Bangkok continues to return to normal with hotels in the severely affected downtown Ratchaprasong area stirring to life. Grand Hyatt Erawan and Dusit Thani reopened 24 May, followed by Four Seasons and InterContinental on 26 May, 2010. Centara Grand at CentralWorld and Renaissance Bangkok at Ratchaprasong were back in operation 1 June. The Holiday Inn returned mid-June. While Siam Paragon, Siam Discovery, MBK and the Platinum fashion mall have opened along with the Jim Thompson Museum, the Zen shopping mall and CentralWorld (the former severely damaged by fire) remain closed. Isetan reopened 24 June. The popular local mall Big C - opposite CentralWorld - that suffered fire damage, is closed. The Gaysorn luxury Bangkok shopping mall is open. Several shops in Siam Square are back in action though the cinema has been razed to the ground. The Stock Exchange is functioning. |
BANGKOK, the City of Angels, epitomises the old adage – in picking a hotel, what matters is “location, location, location”. The city is every traveller’s dream – and nightmare. Daytime gridlock ensures that despite all the khop khun kraps that you can muster, chasing appointments around this city is a white-knuckle affair. Evenings of course provide an epic palliative as bars light up and, aided by vast intakes of the potent local brew, Singha Beer, the pulsating One Night in Bangkok wet dream commences.
The SkyTrain, or BTS, as it is known, is changing all that. Along its snaking corridors, foreign businessmen and trendy tourists now travel with aplomb and speed, in comfort and airconditioning, high above the madding crowd. Underground, the whisper-smooth comforts, and speed, of the Metro await. And now with the sleek new Suvarnabhumi Airport (www.bangkokairportonline.com) on the Pattaya highway 30km east of the capital, Bangkok has launched itself firmly into the new millennium. Welcome to Thailand.
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Location is still paramount and, now, access to a convenient elevated BTS or underground MRTA station is a priority unless you can manage to have everyone come and meet you at your hotel. The bulk of business still tends to be conducted along the broad "L" of Sukhumvit Road and Silom Road, though development is spreading farther afield.
Sukhumvit Hotels, Asoke, Rachadapisek
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| Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit |
Sukhumvit Road is home to a clutch of fine properties. The Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit, right next to a BTS station, is a plush address with bright, comfortable rooms with lots of gold pinewood. Rooms are, well, roomy, starting at 45sq m and there is high-speed Internet. For unwinding there's the attractive self-contained Grande Spa. Check out the chic, redecorated Thai cuisine Basil restaurant and after-hours head to Barsu for some pulsating retro music and wine. The Sheraton is right next to the Soi Asoke BTS and MRTA stations so access is a doddle. (The Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit features in our exclusive Top Asian Hotels Collection, featuring the best Asian hotels, resorts and spas in a printable A4 page with stunning visuals.)
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Across the - bang next to the BTS and MRTA stations - is the Westin Grande Sukhumvit with its signature "heavenly bed". You'll be queueing up to purchase it after just one "heavenly" night in Bangkok enveloped in quality down and feathers. Not a bad investment if a good night's sleep is top of your priority list. The Westin has done a complete makeover of the property with some stylish touches and expansive mood lighting that blends from hot oranges to cool purples in the blink of an eyelash. Disconcertingly, the lobby is on the seventh floor, but that little niggle aside, it is a crisp executive choice. Rooms offer high-speed Internet access (Bt642 a day), a smart work station with two-line speaker telephone, voicemail, three-pin square plug sockets, and a 25-inch flat-screen TV.
Executive Club Floor guests at the Westin Grande Sukhumvit enjoy complimentary breakfast cocktails and tea. The latest addition to the Westin armoury are the WestinWORKOUT Rooms that come with indoor cycle, treadmill, dumbells and health DVDs. The inroom safe won't hold a laptop but a steam iron and ironing board are handy extras after the airport scrum.
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| Westin Deluxe/ photo: hotel |
Wind-down options include the Vareena Spa where facials, exfoliations, scrubs and wraps await. Good service, attentive staff and a generally brisk atmosphere. (The Westin Grande Sukhumvit features in our exclusive Top Asian Hotels Collection, featuring the best Asian hotels, resorts and spas in a printable A4 page with stunning visuals.)
Close to the Nana station, The Landmark has long been a popular choice, with women and male executives alike. The doormen are actually doorwomen, dressed in crisply laundered white, service is good, the renovated and colourful lobby level Atrium café does an excellent lunch buffet, and bookstores, shops and even a throbbing nightlife venue, are close at hand.
The Landmark Club Lounge on the 27th floor is open 24 hours with two hours complimentary boardroom usage for Landmark Club Floor guests. The Landmark has reinvented itself and is considerably spruced up from its public areas to fine dining venues.
High-speed Internet access is available inroom at Bt642 per day. Across Sukhumvit is the no-fuss but well-run Amari Boulevard Hotel on Soi 5 (soi means street) with comfortable rooms, business centre, pool and even a Japanese movie channel. The Amari group (which runs the bigger Amari Watergate Hotel and the Amari Dong Muang Airport Hotel) has a very good website and offers excellent online rates of up to 60 percent off.
One block away is the swish JW Marriott Hotel with black-marble interiors, silk and gilt work. This is very much an executive's choice with good facilities, outdoor café and easy access to airport expressway. It does fall between two BTS stations (Ploenchit and Nana) but this is by no means a disadvantage. Both are fairly close. High-speed Internet is available inroom and suites have a DVD player with access to a hotel DVD library.
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| Mod Le Fenix/ photo: hotel |
The safe deposit box is not large enough to hold a laptop. Extras include an ironing board with steam iron. Executive Floor benefits include breakfast, complimentary pressing of two garments per day, two hour use of a meeting room and refreshments throughout the day. There is free WiFi at the Executive Lounge. Need newspaper? Opt for NewspaperDirect for a compact print version of anything from the Sydney Morning Herald or Yomiuri Shimbum to Times of India.
In October 2007 the Grand Millennium Sukhumvit Bangkok threw open its doors on the central business artery of Asoke Road, Sukhumvit Soi 21. The Grand Millennium Sukhumvit is one of the latest Bangkok business hotels aimed at not just the discerning executive traveller but hip holidaymakers too, with a raft of personalised services and design flourishes including concept floors, Thai-style throughout, fast Internet access in-room with LCD TV and the spoiling luxury – if you have time – of a separate bath and shower. There are 11 meeting rooms catering for small to medium size corporate meetings and the 500sq m ballroom can host up to 500 persons in a theatre style arrangement. The hotel offers six restaurants including Japanese, Spanish and Indian and for those who overindulge there’s always the sweat, steam, and conscience-salving rigour of both a pool and the lifestyle spa, The Antidote.
Brand new, chic and hip, is the 147-room Le Fenix Sukhumvit by Accor, on Sukhumvit Soi 11, not far from the Q Bar and a short walk from the BTS Nana station. This is a modern and compact offering with all the clean geometric lines and bold splashes of colour one would expect of a contemporary cubist habitat. Rooms offer WiFi access at Broadband speeds, LCD TVs and in-room safes. Somehow the designers have managed to squeeze in an indoor pool. So cooling down at this cool hotel is still an option.
