Bangkok Travel Guide

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A Chinese New Year Resolution: Fly in a Hotel Helicopter

Where: Bangkok, Thailand
January 23, 2012 at 4:00 PM | by | Comment (1)

Happy Chinese New Year! As we turn from the tame Year of the Rabbit to the aggressive Year of the Dragon, we've got Asian hotels on the mind. To be more specific, Peninsula Hotels and their badass heliports. If you're in the habit of making resolutions for the New Year—which one—then "setting off from a Peninsula heliport" needs to be one of them.

To get you in the mood to drop some dough on a flight worthy of James Bond, we've now got three exclusive looks inside different Peninsula helilounges:

· China Clipper Helilounge at The Peninsula Hong Kong

· The Seven Seas Pacific Aviation Helilounge at The Peninsula Tokyo

· Paribatra Helilounge at The Peninsula Bangkok

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Inside the Newest Anantara Hotel: The Anantara Riverside Bangkok

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 257/1-3 Charoennakorn Road, Thonburi, Bangkok, Thailand, 10600
December 19, 2011 at 10:31 AM | by | Comments (0)


The hotel's Longtail Bar on its private dock

While Thailand was flooding these past few months, a hotel right on the river in Bangkok was busy renovating and changing brands. Luckily the new Anantara Riverside (formerly the Marriott Riverside) wasn't effected by the high waters and now that the country is drying off, they're ready to welcome the return glut of travelers.

Until the end of April 2012, they're offering rooms from 3,888 THB ($125 USD) per night; it's the Journey Begins package, which includes a room upgrade, breakfast, internet and discounts on the spa and further dining.

During a recent trip to Thailand at the very start of the flooding, we spent two nights at the Anantara Riverside and found that wasn't near sufficient to both explore Bangkok and enjoy the hotel's amenities. This is a place for a long weekend, a return visitor to Bangkok, or really anything more than a quickie of two days.

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As Bangkok Dries Off, a Hotel Renovates and Relaunches

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 257/1-3 Charoennakorn Road, Thonburi, Bangkok, Thailand, 10600
December 15, 2011 at 4:54 PM | by | Comments (0)

Check out that pool. Would you believe that it's just outside the very middle of the bustling metropolis that is Bangkok, Thailand? Now that the city is drying off after catastrophic flooding, it's time to head back and luckily there's a new hotel to make things interesting.

Well, actually it's an old hotel. But it's a new hotel too! You see, the Marriott Riverside Bangkok has been renovated, revamped and relaunched as the Anantara Riverside.

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Who Is The Magic Doorman?

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 155 RAJADAMRI ROAD , BANGKOK, Thailand, 10330
November 3, 2011 at 11:15 AM | by | Comments (0)

If our recent coverage of the Bangkok hotel scene hadn't already whetted your appetite to visit the Land of Smiles yourself (perhaps you could time your trip to the opening of the future W Bangkok?), then maybe this will get your travel wheels spinning. To the Four Seasons, that is.

Four Seasons Bangkok has a special trick up their sleeve, in the form of what they call the "Magic Doorman". Narongsak Khamkaew is a Bangkok-born doorman at the hotel who just so happens to be an amateur magician. Or is he an amateur magician who also happens to work at a hotel? We can't really be sure.

Either way, he bought a David Copperfield DVD on day on a whim, and now dazzles young guests with his "lightning-quick hand movements." His favorite trick? The flying card.

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Forget a Mint on the Pillow; Peninsula Hotels Has Their Own 'Signature' Macaron

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: Bangkok, Thailand
October 31, 2011 at 5:24 PM | by | Comments (0)

Sometimes, if you're lucky, your hotel may have its own packaged cookies or chocolates to sell, or even honey, but if you're at a luxury hotel in Asia, it's a whole other ballgame indeed.

Take for instance Peninsula Hotels. It's a standard for Peninsulas (around the world) to have gift shops complete with their own private label items—from detailed tins of tea to a variety of wines. Even better are the fresh pastries and handmade sweets, like the "Peninsula Signature Macaron" we encountered (and then devoured) at The Peninsula Bangkok.

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The World's Second Sofitel SO is Getting So Close in Bangkok

Where: Bangkok, Thailand
October 27, 2011 at 4:10 PM | by | Comments (0)

Every day this month has brought worse and worse news regarding the flooding of the Chao Phraya River around Bangkok. They're not out of danger yet, and we're lucky to have just returned from Thailand at the very start of the serious flooding much further out.

When this rainy season has passed and clean up is complete, focus will again turn to the progress of the massive metropolis of Bangkok. We've already discussed the nearly complete W Bangkok, due to open in 2012, but what about the other major property not very far down the street—the Sofitel SO Bangkok?

Joining the W in a 2012 debut, the Sofitel SO Bangkok sits on the edge of Lumphini Park (green space!), and will boast a rooftop bar, something that's always popular in steamy Bangkok. This is no business-strict hotel like some Sofitels, either. The new SO brand is like the fashionable sister of the regular Sofitel, with far more design consciousness and modern tech features. The architect of the 30 stories is Thai, the interior designer of the 238 rooms is the French couture fashion designer Christian Lacroix, and each room will have a theme based on one of the five elements (water, earth, wood, metal and fire).

