The Raya Surawong Hotel, Bangkok

[mauRICE]

I see this hotel receives generally positive reviews from our esteemed members and I've suggested it to friends of mine who are new-ish to Bangkok. They like the location and it's within their budget. They told me that for a couple of hundred Baht more they could get breakfast with the room. Any feedback about the breakfast buffet and anything else worth knowing about the hotel would be most welcome. I did tell them that no visit to Patpong and Silom Soi 4 would be complete without paying homage to Guido's pussy and they've promised to give it a few strokes. 😉

[vinapu]

I stay there 3 nights previous week (16-19)for umpieth time. Booked room with breakfast as it was extremely good deal for just 3$ more for two! As for their question I'd say it depends. More sufficient than fabulous but there' s selection of Asian dishes plus regular fried eggs, toast, cereal as tea and coffee. Some fruits and greenery a well. Some cooked  dishes are changing daily. 

[mauRICE]

33 minutes ago, vinapu said:

I stay there 3 nights previous week (16-19)for umpieth time. Booked room with breakfast as it was extremely good deal for just 3$ more for two! As for their question I'd say it depends. More sufficient than fabulous but there' s selection of Asian dishes plus regular fried eggs, toast, cereal as tea and coffee. Some fruits and greenery a well. Some cooked  dishes are changing daily. 

Thanks, vinapu. For $3 for two, "sufficient" sounds great! Buffet seems to cover all the basics and I can't imagine my friends being big eaters anyway.

[Keithambrose]

30 minutes ago, mauRICE said:

Thanks, vinapu. For $3 for two, "sufficient" sounds great! Buffet seems to cover all the basics and I can't imagine my friends being big eaters anyway.

can't imagine my friends being big eaters anyway.

 

Perhaps they are better at swallowing?

[macaroni21]

It's been close to two years since I last stayed at Raya. The breakfast is good value in my opinion but as always, what's value for one is not value for another. My recollection is that it is essentially comprised of Asian dishes, more Chinese than any other kind of Asian. You didn't say if your friends are farang or any other nationality. I don't remember bacon, ham, sausages, cheese, yogurt or the kinds of things that westerners expect, though there was the ultra-processed food also known as "cereal" (unhealthy stuff, if you ask me). If your friends are OK with noodles and stir-fry dishes, then fine. If they're looking for a western or (God Forbid!) american pancakes, then they'll not be so happy.

Even among Asians there can be problem if they're Muslim. I recall distinctly my recent stay in a 3-star Hanoi hotel which served quite a comprehensive spread for breakfast. There was a Muslim Malaysian couple who couldn't find anything to eat except bread and jam. Not even the scrambled eggs because the hotel added bacon bits to the eggs (it was delicious, by the way). Anything with meat they couldn't take (not just pork) because the animal had not been slaughtered with Muslim rites, and that kind of thing.

[mauRICE]

5 hours ago, Keithambrose said:

Perhaps they are better at swallowing?

Only when they forget to bring their dentures. 😏

[mauRICE]

4 hours ago, macaroni21 said:

The breakfast is good value in my opinion but as always, what's value for one is not value for another. My recollection is that it is essentially comprised of Asian dishes, more Chinese than any other kind of Asian. You didn't say if your friends are farang or any other nationality. 

Thanks for sharing your experiences at Raya, @macaroni21. My friends are fellow Malaysians but I don't think one's nationality or ethnicity necessarily determines one's food choices, especially when travelling. That would be akin to saying that all Black Americans like fried chicken and watermelon and must have them wherever they go. 😏  Even religion is not necessarily a determinant; some are strict  adherents, some aren't. No, they aren't Muslims but one is a vegetarian. I checked with them and they're happy with the options that you guys have shared. Besides, one can't ask for too much at that very special price!

[jason1975]

12 minutes ago, mauRICE said:

Thanks for sharing your experiences, @macaroni21. My friends are fellow Malaysians but I don't think one's nationality or ethnicity necessarily determines one's food choices, especially when travelling. That would be akin to saying that all Black people like fried chicken and watermelon and must have them wherever they go. 😏  Even religion is not necessarily a determinant; some are strict  adherents, some aren't. No, they aren't Muslims but one is a vegetarian. I checked with them and they're happy with the options that you guys have shared. Besides, one can't ask for too much at that very special price!

Foodland is near and convenient!

Even though I stay at Raya sometimes, I don't opt for hotel breakfast.

I like to walk to Foodland to get breakfast. 

[mauRICE]

1 hour ago, jason1975 said:

Foodland is near and convenient!

Even though I stay at Raya sometimes, I don't opt for hotel breakfast.

I like to walk to Foodland to get breakfast. 