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| JW Marriott Executive/ photo: hotel |
Still on Sukhumvit 11, for more space in a sumptuous executive serviced apartment there’s the President Solitaire and the Grand President. The group has properties in other downtown locations too. At the President Solitaire you’ll get to enjoy free WiFi, modern amenities and a large 42-inch plasma TV.
Heading up Sukhumvit, a quick motorcycle or taxi ride from a BTS stop, on Soi 24, is the intriguing The Davis, a mix of old and new. This newish property features sumptuous Thai-style salas (pavilions) and villas (with wooden parquet flooring, washing machine and kitchen) and hotel-style rooms ranging from pseudo Arab and Indian (with archways, and Taj Mahal motifs) to European and Thai. It's quite a heady cocktail and not all of it works. However, service is good, staff are on the ball and, in places, the hotel has a chic feel to it. The Thai version rooms and villas are perhaps the most tasteful. There are ten villas, 164 rooms and the Dulaya Spa. On Soi 18 is the boutique-style Rembrandt Hotel with two popular outlets, the rooftop Rang Mahal (Indian) and the buzzing live-music Senor Pico (Mexican).
On Sukhumvit 26, a quick stroll from the BTS station at the Emporium shopping complex, the St James Hotel’s modern reflective glass façade houses a trendy business address. Renovated rooms are bright and functional. A business centre provides Internet access, while elsewhere guests may avail of WiFi or Broadband connections. There is a pool too.
The somewhat impersonal Imperial Queen's Park Hotel is a mega-hotel-in-hotel choice with large conference facilities. There are 1,400 rooms in two towers. The Bel Aire Princess (by the Dusit group) offers a four-star facility on Soi 5.
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| InterCon King/ photo: hotel |
At the other end of the scale is the ageing no-frills The Atlanta, deep in Soi 2, a throwback to the colonial era. Peeling, musty, derelict, but oddly appealing in an old European kind of way, the property has a firm "No Sex Tourists" policy and a sign to this effect hangs outside the entrance. The hotel says it has a "zero-tolerance policy towards troublemakers".
Between Soi 6 and Soi 4 is the new residence-cum-hotel the Grand Sukhumvit by Sofitel. The hotel is a short stroll from the BTS Nana Station on Sukhumvit. With a focus on residence an in-room benefit is the microwave and kitchenette. This hotel may not be for everyone. but it is conveniently located and is a useful option for longstay guests.
There's a nice hideaway garden courtyard inside with pool (one of the first in the country) and hammocks. The interior is cosy with lots of wooden cabinets, chequered floors and red chairs in the lobby. The hotel lobby is said to be the oldest unaltered hotel foyer in Thailand. The Atlanta was started by Dr Max Henn, a refugee from Nazi Germany in 1952. An aircon room starts at Bt664 and fan-cooled room at Bt482. There is no credit card service and payment in cash is required on a daily basis in advance. No Internet. The place is popular with journalists and artists.
The wild and wilder Dream Hotel Bangkok on Sukhumvit Soi 15 offers a somewhat surreal escape into blue-light fantasy. Funky bedrooms offer 42-inch Flat Screen TV, Broadband access, Egyptian cotton linen, and iPods. Enjoy the Avatar Spa, dine in style, or rock. It's all here. A short walk from Sukhumvit, this is not a hotel for all tastes but it certainly exudes a sense of fun. The glass-bead-curtained bar is a popular hangout for yuppies and young city folk for an apres-work tipple.
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| Citadines Sukhumvit 8/ photo: hotel |
On Rachadapisek Road are the 402-room Chaophya Park Hotel with over 2,100sq m of function space for conferences and meetings, a raft of dining choices from Cantonese to Japanese, a driving range, pool, fitness centre and the Bali Spa; and the more boutique-style sister property Veronica Residence with complimentary high-speed Internet, small corporate meeting facilities and bright accents. The Veronica is within walking distance of the Metro subway.
Sacha’s Hotel UNO is a convenient mid-range hotel, offering neat stylish rooms with signature Hotel UNO beds, WiFi, flat screen TV, iron and ironing board, tea and coffee-making facilities, and bathroom amenities like robes, slippers and hair dryers. The bathroom is compact but bright and even features that top-hotel stalwart, a rainshower. This is a good example of a mid-range with all the hi-tech extras.
The Park Plaza Sukhumvit Bangkok is a 150m stroll from the BTS SkyTrain at Asoke Station where you'll also spot the underground MRT entrance. This is modern hotel is a 95-room boutique-style construction with gym, swimming pool, 24-hour restaurant, and business facilities. Bangkok serviced apartment options along Sukhumvit could include several Citadines (see Ascott Bangkok Sathorn) and Somersets.
Central Bangkok business hotels
The Conrad Bangkok, in the All Season's Place business and residence and shopping complex is a chic address with style, functionality, broad-spectrum appeal and regular innovation. It has been a trend-setter in more ways than one with stylish silk uniforms and contemporary décor, the extensive Season's Spa, and sumptuous rooms with see-through glass-wall toilets. The Executive Rooms offer more space, with smart flat-screen TVs with a small, if stylish, footprint. Subtle hi-tech accompaniment is provided by a DVD player and an iPod dock. Plug in and play.
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| Conrad Executive Room/ photo: hotel |
These rooms feature steam irons with ironing board, complimentary Broadband, and a smart working area with an ergonomic chair. Pick up an "Oxia" pressurised oxygen canister from the minibar and head out for a jog. Well travelled executives will spot another familiar toy –; a yellow rubber elephant (not duck) – in the bathtub. Need a different pillow? Try a Shogun Pillow (made from Japanese igusa grass) or the Contour Pillow. The Apple-friendly touches now extend to the new and expanded Executive Lounge which sports iMac workstations all hooked up to Broadband. Surf free during breakfast or while popping by for evening refreshments and canapes. Just in case you happen to be a PC clod, some iMacs are set up to work on the familiar Windows platform. Smart and brisk service by attentive staff who are on the ball - and not just on executive floors - makes this award-winning property a top Bangkok business hotel choice.
While main access to the hotel is from Wireless Rd (Wuthayu), there's easy access through less crowded Soi Ruam Rudee as well. A shuttle bus takes guests to the Ploenchit BTS station which is just a short walk away. Elsewhere in the hotel there's complimentary shoeshine, the popular Diplomat Bar and the trendy dance-and-dine 87 PLUS. Regular rooms feature the same distinctive silk and glass touches and access to Broadband at Bt750 per day. (The Conrad Bangkok features in our exclusive by-invitation Top Asian Hotels Collection, featuring the best Asian hotels, resorts and spas in a printable A4 page with stunning visuals.)
