceilings and cozy with a comfortable seating area and plenty of greenery. Don’t call this the lobby, though. That’s a short elevator ride away to the fourth floor.
Along with a contemporary design that favors pops of color and curved corners over sharp edges, the Standard’s aesthetic is lounge-like.
Nearly a month after leaving, I’m still hearing (in my head) the trance-y, spoken-word music piped into the elevators. The video art installation behind the check-in desk (blink, and you’ll miss Leonardo DiCaprio offering cheers as Jay Gatsby) is similar to what you see in the elevators at The Standard, High Line, in New York City. It’s an ultra-cool vibe begging to be explored right away — assuming jet lag isn’t nagging you to go right to bed.
It’s hard to find a corner in the hotel that doesn’t have either an intimate seating area or a place to grab a bite to eat or a cocktail to sip. While the location might lend itself to business travelers, in this new travel era of blended leisure and business, both vacationers and professionals extending their trips will find plenty to keep them occupied.
While I saw a few open laptops here and there by the rooftop pool (present company included), the Standard definitely skews more toward the type of traveler interested in looking fabulous … and making sure to blast said look all over social media.
The room
It was pushing 1 a.m. by the time I finally made it up to my room, but even after roughly 30 hours of travel time, I was taking notes on the new hotel.
The wide-ranging color palette was a hit so far (skewing green in the ground-level entry and transitioning to a yellow focus in the lobby). However, the bright red color scheme on the 12th floor still felt slightly jarring. The minimalist vibe included exposed bulb light fixtures along the long corridors.
Given that it was so late at night, I was feeling just a tiny bit like Stephen King in the Stanley Hotel. The Standard team can rest easy that, courtesy of my travel fatigue, I was in no mood to start penning my own version of “The Shining.” Instead, I tapped my keycard to my door and moved quickly into yet another entirely different aesthetic.
My Standard King room was a fun burst of color: salmon-colored closet doors, as well as countertops and tile in the bathroom, gold and yellow in the recessed minibar, burnt orange for the couch and bed headboard, and a mint green table for working.
It’s definitely a case of “This looks way better than it sounds,” and somehow all the seemingly disparate elements pulled together to attractive effect.
The closet just inside the foyer area of my room provided ample storage space for hanging clothes and parking my suitcase.
There were also two very nice red robes with blue ribboning (a much warmer color combination than the white-and-red hallway on the other side of the door). I actually enjoyed these so much that I bought two for my husband and myself in the gift shop downstairs before checking out.
The bathroom was across from the closet and featured a long vanity and a slew of Davines products, from soap and moisturizer to shaving and grooming kits. The toilet had a bidet function, and there was a separate room with a soaking tub and rainfall shower.
For those keeping tabs on my hunt for great toiletries to repopulate the diminishing supply in my guest bathroom, The Standard Bangkok was not my savior. The shampoo, conditioner and body wash were all in full-size, wall-mounted dispensers in the bath-shower room.
A nice lighting feature in the bathroom was an under-vanity night light that you can leave on in case you get up at night.
Back in the main guest room, the foyer opened into a large area with a king-size bed, sitting area and minibar. Enormous windows provided an excellent view of the business district skyline, save for where the flat-screen TV hanging from the ceiling took up space.
The mini bar was well-stocked with free tea, Nespresso and glass water bottles. Wine, beer, spirits and snacks were also available for purchase.
I found the mini bar pricing to be well below what you’d pay in the U.S., so I didn’t feel so bad about having a nightcap bottle of Singha beer for $4. OK, fine, then I splurged on spiced peanuts for $5 … and a bag of mixed root chips for $2.
By this point, jet lag was playing games with me, and I was suddenly wide awake at 3 a.m. after being ready to fall asleep on the elevator ride up.
The bed was cozy, and you could draw both blackout shades, as well as sheer ones with the touch of a button above the nightstand. There were reading lights built into either side of the bed, and there was no need for an adapter for any of my electronic devices as the room had universal outlets.
This same electrical command center included light controls for the entire room apart from the bathroom, and there was a small speaker to connect to one’s phone via Bluetooth.