Yup, it's great having Foodland nearby! I don't bother with breakfast buffets either, not unless they come with the room. I don't go to buffets generally as I eschew excess and can't eat that much anyway. And when on holiday travelling I tend to get up late and by the time I get up, shower and get dressed breakfast would usually be over. My breakfast is usually something savoury/eggs, a piece of toast, fruit and coffee. More than enough for me to start the day.😊 Lately I've been doing intermittent fasting and forgone breakfast altogether. 💪

[Keithambrose]

2 hours ago, mauRICE said:

Only when they forget to bring their dentures. 😏

Very good!

[BangkokDreamer]

What do you get from Foodland?

[zoomomancs]

And Raya has the rear car park lift. I know a member said recently reception didn't bother about bringing a man back but I like to be sure that the guy's id won't be an issue. Feeling poorer these days I tend to stay at 56 Surawong now. 

[Keithambrose]

26 minutes ago, BangkokDreamer said:

What do you get from Foodland?

Depends what you order.

[Lucky]

I stayed once at the Raya and didn't really like it. I didn't know about the breakfast offering, which is fine since I like a big western buffet. LeMeridien has a pretty good mix of western and Asian foods.

[Keithambrose]

31 minutes ago, Lucky said:

I stayed once at the Raya and didn't really like it. I didn't know about the breakfast offering, which is fine since I like a big western buffet. LeMeridien has a pretty good mix of western and Asian foods.

Meridien has a vast selection.  But no Black pudding!

[vinapu]

3 hours ago, zoomomancs said:

And Raya has the rear car park lift. I know a member said recently reception didn't bother about bringing a man back but I like to be sure that the guy's id won't be an issue. Feeling poorer these days I tend to stay at 56 Surawong now. 

Definitely no issue with guests. Recently not only me but also other member stay there, both in rooms on 5th floor where reception is and nobody blinked an eye we I was marching in ( floridarob, do you hear me ?) my fellow stamp collectors in. Neither my friend reported issues. 

If one stays on other floor, will not cross reception at all. It's why I like Raya. 

[vinapu]

3 hours ago, zoomomancs said:

And Raya has the rear car park lift. I know a member said recently reception didn't bother about bringing a man back but I like to be sure that the guy's id won't be an issue. Feeling poorer these days I tend to stay at 56 Surawong now. 

56 is great  choice but I don't like fact they don't have safe boxes in most rooms. 

[vinapu]

3 hours ago, BangkokDreamer said:

What do you get from Foodland?

Their world  famous, Michelin awarded breakfast offer between 5.30 am an 9 am, for 84 baht, will serve you 2 eggs with winner, tea or coffee, glass of juice, 2 toasts with jam and butter. After 9 price steeply climbs to 93 baht

[vinapu]

2 hours ago, Lucky said:

I stayed once at the Raya and didn't really like it. I didn't know about the breakfast offering. 

For period after covid they did not serve breakfast at all

[sydneyboy1]

The Raya gets very mixed reviews on TripAdvisor. It’s certainly not for everyone.

[TMax]

I have never had any problems with the Raya and found the hotel quite nice, I always took the breakfast option and being a light eater at that time of day always had a decent breakfast (maybe if they put the english language papers back it would be even better). It would be great if they had a small gym there but it's not a deal breaker, Lumphini Park is nearby and a good morning walk after breakfast always went down well and proved a good start to the day. Now that the green mile has reopened and Lumphini is now linked to Benjakitti Park it would make for an extended morning walk. The staff have always been great and whenever I had a visitor to the room there was never any problems at all. 

[vinapu]

1 hour ago, sydneyboy1 said:

The Raya gets very mixed reviews on TripAdvisor. It’s certainly not for everyone.

This can be pretty much said about majority of places. My problem with those  reviews is that if you don't know reviewer, you can't  validate how accurate review is. There are serial complainers but also those who enthuse about everything and all in between. 

[spoon]

Raya breakfast offering is mediocre but sufficient for me. Seems like the guys also appreciate the buffet there, having options of salads, miso soups, some protein like saba fish, teriyaki chicken, or pork, fried rice, noodles, toasts with selection of jams, honey, chocolate and peanut butter spread. They change the proteins offering daily. I always find something to eat and will keep me full most of the time until after my afternoon massage. 

[vinapu]

11 minutes ago, spoon said:

Raya breakfast offering is mediocre but sufficient for me. Seems like the guys also appreciate the buffet there, having options of salads, miso soups, some protein like saba fish, teriyaki chicken, or pork, fried rice, noodles, toasts with selection of jams, honey, chocolate and peanut butter spread. They change the proteins offering daily. I always find something to eat and will keep me full most of the time until after my afternoon massage. 

+1

[floridarob]

2 hours ago, vinapu said:

and nobody blinked an eye we I was marching in ( floridarob, do you hear me ?)

I just picture you literally marching in .... You've been holding in your marching for a long time now, it was bound to come out eventually.

You didn't tag me, hoping I'd miss it??