Review: Hotel Indigo Bangkok Wireless Road

Bangkok was the last destination of our three-week Southeast Asia trip, and with only two nights there, we needed accomodations that were convenient to major sites without breaking the bank. That led us to dip into our stash of IHG Rewards Club points to book the Hotel Indigo Bangkok Wireless Road.

We’ve grown to really like the Hotel Indigo brand, perhaps in small part because of the name of our online business Indigo Trade Co. Hotel Indigo offers a boutique-style hotel experience while being able to leverage the resources of a major international hotel chain. Our previous stay at the Hotel Indigo Singapore Katong was really enjoyable, so we had hopes that the Bangkok one could live up to the expectations Singapore had created.

Hotel Indigo Bangkok Wireless Road | From $112/night

Booking and Check in

The room cost a rather hefty 30,000 IHG Rewards Club points per night. Rates for our dates were over $180/night so the redemption value was a solid .6 cents per point, which is fairly typical for IHG points. The best way to quickly accrue IHG Rewards Club points is to sign up for the Chase IHG Rewards Club Mastercard, which usually has a sign up bonus of 60,000-80,000 IHG Rewards Club points. IHG is one of the largest international hotel groups, so collecting their points opens up lots of free stay opportunities given their large footprint.

Upon arrival at the hotel we were greeted as IHG Rewards Club Platinum members (a perk of the card) and given a welcome drink. Lobby staff was attendant and friendly, opening the entrance doors to us and helping with our luggage. The checkin process was brief and efficient and we were quickly shown our room by a bellhop.

Room

There were no King rooms available for reward stays when booking, and unfortunately none opened up upon checkin, so we were given a room with two full beds. Not ideal, but I was glad they weren’t twin beds at least. The room itself was spacious with a sitting area, desk, and large bathroom. The closet was in the style of an old steamer trunk, and had plenty of room to unpack our bags. The safe was on the small side, however, with not all of our valuables fitting inside. We fit what we could and secured the rest inside of our bags with locks, but there was no reason to worry.

Our room had floor to ceiling windows offering an incredible unobstructed view of the Bangkok skyline. However this perk also led to our only real complaint, which was that the room got very hot. There seemed to be insufficient tinting on the windows to block the heat from the sun, so the only way to cool the room was to draw the blinds and curtains. Even then it was still a little on the warm side, causing us to think maybe our AC unit wasn’t functioning properly. It didn’t seem worth it to report the issue to the front desk and have them change our room since we had little time in Bangkok and so much to see, and the room was sufficiently cool in the evenings.

Property

Aside from the room, the common spaces were also very warm, with little air circulating through the halls and elevators. That was a bit of an annoyance, as the front lobby is refreshingly cool when you come in from the sweltering outside, but then once you’re in the elevator and hallways the stifling heat you just escaped from comes back. As budget travelers, we’ve come to expect that sort of thing from local, low rate hotels, but staying at a major international chain has a higher comfort level expectations. But a 30 second warmer-than-desired-walk to your room wasn’t enough to dampen our experience too much beyond being a minor inconveneince.

Elsewhere, the property boasts a beautiful rooftop infinity pool with views of Bangkok. Our schedule didn’t permit us any pool time, but we’d definitely have loved to cool off and escape Bangkok’s oppressive heat (fun fact: Bangkok is the hottest city on Earth in terms of average year-round temperature).

There is also a rooftop club—it seemed almost every skyscraper in the area had one—but we didn’t have suitable clothing packed with us to wear there. High heels and short skirts were the expectation for the ladies, and gentlemen needed to be dressed sharp. No matter to us, as we instead spent some time in the much more low-key bar on the mezzanine level, which had a robust selection of craft beers to sample. It’s a great spot for an early-evening happy hour before heading out to explore the nightlife of the city.

Location

Wireless Road is in the Panthum Wan district of Bangkok, which is one of the more affluent areas of the city. There are plenty of high-end dining options around, but also conveniently plenty of cheap street food to choose from as well. High-end retails shops abound, and the Sukhumvit line of the BTS Skytrain is a mere 3 minute walk away. From the Phloen Chit stop you can get to just about anywhere in the city, connecting to buses or water taxis to reach popular destinations such as the Grand Temple and Wat Pho. The Skytrain can also take you all the way to Suvarnabhumi Bangkok International Airport with a line change, but be advised it’s upwards of an hour journey.

The Siam stop is just two stops west of Phloen Chit, where you can access the Siam Paragon mall which is loaded with just about every high-end international retailer you could think of. Also on site is the Paragon Cineplex, one of the nicest theaters we’ve even been in. Several of the screens are equipped with recliner-only seating and include a 15 minute massage as part of admission.

Lumphini Park is also a short walk away, and is the largest green space in Bangkok, for those looking for an escape from the hectic chaos of the city.

Conclusion

The Hotel Indigo Wireless Road didn’t live up to expectations set by the Hotel Indigo Singapore Katong, mostly due to the warm spaces and inadequate cooling. Perhaps we just got a bad room. If we had more IHG points to spend, we’d be willing to give them another shot on our next trip to Bangkok due to all the other positives of the property and location, but we probably wouldn’t go for a paid stay here.

If you want to book this hotel, check Booking.com to find the cheapest rates!