For decades Bangkok was known as a backpacker’s paradise, but a raft of new investment has seen the city swing upmarket, with every major luxury brand now out to make a name for themselves in the Thai capital, including Aman Nai Lert, the most recent to cut the velvet rope. It leaves high net worth travellers with the difficult decision of choosing where to stay – the darling historic hotel or the ultra-modern riverside retreat? The chic downtown hideaway or the fashionable park view penthouse? Here’s my pick of the best of best to help you on your way. For more hotel inspiration in Thailand, see our guide to the 10 best hotels in Bangkok and Chiang Mai.
Best luxury hotels in Bangkok 2025
At a glance
- Best five-star hotel: Mandarin Oriental Bangkok hotel
- Best boutique hotel: The Siam Hotel Bangkok
- Best spa hotel: Aman Nai Lert hotel
- Best hotel in Sukhumvit: Park Hyatt Bangkok hotel
1. Mandarin Oriental Bangkok hotel
Polished white glove service, elegant interiors, a riverside location plus nearly 150 years of history combine to make this one of the most celebrated hotels in Asia – and a backdrop to the most recent series of The White Lotus. The hotel’s original Author's Wing hosted Somerset Maugham, Noel Coward and Graham Greene and retains many of its authentic 19th century features, such as intricately-patterned arch windows and a romantic imperial staircase. But this grande dame is far from stuck in the past; contemporary touches include riverside swimming pools, a two-storey spa, an award-winning bar and 10 restaurants, including a new collaboration with Michelin star chef Ann-Sophie Pic.
Address: 48 Oriental Avenue, Bang Rak, Bangkok 10500, Thailand
Price: From £523, room only, low-season; £782 in high
Read more: Thailand laws you need to know before visiting
2. Dusit Thani Bangkok hotel
Following a five-year rebuild this Thai high society favourite has emerged, better and more luxurious than ever. The 257 rooms and suites come in plush gold tones with gilded picture windows with splendid Lumphini Park views, spa-worthy bathrooms, and club lounge access in the higher categories. There’s also a sleek rooftop horizon pool, a holistic spa and an assembly of blockbuster bars and restaurants, including Cannubi helmed by three Michelin star chef Umberto Bombana. The gorgeous interiors, by Andre Fu, effortlessly blend hexagonal ceiling pleats and flowing bronze screens with creamy cloud-patterned floor tiles and two ornately decorated stone pillars salvaged from the original hotel.
Address: 98 Rama IV Road, Silom, Bang Rak, Bangkok 10500, Thailand
Price: From £327, B&B, in low-season; £547 in high
Read more: Ditch Phuket’s crowds for these beautiful Thailand islands instead
3. Park Hyatt Bangkok hotel
Swirling above the Central Embassy mall, this five-star hotel looks like a cobra uncoiling above Ploen Chit, an upmarket neighbourhood known for its embassies and pricey real estate. Interiors meld Japanese-style simplicity with subtle nods to Thailand using fluid lines of cream stone contrasted with serpentine staircases, sharp black accents and local works of modern art. Nearly all of the rooms are different but share the same soothing look; beech wood floors, honey-coloured rugs, glossy black woods and cavernous bathrooms. Top-notch facilities include a 40-metre city view infinity pool, a Panpuri Spa and the showstopping Penthouse Bar + Grill.
Address: Central Embassy, 88 Witthayu Road, Khwaeng Lumphini, Pathum Wan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
Price: From £269, B&B, in low-season; £301 in high
Read more: Chiang Mai city guide – where to stay, eat drink and shop in Thailand’s northern creative hub
4. Capella Bangkok hotel
Cooler than the other side of the pillow, the Capella Bangkok has a prime Chao Phraya River location and no rooms, only suites; 101 of them dressed in warm natural tones with separate living rooms, rambling bathrooms and big river view balconies. Capella's Culturists take guests on walking tours around the Buddhist, Muslim and Chinese villages in the 150-year old neighbourhood by day, and lead street food and cocktail bar escapades by night. There's a white marble swimming pool flanked by cabanas, and a spa where you can try Muay Thai boxing. Celebrated restaurant, Cote, is helmed by two-Michelin-star chef Mauro Colagreco.
Address: 300/2 Charoenkrung Road, Yannawa, Sathorn, Bangkok 10120, Thailand
Price: From £711, B&B, in low-season; £898 in high
Read more: Drugs, disasters and border disputes – is Thailand no longer a draw for tourists?
5. The Peninsula hotel
One of the city’s most beloved luxury hotels, The Peninsula has stood sentry on the Chao Phraya River since 1998. The Toblerone-like building has 367 rooms and suites spread over 37 floors and although the decor feels a bit dated they remain eminently comfortable spaces with ivory white walls, teak furniture, Thai silks, and spectacular river views. Wellness facilities go beyond the usual with in-room fitness videos and equipment, several complimentary activities a day – morning meditation, aqua fit, giving alms to monks – a beautiful outdoor swimming pool cascading over three levels and one of Asia’s best spas. Breakfast on the riverfront with long-tails and rice barges floating past is dreamy.
Address: 333 Charoen Nakhon Rd, Khlong Ton Sai, Khlong San, Bangkok 10600, Thailand
Price: From £285, B&B, in low-season; £362 in high
Read more: Where is The White Lotus season three set? Thailand filming locations revealed
6. Kempinski Sindhorn hotel
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From the outside, the Kempinski Sindhorn looks like some kind of lunar base, with its S-shaped walls and shimmering windows designed to maximise wellbeing and energy efficiency. Inside, there's a similarly otherworldly quality to the cavernous lobby, where a birdcage-like pavilion sits between polished concrete walls and ribbons of tropical greenery. The rooms are airy and inviting, larger than most, in dove grey with contrasting pops of yellow, pink and green Jim Thompson silks, as well as balconies with eyefuls of Lumphini Park. Elsewhere, there are two excellent restaurants, an atmospheric bar, and an expansive spa featuring a cantilevered swimming pool, a glittering flotation room, colour-changing therapy baths, a Turkish hammam, and yoga and Pilates Reformer studios.
