137 Pillars Suites Bangkok — A 27th-Floor Sky Pool and 34 Suites Tucked Off Sukhumvit Soi 39
Ask which Bangkok hotel pool turns up most in photos and 137 Pillars Suites & Residences Bangkok is usually one of the first names you hear. It is the city sibling of 137 Pillars House in Chiang Mai, lifting that colonial character up a Sukhumvit Soi 39 tower. The hotel itself is all-suite — just 34 of them — occupying the top floors above the residences below, and the detail guests keep coming back to is the 24-hour infinity pool on the 27th floor, reserved for suite guests, alongside Jack Bain's Bar, named after the last owner of the original 137-pillar teak house up north.
137 Pillars Suites opened in February 2017 as the urban counterpart to 137 Pillars House in Chiang Mai. The hotel proper is only 34 suites, sitting on the top six floors of the tower, with 179 residences filling the levels below. The suites are all named after Thai royal capitals — the 70 sqm Sukhothai, the Rattanakosin, the 95 sqm one-bedroom Ayutthaya, up to the Thonburi at around 127 sqm. Every one comes with a separate living area, a round marble tub with a TV built into the surround, a walk-in wardrobe, and a Nespresso machine as standard. Worth saying up front: there is no standard room category here — even the smallest suite runs 70 sqm.
The headline draw is the 27th-floor infinity pool — an edge that runs straight out over the city, with a topiary column at its centre, loungers and parasols along the rim, and a couple of hot tubs. It stays open 24 hours and is reserved for hotel suite guests, kept separate from the residences side. Guests say the same thing again and again: sunset and late evening, once the city lights come up, are when the pool looks best — and that is the shot you see all over Instagram.
"Guests describe getting in the pool around six, the light just turning orange, the whole city sitting under your feet — staying in until dark and not wanting to climb out."
Dining lives on the upper floors too. Nimitr on level 27 serves bold Thai cooking, some of it built around produce from the hotel's own herb garden and Thai farmers. One floor up sits Jack Bain's Bar on level 28, which turns into The Whisky Vault at night — a Thai-British speakeasy of teak, leather and long city views, named for Jack Bain, the last owner of the original teak house in Chiang Mai. Every evening from 18:00 to 19:00 the hotel pours complimentary cocktails for guests on level 27, either inside or out on the open terrace.
On location, the honest read: 137 Pillars sits deep inside Sukhumvit Soi 39, not on the skytrain line. From the hotel to BTS Phrom Phong is roughly an 8–10 minute walk (about 600 metres) down a leafy lane where the pavement is not especially wide. The upside is that once you are in the soi it is far quieter than the main road, with none of the Sukhumvit traffic noise. The EmQuartier and Emporium malls of the Em District are right by Phrom Phong, a short continuation from the station. If you are dragging heavy luggage, the hotel car or a Grab into the soi beats walking it.
The overall score sits at 9.4/10 from 216 reviews on Trip.com, with Booking.com matching it at 9.4. What guests praise most is the close butler service, the size of the suites, and the sky pool. The lower-rated feedback flags the walk in from the BTS being longer than expected, particularly in heat or rain, plus a check-in lobby down at ground level that means a few lift changes, and high-season rates that climb quickly. Real limitations, worth knowing before you book.
The bottom line: 137 Pillars Suites suits travellers who want a large, quiet suite with a sky pool over the city but would rather not sit right on busy Sukhumvit. You get the feel of a small 34-room hotel where service reaches you personally, plus the colonial character carried down from the Chiang Mai house. Rates start around ฿12,000/night for the Sukhothai Suite, still below a same-size suite at the big riverside brands. If you want the largest room and the budget stretches, the Thonburi Suite touches 127 sqm.
Summary from Booking & Agoda
- ✓ Suites very spacious — every one has a separate living area
- ✓ Close butler service, staff remember guests by name
- ✓ 27th-floor sky pool with city views, open 24 hours
- ✓ Round marble tub in the bathroom with a skyline outlook
- ! Walk from BTS Phrom Phong longer than expected (8–10 min)
- ! Check-in lobby at ground level means a few lift changes
- ! High-season rates climb quickly
- ✓ Small 34-room hotel, private and never crowded
- ✓ Colonial design carried down from 137 Pillars House Chiang Mai
- ✓ Jack Bain's Bar with city views plus free evening cocktails
- ✓ Once inside the soi it is far quieter than Sukhumvit Road
- ! Soi pavement is narrow — awkward with heavy luggage
- ! Pool reserved for suite guests, separate from the residences
- ! Parking tight when the restaurants are busy
- 💡If getting around matters — the hotel sits deep in Sukhumvit Soi 39, an 8–10 minute walk from BTS Phrom Phong → take the hotel car or a Grab into the soi, especially in the rain or with luggage
- 💡If the sky pool is the draw — the 27th-floor infinity pool is reserved for guests of the hotel (137 Pillars Suites), not the residences → book the correct side (Suites, not Residences) to use it
- 💡If you are on a tighter budget — the 70 sqm Sukhothai Suite from ฿12,000 gets you the same shared access (pool, bar, free cocktails) as the larger suites; the upgrade mainly buys floor space