Review: Kimpton Maa-Lai Bangkok Premium King Room

Kimpton Maa-Lai is a modern luxury hotel in the Langsuan area of Bangkok, near Lumpini Park. It is part of part of IHG Hotels & Resorts which means it can be booked with points! I stayed here for three nights in February 2025 after recharging at Conrad in Koh Samui, so I was excited to be back in a city to experience the contrast.

Booking My Stay

We originally booked a 1 King Essential room but were upgraded to a Premium King Room about a week before arriving, thanks to my husband’s IHG Diamond status. While we hoped for a suite upgrade, the Premium King Room had plenty of room (over 700 square feet) and was perfect for our stay.

We paid an average of 50,000 points per night, for a total of 250,000 points for our five-night stay.

Pro tip: The Chase IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card gives you every 4th night free, when your entire stay is paid with points. I wasn’t able to take advantage of that for this stay.

Location

Kimpton Maa-Lai is located in the posh Sindhorn Village complex, a mixed-use development full of restaurants, hotels, and shopping. Several embassies, including the U.S. Embassy, are nearby, and Lumphini Park and the Silom shopping complex are a short walk away.

The hotel is about 30 kilometers from Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK).

When we arrived, we took the Airport Rail Link to Phaya Thai Station. That train took about 30 minutes, and then we transferred to the Sukhumvit line to Chit Lom station, three stops away. The entire trek took about one hour.

It wasn’t awful, but I didn’t enjoy the walk from Chit Lom station to Kimpton with our luggage. We opted to take a taxi back to the airport when we left, which the front desk arranged. The ride was 500 baht.

Lobby & Check In

Kimpton Maa-Lai Bangkok is a lively hotel, and you feel that as soon as you enter the building. The front desk is immediately to your right, and CRAFT, a bar and coffee shop, is straight ahead. There was live music in the lobby when we arrived.

One thing I quickly noticed was how attentive the staff was, and that started as we walked through the front doors for the first time. While the lobby was busy, that didn’t get in the way of a warm welcome. Their front desk team quickly directed us to comfortable seats to process our check-in and give us an overview of the property. They also offered to show us to our room.

Premium King Room

We were originally assigned room 1710, and the hotel did such a nice job acknowledging our honeymoon (seriously… look at the pics).

Unfortunately, the A/C wasn’t working, so we asked to move rooms after the maintenance guy couldn’t quickly remedy the situation. The hotel accommodated us and moved us down ten floors to room 710. I’m glad we moved rooms, as I could hear dogs barking from our original room. I think this really improved our experience at the hotel (but I felt bad leaving the balloons and flowers!).

Here are photos from our original room, but the second looked the same…

Breakfast Buffet

The breakfast buffet – at Stock.Room on the 5th floor – was the most impressive part of our stay! They serve a massive spread of Thai and Western foods and several Chef-staffed cooking stations, inspired by the streets of Bangkok.

Stock.Room is open for breakfast from 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. but I recommend getting there as early as possible, because it fills up fast!

Breakfast is only complimentary for IHG Diamond elite members, but I recommend trying it once.

It is tough to describe just how massive the buffet is…

Gym & Pool

The hotel’s gym and pool are on the third floor. The locker rooms have a sauna and steam room. The gym is open 24/7 for hotel guests, and the pool facilities are open from 6am – 10pm daily.

I was excited to check them out based on the photos I saw online. While they are super nice, both the gym and pool felt small, and quickly felt crowded.

Pros & Cons

We had a great stay at Kimpton Maa-Lai Bangkok. Here are the pros and cons of the property:

• Pros
  • Amazing breakfast buffet (but not free)
  • Beautiful hotel with outdoor garden
  • Excellent location in central Bangkok
  • Extremely attentive staff
  • Complimentary bikes and shuttle service
• Cons
  • Large hotel with over 360 rooms (it gets busy)
  • Dogs may bark (request a pet-free floor)

Closing Thoughts

While I had a rocky start at Kimpton Maa-Lai, the hotel’s attentive team quickly turned my experience around and got us into a quiet and functional room. I appreciated the manager’s follow-up the next day. There is no question Kimpton Maa-Lai is a stylish and vibrant hotel with an unbeatable location in central Bangkok. While the bustling energy and pet-friendly policy may not suit everyone, my overall experience was luxurious and memorable. Kimpton Maa-Lai is a fantastic choice for those looking to enjoy Bangkok in style.