Location, transport links and surroundings
The Richmond Hotel is located away from the crowded centre of Bangkok, not far from the Chao Phraya River. If you stay here, you will definitely escape the massive smog of the city centre, but there are still plenty of opportunities for activities. Not far away from the hotel there are some shopping malls, many small restaurants, a very nice park and also Wat Suan Kaeo – a not overfrequented temple with a beautiful garden – here one notices visitors as well as inhabitants quickly that it is more relaxed than in the dependency in the city centre.
From the hotel lobby it is only about 10 kilometres to the tourist attraction, the river island “Ko Kret”. It was created in the course of the construction work for an abbreviation/straightening in 1722 and has become a magnet for tourists from all over the world with many small shops of the inhabitants – especially on weekends. This place is famous for the traditional pottery craft and the prices are not excessive.
From Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport to the Richmond Hotel it takes – except for rush hours – only 30-35 minutes. Two different routes can be taken. On the one hand the route over the freeway 7 – this measures about 40 kilometres and a toll has to be paid – or you take the federal roads 302, 351, 350 and then change to the toll freeway 9…then it is a little under 40 kilometres and the toll is a bit lower.
Directly at the Richmond Hotel there is also the purple MRT line with which you can get to the centre of Bangkok without stress and without wasting too much time in the standing traffic. Moreover, with this means of transport that can be compared to a suburban train / subway, one experiences the city from a completely different side. Of course, there are also a handful of buses that take one to the next BTS (Skytrain) station or the blue MRT line.
The Richmond Hotel is currently (as of 12/2019) being rebuilt and extended – after the completion of the works in spring 2020 it will become the Grand Richmond Hotel with five-star standards.
Hotel conversion and extension
The Richmond has always had remarkable capacity when it comes to accommodating large parties or events – after the current renovation, the management is again setting new standards.
The hotel name has been given the extension “Stylish Convention Hotel” – with its many rooms, large lobby and spacious restaurant, it is equipped for any celebration. After completion of the reconstruction it will have two new ballrooms that can accommodate up to 1400 people.
In addition, a total of 28 fully equipped meeting rooms will then be available. As Richmond has hosted many government events over the years, the restaurant knows what it takes to host successful events. Many large companies – even those not based in Thailand – decided to hold their festivities and workshops here.
In addition, Richmond is known for being a very special place to hold weddings – the event management team has already developed several successful setups for large weddings. Richmond’s location away from the hustle and bustle of downtown Bangkok also has its advantages – so arriving and departing is much more relaxed.
Last but not least, with the new 35-storey main building The Richmond offers guests a total of 774 rooms and suites. Here, the room furnishings range from a chic standard to a luxurious suite. The new rooms are very bright, there is a lot of white marble – very chic – and you feel comfortable from the first moment on. We found the bathrooms very nice – simple, functional and radiant white.
In the course of the reconstruction, the reception will be completely relocated and one could already see how impressive the result will be. The high-quality materials such as marble, metal and the great new carpet make an excellent impression – a stylistic mixture of traditional patterns and forms, yet modern and forward-looking.
Lobby and restaurant
From six o’clock in the morning until one o’clock at night the restaurant @Café is open for guests and visitors. Besides the legendary buffets, breakfast, lunch and dinner are served here. Of course, you can also order a la carte here, whereby the Thai dishes in particular have impressed us with their high degree of authenticity.
In addition, from nine o’clock in the morning to eight o’clock in the evening, the Richmond Deli & Bakery in the heart of the lobby offers guests and visitors of the hotel the opportunity to get new and impressive delicacies “from the pen” of the patisserie chef Maew Pratumthip Trakoonsri. The cakes, pastries, croissants, petit fours, Danish pastry, chocolates and much more taste consistently excellent and are also affordable.
What I liked was that there is an ATM of the Krungsri Bank – I think it is almost the only bank that allows a withdraw of 30.000 THB – a real plus. I also noticed that in Richmond they thought of handicapped people throughout. There are well marked toilets, the elevators have buttons with braille font and there are also some escalator-stairs just in case.
There is also a small & affordable shop in the lobby, which offers some traditional souvenirs – it is definitely worth taking a look.
SPA, Fitness Center & Pool
With the LAZULI The Richmond has a SPA area, where various massages and SPA treatments are offered. The capacity of the rooms is sufficient to treat about twenty guests at a time, but when we were there, we could have imagined a much more inviting place.
Right next to the SPA area is the small fitness centre of the Richmond Hotel – the equipment of the company Body-Solid is already a bit outdated and the general atmosphere should be improved. Fitness and motivation are connected, and only in a really appealing and motivating ambience the guest likes to train.
The pool area is quite small for such a big hotel – we would have imagined it to be a little more generous. For example, realized by several pools at different places of the hotel. There is certainly more to it than that – one should combine the topics SPA, fitness & pool in order to give Richmond another trump card to make guests happy with the term wellness.
My Conclusion
Once the extension work is complete the Richmond – or rather the Grand Richmond – will be unrivalled in Bangkok with its attractive prices for rooms, service & restaurant. To my knowledge there is currently no other hotel in the city that is so well prepared to host big events.
The location of the Grand Richmond makes it particularly attractive for guests arriving from the surrounding area or via Suvarnabhumi Airport. If one pays attention to the usual rush hours, one will always get from A to B quickly and will not have to stand in a traffic jam for hours as it is known from the city centre of Bangkok.
From my point of view, a very special plus is the cuisine of the Grand Richmond – the quality of the food, even in a simple buffet, was impressive. From the freshness of the many dishes, to their authentic taste, to the reasonable price an absolutely round thing.