Review by: Matthew Brace
Intro
On a brutally humid Bangkok afternoon we were ushered reverentially into The Siam’s Garden Pavilion Courtyard like much-missed silk traders arriving after an arduous overland trek through Asia. Cool face towels and iced mocktails had never been more welcome. We sat on black-cushioned seats in the lobby lounge near a fountain shaped like a lotus flower and under emerald ferns that flowed down from their baskets. We began to feel whole again.
Overview
The Siam is, quite simply, a gorgeous hotel. It’s small and lavishly decorated. It’s dripping with style, imbued with Thai history and colour, serves terrific food and has a sublime pool right on the banks of the Chao Praya river. There’s also a private launch that will glide you south down the busy river past the passenger ferries and the shimmering, iridescent roofs of temples to the big shopping malls and other downtown spots. After an afternoon of Bangkok’s bustle, retreat to the hotel’s Opium Spa for a Jojoba body polish or a mint foot therapy, and then spend an hour or so reading quietly in the antique-filled Library.
Location
The Siam is right on the Chao Praya river in the Dusit district, about 1km south of the Thai Parliament building.
Look and feel
Imagine the bold minimalist interior of a modern art gallery, fill it with rare Asian antiques and house the entire thing in a replica of a botanical garden’s glass conservatory and you get somewhere close to the vibe. The core of the hotel is a three-storey atrium full of lush ferns and towering palms surrounding an elevated, black-tiled pond. At the edges of the atrium’s ground floor are cool, calm cloisters, dotted with antiques, cabinets and rooms; there’s a library with art deco colonial furniture and books on old Siam, and a mini cinema where guests can order popcorn and watch a film.
We went treasure-hunting on all floors of the atrium, finding scores of antiques including a Burmese chest of drawers, dark-wood Thai plantation chairs, a prancing wooden fairground horse, bronze Buddhas, Tang dynasty tomb figures from China, a ceramic monkey from Japan and carvings from central Africa. Our absolute favourite was a gold-lacquered Burmese Buddha on the top floor which dates from around 1850.
At the front of the hotel is the Story House restaurant with its black and white striped floor, sun-drenched veranda and dramatic art deco glass chandeliers. The black and white theme continues at the riverside lap pool where stripes run down the length of the pool and over one end into a sitting pool – not so much a hot tub as a cool tub. The sun umbrellas are similarly striped and each pair of loungers sits on its own chessboard plinth.
The black and white throughout the hotel combines brilliantly with the rich green of the lawns, the internal and external foliage and the occasional splashes of mauve provided by orchids and sofa cushions.
It’s all beautiful!
Service
The Siam must have some of the best-trained staff in Asia. Immaculate service from start to finish. The team at Chon Thai restaurant deserve a special mention: whether it was at breakfast or dinner, they knew how every dish had been prepared and told us the history behind them. All guests get a personal butler who is on hand to handle everything from laundry to reservations.
Best room for two
We had a whopping 100sqm Premier River View Suite on the second floor, with floor to ceiling windows looking out over the grounds to the river. Thai mauve chairs and pink orchids in our living area stood out against the black-stained wooden floors, two families of cute wooden elephants looked down from the wardrobes, bedside lights were square lamps hung from the ceiling by black fabric cords and the bathroom was dominated by an inviting bathtub, just right for two.
This was one of those rare hotels where we actually wanted to spend more time in the public areas, not because we disliked our room – quite the opposite, it was lovely – but because the common areas were so spectacular.
Food and drink
The hotel’s Story House in the main building serves afternoon tea but the main restaurant is Chon Thai. It is down on the river’s edge and made up of three old teak-wood houses that were relocated from the ancient capital of Ayutthaya. On our first evening – after romantic sunset cocktails on the pier – we had the tasting menu which is a Thai banquet including delights such as Miang Kham (betel leaf, spicy pomelo salad, prawn and crispy shallot), Kratong Tong (raw, spiced tuna, shallot and coriander) and Pla Gao Phad Cha, which was a delicious grouper pan-fried with basil, peppercorns, chilli and oyster sauce.
We thought this might be the food experience of the stay until we arrived for breakfast, which had one of the most imaginative menus we had seen for years. We wanted pretty much everything. On day one we went for the cured salmon bruschetta (house-cured salmon, avocado, soft-poached egg and horseradish cream) and the truffle cheese toastie (truffle paste, gruyere, mozzarella and rocket pesto). Both were excellent but on day two they were outgunned by two of the most sensational breakfast dishes we think we have ever tasted: tiger prawn hash (prawn, potato hash and asparagus topped with a poached egg in hollandaise sauce and herring caviar) and coconut waffles (candied banana, salted caramel, walnuts, crispy bacon and dulce de leche ice cream). If you think these sound good, wait until you try them.
Sustainability
The Siam has eliminated all single-use plastic bottles and is one of the first hotels in Thailand to sign up to the Refill Not Landfill program which encourages the use of refillable water containers.
Guests are invited to use the complimentary refillable water containers provided in all rooms during their stay… and beyond. There are three more refill stations around the hotel: one at the pool, another in the Welcome Courtyard and a third in the gym.
Also, by using the QR code on their bottle guests can see other refill sites located along the river as they explore beyond the hotel.
Couples will love
Exploring the antique collections in the main atrium, taking a riverboat ride downtown on The Siam’s own private launch, swimming together in the gorgeous lap pool, enjoying cocktails on the pier and a sumptuous banquet in Chon Thai restaurant, and experiencing a truly amazing breakfast while watching the Chao Praya river glide by.
Book via The Siam website https://www.thesiamhotel.com/, call +66 2206 6999 or email info@thesiamhotel.com
Matthew Brace
Matthew Brace is a British award-winning travel writer and hotel reviewer, and the author of five travel books including Hotel Heaven. A former foreign correspondent for The Independent, The Observer, The Times and other leading newspapers, he has covered everything from world news to luxury escapes. Also a published photographer, Matthew has spent the past two decades living and working across Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra and Abu Dhabi as a writer, editor and communications advisor. His work combines the authority of a seasoned journalist with a storyteller’s eye for the people and places that define a destination.
