[updated with the Royal Orchid Lounge in Concourse E, see below]
there are several Royal Silk Lounges at Suvarnabhumi Airport, and it’s important to note that the lounges in Concourse D are not open to Star Alliance Gold passengers. i’m currently in the one in Concourse C (lounges are on the third floor, so go down a floor from the main one where all the shops are).
ease of access and location: there are two Royal Silk Lounges in Concourse C located across a walkway from each other. as you are coming down that walkway, only the lounge on the right has shower facilities. make a right immediately upon entering and grouped with the regular bathrooms are a handful of shower rooms. the attendant managed to see me walking up the ramp; i don’t know where she is stationed otherwise. several of the rooms were in use when i got to the lounge around 6 PM, but now, a couple hours later, there is a waiting list — i know because they are making PA announcements (“attention please, attention! shower queue number three, shower queue number three”).
it’s a decently-sized room, though i have to say that toilet is scarily imposing. slightly humid in there but after three days in Bangkok that’s not a new feeling. luckily after the shower it wasn’t as bad.
the goods: you don’t get much. a shrink-wrapped towel and…that’s it, or so i thought. i was looking all over the shower and sink area for the soap and shampoo only to discover that they were all sitting on the table (along with a bottle of lotion). i hope i did the right thing and left the body wash and shampoo in the shower. lucky for me i took that Thai cooking class earlier in the day so i recognized the smell of the shampoo as kaffir lime! there is a hair dryer but i couldn’t find an outlet if you wanted to plug anything in. besides the soap dispenser by the sink, that’s all she wrote. i expected more from Thai, the airline that boasts Royal Orchid Service, at their hub. maybe the lounge in Concourse D is fancier, since it’s non-Star Gold? (speculation)
i just realized looking at these pictures (specifically the top one) that there’s a box on the counter — i didn’t peek in and now i’m curious as to what’s inside. q-tips? candy? nothing?
shower: quite a large shower but otherwise nothing stands out. the shelf for the body wash and shampoo seemed a bit weak — every time i tried to press down on the pump it bent a little bit so i ended up resting the bottle on my thigh to dispense. :
decent water pressure and temperature, but temperature changes seemed a bit slow.
cleanliness and state of facilities: quite spotless, and unlike the lounge doesn’t look worse for wear. as i hinted at earlier, it could use some better ventilation, but other than that, nothing to complain about.
overall rating: 3.5 out of 5. oh Thai. i try not to be excited about showers but i was looking forward to seeing what you had in store for me. unfortunately it was a bit of a let-down given my previous experience with you all.
oh well. at least they are the only one (as far as i remember) with monogrammed towels. and really, i shouldn’t be so picky given that any shower is a great shower after dealing with the heat and humidity of Bangkok in July!
Update: Royal Orchid Lounge, Concourse E
turns out my flight is on this side of the airport, so here i am. plus i thought oh, well, Royal Orchid != Royal Silk, so there must be something different, and maybe i can find out what’s in that mystery box.
but no. as it turns out, Royal Orchid is a step lower than Royal Silk, says this thread on FlyerTalk, and the shower shows it. it’s much smaller and it was a bit dirtier (i found a stray long hair on the bath mat — maybe the attendant’s?). there are, however, several good things:
bonus 1: you can put the shampoo and body wash on the little ledge formed by the white half-wall, so no sketch shelf
bonus 2: a closet. not like it helps me much, since all i have are t-shirts, shorts, and jeans.
overall, a standard lounge shower. 3 out of 5.
Leave a comment