If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (inclusive of taxes and fees) available in the next 60 days.
Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (THB9,651.40), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.
Style
Bangkok meets Park Avenue
Setting
Uptown embassy enclave
Explore
Flanked by whisper-quiet embassies and serene parklands, Oriental Residence boutique hotel in Bangkok is a soul-soothing retreat in the heart of the city. The sleek, skyscraper setting may say business, but the chic apartment-style suites, pair of great restaurants and a fourth-floor swimming pool scream luxury living.
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One signature cocktail per person
145, including 104 suites.
Noon; check-in, 3pm. Both are flexible, subject to availability, for a fee.
Breakfast is extra, starting at THB220.
Sporty types can bust a move in the garden-view gym – the hotel can even arrange personal training sessions if you want to push it.
Two restaurants, DVD library, free WiFi throughout, laundry, valet parking. In rooms: kitchenette, LED TV, minibar.
The white-on-white colour scheme, cool marble and hardwood floors create a soothing palette in each of these apartment-style abodes. We fell for the skyline and park vistas from the Corner Suites, but could easily be swayed by the balcony of the City View Suites.
Gazing out over gardens and the city skyline from the fourth-floor Play Deck, the cabana-flanked swimming pool is partially shaded for protected splashing.
A clean credit card so you can do some damage in Bangkok's designer boutiques, oversized sunglasses to tone down the ultra-bright interiors, and cocktail wear for after-dark drinks.
Pets are not permitted. Smoking is only permitted on the balconies of One-bedroom City View Suites.
Families welcome. An extra bed can be added to all rooms except the three bedroom suite (free for under-9s and THB425 plus tax per night for children aged 9 to 11, subject to availability). Under-eights dine free and kids aged 9 to 11 eat for half price.
Families are catered for, thanks to a kids' pool, games room and handy kitchen facilities in all of the suites.
Suites come with kitchens and laundry facilities: the two- and three-bedroom versions will provide ample room for your brood.
A well-stocked play room will provide hours of fun for Junior Smiths. The hotel's DVD library is also handy for rainy-day distractions.
There’s a covered kids’ pool adjoining the adults-only outdoor stunner.
Kids are welcome in Café Claire at all times, and the children’s menu offers gourmet comfort foods such as burgers, ham and cheese toatsies, hot dogs, buttermilk fried chicken, Nutella pizzas and waffle towers. High chairs are on offer, and staff will happily heat up baby food. Kids aged eight and under eat for free (one main course and dessert for each meal, some restrictions apply) and kids aged from nine to 11 eat for half price.
At Mandopop, cosy up in an intimate private room, or perch yourself at the bar to watch the dim sum chefs at work.
Smart threads to fit in with the suited-and-booted embassy crowd.
Light-filled Café Claire courts diners for breakfast, lunch and dinner with a menu of gourmet comfort food. Slip into a black leather booth for braised wagyu beef cheek, buttermilk fried chicken or a classic hot dog. At Mandopop, mod-Chinese is on offer for lunch and dinner. Signature tastes include pan-seared foie gras with crisp duck skin, and garoupa in a fragrant chilli sauce.
Overlooking the dim sum kitchen, the dramatic bar at Mandopop is the perfect spot to sip champagne, Australian wines and creative cocktails. At Café Claire, draught beers and imported wines are the order of the day.
Café Claire serves dinner until 10.30pm; nosh at Mandopop until midnight.
Sitting pretty in the heart of Bangkok's leafy embassy and business district, Oriental Residence is an easy stroll to both Lumpini Park and Sukhumvit Road.
Bangkok’s international and domestic hub is Suvarnabhumi Airport, 30 kilometres from Oriental Residence. Metered taxis will take you into town for about THB400 including airport surcharge and road tolls. The hotel can organise transfers to and from the airport; they start at THB3,500 per car, each way, contact the hotel for more details.
Bangkok’s overground BTS Skytrain is a cheap and efficient way of getting around the city. Choose between Ploenchit and Chit Lom stations, both just a 10-minute walk from the hotel. Chit Lom is just a stop away from the main interchange Siam, which provides access to the rest of the network.
Bangkok’s erratic traffic can be overwhelming for the uninitiated. If you're brave enough to tackle Bangkok's busy roads, there's valet parking at the hotel.
Bangkok’s express boat taxi service is a cheap, efficient and excellent way of avoiding traffic. Our tip: skip the dedicated tourist boats and hop on the public express boat to see more of the city and its people.
Early birds should stroll down to Lumpini Park just as the sun's rising. In this lush, leafy retreat, you'll be greeted by locals practicing yoga and t'ai chi, joggers running rings around the perimeter, graceful ballroom dancers and aerobics displays en masse. Style seekers are also in for a treat, as you're an easy walk from Bangkok's bustling shopping hub. Siam Paragon, Siam Center, Gaysorn Plaza and MBK are ready and waiting for your custom. For a culture hit, explore elegant Erawan Shrine, the Grand Palace and a raft of other riverside temples, all just a short ride away on the BTS Skytrain.
