Location
Hidden in a special place of privilege on the top floor of the grand old Four Seasons Bangkok, this refurbished themed-suite looks out on to the green grounds of the Royal Bangkok Sports Club in the heart of the Big Mango. A long-time luxury landmark in the city, the Four Seasons Bangkok sits in the Ratchaprasong shopping and entertainment district, and is within walking distance of numerous museums, stores, nightlife and cultural attractions. For explorations further afield, the hotel entrance is steps away from the city’s Skytrain and the Bangkok subway is a short kilometre’s walk.

First impressions
Fully refurbished and redecorated, The Explorer Suite by Jim Thompson offers a fresh face to the familiar Four Seasons Bangkok experience. Decorated in partnership with the historic Thompson silk company, the suite’s seven rooms are designed to evoke the breezy, timeless feel of a colonial Thai summer home. Dark-stained teak floors and patterned rugs establish the stately ambiance from the bottom up, while the cream and pastel green wood-panelled walls suffuse the rooms with a soothing sense of well-hewn authenticity and lightness. The Four Seasons’ signature fresh cut orchids enliven the tabletops and strategically placed paintings and tomes on Thai natural history carry home the ‘explorer’ concept. The suite’s airily appointed study, with writing desk and striped sofa, is perhaps the best place in all of Bangkok to dig into a good historical novel.

Accommodation
The Explore Suite includes one king-size master en-suite and two double beds in a guest room, such that four adults, or two adults and two children, are generously accommodated. The open-planning living room and hardwood dining table for up to eight are perfect for family dinners or homey entertaining. A large but discreet flatscreen and Bose iPod dock will cover your multimedia needs. Both bedroom suites include their own all-marble bathrooms, featuring deep-basin bathtubs and rain showers. The tongue and groove ceilings and light silk window dressings strike a nice note of elegance, without ever seeming overweening or decadent.

Facilities
The greater hotel is highly regarded as a dining destination for its four excellent restaurants. Madison is a swank seafood and steakhouse designed by Tony Chi. Biscotti is similarly smart-casual and stylishly contemporary, but specialises in Italian. The hotel’s sleek sushi bar, Shintaro, is among the city’s finest, while Spice Market melds classic Thai flavours with haute cooking techniques. Classic and inventive tropical cocktails are served in the hotel’s vaulted-ceilinged grand lobby and at the outdoor bar, Aqua. The requisite pool and gym are not quite as large or stunning as those you will find at some of the newer five-stars in the city, but they’re perfectly ample.

Verdict
On the whole, the Four Seasons Bangkok has proved a model for how an establishment can age with style and grace – in a city currently obsessed with all things new. Major Hollywood celebs are all known to have been guests at the hotel during recent visits to Bangkok. As the Four Seasons Bangkok’s largest and freshest suite, booking The Explorer Suite likely means you’ll be blazing a trail through Southeast Asia on the heels of rather glamourous company.

Patrick Brzeski