The Metropolitan by COMO in Bangkok is one of my favourite hotels in the entire city. Despite it being a boutique chain of hotels with no affiliation to any of the major hotel chains (read: no loyalty perks), this remains one of my most memorable hotels for its simplicity in design, comfort and excellent service, making me feel right at home.

About COMO

COMO Hotels and Resorts is a chain of luxury properties across the world, and they believe in providing “luxury travel experiences with personalised service in elegant properties, each individually curated to reflect its location.”

There are 14 COMO properties around the world, with over half of them in Asia. You will notice a trend in the locations they choose for their resorts: most are idyllic or exotic destinations, such as the two resorts in Bhutan and several beach resorts including Phuket and Bali.

And I bet you didn’t know – the COMO Hotels and Resorts is part of the COMO Group, which is owned by Singaporean Christina Ong. Some other well known brands under the COMO Group includes Club 21 as well as F&B brands Culina and Candlenut.

 

COMO Metropolitan Bangkok

COMO Metropolitan Bangkok is located along South Sathorn Road, close to the heart of Bangkok’s financial district and a 10-minute walk to Silom. The property has 169 guest rooms across 7 room types, with most of them the signature Metropolitan Room. There is a small number of suites, making it really exclusive.

Upon arrival at the hotel, the personalised service begins right away. The porters at the driveway will not only help you with your bags, but they go straight to your room. While you are ushered to a sofa in the reception area, the check-in agent comes and collect your passport and credit card from you while you sit back, enjoy their signature welcome drink and a cold towel. Once ready, the agent will come back with your key, a form for you to sign and you are ready to check out your room.

I arrived at noon and check-in time was supposed to be 2pm. However, they were able to get the room ready for me within 15 minutes, and once my check-in is complete, another staff escorted me to the room. In the lift, he offered a tour of the hotel, but I declined given that it wasn’t my first stay at the property.

My room was cool when I stepped in, and my bags were already in place. My escort kindly took his leave and I was left to enjoy the welcome fruit basket.

I booked myself into the metropolitan room this time round. The metropolitan room is a mid-range room, slightly larger in size than the Urban and City rooms. The room is very spacious, with a L-shaped sofa on one side, and the beds on the other end.

What I really love about the room is how plainly and cosy the room felt. The muted colours, with the apt use of brown tones and earthly colours conveys a feeling of calmness and serenity.

The window stretched across the entire length of the room, while the bathroom takes up the length on the other side.

The space within the bathroom is overly generous too. A large bath adorns a part of the bath, as well as a huge rainshower area. The bathroom is rightly lit with warm lighting, and I simply love the large granite walls as well.

While not extravagant, the hotel is well equipped. The COMO brand is well known for its spas and wellness programmes, and this property was no exception. The signature Shambala spa was located on the second floor, where you could enjoy its signature spa for THB 3,000. At the time of my visit they were giving a THB 750 voucher if you spend at least THB 3,000 on spa services.

Given that Thailand is a land of great and affordable spa services, I have never tried the hotel’s service, but instead indulge in the jacuzzi and steam baths in the changing room. A point about the jacuzzi – it sits by two large glass panels that is well shielded (it is after all in the changing room) but allows natural light to come in, making the place just a little short of an onsen experience.

Along with the spa, there was also a adequately equipped gym and a swimming pool. The swimming pool had both twin and single bathing decks, and the great service extends there as well. When you head to the pool, the attendant will lay out a bath towel on the deck chairs before you use them, and constantly top up your ice water without you having to ask.

The hotel contains two great restaurants: glow, the restaurant that serves up healthy options, and nahm, the widely acclaimed Thai fine dining restaurant on the ground floor (they have a firm dislike for uppercase letters.) There is also Met Bar on the side of the hotel as well as in-room dining services for those who are lazy to venture out of their sofas.

 

The hotel breakfast is served at glow and I will say it’s one of the best hotel breakfasts I ever had. Boasting a continental buffet spread and an a la carte menu just like Pan Pacific’s Pacific Club, glow goes a step further with not a few but an entire menu of healthier options, including egg white omelette, granola and others. The menu reads as follow:

A la carte selection

• Golden waffles with fresh mango and passionfruit curd
• Vanilla scented french toast with fresh berries, banana and maple syrup
• Coconut pancakes with poached pineapple and blueberries
• Eggs cooked to your liking with sweet corn cake, roast tomatoes, bacon and pork or chicken sausage
• Two egg omelette with sauteed mushrooms, leek thyme and swiss cheese
• Eggs benedict; poached eggs, prosciutto and hollandaise on English muffins
• Thai style “bacon and eggs” with sticky rice, sweet corn and roast tomatoes
• Wok fried thai style rice with chicken vegetables and fried egg
• Wok fried egg noodles with prawns, chilli, holy basil and fried egg
• Boiled jasmine rice with pork dumplings, soft boiled egg and condiments

glow healthy breakfast selection

• Kiwifuit, papaya, longan and blueberry salad with lemongrass syrup
• Raw nut and seed ‘granola’ with banana, berries and vanilla yoghurt
• Quinoa, apple and dried cranberry porridge with cashew nut milk
• Pumpkin and buckwheet pancakes with papaya nectar, orange and cashew nut cream
• Raw nut and seed ‘toast’ with avocado, tomato, cucumber and lemon dressing
• Steamed seasonal green vegetables with poached egg and green goddess sauce
• Fluffy egg white omelette with kale, mushrooms and roast tomatoes
• Smoked salmon and avocado on toasted seven grain bread with ricotta

Whoever heard of cashew nut milk and papaya nectar?!

The first day, my friend and I was decidedly hungry and went for four main courses and it was probably the wisest food decision of the trip.

The Thai style “bacon and eggs” was an over generous slab of pork belly, a deep fried whole boiled egg, adorned by a dollop of sticky rice and some vegetables for colour. The result was a visually and fragrant mix of colours and flavours. Not to mention, the meat was succulent, with a good proportion of fats and meat with a good bite.

The french toast was excellent as well. While I’m not a big fan of french toast as most places make it too oily, the french toast here was well prepared – crispy on the outside, moist on the inside, and leaves no slabs of oil all over your lips when you are done.

 

The second day we tried some other items as well, including the wok fried egg noodles and the coconut pancakes, which were equally amazing.

Like I said, this property is one of the best I have ever stayed in Bangkok, and after a first stay there several years back, I’ve always make it a point to come back for a stay or two every couple of years. While it may not boast of some of the luxuries such as an executive lounge as with most hotel chains, nor provide any kind of loyalty bonus, the hotel’s well thought designs, luxurious feel, and excellent service beats some of the other top end hotels in town any day. It’s my perfect escape in a buzzing city.