The elevator lobbies have lots of marble and rare antiques

Housekeeping:

After two nights of calling at 7:00 PM for ice, the next evening I said,

“Hi, what time is it?” I’d say cheerily.

“Seven o’clock,” was the answer.

“And guess what I want?” I smiled.

“Ice? It’ll be right there.”

And yet I continued to need to call every evening at 7:00 with the same conversation—for eight days! (Two days before I was to leave, the maid, grinning broadly, brought a full ice bucket at 4:00PM!)

After the first two days, the bed was never made properly again. The bedspread and bolsters were left in the corner on the floor. As this was a large corner room with a good sitting area and executive desk, I had scheduled several meetings here. The state of the room produced some raised eyebrows.

Also, after the first two days, there was never a proper turndown that would normally include changing the towels (if they had been left on the floor) and emptying the wastebaskets. All the maid did was leave an orchid, a “protect our environment card”—every day; what a waste of paper! and a Customer Delight Card (service evaluation report).

Swimming Pool:

I must admit that one of the reasons I picked this hotel this trip was the swimming pool. At The Regent in Bangkok, as in many nice hotels we all frequent, there are pool boys who selected the fluffiest towels, escort us to the chaise longue of our choice, and hand us a tall glass of ice water and a cold face towel, at which moment a waiter arrives to take our order for drinks, lunch, or tea. Unfortunately, here at the Far Eastern Plaza it’s DIY.

You need to get your own towel off the shelf

There’s a house phone for ordering from room service, and the only refreshment is

A water cooler with paper cups.

Trying to find a suitable chaise longue, I discovered they had all just been stained, and this was the week of the national Independence Day holiday when the hotel was to be overflowing!

On the other hand, the lifeguards are genuine—a couple of days ago a drowning girl was saved in 45 seconds. I don’t even know whether the pool boys at the Regent in Bangkok can swim.