Siam Kempinski Hotel Bangkok

We recommend the Siam Kempinski to travellers who want to combine luxury shopping and tropical calm without changing neighbourhoods. It's a hotel for couples on city breaks, affluent families (spacious pool, interconnecting rooms), businessmen chaining meetings and client dinners. Fans of contemporary design will pass it by, here it's classic Thai palace with service in uniform.

The Siam Kempinski opened in 2010 on a site that was a royal garden. Neo-Thai architecture with gilded gable roofs, teak columns, galleries open to the gardens. Interiors by Bill Bensley: cream marble, precious woods, silk fabrics, furniture reproducing the forms of Ayutthaya temples. The 303 rooms spread across two low wings (six storeys maximum) to preserve the garden views. Ceiling height of 3.20 metres, balconies or terraces for 80 % of rooms.

Three tables at the Siam Kempinski. Sra Bua by Kiin Kiin (1 Michelin star) offers deconstructed Thai cuisine, tasting menu at 4 500 bahts, book a week ahead. Brasserie Europa serves a correct international menu without surprises, terrace over the gardens. The Niche bar occupies a floating pavilion, classic cocktails and Japanese whiskies until midnight. Buffet breakfast served at Brasserie Europa, Thai section with khao tom and fresh dim sum.

The Siam Kempinski stands on Rama I Road, between Siam Paragon and MBK Center, epicentre of Bangkok shopping. BTS Siam station five minutes on foot, direct access to malls via skybridges. Grand Palace 15 minutes by taxi, Sukhumvit 10 minutes, Suvarnabhumi airport 45 minutes without traffic. The district is dense, noisy, saturated with tourists by day, but the hotel remains a silent sanctuary behind its walls. No authentic neighbourhood life here, we're in the full commercial district.