Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok, Thailand | The Gold Standard 2013 | Award-winning hotels, Photo 14 of 25

Congratulations to @MO_BANGKOK who was just named one of the top 25 hotels in the world by @cntraveller!

In tumultuous, fascinating, exhausting Bangkok, the Mandarin Oriental is a cocoon of comfort that remains essentially, stylishly Thai. The original building, dating from 1886, retains the period charm (including four-poster beds in the Heritage Suites) that enchanted such guests as Somerset Maugham and Noël Coward. The 1950s Garden Wing and more recent River Wing have contemporary touches, with luscious silks and carved teak. For many guests, the split-level suites in the Garden Wing, with views over the Chao Phraya River, trump all other rooms. The two pools are huge by city-hotel standards, the spa is a dream and the traditional Thai food (tangy sweet-and-sour soup with mullet; aromatic yellow beef curry) at Sala Rim Naam is among the best in town. But it's the service that propels this classic institution into the stratosphere. Eat only the apples from the fruit bowl in...

Full article: http://www.cntraveller.com/awards/the-gold-list/gold-stan...