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Inside the Affordable Boutique Hotel That is The Luxx Bangkok

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 6/11 Decho Road, Bangkok, Thailand, 10500
October 7, 2011 at 4:05 PM | by | Comments (0)

Thirteen rooms tucked away on a regular street in the busy center of Bangkok, and yet they're affordable and design-conscious with free breakfast and free WiFi. Can it be?! Yes, it's the Luxx Hotel, a tiny wonder we discovered while simply browsing the Mr. and Mrs. Smith Collection offerings in Bangkok and a tiny wonder at which we'd happily stay again.

The Luxx is what the the Smith Hotels site calls a "budget boutique" and we agree; we booked like normal online and only paid 2500 THB ($80) per night for the Studio-level room, one step down from a suite, but we were upgraded to a suite at check-in because of availability. Score!

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This is Not Your Average Hotel Bathtub

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 6/11 Decho Road, Bangkok, Thailand, 10500
October 6, 2011 at 5:05 PM | by | Comments (0)

So you're staying in a "design hotel" and you've been upgraded to a suite. You walk into the bathroom expecting a large, luxurious white soaking tub and you come face to face with...this.

This is a traditional wooden tub, found in each of the bathrooms at the 13-room boutique Luxx Hotel in the center of Bangkok.

You've got a couple options with this sort of tub. You can take a regular stand-up shower, a sit-down bath, or fill the thing up with hot water, letting the water spill over the edges onto the floor as you lower yourself in for a good soak. The floor of the bathtub is set with something of an infinity drain, so it's all good. Now if only the vintage aspect of this tub could be paired with the modern comforts like a bathroom TV...and we'd be all set.

[Photo: HotelChatter]

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Around the Penthouse Suites and More of The Metropolitan Bangkok

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: South Sathorn Road, Bangkok, Thailand, 10120
October 5, 2011 at 4:24 PM | by | Comments (0)

It's hot in Bangkok, and often unbearably humid. The Metropolitan Bangkok knows this, which is why there are refresher towels waiting just inside the entrance to the lobby. Which is why there's an expansive indoor fitness facility complete with his and hers spa hottubs. Which is why there's a resort-quality outdoor swimming pool. Bangkok's urban tropical environment mean that guests at The Metropolitan are here for a multitude of reasons, from business to a getaway.

We were there as your usual tourists to Thailand, taking in every bit of the place and we've already shown you our Metropolitan room, but we also managed a peek into the Penthouse and COMO Suites while we were at it.

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Inside a Metropolitan Room at The Metropolitan Bangkok

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: South Sathorn Road, Bangkok, Thailand, 10120
October 4, 2011 at 7:04 PM | by | Comments (0)

So everyone who's everyone knows The Metropolitan London and its modern interiors, members-only Met Bar and prime location, but do you know it's got a sister site in The Metropolitan Bangkok? It's true; there's a sleek white hotel sitting a little off bustling Sathorn Road that also lights the logo of The Metropolitan, and it's just as cool, just as comfortable with two huge differences.

Big difference number one: this Metropolitan is a world away from London in Bangkok, and you'll know it through Thai elements in the rooms and an award-winning Thai restaurant, called nahm, which serves things like durian ice cream.

Big difference number two: the room rates are very affordable, but of course this is because we're talking Bangkok versus London here. We stayed for two nights via the Tablet Hotels private sale for $91 per night.

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Inside the Anantara Bangkok Sathorn

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 36 Narathiwat-Ratchanakarin Road, Bangkok, Thailand, 10120
October 3, 2011 at 4:25 PM | by | Comments (0)

If there is one easy way to get someone—ah hem, a hotel geek, ideally—to think about a trip to Bangkok, Thailand, it's by listing some of the room rates for the city's four- and five-star hotels. They are low three digits, or, in some nice cases, even two digits, like at the Anantara Bangkok Sathorn where a deluxe regularly goes for $98 per night, and you have a small apartment with two balconies overlooking the city.

This is not your typical Anantara; it's business-focused, and situated just off the pulsating vein (and sometimes clogged artery, if it's rush hour) that is Sathorn Road. We were only at this hotel for a sleep-and-dash, so although we can't say anything about the pool (which it has) and restaurants (which it has), we can say that the deluxe room layout is generous, with separate living, dining and sleeping areas plus a commodious restroom.

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Things You Just Can't Get from Room Service: Durian Ice Cream

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 27 South Sathorn Road, Bangkok, Thailand, 10120
September 30, 2011 at 4:05 PM | by | Comments (0)

So you're going to Southeast Asia. So you're going to experience the putrid, spiky, fruit that comes with a reputation: Durian. Whether it's your first or your thirty-first brush with the fruit that smells so bad it's banned on subways on airplanes, there's always a new way to enjoy it. We think we found the best—as Durian ice cream!

At nahm at the Metropolitan Hotel Bangkok, this is totally an option (but of course, so is the classic mango sticky rice). Deny the temptation of the sticky rice! You're at the Bangkok branch of London's famous Michelin 3-starred nahm by Chef David Thompson, so you're already living a little dangerously.

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