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| David Rubin with the doorman at Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok, which offers multi-room suites with plenty of space. |
We like to slow our clients down. When flying into Bangkok, we suggest taking several nights to get over jet lag, explore the major sites and discover the real city, including the food, art, design, history, religion, architecture, music, nightlife, shopping and spas.
Bangkok has many luxury hotel choices. I visited and stayed at several.
The hotel I am most excited about is the strikingly stunning small boutique property called The Siam. Every inch is beautifully curated with a “Deco-Franco-Asian” décor that transports guests to a palatial residence from the first half of the 1900s. The hotel is on the Chao Phraya River about 20 minutes by boat from Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok. When at The Siam, navigating around Bangkok is often best done by river with the hotel’s scheduled complimentary service offered several times a day. Several historical sites are also within walking distance or a short taxi ride from the hotel. The Siam has an Aman vibe and an amazing GM, Jason Friedman. Jason and his team love assisting travel advisors in designing great itineraries, and many will be commissionable.
With more central locations, you just can’t go wrong with the Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok and The Peninsula Bangkok. Also, both hotels offer spacious multi-room suite options that The Siam does not have. Both the Mandarin and The Peninsula are great, traditional, luxurious and locally popular hotels with impeccable service. At the Mandarin, I found the best butler service I have ever had. Situated on the Chao Phraya River, the Mandarin and The Peninsula are just across from one another. There is a huge construction project that is going up next to The Peninsula so ask about this when booking both hotels.
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| Rubin in room at The Siam. The hotel provides guests with complimentary river transportation. |
For clients who like being in the center of much of the gay scene, including the most popular gay dance club in Asia (DJ Station on Silom Road) and lots of gay and straight strip clubs/go-go bars, the perfect choice is Le Meridien Bangkok in Patpong. Le Meridien is very comfortable, modern and sleek.
Near to Patpong, with cutting-edge design by Christian Lacroix and local designers is the new, hot and sexy Sofitel SO Bangkok. The SO’s 10th-floor infinity pool and deck area extend the entire length of the hotel and are SO cool! The hotel design and energy is playful, contemporary and crisp with organic materials. Rooms have four different categories of design defined by natural elements so it is wise to choose the style that best suits your clients: Water, Earth, Wood or Metal. My favorite is the Water Element room where your bath tub has a great city view.
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| Water Lily at The Siam, which is decorated in a “Deco-Franco-Asian” fashion. |
For a fantastic, central location, clients will also love the new St. Regis Bangkok, with a tone-on-tone monochromatic palate and top quality transitional modern design. I like the layering of acanthus leaf-inspired design repeated subtly throughout the property on carpets, wall paper and lamp shades. The St. Regis has a classic, uncluttered, spa-like feel creating an elegant and tranquil oasis.
When clients are just in transit through Bangkok airport and need a room, one of my favorite airport hotels in the world is the Novotel Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport. It is a very nice hotel with helpful service, good restaurants, a lovely pool area and very reasonable rates. You can walk to the hotel in air-conditioned comfort or take a free shuttle.