Some hotels are memorable because of their spectacular views, impeccable service or beautiful rooms. Others stay with you for a rather different reason. For us, Plaza Athenee Bangkok will always be the place that turned a long-held dream into reality.
Our story with this hotel began in 2006, when we were travelling around the world on a backpacking adventure. We had little money, even less luggage space, and no idea that a few years later we would return to Bangkok to spend three nights in one of the city’s most luxurious hotels.
Back then, we could only dream of staying somewhere like this. But sometimes dreams do come true, and our stay at Plaza Athénée, A Royal Méridien Hotel, in November 2010 remains one of our most treasured travel memories.
A Dream That Began in 2006
During our round-the-world trip, we spent some time wandering around Bangkok. We wandered a little further than intended and eventually found ourselves on Wireless Road, standing outside the most magnificent building either of us had ever seen.
Through the enormous glass doors, we could see a grand, double-height lobby, complete with a beautiful staircase rising elegantly through the centre of the space. We stood there peering inside, completely blown away.
Of course, plenty of five-star hotels exist around the world, and there are certainly more extravagant ones. But at that point in our lives, we’d never actually seen a hotel like this.
We must have looked quite a sight. I was wearing a faded tank top and a pair of genuine-fake Billabong shorts, while D was dressed in a similarly questionable T-shirt bought from a night market. We were carrying our backpacks and looked every bit the budget travellers we were.
We stood out like sore thumbs among the smart businesspeople and stylish holidaymakers entering the hotel.
We looked scruffy. We looked lost.
To be fair, we were a little lost.
But we looked at that building with a dream. One day, we would return, walk through those doors and actually stay there.
D promised me that one day our dream would come true. As we made our way back to our £5-a-night room, a place we affectionately remember as Cell Block H, that day seemed a very long way away.
Finding Our Dream Hotel Again
Fast-forward to November 2010.
During another five-week trip to Thailand, we met my brother in Hua Hin. With Tom now living in Australia, Thailand had become a convenient meeting point for us all.
On our way to Krabi, we stopped in Bangkok for a day. We were determined to find the hotel we’d fallen in love with four years earlier, so that we could show my brother the place we’d never forgotten.
A helpful local circled its location on a map, and off we went.
Unfortunately, Bangkok is a big city, and we managed to get ourselves thoroughly confused. After more than an hour and a half in the heat, we arrived at a Meridien hotel.
There was just one problem.
It wasn’t our Meridien.
We had found a Meridien, but not the one we’d been searching for. A little more asking around and another taxi ride finally put us on the right track.
As we approached the correct hotel, I knew immediately that we’d found it.
It was just as beautiful as I remembered.
And this time, we weren’t simply going to stand outside looking in.
Finally Checking In at Plaza Athénée Bangkok
There was another reason this trip was particularly special. During those five weeks in Thailand, we got engaged.
What better excuse could there be to book a stay at our dream hotel?
On 24 November 2010, we climbed into a taxi and excitedly made our way across Bangkok for a three-night stay at Plaza Athénée. Not one night. THREE!
We booked the best room we could afford: a corner suite on the club lounge level. Until then, the nicest hotel we’d stayed in was The Dawin, another Bangkok favourite, where a room had cost us around £40 a night.
Plaza Athénée was more than £200 a night. For us, that was an enormous amount of money, but we’d found an offer on the hotel website giving us three nights for the price of two.
We had no idea quite what to expect, but we knew it would be worth the wait.
When we arrived, we joined a short queue at the concierge desk and handed over our passports and reservation details. The receptionist checked our passports, looked at us, checked them again and looked back at us.
I was 23, wearing a faded cotton dress that had accompanied me for much of our month-long trip around Thailand. My backpack was covered in flags we’d bought from the countries we’d visited, badly sewn on and looking a little worse for wear. It had even been to Glastonbury, so it wasn’t exactly pristine.
D’s hair was in need of a good cut, and his night-market T-shirt wasn’t going to win any fashion awards.
The receptionist apologised and explained that we were in the wrong queue.
We needed to take the lift to the 26th floor for a personal check-in.
A personal check-in.
We were escorted upstairs to the club lounge, where we were offered a drink and introduced to the facilities available to club-level guests. Unsure of the etiquette, we asked for water.
Our host explained the lounge, the restaurants and bars, and the services available before showing us to our suite.
We were already excited beyond words. Things were about to get even better.
Our Corner Suite in the Sky
It took us a while to take in the size of our room.
Actually, calling it a room seems a little unfair. It felt almost as big as our three-bedroom house back home. There were more chairs than we knew what to do with and, more toilets than we had in our own home.
Our suite had a huge super-king-size bed that seemed almost lost in the bedroom. There was a separate sitting room, a spacious bathroom with separate bath and shower, and another separate cloakroom.
And then there were the windows.
Floor-to-ceiling windows stretched across the suite, giving us a view of Bangkok that we hadn’t even realised we’d been hoping for.
As the sun went down, the city began to sparkle. The skyline gradually lit up, and we sat looking out at the view, taking it all in.
We had spent many evenings in Bangkok during our travels, enjoying night markets, food courts and the city’s lively streets. But this was a completely different experience.
We were seeing the city from above, in a beautiful suite we’d dreamed of visiting for four years.
It was a pinch-yourself moment.
Discovering the Club Lounge
Our room rate included breakfast, and we had the choice of a buffet at the Rain Tree Café or a continental breakfast in the club lounge.
For two mornings, we opted for the buffet.
I’d never seen so much food in one place. There were pastries, fresh fruit, cold meats and eggs cooked exactly how you wanted them. There were cooking stations, too, which felt like a novelty in themselves.