Boozy weekend brunches, pub classics and American diner faves are the calling cards of Hyde and Seek Gastro Bar. The playful menu might include baby back ribs with a chilli-chocolate glaze, bangers and mash, or a whole roast chook to share. A homely white wooden house on Lang Suan, Khrua Nai Baan has the intimate feel of a nightly dinner party. Choose flapping-fresh seafood from the tanks out front, then have it cooked any which way you like.Steak cravings are best sated at Neil’s Tavern Restaurant on Soi Ruamrudee, off Wireless Road. Manly meats of every persuasion include US T-bones, filet mignons and pork loins, all backed by trad sides such as green peas or spinach with cheese.
Adjoining Neil's Tavern Restaurant on Soi Ruamrudee, off Wireless Road, is Neil's Bake Shoppe, a must for towering American-style sweets, including slices of cherry or Oreo cheesecake, fresh-baked cookies and buttery pastries.
You have to love a friend who remembers everything. Barely have I dumped my bags and mixed us minibar cocktails than she’s plugged in her iPod and is playing One Night in Bangkok (downloaded especially for our trip). I’m based in Melbourne and Ms Smith, my bestie, lives in London. It’s been a year since we last saw each other and the exhaustion from our mutual longhaul flights has been overcome by excitement. We’re on our way to the blissful southern beaches of Thailand to celebrate her fortieth birthday. But before we get a much-needed dose of sun, sea and sand, we’re spending a couple of nights living it up in Bangkok – on the eighth floor of Oriental Residence to be exact.
Squeals and hugs complete, we explore our designer den. The elegant apartment-style City View Suite has a bedroom adjacent to a spacious sitting area with large sofa, a desk with an array of international sockets (how thoughtful), a dining table and chairs set for two, and a kitchenette with marble bench-tops, hot plate and cookware. ‘Won’t be needing those,’ I think to myself smugly.
The rapidly-raided minibar, on the other hand, already inspires my complete devotion. It’s full of tasty Thai snacks, delicious TWG tea and a fridge generously stocked with organic soft drinks. There’s even Riedel glassware. With our Belvedere vodkas topped with fresh tropical juice we make all manner of ridiculous toasts on our balcony, soaking up twinkling Bangkok below us.
Damn jetlag! After a blissful night’s sleep I’m wide awake at 7am and sneak off to the sitting room. By day the view is surprisingly green – the hotel is close to Lumpini Park and overlooks the verdant grounds of the surrounding embassies. In the midst of the chaos of Bangkok, it’s surprisingly peaceful.
Emerging from her slumber, Ms Smith joins me for coffee and we spread out a map. The plan? Hit Bangkok’s famous weekend market, Chatuchak, then go for a celebratory birthday dinner. Ms Smith has read all the rave reviews and booked us a table at respected Thai restaurant Bo.lan before leaving London – she truly is the best gastronomic touring companion a girl could have.
To fuel up for the day we head downstairs to Café Claire. With its leafy outlook, marble floors, brasserie-style chairs and tables dressed with starched white cloths, it reminds us of Paris, where we spent another of Ms Smith’s birthdays. Fluffy stacks of coconut pancakes, piles of rambutans, mangosteens and lychees, and young coconuts full of juice, however, remind us we’re in the tropics. As we’re strolling through reception, one of the smiling staff members asks what we’ve got planned for the day, then proceeds to explain how to get to the market on the monorail to avoid the weekend traffic chaos.
Chatuchak is every bit as fascinating as I remember, and we easily pass the afternoon wandering through the myriad vibrant stalls and sampling authentic – read: seriously spicy – Thai food. We finish with cocktails at a tiny, cool bar – not much more than a stall – complete with a DJ spinning house tunes.
Our perfect Bangkok day comes to a somewhat soggy conclusion, and not due to one of the typical monsoonal downpours. On the way back, we’ve only got a short walk from the Skytrain to the hotel but a truck roars through a puddle, completely drenching us in a wave of muddy water. Much hysterical laughter ensues as we compose ourselves before walking through the foyer looking far less glamorous than our surrounds, much to the amusement of the staff.
Before dinner we poke our heads into the Oriental Residence’s Chinese restaurant, Mandopop. With its soaring ceiling, bursts of luminescent blue and sweeping banquettes it looks amazing and I take a mental note to make a reservation next time I’m in town. The tasting menu at Bo.lan, off Sukhumvit Road nearby, is stunning though. As are the cocktails that follow at one of Bangkok’s fabulous rooftop bars. And the dancing. And the nightcaps.
Despite our 3am finish, we awake early and head to the fourth-floor pool. Although undercover, the deck is open on three sides and flanked by sunloungers and cabanas, as well as space-age–style pods suspended from the ceiling. With only a few other couples around, we easily procure a cabana with a killer view before partaking in a hangover-curing dip and poolside snooze.
In what seems like a blink of an eye, we’re back in the foyer, surrounded by bags and awaiting a taxi to the airport. The lobby is exquisite: seriously high ceilings, jaw-dropping flower displays and magnificent art adorning the walls. In the often gritty, manic morass that is Bangkok it’s a joy to be able to retreat to such a serene space. Ms Smith, plugged into her iPhone listening to One Night in Bangkok for the last time, removes one earphone and shoots me a big grin: ‘You’d better start thinking about where we’re going to spend my fiftieth, because Oriental Residence is going to take some beating!’ I agree.
Price per night from $288.93