Near the Conrad is the small but modern TENFACE, inspired by the mythical ten-faced giant Tosakan. Its 79 rooms, which start at 61sq m, come with balconies, LCD TVs, free Wi-Fi Internet access, safes and minibar. On check-in, you’ll get a “Tosakan Heart Box” that includes an iPod nano for your stay, a prepaid BTS card, a prepaid Sim card for local calls, Thai herbal bath amenities, and a handy taxi card for easy communication with taxi drivers. Boot leather will gleam with the hotel’s free shoe-shining service. Two-bedroom suites have kitchen facilities (as well as glass and chinaware) for serving up your own culinary creations. A DJ spins nightly at Sita Bar, and there’s also a dipping pool for relief from the Bangkok heat.
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| Plaza Athenee theme suite/ photo: hotel |
Close by on Ruam Rudee are the comfortable serviced apartments of the Chateau de Bangkok (managed by Accor). This is a central location if you're hunting for Bangkok long stay hotels and residences.
Adjacent to the Conrad is the gleaming Plaza Athénée Bangkok, A Royal Méridien Hotel which, as its double-barrelled name suggests, is a hotel with two sometimes conflicting identities. As a Starwood brand it still retains its original flavour under Méridien – not quite New York or Paris but decidedly upmarket Thai – but it needs business travellers and conferences and spa enthusiasts to get on familiar first-name terms with it. The 374-room product exudes quality and service is attentive and welcoming. A short stroll from the BTS Ploenchit SkyTrain station the hotel is well positioned for those on the go. Rooms are richly adorned with touchy-feely silk and fabric and antiques. The style is contemporary with bright silk cushions though in upper end suites the décor takes a turn for classical chic. In-room expect Broadband and Wi-Fi (Bt642 per day), flat-screen TVs, big closets, comfy bathrooms and views in most directions with plenty of natural light. Spa Athénée on Level Five serves up seven treatment rooms with all manner of wellness goodies and squash courts are on hand for those serious about working off calories. With 10,000sq m of meetings space this is one of the big-muscle Bangkok conference hotels around.
On Ploenchit, next to a BTS station, the InterContinental Bangkok is large, swank, and offers location, location, location. The InterCon inherited a grand building (from Le Royal Meridien some years back) that has been taken several notches further with extensive renovations and upgrades. In-room find swish new iPOD docks, laptop-size safes and flat LCD TVs with satellite hook-up. Conference facilities have been upgraded and extended as well. There is high-speed Internet on Club Floors. Club rooms include a DVD player. There is a steam iron and ironing board. Furnishings are rich and textured. The hotel has a bright and airy feel to it and hums along efficiently, catering for its mix of business travellers, conventioneers and holidaymakers. Among Bangkok business hotels, this is one for your diary.
Across from the InterCon, the old President Hotel was reborn as the swish Holiday Inn Bangkok. This is a vastly improved renovated product - contemporary, well designed with lots of space, less fuss, clean lines and concealed lighting, all of which combine to make this a strong business or leisure choice. This is a Holiday Inn with a difference, a far cry from what this brand represents in other parts of Asia or the USA. Shopping is a convenient stroll in any direction. Bright rooms feature glass-wall bathrooms and high-speed Internet at Bt642 for a 24 hour spin.
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| Imposing Grand Hyatt/ photo:Verghese |
Wireless Internet is accessible - and chargeable - in most of the building including the swimming pool area. There are two dedicated Executive Club floors with a separate lounge, and roomy family suites cater for those holidays when the entire brood is abroad. This hotel should not be confused with the Holiday Inn Silom, an older property that is not the easiest to recommend.
Around the corner, replacing the Hilton is the Nai Lert Park Bangkok (run by Raffles). The one-way Soi Nai Lert can get tedious at times with traffic but the compound is a genuine garden hideaway with a fresh away-from-it-all feel. Executive rooms have Internet access. With the demise of the sprawling Siam InterCon, Nai Lert Park Bangkok is perhaps the only green venue in town. The Novotel Bangkok on Siam Square is right next to the BTS Siam Square interchange and shopping. This makes for extraordinarily convenient commutes. The hotel is smart with good facilities but it can get a tad overrun when large groups check in. (Farther along Sukhumvit near the Emporium shopping mall is its sister-property Novotel Lotus Bangkok. There is a 612-room Novotel Suvarnabhumi Airport too.)
Almost opposite the National Stadium (one of the last stops on the BTS SkyTrain line) near Siam Square, is the newly soft-opened Siam @ Siam Design Hotel with 203 rooms and free WiFi throughout. Room types at this Bangkok boutique hotel include doubles, trendy triples (one per floor), an executive product for businessmen on the go and a penthouse executive lounge with terrific views in all directions as there are no adjoining buildings currently. Take in a football match if one's on. The designers clearly pulled out all the stops with this converted office block. It blends - if not always successfully - minimalist Zen, Thai flourishes, and hi-hop grunge with original grey cement walls smeared with bright casual daubs of orange and red oil paint. This is factory-floor-art-gallery chic.
Throw in timber railway sleepers, cement floors mixed with wooden parquet, colourful furniture and bright rugs tossed here and there and you have something approaching a trendy advertising office rather than a hotel. The effect is pleasing however, and refreshing. Staff are eager to please and on the ground floor is the owner's metal-blue classic Figarro car. And just beyond are the elevator doors smeared with thick oil paint taking you up to the 11th floor lobby and rooms with laptop-size safes, angular work tables, and bright orange rugs. Some toilets come with bathtubs, some with showers and a few with both. Guests may wish to catch the sunset at the alfresco pool with its fish fountains and breezy views. There is a dedicated wellness spa, Spa Ten, with a fitness area and gym.
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| Siam @ Siam/ photo: hotel |
Across a busy intersection from Siam Square is the Pathumwan Princess MBK Centre (run by the Dusit group) which, as its name suggests, is linked to the bustling discount shopping Ma oon Krong mall.
Set just off Ploenchit Road a stroll from the Grand Hyatt and the Chidlom BTS SkyTrain station is the blue-glass curving facade of the flagship Renaissance Bangkok Ratchaprasong Hotel that arrived quietly in the neighbourhood early 2010. Expect a lot more noise from this new contender. Why? It is different, vibrant, colourful, almost over-embellished you might say, nothing at all like some dreary cookie-cutter Renaissance properties you may have come across. It hopes to set the benchmark for the brand. Well located (with a skybridge to the station via Maneeya Building in the pipeline), this is a brash teen-going-on-forty-something establishment with a proposition for everyone.
The darkly muted lobby features a cluster of optical light wires hanging down the length of the atrium, dimly glinting green then blue while ornate patterned panels cast a red glow all around the lower lobby walls. The lift is an exercise in indulgence with intricate floral cutouts, silver patterns, and black faux-crocodile leather along one side. It will then come as no surprise that on the the fifth floor BYTES meetings and ballroom level, about-to-wed couples, CEOs and hard-pressed automobile manufacturers can all make a grand entrance by a car elevator and drive right into the vast sparkly 800-pax conference hall. A tiered outdoor garden patio can accommodate a further 500 celebrants.
