Kimpton Maa-Lai Bangkok

Bangkok

When Kimpton Maa-Lai opened, its bars, restaurants and café were bustling from day one. The hotel draws crowds with a delightful cocktail of smart service, unpretentious comfort food and an anything-goes appeal, plus some of the comfiest rooms in this part of town.

Style and Character

This is the Kimpton group's first hotel in south-east Asia, and true to its boutique-y roots, it feels like a cool cousin of Bangkok’s stiff-lipped and marble-heavy five-star hotel scene. Instead of a stately lobby, there is a buzzy all-day café with seats spilling onto the hotel’s generously sized gardens.

The other restaurants feel equally unpretentious, with reasonable prices to make them accessible to locals outside the upper echelons of Bangkok’s high society (which has paid off – they’re perennially packed). Around the hotel, the design channels a giant living room, dotted with contemporary Thai art and a focus on comfort over any high-design frills.

Service and Facilities

Service-wise, the hotel truly shines. From the welcoming staff at the check-in desk to the waiters at the rooftop bar, everyone sports ear-to-ear smiles and a peppy, can-do attitude – even when the hotel is running at full capacity. Guests will get to know them better during the daily “social hour” with free-flow wines, snacks, and cocktails.

The fitness centre is a lipstick-red playground for gym buffs and yogis, with top-of-the-line gym equipment and a team of personal trainers and wellness gurus for tailored workout routines. The indoor-outdoor infinity pool is a lovely spot to cool down after, and there’s a plush spa by Thai wellness brand HARNN for even deeper relaxation.

Rooms

Swathed in palettes of cream, grey and indigo blue, the 231 rooms feature floor-to-ceiling windows that frame green views over Lumphini Park or the lush Dutch embassy gardens next door. The décor is soothing, with tactile wall panelling and curvy furnishing, and a handful of Thai artworks to add a local touch.

Marble-tiled bathrooms rival a small apartment in size and come with bathtubs, double vanities and a generous rain shower. Other amenities include an espresso machine, yoga mat, a minibar with bottled cocktails and Bluetooth speakers for a bedroom disco.

Food and Drink

Days start with breakfast at Stock Room, a floor-spanning food hall with show kitchens, deli counters, juice bar and coffee corner. The excellent buffet and à la carte selection span everything from dim sum to fruity granola bowls and avocado toast. On the ground floor, lounge-y Ms. Jigger serves artisanal pizzas, pasta and bite-sized Italian cicchetti – fiery meatballs, carpaccio with truffle oil, and crackling artichoke hearts – alongside a globe-trotting menu of heady drinks. And crowning it all is Bar Yard, a tiki-tinged sky bar on the 40th floor with a menu focusing on grilled meats – think barbecue ribs and briskets – and Tex-Mex tacos, quesadillas and nachos topped with krapow mince. Pet-friendly CRAFT, the ground-floor café, is a meeting point for pampered poodles with their own Instagram accounts. Its garden-clad patio is lovely but can feel like a kennel club on busy days.