Address: 80 Soi Ton Son, Lumphini, Pathum Wan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
Price: From £240, B&B, in low-season; £310 in high
Read more: The best hotels in Chiang Mai for boutique stays and luxury getaways
7. Four Seasons Bangkok hotel
Designed by Jean-Michele Gathy, this riverside retreat is a modern-day vision of stone and glass cut with shimmering reflective pools and Chao Phraya River views. That famous Four Seasons services woos from the moment your wifi-enabled limousine pulls into the driveway, through to the thoughtfully designed rooms and the enormous state-of-the-art spa, which has its own separate swimming pool and Muay Thai boxing ring. The restaurants – Cantonese, Italian, Thai, French bistro – are consistently on-point and the BKK Social bar, with its award-winning cocktails and cigar bar – is perennially packed.
Address: 300/1 Khwaeng Yan Nawa, Khet Sathon, Krung Thep Maha Nakhon 10120, Thailand
Price: From £375, room only, in low-season; £531 in high
Read more: I travelled to Thailand’s White Lotus hotels
8. 137 Pillars Suites & Residences hotel
The emphasis at 137 Pillars Suites is most definitely on the vertical, from the lofty glass lobby, to the floor-to-ceiling windows in the lavish rooms, and the showstopping rooftop pool with its phenomenal drop-away view of the city. Also, on the up is the clientele – affluent Asian guests, minor Thai royalty, tech starter-uppers. Meanwhile, going down is your handicap at the sixth-floor mini putting green and driving range – and your blood pressure following a visit to the top-notch Nitra Spa. Contemporary Thai, European fine dining, cocktails, wines and cigars all on the menu across five different bars and restaurants.
Address: 59/1 Soi Sukhumvit 39, Khlong Tan Nuea, Watthana, Bangkok 10110, Thailand
Price: From £92, B&B, in low-season; £135 in high
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9. The Siam hotel
For a taste of Golden Age of Travel Bangkok – birdsong at dawn, butlers, river boats, an air of mystery – stay at The Siam. Tucked away from the hubbub, upriver from the Grand Palace, its discreet doorway opens onto a monochrome mansion with a lush fountain and atrium filled with greenery, antiques and artefacts. Out front, there’s a waterfront terrace with a swimming pool, a Thai heritage restaurant and subterranean spa with a sacred tattoo parlour. The 39 suites and pool villas are dashing affairs with soaring ceilings, button-back armchairs, sprays of orchids and claw bathtubs.
Address: 3/2 Thanon Khao, Vachirapayabal, Dusit, Bangkok 10300, Thailand
Price: From £424, B&B, in low season; £515 in high
Read more: Why you need to take the slow boat from Thailand to Laos
10. Aman Nai Lert hotel
This new downtown landmark prides itself on its exclusivity, with rates that are almost double that of the competition, working to separate the merely wealthy from the super-rich. Architect and designer Jean-Michele Gathy’s talent for working with light and shadow is on full display in the lobby, where a golden tree burnished with 6,000 gold and bronze leaves shimmers out of an inky black pool. Even the entry-level rooms are enormous and feel expensive thanks to soaring ceilings, walls of windows and the rich use of local woods and tactile fabrics. Elsewhere, there’s a semi-shaded rooftop pool with a 100-year-old tree sprouting through its centre, as well as a superb spa, a clutch of bars and restaurants and a penthouse lounge reserved for guests and private members.
Address: 1 Soi Somkid, Lumphini, Pathum Wan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
Price: From £825, B&B, in low-season; £1,197 in high
Read more: Bangkok city guide - where to stay, eat, drink and shop in Thailand’s flavour-packed gateway
Why trust us
The hotels featured in this list have been carefully selected by The Independent's expert travel writers, each with a deep knowledge of the destinations they cover. Our contributors either live in these locations or visit frequently, ensuring a personal and informed perspective. When picking which hotels to include, they consider their own experience staying in the hotels and evaluate location, facilities, service and all the other details that make for an exceptional stay for all types of traveller.
FAQs
What currency do I need?
Bangkok uses the Thai baht.
When is the best time of year to visit?
For the best weather, head to Bangkok between November and February, as March to May can reach very hot temperatures, with some days staying above 40C, while September to October is the rainiest during monsoon season.
Where is the best area to stay in Bangkok?
For people heading to the city for the first time, the Old Town and Chinatown are great places to base yourselves. Silom and Chit Lom are also good locations to stay close to the city centre, while modern and cosmopolitan Sukhumvit is popular with shopaholics, food lovers and party people looking for vibrant nightlife.
How many days do I need in Bangkok?
You can hit most of the main sites in Bangkok within three or four days, but stay for around a week if you want to explore deeper.
Read more: Why you should visit Thailand during the off-season
Drugs, disasters and border disputes: Is Thailand no longer a draw for tourists?
Where is The White Lotus season three set? Thailand filming locations revealed
The best hotels in Chiang Mai for boutique stays and luxury getaways
Thailand laws you need to know before visiting
Ditch Phuket’s crowds for these beautiful Thailand islands instead
Chiang Mai city guide: Where to stay, eat drink and shop in Thailand’s northern creative hub
