Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok

Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok stands on Oriental Avenue beside the Chao Phraya River, in the old European trading quarter of Bang Rak. It opened as The Oriental in 1876 and is the oldest hotel in Thailand. For a century and a half it has been the hotel where writers, diplomats and heads of state stayed when they came to Siam and then to Thailand, and the river is still the point of it: guests arrive by the hotel's boats, dine on terraces at the water's edge and cross to the far bank for the spa.

History

A lodging house for sailors called The Oriental existed on the site in the early 1870s. The hotel proper opened in 1876, and in 1881 it passed to a Danish sea captain, Hans Niels Andersen, who later founded the East Asiatic Company. He built the Italianate building that opened in 1887 and is now the Authors' Wing, with its white verandas and lounge. Joseph Conrad stayed in 1888 while waiting to take command of a ship. Somerset Maugham recovered from malaria there in 1923 and wrote about the hotel afterwards. Noel Coward, James Michener, Graham Greene and John le Carre followed, and the hotel named suites after them.

After the Second World War the hotel was revived by a group that included the photographer Germaine Krull. The Garden Wing opened in 1958 and the River Wing, the main tower, in 1976. Mandarin Oriental took a stake in 1974 and the hotel traded as The Oriental until 2008, when it took the group's full name. A long programme of renovation closed and reopened the River Wing in stages between 2016 and 2019.

Architecture and design

The hotel is three buildings around a riverside garden. The Authors' Wing of 1887 is the heart, a two-storey colonial building with a glass-roofed lounge where afternoon tea is served among palms and wicker. The Garden Wing is low and shaded. The River Wing is a modern tower whose rooms face the water. Teak, Thai silk and celadon run through the interiors, and the lobby has long been known for its flowers, with orchids arranged daily.

Rooms and suites

The hotel has 331 rooms and suites after the renovation completed in 2019. Rooms in the River Wing face the Chao Phraya; the suites in the Authors' Wing carry the names of the writers who stayed, among them the Somerset Maugham Suite and the Joseph Conrad Suite. Every guest is assigned a butler, a practice the hotel has kept for decades.

Dining

Le Normandie, the French restaurant, opened in 1958 on the top floor of the Garden Wing and has held Michelin stars since the guide arrived in Bangkok. The Bamboo Bar, opened in 1953, is one of the oldest jazz bars in Asia. Lord Jim's serves seafood with the river in view, Ciao is the Italian restaurant in the garden and The Verandah serves breakfast on the terrace. The Riverside Terrace sets tables along the water in the dry season. Across the river, reached by the hotel's boat, Sala Rim Naam serves Thai cuisine with classical dance in the evening, and The Oriental Thai Cooking School has taught guests since 1986.

Wellness

The Oriental Spa occupies a teak house on the opposite bank, reached by the hotel's shuttle boat, and was one of the first hotel spas in Asia when it opened in the early 1990s. Treatments follow Thai traditions. The hotel's two swimming pools sit in the garden by the river, and a fitness centre and tennis courts are across the water with the spa.

Weddings and events

The hotel hosts weddings in the garden, on the Riverside Terrace and in its ballroom, and it is a regular choice for Thai society weddings, state dinners and corporate galas. Function rooms serve conferences and board meetings, and the river itself is used for receptions on the hotel's boats. The Authors' Lounge can be taken for small ceremonies.

Location

The hotel is in Bang Rak, the former European quarter, beside the old East Asiatic Company building and the Assumption Cathedral. Saphan Taksin station on the BTS Skytrain is a short walk or a two-minute ride on the hotel's boat, and the public river express boats stop at the same pier. Allow about 45 minutes by car from Suvarnabhumi Airport. Wat Pho, the Grand Palace and Wat Arun are reached by river in under half an hour. As a luxury hotel in Bangkok with its own place in the city's history, it has no equivalent.