THE KEY BANGKOK HOTEL AT SUKHUMVIT SOI 19 BANGKOK THAILAND
You may think Bangkok, the capital city of Thailand is not as big as it sounds but it’s 1.5 times the size of Penang Island and Mainland combined. However, Bangkok is more densely populated with endless attractions compared to Penang. Thus, it’s great if you know which would be the best location to stay based on your itinerary during your vacation. There may be over thousands of city & riverside hotels, boutique hotels, guesthouses or even hostels to stay in and it can be a little daunting for first-timers in Bangkok. To me, it’s not about the things you planned to do in Bangkok but the knowledge to fully utilize the mass transits to get to your destinations. With over 50 districts in Bangkok, I’ve chosen the district of Watthana with the convenience of having both the Bangkok Mass Transit System (BTS) and the Metropolitan Rapid Transit (MRT Metro) easily available. That’s the reason I’ve checked into The Key Bangkok Hotel.
The Key, a 3-star hotel, is not much of a lavish hotel with complete facilities, but it’s just the right one for my basic necessities. Most importantly, a hotel has to be clean. Moreover, I realized that the housekeeping team has been a bit too hard working during my 5D4N stay in the hotel by replenishing all the used shampoo bottles, drinking water, beverage sachets and towels on a daily basis (when they stressed that we should try to go green and avoid changing towels daily). Though small in size, the hotel still has a comfortable sitting area with an indoor coffee house and an al fresco area to chill out.
As for the room, I would say it’s quite spacious for a THB2000++ room with facilities such as a small kitchen (with plates, bowls, cups, glasses and necessary utensils), microwave oven, refrigerator, electric water kettle (complimentary coffee & tea sachets and two bottles of drinking water daily), TV, DVD player, safe deposit box, dressing table, working table, dining table, build-in wardrobe, hairdryer and bath tub with hot showers. Moreover, the washroom came equipped with hair shampoo, body shampoo, spa shampoo, hand wash and hand lotion bottles.
However, there were two major setbacks in the room. One will be the toilet bowl which is too near to the wall. Thus, it will be quite inconvenient for huge sized house guests to do their “business”. Moreover, the blinds were not overlapping properly, resulting in the feeling of insecurity to prevent peeping toms from the opposite building. On top of that, there was no dish washer in the room. Though the housekeeper will clean up those dirty dishes, it would be great if they can provide that for long term house guests. As for WIFI, it’s not as stable as my personal 3G connection (though my Happy Tourist SIM card was not as smooth as it should be outside the vicinity of the hotel).
Overall, it’s still a nice place to stay in with minimal sound pollution and the central air-conditioning can be rather cold. Moreover, Terminal 21 is just few minutes of walk away. You can access to a convenience shop right outside the entrance with two more 7-11 shops along the Sukhumvit Soi 19. Restaurants (Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Western), street food, cafes, hair salon, gymnasium and massage & spa parlors are scattered everywhere nearby. Without taking the risk of missing my flight (12.00 noon) to get home, the staff was helpful enough to get me a taxi to Don Mueang International Airport for a mere THB400 at 8.30am.
Here are some peeps of what to expect surrounding the vicinity of The Key Bangkok Hotel.
Name: THE KEY BANGKOK HOTEL
Address: 19-19/1-3 Sukhumvit Soi 19, Klong Toei Nuea, Watthana, Bangkok 10110, Thailand.
Contact: +662 255 5825
GPS: 13.739016, 100.559948
DIRECTIONS:
From Don Mueang International Airport (DMK): Take A1/A2 bus to Mo Chit Station (BTS Sukhumvit Line). Take the Skytrain to BTS Asoke Station. Use the Skywalk towards Exit 1 and walk downstairs towards Terminal 21. Walk straight towards “The Westin Grande Sukhumvit Hotel”. At the road before the hotel, turn right into Sukhumvit Soi 19 and walk about 70m and you will see the “The Key” after a row of shop houses on your left. The main entrance of the hotel is via a smaller alley.
From Suvarnabhumi International Airport: Take the Airport Rail Link (ARL) to ARL Makkasan Station. Walk to the MRT Phetcheburi Station and use the Subway Train to MRT Sukhumvit Station. Walk towards Exit 3 near the entrance of Terminal 21. Walk straight towards “The Westin Grande Sukhumvit Hotel”. At the road next to the hotel, turn right into Sukhumvit Soi 19 and walk about 70m and you will see the “The Key” after a row of shop houses on your left. The main entrance of the hotel is via a smaller alley.
RATING:
Ambience: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 classy)
Cleanliness: 8/10 (1-4 limited, 5-7 average, 8-10 many choices)
Noise Pollution: 5/10 (1-4 quiet, 5-7 average, 8-10 noisy)
Pricing: 7/10 (1-4 cheap, 5-7 average, 8-10 expensive)
Service: 8/10 (1-4 bad, 5-7 average, 8-10 excellent)
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