Upcoming Major Event of Thailand – ‘Father’s Day’ or ‘King Bhumibol’s 87th Birthday’ – this December 5, 2014!

It’s time to rejoice and celebrate His Majesty, The King’s Birthday once again this year, also regarded as ‘Father’s Day’ in Thailand! King Bhumibol Adulyadej, also known as Rama IX, as he is the ninth monarch of the Chakri Dynasty has reigned since 9 June 1946. He is the world’s longest-serving current head of state and the longest-reigning monarch in Thai history. 

As the day is nearing, the excitement is growing in the hearts of the people of Thailand. Their hearts skip a beat when they catch the sight of their beloved king on this auspicious occasion to wish him “A very happy birthday” and pray for his long life. They yearn to catch the smallest glimpse of His Majesty which makes their stand by worthwhile. They wave out to him with tears in their eyes feeling overwhelmed when their ‘Father of the Nation’ addresses his loving people with a few golden words following which there’s a silence and then an echoing roar from the huge crowd with the slogan “Long Live The King”! Thailand is in love with their King and they’d do anything for their beloved Father. 

Traditionally, Thai people celebrate by giving their father or grandfather a canna flower, which is considered a masculine flower. The locals will wear yellow on this day to show respect for the king, because yellow is the color for Monday, the day King Bhumibol Adulyadej was born. Thai people will light candles and show respect to the king by declaring their faith. Join in and find out why Thai people regard their beloved King as ‘The Soul of the Nation’.

“Happy with the choice” Reviewed by our guest from Rome, Italy

Very enjoyable stay! Can’t find anything wrong about the place))) Stayed in this hotel more then 10 years ago and very happy to see that it became even better than i could remember it. Very nice room, absolutely spotless and well equipped. The most comfortable bed you can dream in the hotel! The staff is very helpful. Great Wi-Fi in the room.

• Stayed July 2014, traveled with family

“My family’s Home away from Home for 15 years” Reviewed by our guest from Rome, Italy

My wife and I have been using the CentrePoint Chidlom for almost 15 years — from when it was still known as “CentrePoint Langsuan.” At first, we put our friends and colleagues who visited us from abroad there, but after we moved from Thailand, we started using the hotel. We’ve tried other hotels several times, but we ended up always moving to the CentrePoint Chidlom every time. For the price range, no other hotel can beat the service, amenities, and comfort provided by the CentrePoint Chidlom. Even the five star Bangkok hotels we’ve used (even the one used for a POTUS visit) did not match up for us because we found that their staff was not as friendly as the staff at the CentrePoint Chidlom.

I’ve noticed that some of the less than satisfactory reviews by other people here on tripadvisor could be associated with miss-communication and incorrect expectations. My wife and I have always made it clear our needs to the hotel’s sales office before we book, and we’ve never been shy about complaining about every little “nit-noi” problem we find to the staff, and in every case, the hotel staff always go out of their way to provide us with what we need or what we’ve requested.
The hotel’s location is a good balance between convenience and calmness in my opinion. The hotel is located about midway into a relatively quiet road — it is about a 15 minutes’ walk to the large Lumpini Park where you can see elderly people practicing tai chi in the morning. It is a 10-minutes’ walk to the closest “sky train” (BTS) station — or you can take the free hotel tuk-tuk to go between the sky train station and the hotel. There are several good restaurants just a few minutes’ walk from the hotel, yet the street is not as busy as “Sukhumvit” or one of the other heavily-crowded roads.
The breakfast at the hotel is just perfect in my opinion. I grew up in an Asian home (neither Thai nor Chinese), and I really appreciate the hotel serving what I would consider to be “Asian comfort food” that the CentrePoint makes available at breakfast every morning. This is in addition to typical western breakfast food (sausage, bacon, made-to-order eggs or omelette and milk-and-cereal) — but whereas most other high-end hotels in the area might serve ONLY the western artery-clogging food, the CentrePoint takes into consideration its Asian (and Asian-American) guests as well. (My little six-year-old son appreciated being able to get his misso soup every morning for breakfast.)
Although the hotel has been at its current location for a long time, it has done a great job maintaining and keeping its facilities up-to-date. The covered (but still open to the air) pool is a lot more relaxing and child-friendly now than it has ever been. The hotel lobby and library are very relaxing places to just sit and watch people or to read. Even the golf putting green they’ve installed is very well done and makes the stay at the hotel that much more comfortable. The rooms have been updated with comfortable furnishings and amenities. (The two-bedroom apartment we stayed in had 3 modern LCD TVs, comfortable king-sized beds with memory-foam pillows, fast internet — and a toilet that cleans your rear end for you!!!!) Our apartment was both comfortable and quiet. The housekeeping staff were very quiet; they were able to keep our rooms immaculate, yet we never hear them working in any of the other rooms on our floor.
As much as we love the amenities and the rooms at the CentrePoint Chidlom, the biggest reason why my wife and I (and now with our children) have always returned to the CentrePoint Chidlom is the customer service. My job of close to 30 years puts me on the road quite a bit. I’ve stayed at hotels of all levels of service and of a wide range of prices all over the world — from hostel-like places in South America to bed-and-breakfasts in England and continental Europe to resorts in Las Vegas to five star hotels in India, Japan and almost a hundred other countries. The friendliness and service that the staff at the CentrePoint Chidlom gives to me and my family every time we’ve stayed with them surpasses that of any other hotel I’ve ever used. (Again, I do think that communication is important if you want great service: The hotel caters to people of different cultures from all over the world, and for the most part, they’ve done a great job at anticipating their guests’ general needs. However, they’ve also been able to go beyond what we’ve expected from other hotels whenever my wife and I have asked.)
Our last stay at the CentrePoint Chidlom was for a 2-week vacation that started in early July. As our van drove up to the hotel, my wife and I turned to each other and then we said to our kids: “We’re home!” — The hotel staff did not disappoint us.

