Hotel review: Anantara Riverside Resort, Bangkok

Hotel review: Anantara Riverside Hotel, Bangkok (Deluxe Junior Suite)

Bangkok, April 2018

Introduction

After reading lots of reviews and contemplating on the price, quality and location, I opted to book a Deluxe room with breakfast for one night at Anantara Riverside, and this turned out to be a good choice: Anantara Riverside Resort is now perhaps our favorite 5 star hotel in Bangkok so far!

Comparing prices I chose to book the room via Orbitz.com. The hotel belongs to Orbitz VIP properties, so as an Orbitz Platinum member there were to be an extra perk. After booking that turned out to be 25% off Spa service (per day).

In addition I had subsrcibed to Business Traveller magazine, which included GHA Platinum membership. Anantara belongs to GHA, so I thought I would see if it gave me anything extra. Usually it's not much use if you don't book via hotel directly...

Check-in and lobby

Our Finnair flight from Helsinki arrived at about 7.15am, and after the usual formalities we were out with our luggage at around 8 o'clock. I had booked transportation via Oriental Escape, and we were greeted by their representative after a few minutes of walking and searching around the arrivals area.

The cost for a Luxury SUV for our family was 1300THB to the hotel, which is fair enough, although of course a normal taxi would have been less that half of that.

The journey took about an hour in the morning traffic, and we arrived shortly after 9am.

Our bags were taken care of by staff and Ms. Amy greeted us warmly and took our daughter's hand as we were escorted in to the lobby for the check-in. Herbal tea was offered and I took a look at the lobby, which was very beautiful in Thai style. The ambiance was relaxed and pretty. I liked this place immediately! The personnel were stylish and friendly, in just the right way.

Tray with welcome drink - Anantara Riverside

Welcome drinks

It took a few moments to check in, and after waiting for about 10 minutes we were informed our room was ready. A wonderful surprise since we were checking in so early! And as it turned out, we were upgraded to a Junior Suite.

An associate took us to our room and we had a look at the hotel on the way.

As the name suggests, this is more of a resort than a hotel, and it really shows. The resort area is actually quite big and very tranquil, thanks partly to the fact that the river runs next to it. It was great to be in the middle of a bustling city, yet in peace and quiet. The grounds were well cared for and some repair work was done at the time. There was a little bit of construction noise in the morning, otherwise none whatsoever.

Anantara Riverside Resort

Lush and green - an oasis in the city

Room - Deluxe Junior Suite

Our room was located on the second floor in a corner. Unfortunately it was raining a lot at the time so the pictures are a little dark.

The room had windows to two sides (garden views), and a balcony behind them. Spotlessly clean, serene and beautiful. There's the same vibe in the room as in the resort: calm, relaxed but elegant in a Thai style.

Our room with twin beds

Twin beds

Minibar

Bathrobes

Anantara Riverside Resort, bathroom water bottles

Water is always welcome in hot Bangkok climate

Bathroom

Bath amenities

Fruit plate

The bathroom was neat, not huge but definitely sufficient in size. It's nice to have a possibility for a bath, even though there wasn't much time for that during our short stay. Shower gel and shampoo are not in plastic bottles, so kudos to the hotel for a more nature-friendly approach!

Air conditioning worked well and we didn't have to touch it during the visit.

The beds were very comfortable and big enough for two adults and a child. I could have opted for an extra bed when making the reservation, but thought that the twin beds should be big enough for us. And fortunately they were, saving us some money on the way :)

Breakfast

A buffet breakfast is served at The Market restaurant on the ground level from 6am until 10.30am. It was busy when we arrived (at around 9am), and there were tables both inside and outside, almost all of which were taken. The items are spread on quite a big area, which is actually good in a way because everyone's not stuck in the same place creating a huge mess.

The buffet spread was big. What impressed me the most was the number of hot items and live cooking stations. This was really something that set this breakfast apart from some of the competition.

Staff were nice and efficient, and kindly made a big effort to find us some fresh lime, when I happened to ask if there was some. Coffee and tea were served to the table.

I enjoyed the many different juices available, some of which were in small bottles.

Juice selection

Cappuccino

Jams and honey

American pancakes with a cute elephant

Chinese croissants(?)

Live cooking station

Pastries

Noodle soup

Some outdoor seating at The Market restaurant, breakfast

Breakfast at The Market, Anantara Riverside

There were salad ingredients, bread and croissants, American pancakes, an egg station, Chinese and Japanese dishes, noodles and soup. Absolutely wonderful!

It's not always the amount of dishes that counts, but quality. And I had absolutely no complaints, everything looked fresh and and tasted good. I wish I had had a bigger appetite! What a way to start the morning.

Pool

The pool area is on the ground floor, and there are sun beds around the pool. Due to rainy weather we didn't get to experience poolside but it looked inviting nonetheless - especially when the rain ceased!

You'll find a gym and tennis courts as well, though we didn't get to see those this time.

Spa

I booked my wife a Spa treatment, and we joined her to see the place. It looked gorgeous!
Even though I wasn't coming in for a treatment, I was offered a beverage and a cool towel.

My wife said later on that the massage experience was probably the best she'd ever had. The surroundings, atmosphere and quality of treatment were world class. Well done Anantara!

Anantara Riverside Spa

Anantara Spa at Anantara Riverside Resort

Anantara Riverside Spa

Location

The location of the hotel is a bit of a mixed bag:
On one hand it's great - next to the river in a calm environment with a shuttle boat to Saphan Taksin and Asiatique. On the other hand, you're bound to spend some time going through the city if you're heading for example to some of the bigger shopping centers along Sukhumvit Road.

I guess it all boils down to what your preferences are. If you're looking for a high quality resort-like accommodation for your Bangkok stay, Anantara Riverside is a must. You really can't find any other hotel like this in Bangkok. It feels like you're in an oasis far from the city, and still you're only a short way from the action.

We took the resort boat to Asiatique night market, where we enjoyed a little stroll and ate some fresh roti. The shuttle boat ride was nice and we had a good time looking at city lights in the evening :)

Bottomline

We had a great one night stay at Anantara Riverside Bangkok. Service was impeccable, the resort surroundings beautiful and everything just worked flawlessly. Breakfast was superb and Spa exquisite.

There's so much to like here. It's not your dull everyday chain hotel, but a charming and lovely vacation spot in itself. I'm quite sure we will return if/when we travel to Bangkok again!
Highly recommended!