Pan Pacific Sonargaon Dhaka

The Sonargaon—named for the medieval capital of Bengal—has been part of Dhaka's civic furniture since it opened in 1981, and it remains the city's closest thing to a garden resort. Where its rivals rise in towers, the Sonargaon spreads: a broad modernist block set back from Karwan Bazar's roar behind lawns, mature trees and one of the largest hotel pools in Bangladesh. Managed by Singapore's Pan Pacific group throughout its life, it carries its age with dignity, helped by rolling renovations that have kept rooms and public spaces current.

The location splits the difference between the commercial districts and the airport road, with the Bashundhara City mall and the Tejgaon business area close by; for many Bangladeshi corporations and wedding families, the Sonargaon's ballrooms are simply where things happen. Rooms are comfortable and increasingly contemporary, the best overlooking the pool and gardens rather than the street.

Dining draws the city as much as the house: a lively international buffet restaurant, respected Thai and Japanese tables and a coffee shop that has served three generations of Dhaka meetings. The garden pool, tennis court, gym and spa give it a leisure dimension no tower rival matches. It is not the newest address in town, but for space, grounds and institutional warmth, the Sonargaon holds its own.