The Novotel Suvarnabhumi Airport Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand, made a great base for our trip to Asia. We combined a trek in the Everest region of Nepal with a journey through Laos and on to Angkor Wat in Cambodia. The plusses of using Bangkok as a base included being able to store our trekking gear at the hotel while we were in Laos and the easy international flights in and out of Suvarnabhumi Airport.
A typical business type hotel, the room was quiet, spacious and comfortable with the usual amenities. Plenty of outlets. One nice thing is you can check-in any time of day and stay 24 hours.
Getting to the Hotel
The Novotel Hotel is easy walking distance from the airport via an underground walkway near door 6 that is also the entrance to the Airport Rail Link. On arrival we took the shuttle to the hotel that leaves from door 4. This is the long way around via the highway and takes about as long as walking.
Meals
The property has a couple of restaurants as well as buffet service.
Breakfast Buffet
The breakfast buffet has a wide selection of Western and Eastern options spread through a large dining area including – breads, cereals, congee, cheese and cracker selection, fried egg station with various hot item sides from bacon to fried noodles. Their pastry, I tried the pain au chocolat, was actually flaky and warm. Coffee is available both brewed from a large thermos and from an expresso machine. While of typical large hotel buffet quality, it suits about any taste.
Lunch Buffet
We mistakenly included breakfast when we booked the room for our last night in Bangkok, not paying attention that our flight was leaving at 1AM. Oops! Luckily, you can also use the buffet voucher for either their lunch or dinner buffet.
The lunch buffet was as impressive a spread as the breakfast with a large selection of Western and Eastern fare. Lots of high quality tempting morsels such as crab legs, sushi, pork terrine, baked goat cheese along with hot dishes – Spanish lamb casserole, fish ball green curry etc. They have an ample selection of desserts as well – cheese cake, chocolate mousse cake, green tea and rum raisin ice creams to name a few.
Dinner at The Square
We tried the Thai noodles with seafood and the duck in red curry, a flavorful spicy coconut curry with plenty of duck breast morsels.
Dinner at Kinsen
At this quiet Japanese restaurant we tried the sashimi selection followed by the unagi don(eel on rice) and the grilled saba (mackerel). While the food was beautifully presented and looked ultra-fresh it was somehow bland in flavor having an almost antiseptic quality that I never experienced in Japan.
Flights
In 2018 Air China business class was a great deal, at almost half the price of other airlines to Asia Air. I would definitely consider them again to future destinations in the region. Their business class on both legs, from LAX to Beijing and then Beijing to Bangkok, was first rate, with comfortable seats that fully reclined. In addition the flight attendants were attentive serving high quality meals. The only negatives were the poor movie selection, from western standards, as it’s more internationally biased and included many fewer Hollywood options. The flight attendants speak just enough English to do their job but not much more.
Flight Connection in Beijing
We arrived in Beijing a bit ahead of schedule and despite a long walk through the airport, transit passengers are processed relatively quickly. They have a partially automated immigration check-in where you scan your own passport and boarding pass before they take your picture. The scanner didn’t work well with my old passport but they have an attendant that helps you through the process.
The security line wasn’t long but was tedious, one of the most rigorous I’ve ever experienced. They wanted almost every electronic item out of my bag, including cameras, lenses, battery chargers and every other black little box looking thing.
Arrival in Bangkok went smoothly with no paper work and no lines at immigration. The huge modern airport looks more like a gigantic high-end mall than an airport.
International Flight on Thai Airways
We flew economy to Luang Prabang, Laos. Immigration and security at Suvarnabhumi Airport went smoothly with a minimal amount of hassle. Thai Airway’s large 777 packs on a lot of passengers, but the normal economy seat spacing was not too tight. On the short flight they served an adequate Asian meal.
For links to all the posts in this series see the Laos/Cambodia page.