Room Tip: Communicate with the hotel. We’ve always been given higher floor rooms, and we’ve always be…

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Bountiful Promotion for Deluxe 45 sq.m. at Centre Point Hotel Silom Bangkok!

Bountiful Promotion for Deluxe 45 sq.m. at Centre Point Hotel Silom Bangkok!
Room Only – SAVE 46%
Room with Breakfast – SAVE 41%
– Get free WIFI internet access in room.
– Get free flow access in Executive Lounge.
– Get free 10% discount at Blue Spice Restaurant excluding drinks.
For further details and bookings,visit http://www.centrepoint.com/CentrePointSilom/PageHotel.aspx
1522/2 Soi Kaysorn 1 (Charoenkrung 50) Charoengkrung Road, Bangrak, Bangkok 10500 Thailand.
Tel: +66 2 266 0521 Fax: +66 2 266 0520

“A Great Place to Stay and Convenient Location” says a guest on Tripadvisor.com

I stayed at the Centre Point Silom Hotel in April while I was attending a conference in Bangkok. To begin with the rooms are huge, comfortable and spotlessly clean. There’s also a kitchenette which I loved. It was very convenient especially since I was staying there for six days and would often return after a long day. Adjacent to the hotel there’s a shopping mall with different shops and many places to eat. There’s also a large supermarket which is also very useful.

The hotel’s amenities are wonderful with a well equipped gym and fabulous swimming pool. A great place to relax and unwind up on the 7th floor with a lovely view of Bangkok. I also enjoyed the breakfasts which are buffet style and have a large selection of food; especially the delicious fresh fruit! What I also appreciated was the complimentary coffee and tea and juices in the lobby. I thought that was a lovely touch and shows it’s a hotel which cares about its guests.
The staff are extremely friendly and always ready to help you with any question or to provide assistance. The hotel is conveniently located next to the Sky Train and the hotel shuttle boats which go up and down the river. Overall, I really enjoyed my stay at the Centre Point Silom and would definitely stay there again when I next visit Bangkok. Stayed April 2014, traveled on business

Your opportunity to share SMILE “GOOD TIME EXHIBITION”

“ GOOD TIME EXHIBITION ”

Your opportunity to share SMILE, by purchasing the amazing handcrafted from talented children of the Na Kitti-Koon Foundation.
**Total earning will be granted to the foundation without deduction.

Now showing: on the L floor at Centre Point Hotel Thong Lo, until 17h November 2014.

The mission of the Na Kittikoon Foundation is to develop the communication and life skills of people with special needs through visualization, painting, drawing, music and theatre arts.

The foundation helps people with special needs such as Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Down syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, and more. Student’s skills such as visualization, imitation, and task completion, improve with each hour they spend on artistic work. At the same time, the students experience joy through talking, playing and working with their classmates. This kind of happiness is uncommon for people with special needs.
Painting brings out our students’ imaginations and inner beauty. Even though the imitation, each artwork is a unique melody which, when added to the works of others, creates the glorious symphony that characterizes Na Kittikoon art.
As Na Kittikoon enters our 10^th year, our students continue together having fun altogether with enhancing their visual, communication and, most importantly, life skills.
At Na Kittikoon, we celebrate true acceptance and understanding of one another without any speech required.
What jubilation!