There's more "wow" factor on the 22nd floor where a timbered pool deck, open on two sides to the breezes, stretches into the horizon with sunken lounge chairs and a bar. Here the hotel is at its minimalist best with clean understatement that will reassure business travellers. There is a gym at this level too. Deluxe Rooms are 37sq m with lots of light, blond-wood parquet floors, bright purple padded silk wall boards set off by the plump white beds with tiger-stripe cushions.
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| Hip new Renaissance/ photo: Verghese |
Find a 40-inch flat-screen TV, data port with two multi-pin sockets, faux-leather table top, leather work chair, large lamps and the de rigueur see-through bathroom wall. There's a large safe, iron and ironing board for kill-that-crease junkies, digital clock, dimmer lights and handy plug sockets everywhere. In Suites you will find a DVD player too. The Studio Suite is a spacious 64sq m with huge views that, in some rooms, can be enjoyed from the bathtub as well. Expect twin vanities in this category. There's Broadband in rooms as well as Wifi throughout (at Bt642 per day). The product comes across variously as a chic bar-cum-bellydance club on a grand scale or an upscale sensory lifestyle experience. Take your pick. There are exciting details in abundance and the designers have tossed everthing plus the kitchen sink into the kitty. Now, having seemingly raised the bar, the hotel will have to measure up.
The Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok on Rajdamri Road is an imposing building with high white columns and marbled interiors. Crowds of worshippers and dancers still throng the Erawan shrine devoted to the Hindu Brahma at the corner of the complex. The Grand Hyatt however is known more for its crisp business facilities, service, and smart food outlets including the rocking Spasso. The Hyatt Grand Club offers a "hotel within a hotel" concept with a high degree of personalised service and The Residence is a hi-tech home-style meeting area most unlike the usual fare. The innovative i.sawan Residential Spa & Club with six residential villas and nine treatment villas in a contemporary design is a nice touch. Add to this a spoiling nail bar and hair salon.
A hundred yards up the road is the elegant Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok right next to the Rajadamri BTS SkyTrain station. The close resemblance to the Peninsula Hong Kong is no coincidence. The property was originally built as a Peninsula complete with sweeping staircase and high ceiling lobby. Here, instead of the gilded ceiling, find intricate murals, Thai motifs and swathes of silk. The Four Seasons serves up 354 hugely spacious rooms, 35 suites and seven Garden Cabanas set to one side of the expansive lap pool, now sadly overlooked by growing construction, but still a splendid and lush in-city escape. Service is intuitive and welcoming. In Club Deluxe rooms on the seventh floor, expect unlimited 24-hour clothes pressing, complimentary city calls, free Broadband and WiFi, and access to a well-stocked club lounge with a couple of computer terminals.
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| Four Seasons classic/ photo: hotel |
Firmly countering the rush in the general direction of trendy twaddle, the Four Seasons stands firm with classic lines and content. Rooms feature dark wood panels, deep sofas, silk cushions, Thai paintings, and lamps that throw welcoming pools of light rather than harsh beams. The wooden table is traditional and spacious with two three-pin electric sockets. The only non-classical addition is the “kick-ass” widescreen TV with iPod and MP3 connectors. Find four 500ml bottles of mineral water, four kinds of teas and three kinds of coffee should you need a pick-me-upper. The bathroom is well lit, with separate bathtub and shower, L’Occitane toiletries, a magnifying mirror, and a weighing scale thoughtfully wrapped in thin towelling.
Guests can pamper themselves at the Spa by Mspa, cut into tender steak at Madison, savour Italian at Biscotti, do Asian at Spice Market, or simply enjoy a drink at popular Aqua from where you can look up past the ranked atrium floors to see real sky. It can get wet here when it rains, but it’s all part of the Four Season’s “natural” charm.
Just behind the Four Seasons, admirably placed on 1 Soi Mahadlekluang off Rajdamri Road close by the BTS Station, is the new, easier-on-the-wallet Courtyard Bangkok (by Marriott). This is a smart stand-alone building with clean lines, and bright splashes of colour from the lobby to rooms. There is a single cafe MOMO on the groundfloor that doubles as breakfast and dinner venue and a mini mart for those 24-hour cravings. Rooms are chic and compact yet spacious enough, with bright bed-runners and flashes of pink and purple. Broadband is piped in at Bt642 per day.
Expect a flat-screen TV with satellite hook-up, multi-pin adaptor sockets, a safe that will manage a small notebook, a glass panel bath-and-bed divider, iron and ironing board, hair-drier, and a range of quality toiletries with cling-wrap soap usefully offering a tear-away strip. The Courtyard is a scaled down business hotel withfriendly staff and handy flourishes like the tuk-tuk transfer to the BTS SkyTrain. Hotel signposting is not the best in this side soi and taxis may be hard to come by at times.
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| Courtyard Bangkok / photo: Verghese |
Just opposite on the same soi is the gleaming highrise of the Grande Centre Point Hotel & Residence, Ratchadamri. This is on a grander scale with larger rooms and more classical ornamentation. There's a swimming pool, fitness centre, spa, sauna, children's room, conference facilities and WiFi.
The Amari Watergate Hotel, is smack in the shopping district of Pratunam across the road from the World Trade Centre. It offers high-speed Internet in the rooms, a Clark Hatch fitness centre with squash and a good Executive Floor. The property is not walking distance of a SkyTrain stop but you can reach the Ratchathewi BTS Station by tuk-tuk or taxi in ten minutes if the traffic is moving. And for geeks, there's the cut-price Pantip Plaza with all manner of computer gadgetry, nearby. The hotel has recently been bumped up to five stars.
Near Victory Monument, the Pullman Bangkok King Power opened in October 2007, an entertaining combine of business amenities, hi-tech and duty-free shopping all tossed into one chic hotel for New Age executives on the go. The King Power group runs a duty-free city outlet next door as well as the concessions at the airport. The 386-room Pullman Bangkok King Power offers a contemporary setting with four classes of room, all at one price, but with differing amenities. Expect interactive TVs, high-speed Broadband, and satellite channels by the yard in compact rooms with glassed bathrooms, as well as detailed meetings facilities.
The Pullman is very much a Bangkok MICE hotel. This, for the uninitiated, stands for “Meetings Incentives Conferences and Exhibitions”. The main ballroom can host over 1,000 people with several techie features to keep you connected. Guests on the Executive Floor get special use of the King Power Executive Lounge at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport. For now, enjoy an intro "hot deal" of Bt2,380 bookable only through the hotel's website. See our Fast Facts at the end of the story.
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| Centara Grand at CentralWorld/ photo: hotel |
The imposing Centara Grand at CentralWorld – a gigantic shopping complex in the heart of Bangkok – has arrived with the Bangkok Convention Centre offering 10,000sq m of meeting space. The Centara Grand & Bangkok Convention Centre at CentralWorld combine creates one of the best Bangkok conference hotel options with top-line facilities and ease of access with walkways to the BTS SkyTrain. The Centara Grand offers 505 rooms, several luxury suites, a fitness centre with sauna, tennis, an open-air pool and of course, easy access to acres of shopping as well as cinemas. (The Centara Grand at CentralWorld features in our exclusive Top Asian Hotels Collection, featuring the best Asian hotels, resorts and spas in a printable A4 page with stunning visuals.)
