Anantara Riverside

Style and Character

The Anantara Riverside is 27 years old, a well-oiled machine, classically traditional rather than dated. Public areas and rooms have an international feel but there are Thai touches, such as the Sanskrit writing on the mirrors in the rooms and the elephant sculptures found throughout the property.

Service and Facilities

Service is friendly, forthcoming and a little formal for a resort-style property. The large pool has the only swim-to bar in Bangkok and sits amidst foliage and loungers. Fitness enthusiasts can join yoga, pilates, stretching and high impact sessions in the well-equipped gym. Muay Thai training is also available. The resort has a tennis court, with a coach if so desired. The spa offers nine treatment rooms, one with a wooden sala in a beautiful Lanna style courtyard.

Named after Bangkok’s canals, the klong guru, an expert in-house guide, takes guests on tours away from the main sights.

Rooms

Standard rooms are a little narrow, but they are nicely furnished in soft warm tones with wooden floors and some carpets, complemented by spotless marble bathrooms, most with tubs and all with a lot of mirrors. All rooms feature small balconies with views of the river and the pool. Amenities are great and all guests receive a smart phone with free national and international phone-calls.

Food and Drink

With six restaurants to choose from, food lovers are unlikely to get bored. The Riverside Terrace, torch lit at night, offers international dining and a seafood buffet, accompanied by a classical dance performance. Brio is an Italian restaurant with a wood fired pizza oven and more than a hundred wines.

The suitably austere Beni Hana, a Japanese steak house has teppanyaki tables where chefs put on a nightly cooking performance, while the Polynesian themed Trader Vic’s serves east-meets-west fusion style cuisine. Both eateries are arranged around glass-walled atriums which reflect their respective aesthetic orientations – minimalist rocks on pebbles in the former and carved tribal figures in a jungle setting in the latter. The Market serves a great international breakfast buffet with live cooking stations.

The best place for a pre-dinner drink is the Long Tail Bar, right by the river. When the Chao Praya gets too smelly, the Elephant Bar in the lobby is a good alternative. Three converted rice barges, the Manohra cruises, cast off from the hotel’s pier for nightly dinner cruises. One barge journeys all the way to Ayutthaya, Thailand’s former capital, on an overnight trip.

Value for Money

Double rooms from 5,500 baht (£126) in low season; and from 8,000 Baht (£184) in high. Breakfast included. Free Wi-Fi.

Access for guests with disabilities?

There are a couple of specially equipped rooms and most hotel areas are accessible to wheelchair users.

Family-Friendly?

Children at the resort have the use of their own pool, and there’s also a kids' club. The suites come with a selection of video games and extra beds and cots can be provided. Nannies are available.

Location

The sprawling resort is a little off the beaten track, located on the Thonburi side of the Chao Phraya river a few miles south of Bangkok’s main tourist sites. From 6am to midnight, regular boats whisk guests to Saphan Taksin Skytrain station, from where it is just a few stops to downtown Bangkok. A boat to the Royal Palace takes 30 minutes and a taxi to either airport takes around an hour.