Asia-Pacific Flagship: Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok at Chao Phraya River

My first experience with a Four Seasons hotel was directly with a flagship property, which basically means there's no need to try out the other Four Seasons. This Four Seasons is quite pricey, and after the whole experience, it feels like you're mainly paying for its aesthetic appeal. Its beauty is indeed the highest among all the hotels I've stayed in. I booked the basic room type and was directly upgraded to a basic suite. Although it's not a full river view, I was still very satisfied. The mini bar in the room is all charged, except for coffee and tea bags. A very smart aspect of the room is the tablet by the bed, which you can use to inform the hotel of your needs, so there's no need to phone zero and ask for things. The hotel has a bar, BBK Social Club, which is among the top 50 bars worldwide. To be honest, it's just okay, nothing spectacular. The breakfast restaurant Riva doesn't offer à la carte, which was beyond my expectations. I thought that at such a high price point, there would at least be an à la carte option, but not only was there none, it was also quite ordinary. Only the stir-fried river noodles were a bit impressive; the rest was standard fare, no different from a regular five-star hotel. The service is very good, everyone is polite. The front desk staff who handled my check-in led me to the room. The welcome gift included two desserts and five mangosteens, some of which were spoiled, which was a bit unbelievable. I didn't ask about the executive lounge access when being upgraded to the suite. I went out for dinner, and when I came back, the turndown service was done, and the tablet had been set up with my requests. It was good to experience it once, and I've appreciated the aesthetics. Although the service is very good, overall it doesn't feel worth the price. The dining is very ordinary, without a wow factor. However, the upgrade to the suite was indeed a pleasant surprise, at least it wasn't a complete rip-off. Perhaps it was because of the holiday, it was too crowded.