I was perfectly comfortable, but there were a few glitches, too.
Rather than ordering room service through the hotel phone, orders are taken online. For some reason, my name and room number weren’t showing up, and the hotel could never figure out what was going on.
The room temperature control also appeared to default to 25 degrees Celsius, or 77 degrees Fahrenheit. As often as I tried to bring the temperature down, it would usually only bottom out around 23 degrees Celsius or just over 73 degrees Fahrenheit.
TPG’s hotel thermostat hack, unfortunately, didn’t help with this balmy brouhaha.
Food and beverage
Let’s just say I mapped out my food and beverage strategy for The Standard with military precision. While I was technically there for three nights, I only had two full days to make it to as many of the hotel’s seven bars and restaurants as possible. Challenge accepted.
Breakfast was included with my room rate, so I started each day at The Standard Grill. While you’ll find The Standard Grill at the brand’s High Line hotel in New York City, the breakfast fare in Bangkok is in a league of its own.
The extensive menu includes everything from eggs, yogurt and muesli to more regional fare like ginger and pork dumplings, charcoal-grilled pork skewers with chili dipping sauce and stir-fried noodles with fried tofu and mushrooms (I found myself ordering repeats of the entire trio for each morning I was at the hotel).
For those ordering eggs, it might seem a little over-the-top that they come with five side items (chicken sausage, bacon, confit mushrooms, roasted tomatoes and potato croquettes), but these are all smaller portions — live a little, and try them all.
I almost wanted there to be a limit on how much you could order, as waiters very kindly came by numerous times and would ask “More?” anytime they saw an empty plate. It was hard to say no, but I eventually did.
While the indoor dining area is perfectly lovely with its green-checkered hue throughout, try to snag a table on the outdoor terrace if there’s availability.
After breakfast on my first morning in Bangkok, I went up to the outdoor pool on the hotel’s sixth floor. Drink and meal service is offered at The Pool, where the bartender at that time of day worked double duty as a waiter, checking in on each person lounging around the water.
I ordered an iced Americano that morning to enjoy while I worked poolside, but I eventually tried the pad thai later in my stay for 440 baht, or $12. It was fine, but I’d say The Pool is best for cocktails and drinks. Save your food budget for other options at the hotel (or for night markets elsewhere in the city if you’re craving noodles).
I spent what ended up being my favorite afternoon of the stay at Ojo, The Standard’s Mexican-inspired restaurant on the 76th floor.
Ojo and Sky Beach are separated from the rest of the hotel’s restaurants by about 70 floors, and they also require entry through a separate lobby for visitors of the King Power building’s observation deck. Ojo, at least, has a priority check-in stand where you can jump to the front of the security line.
I was amused by a message on Ojo’s website noting the restaurant doesn’t allow commercial photography, video shoots, or “any photography by [a] professional photographer of any kind” without prior permission from the restaurant’s public relations team.
I may have salivated over the photos of the restaurant the hotel released upon its opening earlier this year, but how enticing could the space really be? Very, it turns out.
Ojo is simply stunning, with soaring ceilings and 360-degree views of Bangkok. The color scheme is largely gold and pink, with some muted pastels here and there, and it is clearly a place to have a fabulous meal.
I still caught a few other diners staging impromptu photo shoots, just with less-invasive iPhone cameras instead of professional photography equipment.
Despite the high ceilings, it was quiet during lunch, but it might be more raucous at night with packed tables. The stairway connecting the King Power observation deck to Sky Beach upstairs runs along one side of a glass wall at Ojo.
It could feel like dining in a fishbowl at lunch with people walking up and down the stairs, so I’d ask to sit in a part of the dining room away from the staircase. It was a strange hiccup in an otherwise flawless design.
It’s easy for a place this beautiful to rely on its looks and less on its food, but my meal at Ojo was a fitting complement to the glamorous dining room.
Ojo’s spin on guacamole (480 baht, or $13) includes crab meat, roe and dill. Guacamole purists might be fainting at the sound of that, but the dill was the only part I could have done without. That said, it was still tasty enough for me to ask for multiple refills of tostadas to dip with.
