Friday 8 May 2015

The Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok

For the final leg of our epic Honeymoon we took a flight from Phuket back to Bangkok for one last night of luxury at The Mandarin Oriental. This was an incredibly expensive treat but we felt after an amazing trip we had to go out with a bang.

We were greeted by very friendly staff who whisked our bags away and sent us to check in via a beautiful lobby full of fresh flowers with a piano man. The luxury was felt instantly! We had a river view room, which we had requested and were sent a lovely bottle of red wine for our Honeymoon as well as some chocolates.

So, onto the bedroom! The bedrooms here aren't massive but you are in the center of Bangkok and they are beautiful. The bathroom has a large soaking tub with separate rain shower and every single product you can imagine in large quantities that are constantly replaced. The bed is roomy and comfy with a pillow menu and floor to ceiling windows overlooking the glistening city. The TV was large and flat screen with English channels and a DVD library and the desk area came complete with a printer. Our butler was so lovely and showed us all around the room with all it's mod cons, including the Call Butler button available.

The hotel itself is just gorgeous, the pool area is secluded and large, the lobby as discussed is beautiful and spotless. There is a spa across the river, which you access by a complementary boat and a full gym is also provided. Your every whim can be catered for here and we were just gutted we couldn't revel in the luxury for longer.

As we didn't want to leave the hotel bearing in mind we would be staying for much less than 24 hours we chose to dine at The Riverside Terrace. Make sure you pre-book as the restaurant was full despite being a Sunday evening and request a table by the river, which we were given. Firstly the restaurant is beautiful, it's open air and fairy lit and is on the river so you can watch all of the barges and boats all lit up at night sailing past. The staff are incredible and so helpful. They really look after you replacing cutlery and napkins and catering to everything you could need with great attention to detail but without being intrusive.

Now, this is actually a buffet restaurant but a very exquisite one. They have a selection of starters including sushi and sashimi, as well as salads, cold meats, cheeses, fish and a large selection of different breads. There is also a hot starter area with satays, grilled prawns, steamed crab etc etc. Everything is in little portions and you are welcome to go and try as many things as you fancy and as many times as you can manage. For the main course they have an excellent selection of roasted tender meats on offer with different sides such as roast potatoes, cauliflower cheese and vegetables. They also have an area serving curries with naan breads. Almost everything you can imagine is available and at a top A La Carte restaurant quality. They have a fab dessert section with tiny portions of everything you could wish for. From macaroons to little mousses, cheesecakes and meringues as well as a crepe station making crepe Suzette with ice cream and a variety of sauces. There is fruit, there are cakes, the list goes on and on and on.

To accompany dinner is an excellent wine and cocktail list and although this is an expensive dining option for Thailand it's beautiful and delicious and less than London prices. We were pleasantly surprised by our bill having not known costs before choosing to dine here. The Mandarin has plenty of dining venues and I can imagine all of them are brilliant in their own way but for a romantic, peaceful, flavorful evening on the riverside I just don't think we could have chosen a better venue to celebrate the last night of our incredible journey through Thailand.

I really hope one day we can come back to Bangkok and stay again at this fabulous hotel. We didn't even scratch the surface of the facilities on offer here and I would recommend anyone who wants some old school charm to check yourself in for a pampering break.














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