Montien Hotel Bangkok Review, Thailand

The Montien Hotel Bangkok is just one of the many hotels in the Silom District that I have been asked to visit and make a review. Located in Bangkok's commercial business district and tamed Patpong red light district. It's right on Surawongse Road with Silom Road closeby with the MRT and BTS train systems.

The Montien is one of the oldest hotels that I have ever stayed in Bangkok so far. That's not to say that the Montien is a run down relic among shiny new modern hotels opening all around Bangkok. And It certainly will be tougher for the Montien to compete against smaller and increasingly popular budget boutique hotels and other more centralized and similarly priced hotels in the Sukhumvit district.

The price of a one night stay at the Montien is not considered cheap. Yet it's not really a hotel that will break the bank either. As of writing a quick check of the Montien Hotel Bangkok's website for a superior hotel room cost $95 USD.

But since I found a better room rate through Agoda.com for $60 USD including taxes I went ahead and booked a night to make this review.

And I was interested in staying at the Montien because I had heard so much about. When I did further research I did not know that the hotel had such a rich history. Opened in the late 1960's the hotel was sort of a flagship hotel property worthy of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit's presence. So back in its heyday the Montien was the place to be for Thai locals. Today it is more popular with foreign tourists around the world.

The easiest and cheapest way to get to the Montien Hotel is by airport express bus. Take the AE1 bus, a ticket only cost 150THB. It will stop right at the hotel. Keep in mind the bus operates from 5am to 12 midnight.

A public taxi ride to the Montien Bangkok cost around 350THB which includes highway tolls and the mandatory 50THB airport surcharge.

Both the MRT and BTS train systems are very close by. You can take the BTS Sky Train to many popular areas in Bangkok for shopping. The most notable department stores in Bangkok now are Siam Paragon, MBK and the newest Terminal 21. All are in easy reach with the Sky Train.

The Montien charges 75THB per hour and 150THB per day to get connected.

Check in was quick and the staff were very courteous and professional. I was given a room on the 7th floor, room #759, which is a non-smoking room.

You can tell a lot about a hotel just by walking through its corridor. And when I reached the 7th floor and got out of the elevator I could have sworn that I was in a cruise ship where the cheap rooms are located. The corridor was lit up and down with fluorescent lights giving the paneling on the walls a fake cheap look. To be honest, I was a bit apprehensive about seeing my room.

And when I opened my door I was put at ease by a big airy room which had a lot of natural light coming from the outside thanks to the floor to ceiling windows. There's no mistake that the hotel is an older property that hasn't gone through a major renovation. You can easily tell by the bathroom's fixtures. The only new addition to the room is a electronic room safe. That said, my room was very clean and you can tell the hotel management is keen on keeping up on routine maintenance.

And as you can see from my video the room is pretty standard. Except the room is larger than usual which is common for older hotel properties. It's the newer modern hotels in Bangkok that have smaller sized rooms. My room was at least 32 sqm. if not slightly larger. There is plenty of space to hold luggage and hang your clothes in the closet.

The bathroom is a decent size with an unusually small bathtub. I wouldn't fill the tub with too much water if you're planning to have a soak or else it'll overflow. Remember the hotel was built for Thai's 40 years ago when the locals were smaller. Even the shower head is positioned for a person 5.5 feet tall.

There are not a lot of channels on the television but whatever they do have should suffice, such as news and sports channels. No movie channels nor channels for the kids though.

One thing I found quite odd was that there are no security cameras throughout the hotel. At least none that I could see in the corridors and in the elevators. I'm not suggesting that the hotel is in a bad area and should invest in a security camera system, because it's not. There are many guests and hotel staff inside the hotel and not once did I feel unsafe. But having one installed for guests' peace of mind would be nice.

The hotel does have a swimming pool and fitness center for guests to enjoy. Both facilities looked like they were in good condition except that the equipment in the fitness center could use some updating too.

The Montien Hotel Bangkok is a good place to stay if you don't mind paying the price, or waiting to find a good deal. I could tell just by sitting in the lobby for awhile that the hotel's staff are very professional and courteous. And that they take pride in working at such a historic hotel.

However, I am concerned that the Montien will face stiff competition from newer hotels in Bangkok that are in the similar price range.