If you thought the rate of lifestyle hotspot openings in Singapore has
reached fever pitch, then in Bangkok, it's practically an epidemic.
Sparkling new restaurants, brandname retailers and luxury hotels are
sprouting up almost daily in the Thai capital - a phenomenon which has heated
up in the past six months.
Among them are highly esteemed international brands such as contemporary
Japanese restaurant Zuma; Japanese hotel group Okura, which opened Okura
Prestige, the first of its ultra-luxury brand last Monday; French hotel group
Accor, which owns the Sofitel and Sofitel So chains; and American hospitality
group Starwood, which is behind the St Regis Bangkok and the upcoming W
Bangkok.
In 2010, David Thompson who runs celebrated Thai restaurant Nahm in London's
The Halkin Hotel opened its first Bangkok outpost, which just last month helped
clinch Thailand's first entry in the latest World's 50 Best Restaurants List.
But Bangkok's makeover from a smoggy and traffic-clogged city to one of
Asia's buzziest cities at the moment has not been entirely glitch-free. Late
last year, just as it slowly shrugged off years of political instability, it
was hit by the country's worst floods in half a century. The Tourism Authority
of Thailand (TAT) estimated that at least 96,000 international visitors
cancelled their travel plans as a result.
"For the past few years the political turmoil made doing long-term business
here challenging, but now the situation is very stable so more people are
willing to invest again. Also, more Thai citizens are travelling and bringing
back developments that they see and like in places like America, Europe, and
even Hong Kong and Singapore," observes local restaurateur Sasithari Choopawa.
"With the success of places like Zuma and Nahm, it's only the beginning of
many more to come."
Besides targeting the burgeoning middle class in Thailand, the monied Thai
elite and the expatriate population, restaurateurs and hoteliers say that
Thailand's proximity to China and India - and their increasingly mobile
citizens - is a major pull factor.
>> Read the full story here.
[Pictured here: Chocolab at Sofitel So Bangkok hotel.]
1. BANGKOK: Sofitel Sukhumvit
It may sit right on hectic Sukhumvit Road, but once inside, you hardly
notice the hustle and bustle of the city at all. The four-month-old Sofitel
Sukhumvit is the epitome of classic French luxury. Everything in the 345-room
5-star hotel is refined with understated elegance, and reminds you constantly
that Sofitel is very much a French brand. [Pictured here: The interior of the
Luxury Club Millesime room.]
1. BANGKOK: Sofitel Sukhumvit
Rooms are stocked with L'Occitane toiletries or Hermes in the higher grade
Luxury Club Millesime rooms.
2. BANGKOK: Sofitel So
An amalgam of French luxury, Thai hospitality and the sheen of a New York
cool (looking out from the hotel's snazzy ninth floor lobby, you might even
mistake adjacent Lumpini Park for New York's Central Park) the boutique arm of
Sofitel, the five-star luxury brand of French hotel group Accor is barely a
year old, but it's already playing in the big boys' league. [Pictured here: The
interior of a metal-themed room.]
2. BANGKOK: Sofitel So
The brand's second outpost in Bangkok, soft opened just last month, counts
Christian Lacroix as a principal designer, along with award-winning architects
Smith Obayawat and five of the city's top interior designers. The hotel is
designed around a central theme of Five Elements, namely water, earth, wood,
metal and fire. If Sofitel So Bangkok is any indication of the Sofitel So that
is expected to open in the former Ogilvy Centre in Raffles Place early next
year, we've got our eyes peeled. [Pictured here: The Water Club.]
3. BANGKOK: Aloft
Aloft is the sister brand to the ultra trend W Hotel chain (one of which
will be opening in Singapore's Sentosa Cove this August), and shares the same
DNA in terms of design aesthetics and contemporary attitude. Aloft's tech-savvy
slant is apparent from check-in: each guest will be given a Samsung Galaxy
smartphone that acts as a room key and room controls, as well as offer cheap
overseas phone rates and Internet access.
4. BANGKOK: W Hotel
"There are already many beautiful hotels around Bangkok in the traditional
Thai style but a lot of Asian travellers are looking for something modern. The
younger generation of Thais are exposed to new lifestyles; and the W brand,
with its focus on music, design and fashion, caters to this," says Christian
Humbert, hotel manager of the 407-room W Bangkok, which will open on Dec 1 at
the site of the former Russian embassy on Sathorn Road. [Pictured here:
Artist’s impression of the upcoming W Bangkok under the Starwood group.]
5. BANGKOK: St. Regis
The interior of the Caroline Astor Suite.
5. BANGKOK: St. Regis
The interior of the Viu Restaurant.
6. CHIANG MAI: At Niman Conceptual HomeAt Niman Conceptual Home in
Chiang Mai features a unique Himalayan inspired décor throughout, with a
blend of exotic oriental style, plus a touch of Lanna, amidst a collection of
tropical plants, creating a peaceful and relaxed ambiance throughout the hotel.
