Hotel review: Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok on the Chao Phraya

Talk about making a riverside splash — the Four Seasons, which returned to Bangkok in late 2020, this time along a 200m stretch of the Chao Phraya, is bound to keep you riveted with nearly every leisure holiday fantasy: from rooms with a view of the river, to sun-drenched and palm-shaded alfresco dining areas, to a spread of wading and swimming pools ready for your next Slim Aarons-inspired vacation snaps. 

Jean-Michel Gathy — whose work is synonymous with ultra-luxe escapes from China to Florida, Venice to the Maldives — designed the property, but it’s the location that provides a solid starting point to an endless string of charms: located within the billion-dollar Chao Phraya Estate luxury development along Charoen Krung Road, the resort plugs straight into what’s known as Bangkok’s creative district, or parts of the city where waves of migration have left their mark on everything from architecture to the local culinary delights. In the past several years, new tenants have moved into the storied old neighborhoods and their networks of tight alleys and local markets, sparking renewed interest and a kind of renaissance in one of Bangkok’s most exciting areas.

The arrival 

The flurry of lobby activity plays out against the backdrop of a large Zen pond peppered with large, polished black stones. It’s this element of water, no doubt inspired by the Chao Phraya and running throughout the property, that proves to be a pleasantly calming foil to the resort’s otherwise dramatic strokes — soaring ceiling, hallway pillars lit from below — that make up the grand arrival experience. By the time you’ve walked past galleries of wall-mounted, river-inspired art pieces, past a waterside spread of terraced pools, and finally settled into your room with a stunning panoramic view of the river, you’ll be good and ready to leave regular programming behind.

Dream escape

It’s easy to lose all sense of time here, with hours at the pool interrupted only by reminders of restaurant reservations. Four Seasons houses acclaimed dining outlets serving international cuisine, a contemporary art space, large banquet halls, a state-of-the-art gym and fitness center, and soon, a luxury spa and wellness retreat.

Around the world in food and dining

A full day of culinary indulgence begins with a buffet breakfast at the riverfront Riva del Fiume, which serves modern Italian cuisine in a setting that glows with Lake Como-in-the-summertime vibes. For a light-ish lunch of dim sum, pop into the Michelin-starred Cantonese restaurant Yu Ting Yuan, whose opulent interiors look set-ready for big, family taipan dinners. After a sail down the river or an adventure in town, settle in at Brasserie Palmier, helmed by chef Nicolas Raynal, for the side of French cuisine best suited to the warm climate of the tropics. Here seafood takes centerplate, sauces are lighter, and refreshing tropical ingredients figure prominently. The tartare menu is excellent — great news, vegetarians, the watermelon tartare is memorably delicious — as is the list of sharing dishes that includes sea bass in a salt crust. 

Post-dinner, swan over to BKK Social Club, a chart topper on Asia’s 50 Best Bars, for craft cocktails and cigars. Helmed by the award-winning Philip Bischoff, whose previous stints include Manhattan in Singapore, BKK Social Club is a stylish, brass-mirrors-and-leather piece of Buenos Aires’ glamorous golden age, a heady if somewhat hazily defined era of music, tango and seriously high-flying parties. The bar’s signature drink, no surprise, is the Evita (Plantation pineapple rum, Campari, Aperol, citrus mix, bay leaf and cinnamon syrup), served in a seductive coupe glass with a large chunk of ice in the shape of a cushion-cut diamond, sharp end up.

Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok on the Chao Phraya River