Seasons Siam Hotel

Seasons Siam’s tall, modern building looks more impressive from the street than it does inside. Primarily attracting large groups of Chinese and Indian tourists, this hotel is a decent enough base for a short stay, but the decor is off-point throughout. The generic lobby has cream floor tiling, floor-to-ceiling windows, and a sleek wood-paneled front desk. But more dated hallways resemble student dorms, with shiny wood-effect flooring, plain white and cream walls, and ugly, old-fashioned dark-wood doors. The restaurant adjoining the lobby is contemporary but feels bland, while the second-floor overflow breakfast lounge has an old-fashioned skylight, artificial plants, and ugly metal seats with dark-blue padding right out of a ‘90s convention center. The outdoor seating area is more pleasant (it’s sheltered from the road, but inevitably still gets noise) -- but overall, travelers keen on a more intimate ambience or up-to-date decor will want to look elsewhere.

Seasons Siam is set right on a busy main road in downtown Bangkok. The location is convenient for the nearby Indra and Pratunam clothes and electronics markets that are popular with guests here, and both the Airport Rail Link (for direct connections to Suvarnabhumi International Airport) and the Skytrain are within walking distance. There’s also a decent range of street food in the vicinity, and higher-end shopping malls are a short drive away.

• Nine-minute walk to Ratchaprarop Airport Rail Link station
• 11-minute walk to Victory Monument Skytrain station and Indra market
• Eight-minute drive to Pratunam market (19-minute walk)
• Nine-minute drive to Chatuchak weekend market (23 minutes by public transportation)
• 10-minute drive to Siam shopping malls (22 minutes by public transportation)
• 10-minute drive to Platinum fashion mall
• 11-minute drive to the Erawan Shrine
• 13-minute drive to CentralWorld shopping mall
• 14-minute drive to Chinatown
• 17-minute drive to Don Muang International Airport
• 18-minute drive to the Grand Palace
• 20-minute drive to Suvarnabhumi International Airport (32 minutes by public transportation)

The 177 individually air-conditioned rooms at Seasons Siam are decent enough for a short stay. But they're generic overall and could do with a refresh -- in fact, some still have tube TVs. In 205-square-foot (19-square-meter) Standard Double and Twin Rooms, beds have elegant wall-width wooden headboards, small built-in bedside tables, and wall-mounted lamps, and there’s tan-wood laminate flooring. Peach and green accent walls feature unremarkable framed prints, while other walls are plain white. Small desks have elegant red upholstered armchairs, and perhaps the highlight of most rooms is that each comes with a chic brown-orange daybed. Windows are small, with old-fashioned curtains, and rooms lack balconies; views beyond the neglected-looking maintenance walkways alongside the rooms are unimpressive. Other than increasing in size to 258 square feet (24 square meters), Superior Double and Twin Rooms are identical to their Standard equivalents. The 344-square-foot (32-square-meter) Junior Suites are also similar, though they add chic retro cream armchairs and purple sofas to connected living spaces. Amenities include cable TV, phones, free Wi-Fi (but note that the in-room signal can be patchy), safes, well-stocked minibars that also include items like condoms and adaptor plugs, and coffee- and tea-making facilities.

Bathrooms across the board are acceptable, but small and rather unexciting, with white and cream floor and wall tiling and well-sized walk-in showers with glass doors, and free toiletries. The freestanding white acrylic sink vanities beneath large wall-width mirrors are dated and unattractive. Guests report noise from large tour groups can be a problem; there are also some complaints of maintenance issues and of unpleasant odors in rooms, though we didn’t notice either on our visit.

Seasons Siam offers little in the way of facilities, though the iCafe restaurant serves decent local and western buffet and a la carte meals throughout the day. The buffet breakfast isn’t included in all rates and gets mixed reviews. A single meeting room can accommodate up to 30 people, and there are internet booths for guests to use in the lobby. While there’s free Wi-Fi throughout the hotel, in reality past guests report the signal can be spotty outside of public areas.