And then there was the honey.
Not honey poured from a jar, but honey dripping from an actual slice of honeycomb.
I don’t think I’d ever seen that before, either.
On another morning, we chose breakfast in the club lounge. It was quieter and more relaxed, with attentive service and plenty to enjoy without the bustle of the main restaurant.
We didn’t actually eat in any of the hotel’s restaurants during our stay. Not because we didn’t want to, but because the club lounge seemed to keep us perfectly well fed.
In the afternoons, there was afternoon tea, with sandwiches, scones and cakes. We enjoyed countless cups of tea and the occasional treat.
Then came the evening canapés and cocktails.
We found ourselves a seat by the window, looking out over the bright lights of Bangkok as drinks were replenished and plates of canapés appeared. It was the first time either of us had really experienced that sort of hotel hospitality.
We were thoroughly enjoying ourselves. Perhaps a little too much, judging by how tipsy we became!
For two young backpackers who had spent years watching their spending, it all felt wonderfully indulgent.
Three Days of Doing Absolutely Nothing
You might imagine that, with only three days in Bangkok, we’d have been rushing around sightseeing, visiting temples and exploring the city.
We didn’t.
For three days, we barely left the hotel.
We stayed in our dressing gowns, watched television, went swimming and played chess. We relaxed, ate, drank tea and admired the view.
We did absolutely nothing of any real significance, and it was glorious.
Travel can be exhausting. Our usual holidays involved moving from place to place, seeing as much as possible and making every day count. This time, we had permission to slow down.
We could simply enjoy being somewhere special.
The suite gave us space to spread out, the pool provided a welcome escape from Bangkok’s heat, and the club lounge meant we never had to think too hard about where to eat next.
For once, we weren’t backpackers trying to squeeze as much as possible out of every pound. We were a newly engaged couple enjoying a little luxury.
It was exactly what we’d hoped for.
Leaving Our Dream Hotel
Sadly, our flight home meant we could only stay for three nights.
We were reluctant to leave. Not only were we saying goodbye to an extraordinary hotel, but we were also coming to the end of a five-week trip around Thailand.
We packed our backpacks, changed back into our well-worn travelling clothes and prepared to leave the suite that had been our home for the previous three days.
We left with wonderful memories, enormous smiles and, possibly, a bottle or two of shampoo.
Some things never change!
Looking back, the experience meant far more to us than simply staying in a five-star hotel. It was the fulfilment of a promise made four years earlier, outside a building we had once thought belonged to another world.
We’d gone from standing on the pavement, looking through the glass doors, to sitting in a beautiful suite overlooking Bangkok.
And we had done it together.
Returning in 2014
We loved our first stay at Plaza Athénée so much that we returned in February 2014, this time with my brother and his girlfriend.
We booked another three-night stay, including club lounge access, and were delighted to be back. There had been renovations since our first visit, and unfortunately some of the work affecting the club lounge wasn’t quite finished as we’d been led to expect.
Even so, we had a wonderful time.
By then, the hotel had become part of our own travel story. It wasn’t just somewhere we had once dreamed about; it was somewhere we had experienced, enjoyed and returned to share with family.
Returning in December 2018
In December 2018, we returned to The Athenee Hotel once more, this time staying with my sister and her partner, who were following their own backpacking adventure. We treated them to the luxury stay we’d only dreamed of during our own travels.
We also treated them to a feast at the Rain Tree Cafe evening buffet, which coincided with a birthday celebration. It was lovely to share the experience with them and create some special memories of our own.
What had started as a hotel we’d once stood outside dreaming of visiting had become somewhere we’d returned to several times, each visit bringing its own memories.
I like to think it will remain a place we return to every so often, whenever our travels bring us back to Bangkok.
How Much Does Plaza Athenee Hotel, A Luxury Collection Hotel in Bangkok cost?
I checked the priced of a three night stay for December 2026 and one of those wonderful suites with Club Lounge access comes in around £400 per night. The same search also shows that you can also book the King Guest Room for less than £150 per night.
Prices will obviously vary depending on the room, dates and board basis, so it’s worth checking both the hotel and booking sites before booking.
You can check current prices and availability through the hotel’s official website or compare deals on Booking.com.
Would We Stay at The Athenee Hotel Again?
Absolutely.
Our stays at Plaza Athénée were in 2010 and 2014, when the hotel operated under its former name, Plaza Athénée, A Royal Méridien Hotel. The property is now known as The Athenee Hotel, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Bangkok.
This is a retrospective account of those visits, rather than a review of the hotel’s current rooms, prices or facilities.
But if you’re wondering what made the experience so special, it wasn’t just the size of the suite, the view or the club lounge.
It was the feeling of finally doing something we’d talked about for years. It was the kindness of being welcomed into a world that had once seemed completely out of reach.
We arrived as two travellers who had once stood outside the hotel in scruffy clothes, dreaming of what might be possible.
We left with memories we’ll always treasure. And that’s what makes a hotel stay truly unforgettable.
There’s nothing this hotel didn’t offer. Stunning room, beautiful view, an incredibly special experience. It was a dream stay.
How to book The Athenee Hotel, Bangkok
Check availability and prices at The Athenee Hotel, A Luxury Collection Hotel, Bangkok
See rooms and rates on Booking.com
Affiliate disclosure: This article contains affiliate links. If you book through these links, The Jasmine Journal may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. This does not affect our opinions or the experiences we share.
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Hotel Reviews: This Athenee Hotel post was updated in October 2026. We have stayed in this hotel three times, the last visit in December 2018.