Everyone says you can’t go to Bangkok without checking out a rooftop bar. So we checked out a rooftop bar. Not because we like to listen to what everyone says, but because we (like many visitors) wanted to see the Bangkok skyline and grab a drink after another hot day of being a tourist.We chose the Banyan Tree for one reason only: because it was next door to our hotel. If nothing else, we were consistently lazy after a day of sweating profusely and seeing Bangkok. Fortunately for us, the Banyan Tree was just around the corner. Unfortunately for us at the time, it was raining. In fact, it rained each night we were in Bangkok, which cooled off the city for just a bit in the morning. Considering it was still “rainy season” we counted ourselves as extremely lucky, and the respite from the heat in the mornings was also welcome!
We wandered over to the Banyan Tree hoping that it wasn’t enough rain to close the upper deck, but it was closed. Good news, though– they have another bar on the 52nd floor called Latitude, which is covered, but where you can still see the view. I have no idea if the view is “the same”, though they said it was. Everyone talks about the Moon Bar, but you never hear about Latitude–I’m sure the Moon Bar is better, but seeing as it was closed, we were happy there was an alternative. The view from the 52nd floor is definitely still impressive, and you can see the miles of Bangkok lights.
We were warned by our guide that drinks at the Banyan Tree were expensive, particularly for Bangkok. She was right. We had 2 drinks and an appetizer, and rang up a bill of $36.76 in US dollars…which is close to 1100 baht. That’s an expensive set of drinks, even if we were at home in the US of A.On the upside, the drinks were large and good. I had a mojito, since that’s about the only cocktail I love to drink, and DH had a mango margarita, which he reported was also tasty. The food is not noteworthy. The appetizers/canapés at the bar on the 52nd floor are worth skipping, and there isn’t much to choose from. Yes, yes I realize that no one goes there to eat. You go there to party! Yea well, we were too exhausted.
We wandered over around 6:15ish. At the time it was not busy but seats were rapidly filling up as we were leaving.The staff was friendly as they pointed us down from the Moon Bar to the 52nd floor, though our server down there didn’t really speak English, which I found odd (not bothered, it was just a bit strange) for the Banyan tree. No worries though, with some pointing (and some confusion on the food front), and all was fine. They were also quite indulgent of taking what must be hundreds of pictures a night of guests.
So what did we think? Here are our Cliff Notes from Latitude at the Banyan Tree in Bangkok.
Cliff Notes: Glad we went, but probably wouldn’t return
-Great view, even though we weren’t on the very top
-Ridiculously expensive
-Good-sized and delicious drinks
-Cool menu (it was back-lit…I’m easily amused)
-Blah food choices, blah food
-Friendly staff
-Not obnoxiously loud music
