Mandarin Oriental Bangkok
48 Oriental Ave., Bangkok, Bangkok, 10500, Thailand
Why We Like It
Despite being the city’s first luxury property, back in the 1800s, and having once been partially owned by famed silk magnet, Jim Thompson, the hotel still feels fresh. There was a $90 million dollar renovation in 2019, touches of Southeast Asian art and artifacts remained, but Mid-Century-leaning design points arrived, with accents of emerald, yellow, and sand in the revamped suites. Never one to rest on an iconic reputation, an exciting renovation of the Garden Wing debuted in September of 2025.
Fodor's Expert Review
An architect was hired in 1887 to restore a riverside hotel post-fire, as it sat decaying on the jungled banks of the Chao Phraya River. Thailand was Siam in those days, and that saved structure would become the Mandarin Oriental and a great love story between a city and its most lavish hotel. A true respite of high-tea and fine dining, where you take a teak boat to the spa and a fleet of BMW 7 series wait to whisk you around Bangkok.
Tip The lavish, riverside luxury of the Mandarin is all well-and-good and truly over-the-top. However, it can mean moments missed in real-life Bangkok. In a capital city also loved for funky dive bars, tiny alleys, street cats, and street art, it’s important to visit the high and the low of it all. Visit other neighborhoods like Asok, Nana, and Ekkamai to get a real every-day look at Bangkok.
PROS
- Lavish lobby
- Rice barge boat rides
- Five-star service
CONS
- Very firm beds
- The cost
- Property takes time to navigate
Recommended Fodor’s Video
Room
The 331 rooms at Mandarin Oriental lean into a British East Indies design. Rattan bar cabinets, shiplap and brass chandeliers above Edwin-styled leather dining chairs abound. Fresh orchids on the tables and monstera-pattern ceramic lamps add pops of color, and Asian sculpture pieces hang above inviting, white-linen beds. The suite’s enormous closets have louvered, wooden shutters with automatic lights. The views off Mandarin’s petite balconies, decorated with teak settees and potted plants, give views to the pool and the Chao Phraya river.
Bathroom
The soaking tubs are jacuzzi style, built into the walls, which some may love and others might find visually a little dated. The bathrooms also include stripes of green and white tiles, separate shower stalls, double vanities, wall-full mirrors, and accents of beige marble. The Japanese toilets open when you walk inside the water closets, featuring a panel of buttons and heated seats.
Lobby
One of the most opulent lobbies in the world––dapper doormen in Imperial Guard uniforms pull front doors wide, as you enter a wonderland of wooden bird-cage-style chandeliers and enormous, cascading florals, dripping from the ceiling and rising from pedestals in an array of colors. The floral displays change seasonally, meaning return visits delight in new ways. Always present? A staff meeting (and exceeding) Thailand’s reputation for hospitality. This is Bangkok’s living room, welcoming dignitaries, celebrities, musicians, and notable authors for nearly two centuries. Dress-to-impress here, sitting as so many have sat before you, on velvet, printed sofas or in a high-backed leather armchair.
Pool
It’s drawn many a celebrity to the turquoise waters, bearing the hotel’s scroll in lighter tile. Grace Kelly and Elizabeth Taylor both sunned at this riverside swimming pool. The oblong pavilion is encased in tall palms, birds of paradise and thickets of ginger plants, and staff is quick to refresh a cocktail or provide a cold towel. The hotel also offers a linear, smaller second pool of 25 meters, ideal for soaking with a paperback and a tiki drink.
Spa
This was the first hotel to offer a dedicated spa in Bangkok. The Oriental Spa is located across the river, and guests take a rice barge boat ride, alighting at a beautiful wood building. The menu includes a mix of Thai-traditional and Chinese-medicine techniques and products. Signature treatments include Oriental Qi––a practice that uses both essential oils and pressure on body meridians––and a Reparative Facial, to treat sun-damaged or problematic skin with double-clinical cleanses.
Gym
The Fitness and Wellness Center might be needed after all the noodles, curry crab, and fried chicken indulgence. Open 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., it includes a good range of free weights, equipment, and machines. Try your hand at tennis on the bright-blue courts or take a specialty, one-on-one personal training session.
Dining
The newest addition to the property is the re-opening of Lord Jim’s in May 2025, under two-Michelin-star Chef Alex Dilling. Dilling’s talent for French gastronomy is amplified by imported proteins, in dishes like the dry-aged Côte de Boeuf with roasted garlic bulbs, slices of Noir de Bigorre ham, or his marinated sea bream. The vibe is elegant casual, and the views are enticing. Through the massive windows, you watch Bangkok’s neon dinner cruise boats motor past. Another must-have experience is tea service in the Author’s Lounge. Portraits of past guests, famed authors novels and non-fiction, line the walls. White wicker sofas welcome you, amidst flowering plants and towering latticework, for a delicate canape selection of either Thai Style or Western bites. They also offer a vegan sampler, alongside the huge menu of global teas.
Drinking
Bangkok loves tiki cocktails. You’ll find Zombies and Swizzles at dedicated Tiki outposts like Tropic City, and on regular menus far and wide. The mainstay for tropical drinks has long been Mandarin’s Bamboo Bar, tucked past the lobby area, with its dark wood, deeps chairs, adjoining cigar bar, animal-print fabrics, and a laundry list of Polynesian-inspired libations.
What's Nearby
Getting Around
The vibrant and buzzy Bang Rak neighborhood is bordered by the river and by the larger, financial hub district of Silom. It’s primed for exploring on foot, with nice sidewalks, small side streets, and the dynamic main artery of Charoen Krung Road. It was the first paved road in Bangkok, built using modern construction methods in the mid 1860s. Head east on foot for 20 minutes, and you’re in Chinatown. Head north for 30 minutes on foot to Lumphini Park––one of the city’s oldest and largest green spaces. Cabs are plentiful, as are tuk tuks. You can experience the Chao Phraya River via the hotel’s personal rice barge boat or hop on a public water ferry at the Sri Phaya ferry terminal, five minutes away in a car.
If you want more five-star luxury service, call down for a ride from the hotel’s fleet of BMW 7 Series sedans. That moment will cost you upwards of $80-plus USD, depending on your destination.
Restaurants
There are multiple worthy food spots, but the famed Charoen Krung Road, less than a block away, offers some of the town’s most awarded dining, with several Michelin-star spots, from curbside carts to sit-down service. Almost every global cuisine is represented. Try out Côte by Mauro Colagreco inside the neighboring Capella property, for coastal Mediterranean fine dining, Charmkrung for plucky, inventive takes on modern Thai fusion, like a stellar petite Beef Wellington plated atop a fragrant beef curry, or pop in Jua, the road’s buzzy ode to a Japanese Izakaya, where craft cocktails are paired with inventive skewers.
Bars
At PrumPlum Umeshu Bar, very friendly ‘plumtenders’ guide you through Japan’s category of Plum Wine, in a space that makes charming work of a rough-and-tumble, ancient shophouse.
Jack’s Bar is a beloved, quirky dive only a few minutes by foot from the hotel. The ramshackle wooden pier space is right on the river, and you’ll need to get there an hour prior to sunset to snag the best barstools, right over the water. The Chang Beers come cold; the spring rolls are excellent. There are a few jazz clubs scattered around Bang Rak, and Siwilai Sound Club nails that red-lit, sexy atmosphere, with sets that range from upbeat Chicago Blues to crooning melancholy.
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Quick Facts
HOTEL INFO
HOTEL DETAILS
Rate Includes: Free Breakfast
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