Lucire Living: Best of 2001-2: Getting to know you: staying at the Regent, Bangkok, Thailand - settling in

Comfortable, well-sized rooms at the Regent—the above Junior Suite (774 ft², 72 m²) was not dissimilar to the author’s one

These facilities were expected from a leading hotel; the Regent difference comes in the professionalism. Attention to detail was evident. Even at night, they were being used, signalling their popularity.

Above: Aqua, where one can dine and enjoy an open-air setting, punctuated by its own lush tropical garden and romantic bridge within the Regent’s Parichart courtyard. Below: The fireplace at the Madison provides a club atmosphere to Bangkok's best and most relaxing place to do business. Surely the destination of the Thai business cognoscenti?

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    Check-in at the Regent was friendly and efficient. With businesspeople from Japan and Hong Kong being regulars, English has become the lingua franca. It was assumed. And unlike what I had experienced in Osaka, everyone at the Regent's busy yet attentive front desk spoke perfect English.
    There were continued apologies for the state of the lobby, then under renovation and now spectacular. (The Regent constantly improves its already-world-class facilities, in a never-ending cycle.) But even the construction work spoke well of the Regent. Guests had been shielded admirably from the noise (either that or the workers had devised a way of using drills and electric saws without generating a peep) and the décor had not been affected intolerably. One could wait in the lobby and indulge in drinks and cakes, and it was there that I spoke with the Regent's PR manager, Annabelle Daokaew.

    But not before Jitlada Kulvanish, a guest relations' manager with the Regent, escorted me to a suite that miraculously combined the appointments of a leading hotel with the fact that one is in Asia. Part of it had to do with the view: although of a metropolis, it was unmistakably Bangkok, with an above-ground-level metropolitan rail system (the Skytrain, which leads to markets such as the Emporium), and the colours that could only be from this part of the world.
    She was the first of three female Regent staff who had helped me in Bangkok and I had to soon realize that her waiting before each door was for me, as the guest, to proceed first. It is not because I have not been pampered before, nor is it because Lucire has a sexist culture—women outnumber men at this company, and have done for most of its history—but having been brought up, unapologetically, a certain way.
    Furnishings were what one expected: a grand desk, a comfortable double bed, a coffee-table (at which there would be complimentary mint tea served at Ms Kulvanish's suggestion), a suitably large bathroom and wardrobe. The small touches were what marked this Regent apart from any of the group's other properties. When quizzed, Ms Kulvanish filled me in on local custom, provided the information packs I had requested, and remained professional, poised and charming throughout our conversation.
    I plugged in my laptop, speed-read the information pack, scribbled notes to kick off the interview and went to meet Annabelle Daokaew, who had been in the hotel trade for some time with her roots back in the Philippines. I was already sure I would meet someone professional and helpful. Staff are not as courteous as Ms Kulvanish without decent training and an example set by management. When Jitlada Kulvanish is one of 600, there is an excellent employee retention and return rate and there is a multicultural clientèle, that conclusion becomes more undeniable.
    Affectionately called 'Miss Annabelle' by the staff, I rightly did not expect a grande dame presiding over the hotel's public relations despite the appellation: it was, as I knew, a sign of respect in the way Asians can do. I might not have spoken a word of Thai, but I began to absorb the customs and the feeling of the place; the Asian genes inside me adjusted to their new temporary home. It would be my last taste of Asia till 2002, so maybe my senses were more alert.
    Miss Annabelle—soon Annabelle—began filling me in on the Regent, knowing that in the short time I had been there I would not have had much of a chance to absorb the information pack deeply. She was right and besides, I needed to know first-hand what Regent staff felt were the highlights. I needed the insider’s knowledge.

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