The new Bangkok boutique LUXX XL with 50 studios and suites, is minimalist in style with teak wood, slate and steel finishes. Floor-to-ceiling windows and private balconies are standard, along with LCD TV, DVD, WiFi, kitchenette and a “fun bathroom” concept, with open partitions. Located on Langsuan road, which connects you to Central Chidlom/BTS Skytrain Chidlom Station on one end and to Lumpini Park/BTS Silom Station at the other.
A newer option near Central World Plaza is the Best Western Mayfair Suites. With only eight floors and 49 rooms, this hotel is a cosy choice, but offers all the amenities needed for business people on the go. Rooms come with high-speed Internet access, flat-screen TVs, dataports, mini-bar, trouser press, plus balconies. There is a restaurant, one bar, a small fitness centre, and a meeting room that holds up to eight people. Breakfast is included in the room rate, and there is a courtesy airport shuttle available.
Other mid-range options in the general area include the Indra Regent (in a particularly traffic-choked part of town), the busy tour-group Asia Hotel, the Arnoma Hotel Bangkok, the 88-storey Baiyoke Sky Hotel, the tallest building in Bangkok and boasting great views, and the Siam City Hotel run by the indefatigable Sukosol singing family.
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| Dusit Thani Superior/ photo: hotel |
The former Sol Twin Towers has been renamed The Twin Towers Hotel Bangkok and is managed by the Spanish Sol Melia group. Its location, unfortunately, is neither here nor there and Siam Square, the nearest distraction, would be a good 20 minutes' walk.
Long and short-term stays are on offer at Anantara Baan Rajprasong. Its 97 serviced apartments are half an hour from the airport and mere footsteps away from the Ratchadamri Skytrain station and a 24-hour supermarket.
Silom and Sathorn Road Area
The junction of
Silom and Rama IV Roads is dominated by the spire of the Dusit Thani Bangkok, the grand dame of the "City of Angels". The flagship of the Thai-owned Dusit International group, the Dusit Thani is all polished marble and hushed interiors with good service and restaurants. The entrance is right next to the Sala Daeng BTS station as well as the underground, and the nightlife and restaurants of Convent Road and the throbbing Silom Road area are in the strolling neighbourhood.
The smartly refurbished hotel features a bright lobby (doing away with the all-pervasive black), luxurious Club Rooms, and an array of new dining and drinking venues including the top-floor French D'Sens restaurant with style and views to match. Need a chic all-glass loo with a view for a who-cares post-Singha unwind? This is the place. For tired executives there's the Devarana Spa. Deluxe Rooms weigh in at 30sq m, all with balconies set against full-length sliding glass doors. You may even get in a view of Lumpini Park.
Decor is classical with silk cushions and lots of beige and gold. A long wooden work desk is accompanied by a leather chair. The good news is in-room Broadband and hotel-wide Wi-Fi is free. Get your password at check-in. Expect a smallish LCD TV (to be upgraded soon), a classic clock, a laptop safe with electric socket, compact toilet with tub and weighing scales.
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| Dusit Thani Club Room |
Opt for the Grand Rooms in the main wing near the lobby. These are spacious and well kitted out and offer access to the club lounge facility. The bathrooms are large this time and the decor is again classical with a living room for entertaining. Find a flatscreen TV as well as a boxy CNN-blaster in the living area. More upscale are the Thai Heritage Suites with rich wooden parquet flooring, a four-seater table for dining, a large flat-screen TV, wood-panel walls and a large "window" looking into the master bath with its free-standing tub and bidet. Expect lots of carved wood and a sense of, well, the country's design heritage. Superior rooms are in a separate wing.
Halfway up Silom heading towards the river, is the Sofitel Silom Bangkok. The 422-room 32-suite Sofitel offers high-speed Internet on Club Floors. Rooms are attractive with parquet flooring and silk bed-runners. The décor is mix of French and Thai. While service is crisp and efficient for business travellers on the go, this downtown Bangkok hotel is well positioned as a leisure option. Silom is of course a major city artery with shopping and offices. Meetings and conferences are well catered for.
And for relaxation, there's the chic 37th-floor V9 Wine Bar & Restaurant, a popular after-hours venue for food, views and convivial atmosphere. Also on offer is sister-property Sofitel Centara Grand Bangkok (formerly Sofitel Central Plaza Bangkok), farther out on the airport highway near Lad Prao (Chatuchak) with good convention facilities and a huge spread of shopping right at its doorstep.
A very pleasant surprise on Silom is the new boutique hotel, Triple Two Silom. This 75-room place is intimate and bright, with funky décor and a garden courtyard area inside. Windows have slim wooden slats that enhance the appeal and the lifts feature large black-and-white photos. The rooms sport bright colours – cobalt blue sofas, crimson cushions – and come with a nice toilet. There's DVD, an inroom safe, and high-speed Internet in all rooms. A pleasant distraction is the splashes of modern art along the corridors which creates a residential, rather than hotel, atmosphere.
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| Glow Trinity Silom suite/ photo: hotel |
Close by is an ageing Silom stalwart, the Narai Hotel. The place has a gleaming lobby, a bit out of place with the general musty atmosphere. The Narai is past its prime but works hard to please at the mid-range level and runs a packed ballroom. Bear in mind that accessing the airport expressway from the central Silom hotels involves negotiating traffic all the way to the head of the road before turning off on Mahesak Road.
A reincarnated budget establishment off Silom Soi 3 (50m from the Chong Nonsi BTS SkyTrain station albeit along a narrow one-way dug-up lane), is the Glow Trinity Hotel Silom. There are 104 rooms on seven floors at this "boutique-style" establishment. Walk into a small and somewhat haphazard lobby with a cluttered oddities shop in the middle but, usefully, a free PC Internet station in one corner. There are two restaurants at this level, Japanese, and the informal Foodie that serves an unusual menu of offbeat Thai along with the usual must-have mouth-on-fire fare. Take a tiny lift up to your floor, exit a bright orange lift lobby and walk down dim grey corridors – Prison Break or modern advertising agency zen, take your pick – to your digs. Room numbers are marked in bold red on the carpet in front of your door so you can't miss the turn off no matter how fortified with Singha you may be. Step into your space and it is here that the hotel starts to really show its class.
