Novotel Living Bangkok Sukhumvit 34

The hotel is in a quiet residential area, about a 10-minute walk from Thong Lor sky train station. That’s good if you want some peace, but there isn’t much nearby. It’s so quiet that taxis don’t pass by at checkout, so staff drive guests in the shuttle to Sukhumvit road where taxis are plentiful. Breakfast was nothing special, though given the room price and free breakfast for Accor Platinums and Diamonds, I didn’t think it was unreasonable. The restaurant has indoor and outdoor seating beside the ground-floor pool. The room wasn’t especially large, but the hardware was very nice, probably the nicest Novotel I’ve stayed in. I booked an entry-level room and, as an Accor Diamond guest, got a rather stingy one-category upgrade to deluxe. Based on my experience at other hotels with very low occupancy, that felt uncompetitive. When an established hotel deliberately limits upgrades to +1, I usually choose somewhere else. Since this hotel was new, I can give it a pass while it finds its groove. If upgrades are still limited to +1 after it’s been open a while, that’ll be another story. It opened in October 2020, and the room’s hardware was in good shape, still new and shiny with not many guests having stayed yet. I liked the lack of carpet, the bright bathroom with a window and horizontal blinds, and the window above the bathtub overlooking the bedroom. There was also a standalone shower in the same partition as the tub. Near the entrance, a small sink and microwave were handy, as microwaves aren’t usually found in Bangkok hotels. My only moderate complaint was the single ceiling AC unit blowing toward the bed, instead of central AC with vents to cool the room evenly. This Novotel is a good addition to Accor and a refreshing option among the standard, straightforward hotels found all over the city.