‘Anantara Siam,” you tell the taxi driver. Or tuktuk driver. Or motorcycle-taxi driver. Whoever you tell, the response is the same. Tentatively, they repeat, “Anantara … Siam?” A look of confusion masked by trying to pretend not to be confused. They have no idea what you’re talking about. They start driving anyway, slower than any other Bangkok taxi driver ever has.
“Four Seasons?” you offer.
“Ah! Four Seasons!” they respond, speeding up.
So subtle was the takeover of one of Bangkok’s iconic properties last spring that few in the Thai capital’s tourist industry have heard of the Anantara Siam, in central Bangkok, which remains better known by its former title.
You could just as easily refer to it by another of its former titles: the Regency or the Peninsula, as the building is in its fourth incarnation as a landmark Bangkok hotel. The newest version becomes Anantara’s flagship and delivers on the luxury befitting its address.
Location, location
The Anantara Siam is central, located in the Siam neighbourhood beneath a sky train station and a 10-minute walk from Bangkok’s gleaming shopping malls. The best sights are a 20-minute taxi or tuktuk ride in decent traffic, but when the jams settle on Bangkok (every morning from around 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. and then from 4 p.m. until sometimes midnight) the proximity to public transit is a real boon. The hotel can arrange swank private transfers to and from Bangkok’s two airports, though a standard airport taxi will be about one tenth of the price.
Eat in or eat out?
Hyperbole alert: Bangkok is the best city in the world to eat in. Just around the corner from the Anantara, for example, in the Amarin Centre, you’ll find the Cook, a food court where (for $10!) you can have four fresh, mouthwatering dishes from indoor food stalls. There are street vendors on most corners, and in the drier months (November to February), outdoor beer gardens with fresh seafood by the bucketful are everywhere. Eat all of it.
The Anantara Siam holds its own in this foodiest foodie city. Its four main restaurants offer Thai done very, very well; Italian; Japanese; and steak in a New York style. You can eat in at any of those restaurants or sit in the central atrium’s Aqua cocktail bar, and be handed all four menus at once. Eating in appeals for first-timers to Thailand – as the Thai food is legit but not overly spicy – or for tired travellers at the end of a trip craving a bowl of spaghetti Bolognese or an excellent steak. (The two best steaks in Thailand, in order, are found at the Anantara Bo Phut on Koh Samui and at the Anantara Siam.)
Who you’ll meet
Bangkok’s hotels are so numerous and flip-flopped backpackers so plentiful that even mid-range hotels are loaded with destination bachelor parties and all their grubby trappings. Anantara Siam is a world away from all that, mostly business travellers from neighbouring countries or Europeans and North Americans on a splurge.
If I could change one thing
It must be a great difficulty, when taking over a legendary hotel that was previously two other legendary hotels, to feel confident in making it your own. Anantara hasn’t quite done that, as the hotel feels a lot like a house that had been through a dozen owners: The hallways and elevators are ancient, whereas the lobby and rooms have clearly been thoughtfully updated.
There’s a sense that peeling back the wallpaper would reveal 18 other layers of old wallpapers, leaving this renovated flagship a bit stuffy out of the box.
Best amenity
Booking a Kasara room gives you access to the lounge, plus perks such as full-speed Internet, a coffee or tea delivery wake-up-service, snacks and non-alcoholic drinks throughout the day and, most deliciously, hors d’oeuvres and wine, beer and spirits every evening. Ask the staff here even a passing question and expect a thorough, thoughtful response: We lazily muttered something about a VIP cinema and found pages of printouts with show times and an offer to buy tickets waiting back in our room.
Anantara Siam, 155 Rajadamri Rd., Bangkok; 354 rooms from $250, including breakfast; siam-bangkok.anantara.com.
The writer was a guest of the hotel.