I have picked this hotel for my long awaited getaway trip in early Oct because it is new and located right next to a BTS station. (Frankly, taking taxi in Bangkok did not give my good experience. Taxi drivers tend to reject "meter" very often based on my experience)
Being a regular traveller to Japan, I was so looking forward to my stay in this 5-star Japanese hotel brand.
My first impression with this hotel was not good at all. It took us 20 minutes to complete the check-in not because of the queue (we were the only group checking-in back there) but the incompetency of the staff. We were served by 4 different staff at the reception counter within that 20 mins and we were not explained the reasons for the extra-long time for the check-in. I suspected that the hotel had problems in dealing with last-min booking. And it should not be the case for japanese hotels, which are always systematic.
The hotel decor looks nice in every aspect (love the pool and gym, the cafe (for breakfast) makes you comfy). However, the room itself is overly subtle (the color choice is very mild and warm, but remind me of a very tranditional hotel in tokyo that i stayed before). In addition, I dont like the design the separate toilet and bathroom. Dont feel very relaxed when you have to do one of the most important "daily business" in that tiny air-tight toilet room.
Hotel guests are offered to pick international buffet or japanese bento breakfast, which is very common among 5-star hotels in Japan. However, the selection at international buffet did disappoint me. They dont even serve sausages for breakfast. Orange juice is not freshly squeezed (not even close to tropiciana).
Surprising, the hotel location is not as good as we expected. It is true that it is close to BTS but there is no restaurants, shopping malls, messages and spa nearby. If you prefer a relaxing walk to the hotel after dinner in Siam Paragon/Central World or drink in Asoke, the hotel may not fit in your need too.
Lastly, the hotel may consider to put the price list of the hotel spa in the room for benefit of guest reservation and its marketing purpose. (The hotel spa offers great promotion pack to guests for appointment before 5pm...but i was not lucky enough to experience it)
Finally, a few compliments to the hotel: 1) they served different types of fruits in the room during my 3-day stay; 2) There is a dean & deluca at the ground level of building complex; 3) helpful in granting late check-out (for one-hour).
Afterall, not sure this hotel is ready to climb up the ladder in such a competitve hotel industry of Bangkok. Certainly room for improvement.