One among Bangkok’s Most Iconic Lodges Bought a Main Facelift — and We Bought a Look Inside

Within the Bangkok of the Nineteen Seventies, there have been few accommodations as grand because the Dusit Thani. Pitched up between the town’s Central Enterprise District and the inexperienced expanse of Lumpini Park, the 23-story modernist tower was Thailand’s tallest constructing on the time, and the resort drew in a high-society clientele with novelties reminiscent of a discotheque, ballrooms, and a top-floor restaurant. However because the a long time handed and shinier properties in even taller towers mushroomed across the metropolis, the Dusit Thani misplaced its erstwhile luster and finally morphed right into a reliable — however dated — selection for (largely) enterprise vacationers passing via city.

It was excessive time for a refresh. And final September, after a five-year reconstruction, the resort returned as soon as once more to the higher echelons of Bangkok’s hospitality scene. The unique constructing was demolished to make manner for a brand new multi-use, three-tower complicated that, when it totally opens because the “Dusit Central Park” in 2025, will even home a high-end shopping center, luxurious residences, and public rooftop backyard. Dusit Thani’s new 39-floor perch, the complicated’s first wing to open to the general public, nonetheless options the unique constructing’s signature golden spire on its roof (now encased in a bigger lattice case to match the brand new constructing’s proportions) and the traditional gold-hued facade with feng shui symmetry.

“The problem of reopening the resort, a cherished icon within the hearts of many for over 5 a long time, lies in balancing the legacy, its Dusit Thani id, and new experiences, which vary from the design to each side of the visitor journey,” Adrian Rudin, managing director of Dusit Thani Bangkok, tells Journey + Leisure. “The essence of the unique resort remains to be current, however expressed in a extra refined and refined method.”

For friends who’ve handed via the unique resort, there will be moments of déjà vu: Two pillars, hand-painted by famend Thai artist Paiboon Suwannakudt and initially a part of the resort’s beloved Benjarong Thai restaurant, have been meticulously preserved and now flank the elevator touchdown within the glass-walled foyer. A rendition of the unique multi-tiered waterfall remains to be the courtyard’s centerpiece, and is surrounded by the precise plumeria bushes Dusit’s founder, Thanpuying Chanut Piyaoui, planted some 5 a long time in the past. When the waterfall’s pH degree stabilizes, even the resident koi fish (briefly transferred to Dusit Thani’s Hua Hin outpost) will return residence.

Different interpretations of the resort’s Nineteen Seventies roots are extra refined. Hong Kong-born designer André Fu, who spearheaded the brand new interiors, up to date the foyer’s signature lotus-leaf ceiling with a hexagonal design, underneath which the jade-colored Grand Foyer Bar now doles out afternoon tea with khanom (Thai sweets) and traditional cha yen milk tea. Within the ethereal rooms and suites, carried out up in sage inexperienced, white gold, and honey-hued oak, the furnishings’s curves nod to the form of the pillar bases within the authentic foyer. Intricate lattice paneling and champagne-colored headboards embellished with gold thread riff on the Thai murals that used to line the Benjarong restaurant.

However even Fu’s smooth designs cannot compete with the rooms’ prime perk: the view. A discount in room numbers — from 517 to 257 — implies that each room now has a full-length cantilevered bay window framing Lumpini Park’s sea of bushes and the gleaming skyscrapers that gentle up like a “Blade Runner” cityscape after darkish. That very same view is a spotlight of the marble-clad infinity pool on the fifth flooring, and also will be the soothing backdrop for Thai massages within the Devarana Wellness spa, which can open quickly.

An electrical tuk-tuk shuttle from the foyer whisks friends to Benjarong and the resort’s Bib Gourmand-listed Vietnamese restaurant, Thien Duong, which discovered a brand new residence in a lush tropical backyard simply across the nook. On the resort’s floor flooring, you may now discover all-day diner Dusit Connoisseur (strive the krapow fried rice with wagyu), and Pavilion, which serves a superb worldwide breakfast buffet within the mornings and focuses on Thai and Cantonese stir-fries, curries, and dim sum at lunch and dinner. Quickly, Italian chef Umberto Bombana (of three Michelin-starred 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo Bombana in Hong Kong) will open his advantageous diner, Cannubi, on the foyer flooring, whereas three extra cocktail bars — together with a sky-high rooftop spot — launched on the finish of the yr.