Rooms are spacious, with Deluxe Rooms starting at 32sq m with grey textured walls sharply offset by a large comfy white-linen bed. Daliesque wall-leaning giant black picture frames hold up one end of the room where you'll spot a black writing table and a TV. Also find a white chair, a lounging divan with orange cushions and bright white lamps. The contrast is striking and pleasing. A sliding panel will reveal a laptop safe and minibar. The toilet is compact but bright. The addition of a DVD player and iPod dock is a nice touch as is the free WiFi throughout the hotel. There are also two Junior Suites and two Executive Suites (the former perhaps outshining the exec setup). The young and restless or the old and listless can step across to the street to the sister Trinity Complex to enjoy a vast outdoor pool, gym and beauty salon. The Trinity Complex also houses longstay residences. Glow is a useful address for leisure trippers or in-area businessmen travelling light.
Also check out the relatively cosy and stylish Luxx hotel close by the Silom intersection on Decho Road. The place has just 13 rooms and claims to be Bangkok's "best kept secret", a nice marketing line.
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| Stately Sukhothai new Superior /photo: hotel |
At the start of Silom, on Rama IV is The Pan Pacific Bangkok, a quietly confident property. The reception is on the 23rd floor. This is a darkish atrium lobby with water features and exceedingly quiet. High-speed Internet is available on the executive floors only at Bt642 per day, par for the course.
Towards the top of Silom is the evergreen Holiday Inn Silom (formerly Crowne Plaza). The exterior has been painted a bright yellow. You can't miss it. The hotel is a short walk from the Surasak Station on Sathorn Road and is almost instantly accessible from the airport expressway. There is a Crown Tower wing as well as a renovated old wing.
The safe is just about notebook size. Bear in mind the property can be quirky at times – the morning call may not arrive, the safe might jam, and the lobby will be milling with tour groups. While the hardware has upgraded considerably, much ground has been lost in the service and staff department. This is not entirely the hotel's fault. Large group dependent hotels tend to get overwhelmed from time to time and the Holiday Inn Silom is no exception.
Located in Surawongse Road not far from bustling Patpong is small 69-room The Siam Heritage boutique hotel furnished in the old Thai Lanna style. Internet connection is possible at Bt450 per day. There is no WiFi in the room. After hours try the Heritage Spa.
Farther up SIlom Road, the towering Le Bua at State Tower offers huge vistas over the Chao Phraya River and the city with enough room to swing a horse by the tail in its spacious suites that start at 66sq metres. The decor is chic and minimalist and the Silom Road location offers quick access to the tollway and the airport. A BTS station is walking distance from here at Saphan Taksin. Inroom there's DVD, two flat-panel TVs, three-pin international plug sockets, a sitting room and bedroom, a large bright toilet, iron and ironing board, and a well-equipped kitchenette with toaster, microwave, coffee percolator and a "superbar" in a giant fridge. Disconcertingly, balconies tend to look onto one another but corner suites (two and three bedroom) enjoy greater privacy. Check out the alfresco rooftop Mediterranean Sirocco restaurant but hold on tight to the railings.
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| Le Meridien Suite/ photo: hotel |
A good slumming option in the vicinity is the clean but basic Silom Village Inn (part of the popular Silom Village cultural and restaurant complex). There's aircon, TV and a safe. For Internet use the lobby computers. Around the corner on Suriwongse are two old mid-range chuggers &ndash Manohra Hotel and New Trocadero Hotel. Set a little away from the road, the Manohra Hotel is surprisingly clean, tidy and respectable. Reception is brisk and efficient. This is still a popular local haunt. The New Trocadero Hotel sports a great colonial grey-and-white exterior. It is however smack on the road, surrounded by coils of the ubiquitous black Bangkok electric cables, and can get a tad noisy. Inside is Spartan with one sofa in the tiny lobby. Don't expect much by way of service or style but the rooms (ask for a "Small Room") start at just Bt650 – with aircon and TV.
Conveniently across the road from the nightlife hubbub of Patpong, The Montien Hotel Bangkok is always a good option. Service is efficient and rooms can be quite large depending on the wing. Ask for deluxe in the North Wing. This is BIG. There's a safe in the room and high-speed Internet is available. Staff are courteous and welcoming.
A hop and a step from here is the new Le Meridien Bangkok, a modern glass edifice sprouting from the roadside buzz looking over open city views to one side, and the nightlife district of Patpong on the other. Opened December 2008, this 282-room hostelry is uncompromisingly mod, hip and minimalist. There's no clutter, design lines are clean and straight, if stark, and dark corporate wood tones dominate punctuated by playful art and splashes of light. Walk into an open lobby under the nonchalant gaze of eternal rebel James Dean etched on the floor-to-ceiling glass window. Rooms range in size from 36sq m for a Standard to a tad more for a Vista Plus. Suites are generously portioned. Expect touchscreen phones, laptop-size safes, 32-inch flatscreen LCD TVs (42 inches in a suite), audiovisual dataport to hook up a computer or video, a long and somewhat slim work desk with two multi-pin three-hole sockets, electronically controlled blinds and curtains, and iron and compact ironing board.
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| Banyan Grand Club Suite/ photo: hotel |
Toilets feature black marble floors, sliding partitions that open onto the bedroom directly and rain showers plus bathtubs. Stand, sing, soak or plug into WiFi or cabled Broadband at Bt650 per day. The rooms are welcoming and well lit if sparse. The sixth floor hosts an outdoor pool that catches a healthy bit of sun, a 24-hour fitness centre, and a spa. This is a useful and very central address for corporates, shoppers and holiday trippers.
Parallel to Silom, the major artery of Sathorn hosts a clutch of top addresses. The Sukhothai has long been the favourite on this strip, its statues, silk and wood interiors attracting the discerning set. At the Colonnade restaurant get a lick of the incredibly delicious chocolate truffle fudge at justaround Bt500 for a small bag. There's manicured gardens, water pools with amazing statuary, jazz, cool Italian, excellent Thai food at the pond-setting Celadon, ample fitness facilities and a swish pool area. For a definitive, luxurious Thai statement, The Sukhothai is hard to beat. Great service and ambience with a leisurely, unhurried feel. The jewel in the crown here is The Sukhothai Spa with exotic offerings ranging from "detoxifying coffee scrubs" to "chocolate body masks".
Next door is the towering matchstick-slim Banyan Tree Bangkok which offers a spa with a view and the sweeping vista 60th floor Chinese Bai Yun restaurant. Atop the entire edifice is the rooftop eyrie, Vertigo bar and grill. Just don't look down. The hotel has gobbled up a few more floors from the host office block to increase its room inventory from 215 to 327. Rooms have been smarly refurbished with additional categories like the Grand Club and one and two-bedroom Banyan Suites. Turn off Sathorn into an easy-to-miss driveway right after Sukhothai to find the hotel. A small low-ceiling lobby leads on to two banks of quiet elevators whisking guests up to their rooms with a view.
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| Banyan Tree, Vertigo/ photo: hotel |
Club Rooms offer pastel olive carpets with swirling dots (it's not the Singha beer definitely), wall-mounted flatscreen TVs, a long divan, glass-topped work table with two multi-pin sockets, ergonomic chairs and complimentary Broadband (in lower category rooms you'll have to fork out for Internet). In the bath find a free-standing tub on a raised plinth set, if you're lucky, against the window. No one will mind if you stand up and show off though I might save my stringy biceps for myself. Expect twin vanities, a large shower cubicle, and smart amenities. The eco-friendly hotel also serves up a do-it-yourself iron and ironing board.
