A Grande Experience

The world has many extraordinary hotels that have the typical luxury of a four star, international chain, and there are no small number of hostels, bed and breakfasts, and even hotels that provide exemplary service and comfort. It is rare, however, to find a large, international chain hotel that can still feel like home.

Staying at the Sheraton Grande, Sukhumvit, afforded us the best of both worlds. Our room was laughably large with two king sized beds and a single bed, a walk in closet, and a bathroom the size of my dorm room at school. Breakfast every morning was a tasting delight as we walked around the dining area sampling fresh yogurts, breads, jams, honey drizzling straight from the honey comb, a selection of tropical fruit with their dietary benefits listed below, eggs, cereals, charcuterie spreads, and anything else you might be craving for breakfast. A few mornings we decided to take our breakfast up by the pool, which was a tropical hideout overgrown with shady trees.

We stayed for 9 nights, which is quite unusual at a city hotel that often caters to business travelers. This "loyalty" that we showed for the hotel (translation - total dollars spent) maybe part of the reason that we had such a welcoming experience, but I actually doubt it was the whole reason. Thai people are just genuinely nice people.

From the moment that the receptionist personally escorted us upstairs to our room, gave us a mini-tour, and even introduced us to some of the local Thai fruits we could expect room service to bring us daily, we knew that this hotel would be one to remember. In addition to the usual bag-carrying, door-holding services one would expect, we noticed that every staff member--and there were always many at hand to help you with whatever you needed--smiled broadly as we passed, giving us the traditional bow and hand gesture resembling the lotus leaf. Towards the middle of our trip, the waitress who sat us every morning for breakfast got to know our drink preferences, and promptly suggested "three orange juices and two teas?" before we could even place the order ourselves. By the end of our trip, every time a cab driver pulled up to the hotel a door man would help us out saying "Welcome home Mr. Fechtor" to my father and smiling at all of us in turn.