Shedding some light on Bangkok hotels ...

It's funny how sometimes the little things stand out (as my companion was just saying recently!).

I like reading. A lot. To be point of being compulsive and anti-social. Which explains the strained eyes and furrowed expression on my face as a result.

So, when you check into a place like the Sofitel Bangkok Silom, it's easy to be blind-sided by the more obvious lavish trappings like parquet wooden floors, the money-shot views of Silom Road and the Chao Phraya River and so on. But the thing I loved more than anything else?

The reading light. A simple torch-like device on each side of the bed. His and hers. So if I want to stay up all night reading, my companion can rest undisturbed by the strong pinpoint of light angled beautifully on to my book (something serious like Gone Bamboo, if I remember correctly).

In some hotels, you either have a 5 watt Save-the-Earth bulb glowing dimly about one metre away, or you have to flick on the full Broadway stage production above the bed, and feel like you're at opening night at the theatre for a curtain call, jing jing. (Then you're talking of a standing ovation of a completely different type.)

So the Sofitel's little reading lights are a great touch. They also have a larger one (about 60cm wide) on a stand across the top of the plush chair, perfect for kicking back and reading, too.

Somebody's thinking about it from the user's point of view. I like that. And so does my partner; big time.



See more about the Sofitel at www.sofitel.com