Lebua at state tower is a 5 star hotel. No doubt about it. The service is impeccable and the facilities are top shelf.

Some previous posts speak to the quality of flooring and suites but it should be noted that the rooms are being renovated. Where else can you get a suite with all the amenities and quality of fixtures with such great service? The views from the room were great and we did not feel the need to venture out to the balcony.

When we walked into this hotel, we were greeted at least 5 times before reaching the elevator. The staff is truly excellent and we felt all the greetings and inquiries they made were genuine. When we checked in, we were asked to relax in the lobby while they prepared the paperwork, then a staff member escorted us to our room with chocolates and completed the check-in. The first room we were offered smelt of smoke (I guess the previous guest asked for a non-smoking room and decided to light up). We were given a new room in less than 5 minutes that was fine.

To top it all off the breakfast buffet was excellent. It included Western, Thai and Japanese (also some of the best croissants we have ever had). We were on a 3 week holiday in Asia and stayed at 5 different 5 star hotels and this breakfast was by far the best of the bunch!

We also had dinner one night at Sirocco and a drink at the bar. Wow! The food at Sirocco was one of the best meals I have ever had. The prices compared to other restaurants in Bangkok (we also tried Sala Thip at Shangri-La and the Rooftop restaurant at the Banyan Tree) were steep but comparable to any fine dining restaurant in North America, then you add the view and service and it was a steal.

The hotel is located 5 minutes from the train station and we took the hotel shuttle on the only occasion we needed to take the train (when we went to the weekend market). The rest of the time we took taxis as taxis in Bangkok are very cheap. When we arrived in Bangkok the taxi stand attendant had a tough time with the location of the hotel as did the taxi driver. The next time we will say it is located close to the Holiday Inn Silom on Silom Road and it should be no problem.

We also visited a tailor in Prathunam (great deal on suits and great quality of fabrics and final product), did some shopping at a few malls, and visited the weekend market and the temples/grand palace. Overall had a great time in Bangkok while using this fabulous hotel as a base.

Would definitely be back as we loved the service and the fact that all rooms are suites. The suite allowed us to spread out our luggage and purchases without feeling cramped (which did happen at the other hotels on our trip).

nice huge rooms, good location, great breakfast and most of the staff. however, the girl who led us to our oom was less than polite and seemed to be dissapointed that we were not in business suites and were stright from the beach in our shorts and relaxed mood. the girl stayed in our room till my passport arrived (although we gave her the passport of my mum who stayed with me and suggsted we bring the passport later) untill my lagguage was delivered and i found it in my suitcase. the most dissapointing was the promotional package which was advertised. we were meant to get skytrain tickets, and bag with map and shopping accesories. we were given an empty bag and a map was to buy, at 200 bht (available down the street at 40 bht), no other shopping accesories were included. also, the package was meant to include a bowl of fresh fruit on arrival. instead the girl (the same one), explained in quite patronising way that we are getting chocolate- 5 miniscule pieces. the much advertised bvlgari toletries were given on a very stingy side- for 2 of us staying in a room, only 1 tiny bottle of shampoo etc. even bar soap got smaller the 2nd night of the stay. as much as it is small details, it was dissapointing to find that 5 star hotel tries to save in such ways. that said, most of people working there were really nice, the room was huge and a view from the window amazing

I stayed at Lebua with my partner for one night in November. The hotel was fantastic. We were immediately met by very welcoming staff on arrival, and we were directed to the bar where we could check in whilst relaxing over a glass of white wine and a cocktail !

Once we were ready we were then taken to our room which was huge - included a sitting room with wide screen TV, a kitchenette, a large spacious bathroom and then the bedroom with yet another wide screen TV, a Super King Size bed (very comfortable), followed by big french windows and a balcony overlooking Bangkok - all this for about GBP 80 ......you would have to pay about 4 or 5 times this to get the equivalent room in London !!!

If you fancy a drink I would suggest Distil which is an open air bar on the top floor with amazing views over bangkok - best to go late afternoon / early evening because it gets soooo busy later on and there is not much room to sit down.

The Sky Bar is also fantastic, however again it does get very busy in the evening so I would advise getting there early doors.

If I return to Bangkok I would definitely stay here again - the level of service from all members of staff was incredibly high and the whole place had a great feel about it.

Would recommend booking directly on the hotels website because they do the best deals.

I've been having a hard time deciding what to write about Lebua. We booked it thru Small Luxury Hotels of the World and I must say that it did not live up the the other SLH properties we stayed at this trip (TwinPalms Phuket, Hotel de la Paix in Siem Reap, Anantara Golden Triangle).

We actually stayed at Lebua twice -- the first time 11/2 - 5 and the second 11/9 - 11. Although I presented my SLH Club card and was told we were being upgraded to a "Premium Room", I was very disappointed: the room itself was shabby, with stained carpet and upholstery, scuffed wood floors, dingy white walls. Not what I would call luxury. It was a large suite, with a separate bedroom, but although I requested extra linens to use the couch in the living room as a bed for our young daughter, I only got them the second day, after 3 separate phone calls! As others have mentioned, there are no utensils in the kitchen, so why bother??

I complained to the manager about the general shabbiness of the room, but he didn't seem to understand what I was saying when I asked if the hotel was under renovation. We had reservations for 2 additional nights at the very end of our SE Asia trip, and I wanted to know if ALL the rooms were in the same state of repair, or if there were nicer rooms. After also e-mailing the SLH Club, we decided to go ahead and stay again.

The second room was huge -- a full 2 bedroom suite, with a living room, dining area and a small "den" -- altho all it contained was a wing chair, no TV, no desk chair. IT did have a washer-dryer, but again, no utensils in the large kitchen area! The view was fabulous -- over the city in one direction and over teh river in the other. The floor to ceiling windows in the living room were great, as the (inaccesible) balcony blocks the view from the bedrooms. While this suite had carpet and upholstery in better repair than the first, it was still not LUXURY (with the exception of the delightful Bulgari bath products -- yummy!).

It took me a while to put my finger on what I did not like about Lebua and it is this -- it is stark and sterile. The walls are white, the carpet and upholstery are beigy-yellow, there is no artwork on the walls. These rooms do not reflect Tahiland -- this could be a business hotel in Des Moines, Iowa.

That said, here's what I did like: the breakfast buffet was quite good. My daughter enjoyed the pool, altho its location pretty mcu precludes sun most of the day, so the water is pretty cold. The location is convenient, with a SkyTrain stop a couple of blocks away (avoid driving -- or using a taxi -- in Bangkok at all costs, the traffic is HORRID!!). There is a Starbucks in the lobby if you need a latte fix. The Dome and Skybar are fun, and we had a very good, albeit very expensive, meal at Sirrocco -- just lovely to be so high up looking over the city.

There are great deals on these rooms, and we only paid $120 USD per night, but I wish we'd forked out the extra $70/night to stay at the Pennisula.