The Grande Centre Point Hotel Terminal 21, Bangkok

If there’s one thing I like in life, it’s a nice hotel.

I will book into a hotel at every opportunity, I really do daydream about them. The robes, the room service, those huge bloody baths. I’m one of those bonkers people who will squeeze every last bit of enjoyment out of their stay; if check-in is at 3pm I will arrive at 12pm to just enjoy the ambiance of the bar or lounge (free time to read magazines? I’M IN) before booking into my room. Once inside I will do a headless chicken impression, running around checking out the minibar, the safe, the comfort of the huge bed. I’ll put my robe on, order a club sandwich and get into bed before napping (unless I’m too excited to nap. Has happened).

Arriving at the Grande Centre Point Hotel Terminal 21 was a slightly different experience. For one it was 6am, I’d just got off a long-haul flight without sleeping and my body thought it was in a completely different time zone. We were in Bangkok and I don’t know if you’ve been but you don’t find many club sandwiches in Bangkok at 6am.

Anyway, the first thing I noticed upon arrival is that the staff were just so darned happy for that time in the morning. My not-yet successful journey to becoming a morning person has been well-documented so I always respect 6am smiles. I was smiling too, but mostly because I was delirious after 11 hours of sitting next to a stranger who liked small talk even when I pretended to be asleep.

The Grande Centre Point Hotel Terminal 21 is located on Sukhumvit Road in Bangkok which is one of the main commercial roads in the city. It’s adjoined to the next-door shopping mall, Terminal 21, which is handy if you’re feeling homesick as each of its floors are named after different areas of the world and London is one of them. Brick Lane was quite similar to what we are used to ;) It’s really convenient for central Bangkok and is a 2 second walk from the Asoke Sky Train station.

We were greeted with chilled glasses of orange juice in the most beautifully opulent foyer. Let me tell you, you know you’re in a good hotel when the pavement outside is marble.

Our bags were whisked away as we checked in, were handed our keys and shown to our rooms.

Mine was on the 21^st floor and my ears popped as we went up in the super speedy lift. I walked into the room and BY GOD it was one of the most incredible views I’ve ever seen. The window was as wide and as tall as the room and the first thing I did was work out how to use the high-tech electric privacy blind so I could get the full effect. Gorgeous.

The room had everything you would want and need including a full-size fridge and microwave – robes, safe, multiple mirrors (excellent for selfies, I sampled them all, see?), plenty of hanging space and the biggest bed I’ve ever seen. Literally – I could roll over in it four times and not reach the other side (I checked). Club sandwich aside I was in hotel room heaven.

9am/jetlag/no sleep face

The bathroom was just as good with a massive shower and deep bath but the highlight was definitely the fancy heated loo seat with added bottom cleaner. I tried each and every setting (apart from the enema one because if you can bring yourself to push that button you’re a braver person than me) and sent my mum a text message saying I’d literally just given my bum a wash and blow dry.

By the time I’d surveyed my room properly it was 7am and I was ready to get in that ginormous bed for an hour. IT WAS SO GOOD, literally one of the nicest beds I’ve ever had the luck to lie down in. I used about a tenth of it and didn’t spend nearly enough time in it. I’d return to the Grande Centre Point purely for this beautifully magnificent bed.

9am came and it was time to drag myself out of that bed and to the in-house spa (I know I know, it’s tough being me). And I’m not over-egging it when I say this massage was one of the highlights of my trip. I ADORE a good massage and was a bit hesitant about how I’d find the notoriously brutal Thai rub-down I might get, but it was just gorgeous. Exactly what you need after a long flight. It was interesting to witness the differences from a UK massage, too; I was asked to shower beforehand and the therapists wore masks and then climbed on to the table to properly get my back sorted out. I loved it.

Post-massage I retreated to the pool for a bit more relaxation and WOULD YOU JUST LOOK AT HOW AMAZING IT WAS. It literally needs no words. Infinity pool, relaxation pool, landscaped gardens, bosh.

It’s worth noting that, due to the buddhist religious beliefs of the owner of the hotel there is no alcohol served in The Grande Centre Point Hotel – including minibar. But there’s a supermarket in the basement of the shopping center next door and the hotel staff were happy for us to grab a couple of beers there and bring them to the pool or our room.

It’s also worth noting that Thai law permits the sale of alcohol in shops between 11am-2pm and 5pm-12am. It tastes better when you have to work harder for it.

The restaurant at The Grande Centre Point was buffet-style with traditional Thai dishes, sushi, Chinese dishes and pasta to order. I went with Thai food (it’s my new favourite, you know?) and of course had a stab at those gorgeous teeny tiny desserts, because how can you not? Buffets in the UK are traditionally rubbery, tasteless and crap but there was none of that here; I actually preferred this approach to food because you could go back for seconds (greedy? Moi?) and sample absolutely everything should you wish (I did).

More shots of the view because it really was magnificent. Out of this world. I stayed in two different rooms on opposite sides of the hotel (both on the 21st floor) and each view was as good as the other.

When we returned to The Grande Centre Point Hotel Terminal 21 at the end of our trip for our last night in Bangkok I really felt like I was coming home. It was such a lovely place to stay and if you’re looking for a luxurious and peaceful retreat in the centre of buzzing Bangkok I’d recommend it wholeheartedly. Comparatively I’d definitely rate it above the big chains we have in the UK such as Radisson or Hilton, and on a par with the most luxurious business-type hotel I’ve stayed in, which is the Threadneedles. I couldn’t fault it. Prices start at around £90 per night.

I stayed at The Grande Centre Point Hotel Terminal 21 on a complimentary basis thanks to Tourism Authority Thailand. 

The Grande Centre Point Hotel Terminal 21
2,88 Sukhumvit Soi 19 (Wattana), Sukhumvit Rd., Klongtoey Nua, Wattana, Bangkok 10110
www.grandecentrepointterminal21.com