The Banyan Tree Grand Club rooms offer a living room, a bedroom and a bath area all separated by sliding doors. Expect dark muted colours and pools of light. The 19th floor Club Lounge is truly vast. No cheek-by-jowl breakfast conversations here. On this floor are board rooms, meetings rooms and a business centre along with complimentary Internet access on hotel computers. And topping the scale at over 119sq m is the two-bedroom Grand Banyan Suite with small kitchenette, cream tones, a huge bathroom with Jacuzzi, twin vanities and a six-seater dining table. There is a smaller toilet too for those you wish to banish from the privilege of sharing your toothbrush. This is a smart Bangkok business hotels choice though it is not convivially close to a BTS SkyTrain station and Sathorn traffic can stack up at peak times.
The third, and latest entrant, here is the chic Metropolitan Bangkok that has made waves since its opening. The reconverted YMCA looks nothing like its former backpack self and is now all minimalist colonial cream with crisp rectangular lines, dark wood panelling, sudden splashes of colour and funky bric-a-brac. Rooms are mod but comfortable with laptop-friendly safes. The suites offer free high-speed Internet, split-level accommodation and even a huggable white iMac computer with swivel screen.
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| Ascott Bangkok Sathorn/ photo: hotel |
There is a large, flat-screen Philips TV, a DVD player (in all rooms), a radio alarm clock, a twisty tube for piped light, and a yoga mat. Thoughtful! The business centre is claustrophobically small but funky with the obligatory 17-inch-screen iMacs. Yes, if you need a laptop, the hotel can provide iBooks at a small charge per day (with a deposit). For after-hours there's the Shambala Spa, plenty of organic food, and the trendy black-and-red Met bar with its myriad martinis. Plug-points are square three-pin.
None of these hotels is particularly close to the SkyTrain. On the opposite side of Sathorn is the Evergreen Laurel. This property is often billed as a five-star but tends to offer mid-range prices and service. The ibis Sathorn opened in September 2008 and is located in Soi Ngam Duphli, just off Sathorn Road in downtown Bangkok. It’s the third ibis hotel for the city, and its 213 basic rooms offer small work desks, flatscreen televisions, and separate bathrooms. Wireless (as well as wired) Internet access is available in rooms and public areas for Bt500 per day. There is a restaurant offering Thai-style tapas, as well as one bar. The hotel accepts pets.
At the upper end of Sathorn Road is the Ascott Bangkok, a stately presence with roomy serviced apartments for those in search of a stretch-out Bangkok long stay hotel. There are 177 residences from studio to three-bedroom apartments all with modern kitchens, WiFi and more. Expect a fitness centre, pool, business centre and a playroom for kids. The same group also runs Somersets and affordable Citadines in various locations like Sukhumvit and Suanplu. The Somerset Lake Point offers private Bangkok serviced apartments on Soi 16 Sukhumvit, and the Thonglor property in a residential part of town, will offer access to Sukhumvit. Find Citadines along Sukhumvit in sois 8, 11, 16, and 23. Citadines Bangkok Sukhumvit 8 is a hi-tech retreat with a high-floor pool with open views. A complimentary tuk-tuk ride will get you to the nearest BTS SkyTrain Station at Nana.
Bangkok River Hotels
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| Millennium Hilton Bangkok |
The svelte 32-storey 543-room Millennium Hilton Bangkok just across the river from the Royal Orchid Sheraton is a hip contender. It has to be, parked as it is farthest among the new crowd from the Saphan Taksin BTS SkyTrain station, on the once unfashionable "other" side of the Chao Phraya River. Chug upriver, and 10 minutes on the hotel's tiny boat will bring you to a pretty happening place. Head past the riverfront Flow restaurant straight up a glass lift, enjoying Cinemascope views of the river scene, to the 31st floor Executive Lounge with tightish seating but expansive views, and the informal alfresco "Rooftop Picnic" for a romantic sundowner with chillout music. Walk up one floor to more panoramas, from indoor this time, at the Three Sixty nightclub and jazz lounge.
Deluxe Rooms at the Millennium Hilton Bangkok start at 34sq m with simple lines and muted earth-and-gold tones. The line of sight runs from the bath through a glass partition to the bedroom and on. Hit a button to lower the blinds though the less reticent may enjoy the view. All rooms look onto the river. The bathroom is neat and compact with a separate tub and a shower cubicle. In-room find a laptop-size safe, iron and ironing board, a small round-top dining table that doubles as a somewhat awkward work space, Broadband, a boxy TV and a one-touch "magic" button on the phone for all services. No more fiddling around to find housekeeping. Executive Rooms are similar in size and scheme but with the useful addition of a long work table set behind the bed's headrest and, of course, access to the Executive Lounge. Find a flat-screen TV, large wooden slats covering the bathroom glass partition, a high-back executive leather chair and a Jacuzzi bathtub.
A spa takes care of post-work stress while the health club and its arsenal of equipment helps work up a pretty decent sweat. The 30th floor is a hi-tech meetings area with meeting rooms. Two ballrooms cater for up to 900 guests while gourmets can enjoy speciality restaurants like the contemporary Thai "Maya" with performances by the Patravadi cultural group. This is a modern restaurant serving 13-course meals with a show from 7.30pm to 9.30pm (except Sundays).
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| Shangri-La Deluxe/ photo: hotel |
At the farthest edge of the city beyond a great loop of the Chao Phraya River (yet just 30 minutes from the airport and 15 minutes by ferry to a BTS station) the Bangkok Marriott Resort & Spa is a splendid retreat. The resort is constructed around a riverfront pool set in an extensive garden area. For pinstripers who wish to stay connected, there's high-speed Maginet in all rooms at Bt642 per day for Internet access and the lobby and public areas are wireless enabled. The renovated rooms are airy and bright and feature gleaming parquet flooring and balconies with nice open views. There is a smallish safe (it won't hold a laptop). A nice touch here are the dinner cruises aboard the converted rice barge Manohra.
Right next to the Saphan Taksin BTS station is the twin ensemble of the Shangri-La Bangkok and its luxury Krungthep Wing that remains a popular business traveller preserve. The Krungthep Wing has its own pool and provides butlers for those unskilled in the art of unpacking. Need a bath menu? No problem. The Shangri-La was one of the first properties to truly exploit Bangkok’s riverside location with a tall glass-front lobby, and an extensive perky revamp has introduced fresh shine to the place. The new CHI spa offers river views and plenty of stretch-room and style (the Garden Suite is 107sq m) for the pursuit of holistic wellbeing. For those work inclined, in-room high-speed Internet costs around Bt642 per day. The pool area is attractive with gardens and a rejuvenated river promenade. NEXT2 is the next-gen riverside café at the Shang and it sets the place alight. Modern, chic, and happening, it is one of the new features catapulting this hotel into the new century.
