Review of The Metropolitan Bangkok, by John Borthwick

Few cities are as endowed as Bangkok with hotels of every standard and nuance, competing for the full spectrum of travellers from business and leisure to budget and long-stay. Which makes the Thai capital a great 'buyer's market' when it comes to seeking good accommodation. As a result, the best hotels here are exactly that because they do everything just that little bit better. And The Metropolitan Bangkok, which resides amid embassies on South Sathorn Road (thus raising the tone nicely), does better and best very well.

The facilities

A long driveway almost hidden between the Banyan Tree hotel and the French Embassy brings you to this 'reformed' YMCA. Almost entirely rebuilt in 2004, and consolidating two former Y guest rooms into one, the 171-room Metropolitan turned the Y into the Y-Not, in every sense. It's a hotel equally suitable for business and leisure travellers.

Black-clad ninjas in sneakers whisk you through check-in and up to your room. This spacious haven turns out to be agreeably muted, although far from dull, and simultaneously well-lit. Someone should get a medal for the intelligence of the lighting - it's strong, specific and functional. And the switches make sense. There's Thai silk here and there, half an acre of bed, plenty of desk-space, WiFi and broadband access, plus lots of storage. For those travelling with a family, inter-connecting rooms and extra beds are available, as is baby-sitting.

The bathroom is a temple of calm - large tub, strong shower and, again, plenty of space. Surprisingly, some amenities like razor, toothbrush and comb aren't standard issue - they're available on request.

Meanwhile, downstairs, just off the lobby, the Met Bar serves a good martini at 280 baht (about $8.50) which you can enjoy at conversation level rather than with a megaphone. The music - often something Latinish, plus the ambient clink of glasses and ice-cubes - works at a level that doesn't compete brutally with the human larynx and ear-drum. Along with the counterpoint reds and blacks in the décor, it is the bar's pervading sense of user-friendly flair - also evident throughout the hotel - that makes the Metropolitan such a workable, 'want-to-come-back-to' establishment.

None of which should be too surprising. Owner Christina Ong, designer Kathryn Kng and the rest of the Como Hotels team have long placed taste, function and substance on a rung far above any faddish bling-thing in the creation of their properties.

Your forays from the hotel can be productive - that is, not stuck for half an hour in traffic - because you're within walking distance of the vast Silom Road shopping melee and two BTS Sky Train stations (Sala Daeng, Chong Nonsi). It's also a short taxi-ride to the Chao Phraya River.

Eschewing cliche tags like 'cool' and 'hip', even 'boutique' - it can be those if that's all you want - the Metropolitan Bangkok is in fact much more. A good, long pool overlooked by the 110-seat C'yan restaurant (and all that is delicious within it), a gym, a health food restaurant (Glow), central location, a fistful of industry awards, executive suites and a Como Shambhala spa - what more does one need? Well, good staff. Which the Metropolitan has a-plenty, and without the ego issues that sometimes emerge in hotels enjoying such sustained acclaim.

Definitely a 'want-to-come-back-to' place.