Mandarin Oriental Bangkok

Few hotels anywhere carry their history as gracefully as the Mandarin Oriental Bangkok. Trading on the Chao Phraya since 1876, it hosted the steamer-era novelists whose names now grace its Authors' Wing suites, and the whitewashed original lounge—all lattice, palms and afternoon tea—remains one of Southeast Asia's most atmospheric rooms.

A sweeping renovation of the River Wing brought silk-lined, contemporary-Thai interiors and balconies to every river-facing room without disturbing the house's soul. That soul is the staff: multi-generational, astonishingly attentive, and famously capable of remembering a guest's preferences across decades. The garden pools and riverside terrace give the property the ease of a resort in the middle of the metropolis.

Across the river by private teak shuttle boat lies the hotel's celebrated Thai restaurant and a spa set in a traditional teak house, where therapies draw on Thai healing traditions at the highest level. French haute cuisine, a jazz bar and the definitive riverside barbecue round out the venues. It is not merely a hotel but an institution that keeps earning the title.