Grab a longtail boat at the jetty and scream off down the river for a sunset cruise. The Krungthep Wing is for all intents a stand-alone hotel with hushed, darker, corporate interiors, deep red pillars in the lobby, and subdued lighting. The atrium lobby rises up fringed by greenery. Suites here have a steam iron and ironing board, DVD and river views. The old Shangri-La wing rooms offer a box TV, Thai-style wall mural, a curving glass wall separating the bed from bathroom, iPod connection, several three-pin plug sockets, and a HUGE safe. Expect an iron and ironing board. The new version of room unveiled in October 2009 and gradually rolling out, represents a sea change – modern and contemporary in dark pastel hues. The murals are gone, replaced by wood textures and fabric. And yes, the widescreen TVs are in. Shangri-La Apartments is a serviced executive-stay offering, a minute's walk from the SkyTrain.
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| Mandarin Oriental/ photo: hotel |
In this area is where you'll find a discreet and historic address, The Mandarin Oriental Hotel Bangkok. This top Bangkok riverside hotel has won more accolades than you can shake a stick at. It offers a charming colonial-style old wing as well as a tower section. If your purse is up to it, splash out at the Joseph Conrad Suite. A succession of writers and assorted movers and shakers have passed through, some honoured with a hideaway named after them.
The corner John Le Carre Suite is accessed, as are all rooms, with a civilised non-beeping brass key, leading into an ornately classical living room featuring a glass cabinet with gleaming room-use chinaware and an innocuous but twinkling letter to the general manager from no less a personage than Le Carre who found himself a guest here in the mid-seventies while researching The Honourable Schoolboy. Through happenstance he found himself occupying the Somerset Maugham Suite and later at the bar, in the company of a friend, proceeded to entertain himself, aided by generous pourings of champagne, at the expense of an unfortunate British correspondent from a "lofty London newspaper". That correspondent turned vengeful book critic as Le Carre ruefully found out later. "How sobering to reflect that the Oriental can dispense correction to the overbearing as well as champagne to the thirsty," a chastened Le Carre concludes.
Despite the burden of heritage, with rooms spread out in three wings, Main (1976), Garden (1946) and the historic Author's enclave (1876), the hotel manages to maintain an intimate unsnobbish feel, equally welcoming of celebrities, pin-striped businessmen, and swooning couples. The lobby remains classical and quirky, dominated by large hanging wooden bells, practically unchanged in decades though upholstery gets a redo every once in a while. Suites serve up large living rooms with spacious sofas, silk bathrobes, Hermes products in gleaming loos, and cosy corner balconies to peruse the quotidian bustle along the snaking river.
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| Royal Orchid Sheraton Sweet Sleeper Bed |
There are butler buttons in all rooms just in case you cannot pop open your latest designer LV suitcase and all rooms feature splendid idiot-proof metal aviator switches to operate lights and more. No irksome hi-tech wizardry here to keep you up into the wee hours trying to turn on the "do-not-disturb" light. No iron and ironing boards. That's so do-it-yourself plebian. And should you wish to light up, you can.
Superior and Deluxe Rooms offer similar if less lavish silken luxury with gold and beige colour tones, extraordinarily plump beds, classic round-dial clocks and deep-seating chairs meant to be actually sat in – large book in hand – rather than perched upon. Expect a DVD player and B&O sound system, multi-pin plugs at the work table, a huge vertical safe that will house a circus midget, twin vanities and a lavish marbled bath area with tub.
The Oriental Spa (across the river in an old Thai-style house) will handle any lingering post-conference stress while F&B options include Le Normandie, an old-world French Restaurant, the Sala Rim Nam (Thai) in a traditional pavilion across the river, Lord Jim's for seafood, the old-world Author's Lounge for daintily-sipped English afternoon tea and a riverfront cafe. If you must stay plugged, high-speed Internet costs Bt642 per day. That scent by the way, is lemongrass ginger.
The Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel & Towers is another stalwart, excellently located for shopping. This robust and long-enduring property has a smart Executive Lounge with services to match, two outdoor pools and some quality restaurants including the popular Giorgio's for Italian. Need quick tailoring? Antiques? It's all there, close at hand. Rooms have been upgraded with pastel silks - and the obligatory panoramic river views. Suites feature giant safes which will hold a small bag, a notebook computer and the kitchen sink. A safe this size is a delightful exception in this age of nouvelle and micro.
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| Peninsula Deluxe / photo: hotel |
Last but not least, across the river, opposite The Oriental, is the stately highrise of The Peninsula Bangkok. The hotel features dark wood panelling and muted tones. Rooms have spectacular river views and some are equipped with brass telescopes enabling a closer peek at The Oriental and its occupants. High-speed Internet is available. Check-in can be conducted at The Peninsula Pier (close to The Oriental) before a ferry chugs you across the river. Poolside is stylish with plenty of green areas. After hours, head for celebrity nosh at Jesters and watch the lights come on in the City of Angels. This is a hotel with a celebrity cachet where things are understated yet opulent.
Spend time at their spectacular spa set in an old teak house imported from the north. While The Peninsula Bangkok is a hedonist's dream and attracts a fair share of leisure trippers clutching Dior and Gucci, it is also an excellent Bangkok business hotel especially if you ensure your clients come to you on, well, the "other" side of the river.
Across the Chao Phraya River in not-too-far Nonthaburi is the garden-setting Ban Ing Nam Health Resort and Spa with a small selection of bungalows and herbal rooms. Expect a balcony, ceiling fans (there’s aircon too), satellite TV and DVD. On the fitness side choose from a broad menu of wellness, relaxation, fitness, diabetes reduction and cholesterol management. Also available are yoga, kayaking, fishing and walks.
Other areas
At 479 Yaowaraj in Chinatown you'll stumble upon the charming Shanghai Inn run by the trendy Burasari group. This is a bright Susie-Wong-Goes-To-Paris sort of place in an original period building with lots of flair and colour. The inn is a 15 minute walk from Hua Lampong train station. Shanghai Inn offers 55 delightful "Chinoise" rooms, all with aircon, free Wireless Internet, mini-bar and cable TV. This is a four-star Bangkok boutique hotel that is definitely worth a look if a Silom-Sukhumvit location is not a prime concern.
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| Bright Shanghai Inn room |
Off Phaholyothin Road and near a BTS SkyTrain station is the re-established "art hotel" Reflections where no two rooms look the same. Opt for nutty rabbit kiddy decor, trendy grafitti, or something contemporary. Or opt for the LOVE room. Various designers have worked on the interiors of each room and the hotel website offers a quaint "walk-in" concept with each clickable door image leading into that particular room with details about the designer and concept. A fun place and with a quirky and colourful spa to boot. With the departure of the international airport to Suvarnabhumi, the Amari Don Muang Airport Hotel is rebranding (and rebuilding) itself as a conference and meetings venue far enough out of the city for that getaway feel, yet close enough to access with ease. And that's the long and short of Bangkok hotles.
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