I also tried the “Porque Paloma?” cocktail for 420 baht ($11). Again, restaurants with views like this can often phone it in on the taste factor. However, the cocktail — made with both mezcal and Hennessy Cognac — was a very fun spin on the typical grapefruit-and-tequila drink. I would have had a second had it not been only lunchtime.
Given that the restaurant’s entrees included heartier-sounding options like a suckling pig, carne asada and beef short ribs, I thought I was going easy by selecting a 1,500 baht ($41) grilled white fish (one of the less pricey options on the menu).
The fish — an entire fish, bone and all — arrived with avocado, cucumber and an assortment of sauces of various heat levels. It was delicious, but sadly, I could only finish about half.
The staff at Ojo was incredibly friendly and, while I declined the offer of dessert, I did ask if it’d be okay to have a green tea out on the terrace. They set me up at a table out there to end my meal, and I was more than content with my decision to bypass the dessert menu.
Who needs tres leches cake when you have beautiful skies and a terrace seat 76 stories up?
It was a relaxing way to spend some in the afternoon with panoramic views and an entirely empty outdoor dining area. Though I’m sure the tres leches offering or the Mexican banana tamales would have made the views even sweeter.
My other restaurant highlight came 72 floors below at Mott 32 Bangkok, a local branch of a chain of high-end Cantonese restaurants named after the address where New York City’s first Chinese grocery store opened. U.S. travelers may know the brand best for its location at The Venetian Resort Las Vegas.
I was a little surprised to walk into a fairly empty restaurant after reading a few articles ahead of my trip that Mott 32 was booked solid well into the fall. Let’s chalk this up to some giant wave of cancellations the night I was there, as the service, food and scene all lived up to high expectations.
The space is dimly lit and divided into various smaller areas, giving the massive restaurant a more intimate feel.
The sophisticated design, with dark wood and pieces of art punctuated by slashes of light peeking out from lanterned light fixtures, carried from the elevator vestibule all the way throughout the restaurant.
The cocktail bar is the centerpiece of the lounge area, while the larger dining room features soaring floral arrangements and sleek gray couches accented by brown leather straps.
Probably because I was just a party of one, I was seated in the bar area — fine by me, as it was amusing to hear some of the tipsy conversations taking place around me. However, if you prefer to sit in the more Instagrammable part of the restaurant, be sure to note this when making a reservation.
This was probably the only restaurant in the entire hotel where I didn’t feel waiters giving off the “…and what else would you like?” vibe of my grandparents each time I finished a plate of food. To be honest, it was a nice break from all the gluttony.
While Mott 32 is probably best known for its Peking duck, I went with a mix of other dishes.
I started with soup dumplings for 180 baht ($5) — just the right proportion of prawn and scallop to ginger — and stir-fried Wagyu beef lettuce cups for 390 baht (about $11). The Wagyu had a nice spice to it, thanks to mustard oil. My main entree was lobster fried rice for 2,280 baht ($63).
This was certainly a tasty dinner. However, I would advise those considering a stay not to stack their day with a hearty lunch at Ojo followed by dinner at Mott 32. Space these out, and be sure to order the Peking duck in advance.
Despite everyone at The Standard telling me Sky Beach was the best place for a cocktail, I have to strongly disagree.
Sure, it’s at the top of the King Power building on the 78th floor and has incredible views — but it is also connected to the building’s main observation deck. This is not like getting into Le Bain or the Boom Boom Room, the two popular rooftop spots at the Standard, High Line back in the U.S.
You have to wait in line in a lobby separate from the hotel to get up to Sky Beach. It can be a little confusing trying to figure this out, as the hotel offers guests one free pass per stay to get up to the bar but doesn’t mention that it’s all part of the same observation deck.
Signage isn’t as clear as with Ojo, and by the time you finally get to the roof, you might be wondering if it’s really worth the hassle.
Yes, I stuck around long enough to wait for someone to move away from the railing to get a few selfies. No, I didn’t bother with ordering anything from the bar — which felt more like a touristy snack stand than the “outdoor playground” billed on the website.
To be fair, I arrived just before 7 p.m., when the observation deck closes, so there was a rush to get up there.
