Marriott International is joining Bangkok’s cool crowd with the launch of a property that is taking advantage of its trendy location – Thong Lor.
The new Marriott Executive Apartments Bangkok, Sukhumvit Thonglor, is aiming to provide not only long-stay accommodation for Bangkok’s rising number of business travellers, but also a social hub for the city’s society set.
Travel Daily’s Mark Elliott caught up with the property’s general manager, Gerrit Graef, to get the lowdown on Marriott’s latest upscale offering…
“Being in Thong Lor is an advantage for us,” Graef said, in the flame-grilled surroundings of The District – the hotel’s stylish new steakhouse. “This city is evolving; 10 years ago people wouldn’t consider staying in this area. Now Thong Lor is cool – people want to stay here and do business here. It’s the place to be.”
Thong Lor is a couple of kilometres further down the Sukhumvit Road than what is generally considered Bangkok’s central business district. But Graef believes the combination of Sukhumvit’s substance and Thong Lor’s style will benefit the new property.
“One of the unique selling points for our hotel is its accessibility,” the GM said. “We’re positioned on Sukhumvit Road, but also at the gate to Thong Lor. We’re next to the Skytrain, we have good entertainment, good bars and good restaurants all within walking distance.”
And as chefs prepare prime cuts of Australian Angus beef on an open kitchen in the background, and waiters glide past carrying towers of succulent seafood, Graef reveals that he is focused on turning this modern steakhouse, along with the hotel’s other F&B outlets – 57th Street, the Chocolate Company and rooftop bar Octave – into new happening hubs for high-end Bangkokites.
“We want 80-90% of our F&B customers to be from the local market. And this helps us attract guests too. If you’re a business traveller coming to Bangkok, you want to go to a place where something is happening. So if you come to a hotel and find a lot of social activity, you’re going to stay at that hotel [restaurants and bars], rather than going out to other places. And that’s where you’ll book your room next time,” explained Graef.
In fact, the Thong Lor scene is so important to the Marriott that it actually developed its F&B offerings to complement and contrast what was already available in the area.
“When we were defining at our restaurant and bar concept, we looked at Thong Lor and considered what the area needed. Firstly we realised there was no rooftop bar in this area, and then we saw there was no real steakhouse in Thong Lor. So we have some real unique F&B concepts to position us, backed up with reasonable pricing and good service.”
And judging by the popularity of The District steakhouse and Octave rooftop bar when Travel Daily visited, along with the quality of the produce on offer, the new Marriott Executive Apartments is already achieving its goal – to become the place to be seen on Thong Lor’s dining and bar scene.
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