Hotel of the Week: The New Ritz-Carlton, Bangkok, Opens Inside a Gleaming Tower Designed by SOM

With Southeast Asia in the spotlight thanks to shows like The White Lotus, hospitality giant The Ritz-Carlton is expanding and modernizing its presence in the region through updates and partnerships at existing properties and the creation of brand new hotels to fill in any geographic gaps. For example, The Ritz-Carlton, Bali is currently hosting a beach club collaboration with Italian fashion brand Missoni, while at Mandapa, A Ritz-Carlton Reserve in Ubud—frequently voted the region’s best hotel—enhanced wellness experiences await guests.

The latest opening, The Ritz-Carlton, Bangkok, is a dazzling example of the company’s new context-forward approach to design—swapping the cohesive formula for interiors previously applied across the global properties for a location-specific aesthetic.

The hotly anticipated hotel occupies a brand-new building designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) as part of the huge One Bangkok development—the Thai capital’s answer to New York’s Hudson Yards—on the southern edge of the Lumphini Park green oasis. The 24-story tower accommodates 260 spacious and serene guest rooms and suites, with elevated neutral decor that allows the vistas of the vibrant city through floor-to-ceiling glass to draw the eye. Occupying the penthouse, The Ritz-Carlton Suite spans almost 4,200 square feet and includes two opulent king bedrooms, a marble-lined bath, and a generous living space flooded with natural light.

Soaring ceilings add drama to the hotel’s ground-floor entrance, where copious cabinets display a collection of worldly objects and antiques—intended to evoke the grand residence of a global traveler who’s made Bangkok their home. Black-and-white marble floors set the tone for a monochromatic palette across the communal spaces, which continue in the fourth-floor lobby. Here, lounge seating is tucked into archways that wrap the building’s perimeter and frame views over the park and city.

Decorated using warm-wood finishes and accented with red and teal, all-day restaurant Lily’s serves Asian, Western, and Continental breakfast options. At night, the space takes on a moodier atmosphere, offering reinterpretations of local Thai favorites that are all intended for sharing. The hotel’s fine-dining option, Duet by David Toutain, is located in a stunning glasshouse space that glows softly at night and is designed with nods to traditional Thai crafts. The Michelin-starred French chef’s menu is plant forward, and each of the six or eight courses revolves around a specific floral or herb. A sultry lounge on the 23rd floor is reserved for the hotel’s Club and Suite guests and also serves six different meals throughout the day, while the bar menu at reception-level Caleō includes favorite cocktails from The Ritz-Carlton properties around the world.

For those arriving from afar, the spa offers myriad ways to refresh using ESPA products with the expansive Spa Suite, complete with its own lounge and a full bath that includes a freestanding tub being the most luxurious. Outside, a saltwater infinity pool flanked by cabana beds and lush flora stretches towards Bangkok’s ‘Blade Runner’ skyline. On the terrace below, groups of staff members perform a traditional dance every evening—one of The Ritz-Carlton’s “sundown rituals” that celebrate different local customs across the brand’s global properties.

The Ritz-Carlton, Bangkok’s art program features a monumental crumpled-aluminum sculpture, Hurricane Silver, by London-based duo Fredrikson Stallard, which is the first thing visitors see as they enter the hotel. When disembarking the elevators on the lobby level, they’re greeted by an installation of delicate glass flowers titled RE/LEAF by Thai artist Nathakorn Kanitvaranun. Displayed above a dark reflecting pool, this piece is particularly dramatic at sunset, when the water reflects the sky seen through the arch-shaped windows behind.

These works form part of a wider Art Loop around One Bangkok, which is built on the site of the first wireless radio station in Thailand. The original building has been reconstructed and transformed into a museum, with free exhibitions that explore the history of communications. In the public outdoor spaces, large-scale mirrored sculptures by international names like Anish Kapoor and Tony Cragg, and a sound installation by Yuri Suzuki, are accompanied by works created by emerging local talents that include a bench formed from a looping red band, named Ribbon Flow.

Within this shiny development in the heart of the city, The Ritz-Carlton, Bangkok opens the door for the brand to expand even further across the region—providing another landmark property in an international travel hub city, after Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. Guests from North America and Europe can spend a few nights here adjusting to the time difference, while exploring the Thai capital’s spectacular landmarks and incredible dining and nightlife scenes, before traveling on to other areas of the country—like Koh Samui and Phulay Bay—or venturing further to Langkawi, Jakarta, or the properties in Bali. Whatever the itinerary, an all-encompassing Southeast Asian adventure awaits.