Celebrate Loy Krathong Festival Near Centre Point Hotel Silom Bangkok

Our Guest Can Celebrate Loy Krathong Festival While Staying at Centre Point Hotel Silom Bangkok from 1st till 6th November 2014

Loi Krathong takes place on the evening of the full moon of the 12th month in the traditional Thai lunar calendar. In the western calendar this usually falls in November.

Read More About the Thai Festival ‘Loy Krathong’

It’s time to explore the legacy and heritage of Bangkok’s River of Culture. Experience for the very first time the cultural extravaganza of the River Festival 2014 along the historically rich Chao Phraya River from the Rama VIII Bridge to Asiatique the Riverfront. Offering something for everyone, the festival is packed with fun activities from a Loy Krathong festival to a host of delightful performances by the River of Culture. Travel back in time and experience art and traditions of the bygone days which are still instilled within the riverside communities and enjoy a rare night-time visit to the temples which were declared by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

The main locations for the River Festival are as follows:
At Bangkok’s shopping landmark, Asiatique The Riverfront, activities will include the Loy Krathong ceremony and workshop of krathong-making, demonstrations of vintage fireworks display for religious beliefs, and the making of Pla ta pian or Thai-syle wind mobiles in the shape of a carp. A replica of the Rub Rua (receiving lotus) ceremony which is a ritual unique to Samut Prakan will be held for blessing reason. On the event’s grounds, there will be an area allocated for vintage photo-taking opportunity while the main East Asiatique stage will showcase the light-and-sound presentation portraying the story of trade and relations between Siam – the former name of Thailand – and international communities. In addition, there will be a range of Thai cultural performances as well as the competition of Muay Talay or “Sea Boxing”, another version of Thai Boxing.

 
At Wat Phra Chetuphon or the Temple of the Reclining Buddha (Wat Pho) and Nakrapirom Park, religious and fun-filled Thai culture activities will include a ritual to pay respect to the Reclining Buddha; the ‘Chong Prieang” tradition to pay respect to the sacred relic of Buddha in the Dawadung realm of heaven; an exhibition of vintage photographs and a dance created based on the stone sculpture of hermit in a posture of self-massage founded on the temple’s grounds. There will be classic Thai plays at the Prince Theatre, built based on the royal playhouse during the reign of King Rama V the Great, and a community fair selling local arts and crafts.

At Wat Arun Ratchawararam or the Temple of Dawn (Wat Arun), religious and fun-filled Thai culture activities will include a ritual to pay respect to Buddha image which represents the birthday or respective day of the week. On the temple’s grounds, there will be classic Thai plays at specially-built vintage-style stage, an outdoor cinema showing old Thai films with simultaneous narrators, an exhibition of Ban Chang Lor – a community renowned for its casting of Buddha images and an exhibition of vintage photographs. In addition, there will be a replica of old market selling authentic Thai dishes that are rare nowadays by the community residing behind the temple. The people of Trok Matoom (Soi Arun Amarin 23) will also be holding a fair, selling a range of delectable snack made from bael fruit.

At Wat Kalayanamitr (Wat Kalaya), the festival offers one of the rare chances to marvel at the temple’s magnificent statuary and architecture at night, including a tower that contains the largest bronze bell in Thailand. Other highlights include a Chinese opera show and a community fair selling local arts and crafts.
At Wat Prayurawongsawas (Wat Prayoon), religious and fun-filled Thai culture activities will include a ceremony to pay respect to the Phra Borommathat Maha Chedi. On the temple’s grounds, there will be an area allocated for vintage photo-taking opportunity, an exhibition of old communities surrounding the temple, and an exhibition of vintage photograhs. The Kudijeen Community will be holding a fair, selling a range of fusion Thai dishes influenced by foreign cultures in the old days. Additional highlight is the performance of the “Khun In” band, a Thai orchestra consisting of five groups of wood and percussion instruments.
As these venues are on both sides of the river, there will be free shuttle boats operating throughout the event.
Route 1: Yodpiman Pier > Tha Tien Pier > Wat Arun Pier > Wat Kalya Pier > Wat Prayoon Pier
The boat will depart every 15 minutes from Yodpiman Pier and then all stops will be for 20 minutes. From 1-5 November the boats will operate from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. On 6 November, which is Loy Krathong, the boats will run until 11 p.m.

Route 2: Asiatique Pier > Yodpiman Pier / Yodpiman Pier > Asiatique Pier
The boat will depart every 15 minutes from Yodpiman Pier and Asiatique Pier and then all stops will be for 25 minutes. From 1-5 November the boats will op