This is also when the admission fee for the public changes from 880 baht ($24) to just 550 baht ($15), which can be put toward your bar tab. That meant it was extra crowded, and I’d recommend using your guest pass after the observation deck closes so that you’re not competing for views with hundreds of other people.
Seventy-four floors down, I found a far more relaxing vibe for a nightcap on my last night at The Standard.
The Parlor, a bar and restaurant just off the lobby, was a much quieter space dotted with plants and bookcases, as well as its own outdoor terrace. It was much more enjoyable to order a martini (480 baht, or $13) and toast to an otherwise excellent stay.
Even The Standard Grill’s outdoor terrace is open for cocktails at night and is worth considering for a more laid-back drink to start or end the evening.
Service and amenities
For those of us who have settled into the pandemic norm of pretty hit-or-miss service, even in higher-end hotels, The Standard Bangkok was a welcome reminder that a first-rate guest experience is still possible at hotels in the heart of a global metropolis.
The staff members I interacted with were highly attentive, polite and just plain fun. People watching at the various bars and restaurants was equally entertaining, as it was abundantly clear the pool at the hotel was one of the hot spots for Bangkok’s see-and-be-seen scene, especially as the day progressed. Plan to get out there early if you want a little solitude with a book — but arrive later if you want to see fashion, strutting, and ‘tude.
I ducked out of the hotel early one morning to check out Jay Fai, a Michelin-starred street restaurant featured on Netflix’s “Street Food: Asia,” and The Standard team seemed eager to get my takeaways once I returned.
Staff at The Standard Grill each morning remembered my drink order from the day prior, and it was an overall great hotel to check into and work off some jet lag after so much travel.
Daily housekeeping was prompt, as the room was already cleaned by the time I returned from breakfast each morning. When I ordered a glass of wine one night to my room, it arrived within minutes.
The Standard Gym is a showstopper of a hotel fitness facility, with floor-to-ceiling windows looking out to nearby skyscrapers. Open 24 hours a day, the staffed gym includes a variety of cardio equipment and Peloton bikes on top of free weights, machines and a studio for instructor-led classes and personal training.
There is also an outdoor balcony for training with a closer vantage point of skyline views. The locker rooms felt more like Equinox than a typical hotel gym and included a steam room to unwind in after a hard workout.
Events abound at the variety of bars and restaurants at the Standard, so be sure to check out the hotel website ahead of your trip to get the latest offerings. DJs, happy hours and even drag queen bingo were just a few offerings I heard about during my stay.
Out and about
On my early-morning trip to Jay Fai’s restaurant, I ended up sitting next to a man from Singapore who told me his travel itinerary while in Bangkok boiled down to three S’s: street food, suits and spas.
While there are plenty of spots to get suits made or find a massage, I mainly focused on food during my time at the Standard — a good chunk of that being restaurants at the hotel.
Other nearby attractions include Lumphini Park, a major public space with boat rentals and running paths about a 20-minute walk from the hotel. Many of the city’s major attractions are best accessible via ride-hailing services (Uber isn’t offered, so I downloaded the Grab app for any time I needed a ride). The Grand Palace can take about a half-hour by car in traffic.
My trip to Jay Fai’s restaurant, as well as to Gaa, an acclaimed Indian restaurant in Bangkok, took anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes in a car I hailed via the Grab app. Prices were very affordable, as each ride was under $10, and I’d recommend this as an easy way to get around town if you don’t feel like taking the train.
Accessibility
The Standard features two accessible Deluxe King rooms with separate rain showers. All public spaces at the hotel are accessible via elevator and don’t require the use of stairs. Unfortunately, the pool did not have a chairlift to make it accessible for wheelchair users.
Checking out
I was excited to move on to my next batch of Bangkok hotels, but I was a little sad to leave such an affable, hospitable bunch like the Standard Bangkok team. They made easing into the city a breeze, and it is exciting to see the brand make such a strong statement with its new Asia flagship.
Just as the Standard, High Line, continues to wow New York City and stay in the headlines more than a decade after first opening, it’s easy to see where the Bangkok hotel will keep a similar grip on being both cool and luxurious.