As our van slowly inched through the infamous Bangkok rush hour traffic, I could already clearly see the towering Lebua at State Tower in the distance, rocking the city skyline with its bright and imposing presence. The thought of staying there genuinely excited me. As my travel companions and I were enthusiastically discussing earlier, "We must definitely re-enact the scene in Hangover 2 at the Sky Bar rooftop of Lebua!" There was absolutely no doubt that I would eagerly play the part of Bradley Cooper. Having a quick photoshoot at one of the highest rooftop bars in the world became our secret side mission of the trip—our main business, of course, was to officially cover the 2017 World Travel and Tourism Council Global Summit.
Luxury Hangover in Lebua at State Tower
The sun had already faded into the horizon as we arrived at our hotel under a clear night sky. "Perfect for viewing the skyline atop Lebua," I thought to myself. All members of the media coming from different nations—from the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, to Spain, Peru, and the United States, just to name a few—were billeted here.
Upon stepping inside the grand, sweeping lobby of Lebua, staff members of the organizing committee immediately told us that we were to join the gala dinner to be held at Sirocco—the world’s highest alfresco restaurant, which is situated a couple of levels just below the famed Sky Bar Rooftop.
Spacious and Lavish Rooms
My room’s layout opened seamlessly to a roomy living room and led to a door-less bedroom that seamlessly took you to a private balcony overlooking the vast Bangkok skyline. The bathroom was situated right in the middle, featuring a large, modern shower room and a deep soaking bathtub. Other convenient amenities like an electric oven, cooking utensils, and a full-size refrigerator stood opposing the bathroom’s sliding door.
Gala Dinner at Sirocco
What better way to spend our very first night than to have a lavish six-course gala dinner in an open-air fine dining restaurant surrounded by marvelous nighttime city views? While eagerly waiting for our food, we managed to have pockets of meaningful conversations with other travel writers from various publications around the world.
Our Philippine contingent was composed of journalists representing major local dailies and networks, myself representing BusinessMirror, and the PR agency handling AirAsia—the budget airline giant that generously sponsored our trip to cover the global summit.
During the dinner, I met a few writers from Malaysia, Peru, and Germany. After chowing down our sumptuous meal, we all collectively decided we could spare a little more time for further socializing despite a heavily long day of traveling from Manila to Kuala Lumpur and finally to Bangkok. So, up we went to experience the vibrant party atmosphere at the famous Sky Bar Rooftop.
Hangovertini at the Sky Bar Rooftop
"Suspended on a precipice over the city 820 feet in the air, Sky Bar is one of the highest rooftop bars in the world and, along with Distil bar one flight up, reinvents Bangkok’s cocktail culture nightly."
Lebua at State Tower’s highly amiable General Manager personally ushered us into the famed Sky Bar Rooftop and quickly told us to try their signature "Hangovertini" drink—a cocktail specially concocted in homage to the blockbuster movie The Hangover Part II, which famously shot several key scenes right here in Bangkok.
Composed of a refined blend of green tea liquor, fresh apple juice, Martini Rosso, and sweet rosemary honey, it felt incredibly smooth on my throat. It delivered a refreshing sweet aftertaste, quickly followed by a slightly stronger-than-expected punch right after I downed the first glass of it.
"I don’t want you all to get drunk and completely miss tomorrow’s opening of the summit," the Indian-born General Manager jokingly told our group. I nodded at him with an appreciative smile, secretly relieved that we wouldn't be getting wildly drunk for the night, as I was already physically primed up to hit my incredibly comfy-looking bed.
After watching a talented musical performer wrap up a couple of soulful songs, our Philippine party made a quick, tactical escape from the night's revelry and happily retired to our respective cozy rooms.
Drunk with Cozy for Three Nights
During the next three nights, Lebua at State Tower served as our luxurious home and provided me a perfectly comfortable base to quietly gather my professional thoughts from covering the intense three-day WTTC Global Summit. The daily breakfast buffet at the stunning poolside, Moroccan-inspired Café Mozu became something to eagerly look forward to every single morning. Serving a massive blend of Western, Thai, Indian, Lebanese, and other Oriental cuisines, Cafe Mozu fueled us delectably for our long coverage days.
The staff of the hotel seemed to have known us deeply in such a short amount of time. Every time someone from our party would come down late for breakfast, one of the sharp staff members would inform them right away, "Your friends are seated over there." You feel that they are highly trained to easily recognize their guests—aside, of course, from consistently displaying a very warm, personalized, and hospitable behavior.
Although we weren’t able to strictly re-enact the Hangover movie scene shot at the Sky Bar Rooftop because that particular spot was safely off-limits for photography, we thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Lebua at State Tower. We bonded exceptionally well every night and every morning when we had our breakfast together. Buoyed altogether by our collective amazement of this hotel’s grand design, intuitive layout, luxury amenities, and world-class service—I myself could not be more thankful about the writing assignment I got to cover the WTTC Global Summit, simply because I got to experience staying in another superb, iconic hotel.
