Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok at Chao Phraya River Bangkok

Style and Character

Designed by Belgian starchitect Jean-Michel Gathy, the hotel comprises a set of cascading buildings connected by bamboo-fringed courtyards. From the cavernous lobby to the double-height hallways lining the rooms, the space is bright and airy, making it feel more like a resort than a city hotel. While the marble-heavy design is decidedly contemporary, Thai touches can be found in the little details: terraced waterscapes in the main courtyard resemble the flooded rice paddies of rural Thailand, while wall-sized artworks commissioned to local artists by Gathy himself depict the folds of a monk’s robe.

Restaurants up the fun factor with elaborate designs by AvroKO, and art-enthusiasts will appreciate the hotel’s private gallery, which showcases up-and-coming Thai talent in collaboration with Bangkok’s Museum of Contemporary Art.

Service and Facilities

From the amicable pool staff delivering fizzy watermelon drinks to my (remarkably comfortable) lounger, to the chatty restaurant waitresses keeping my two-year-old entertained while I plucked another muffin from the breakfast buffet, service is by the book but also goes way beyond.

The multi-tiered swimming pool along the river enhances the resort feel, as does the wellness centre with all the bells and whistles: there are high-tech anti-aging treatments and low-tech massages with bamboo sticks. Visiting therapists and wellness gurus offer everything from pranic healing sessions to astrology readings, and there’s a separate 30-metre lap pool for aqua aerobics and yoga on stand-up paddleboards.

Rooms

Compared to the maximalist restaurant designs and the colourful art-studded lobby, the hotel’s 299 rooms feel a little more sober. But that doesn’t mean they’re boring: the palettes of taupe and grey have been tastefully zhuzhed up with touches of faux ostrich leather, Thai silks and marble.

Worth noting is that despite the riverfront setting, many rooms don’t have river views – they look out over the city or one of the hotel’s courtyards instead. The rooms that do face the river deliver, though: some come with floor-to-ceiling windows on more than one side to frame the mighty Chao Phraya in all its glittering glory.

Food and Drink

Mornings start at the riverside with a buffet breakfast that includes everything from Thai congee to hummus and excellent house-baked pastries. The fresh-from-the-oven egg pizza is a must order. That same oven doles out gourmet pizzas after breakfast, when the space turns into Riva del Fiume, an Italian restaurant focusing on house-made pastas and citrusy crudo. This is, for now, also the only place in Bangkok to eat butter-smooth Mayura beef from Australian wagyu fattened with candy and chocolate.

Brasserie Palmier reimagines French cuisine from a tropical angle. At this indoor-outdoor restaurant with hand-painted floral murals, the menu is big on light, easygoing fare. Think top-notch oysters and towers heaving with fruits de mer, but they can whip you up a steak frites or onion soup, too – avec plaisir.

Then there's Cantonese crowdpleaser Yu Ting Yuan, whose Michelin-starred chef moved his team from Guangzhou to Bangkok and flies in dumpling flour from Hong Kong to ensure that his dim sum tastes exactly like at home.

Days end at BKK Social Club, a time warp to 1920s Buenos Aires with Cuban cigars and Bossa Nova beats. Spearheaded by Philip Bischoff (previously at the Singapore’s much-lauded Manhattan Bar), the drink list is inventive and heavy on the vermouth, but also draws on small-batch spirits and unexpected ingredients such as Yerba Mate.

Value for Money

Doubles from 10,000 THB (£245) in low season; and from 16,000 THB (£395) in high. Breakfast included. Free Wi-Fi.

Access for guests with disabilities?

There are several adapted rooms and restaurants are accessible to wheelchair users.

Family-Friendly?

Very. There’s a kids club, shallow swimming pool and restaurants have kid-friendly menus that doubles as colouring pages. The in-room teepee set up for little guests is the best I’ve ever seen.

Location

The hotel takes over the better part of the Chao Phraya Estate, a luxurious mixed-use development on the banks of the Chao Phraya river. It is an excellent base for sightseeing, with many of Bangkok’s postcard sights just a 15-minute long-tail boat trip away. A taxi from either of the international airports will take around 40 minutes.