Hotel: Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok

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Address:
48 Oriental Avenue
Bangkok
Thailand

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Hotel Class: Not Yet Rated

Expert Reviews
Visitor Information

Expert Rating & Recommended:

	Family
	Gay and Lesbian

Expert Review of Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok

Family Review of Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok

By Away Travel Expert : Jenny McKelvie

Family Expert Favorite

Family Expert Rating

Recommended for:
Children of all ages

Family Expert Tips & Helpful Hints

The day-care center opens later than you might expect, operating daily from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m.
The day-care center is a particularly good value for families who have more than one child, as the daily and hourly fees are only slightly higher for two or more children.

The Mandarin Oriental, formerly just the plain old Oriental, is the country's most famous hotel. It has stood by the city's lifeblood river for more than a century. The original graceful colonial bolt-hole has been extended over the years to incorporate a modern section whose gleaming tower opens up sweeping city views. Real care has gone into accommodating young travelers. There is a day-care center that offers a range of fun, supervised activities for kids of all ages, with everything from crayons to computers. In terms of leisure facilities, the hotel boasts two swimming pools, including a wading pool that is ideal for children. Tennis coaches are on hand, too, for younger travelers looking to brush up on their court skills. The hotel's restaurants may be some of the city's most renowned, but they all feature child-friendly menu options. Neat family-friendly extras include gifts, such as stuffed animals and a book for all children staying in suites. Note that free cots are

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Gay and Lesbian Review of Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok

By Away Travel Expert : Matt Link

LGBT Expert Favorite

LGBT Expert Rating

Recommended for:
Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, LGBT Family, Straight-friendly, Transgender

This is the over 100-year-old hotel that was the famed favorite Asian residence of gay writers, Somerset Maugham and Noel Coward. Author suites are named after Maugham, Coward, Joseph Conrad, and James Michener and even if you don't stay in one of these pricey rooms, you must take high tea in the Author's Wing—you'll feel as if you've died and woken up in a Bette Davis movie (see The Letter first!). If tea is not your drink of choice, have a Singapore Sling on the verandah overlooking the Chao Praya river. You can just imagine Somerset, dressed in his best white linen, scanning the vista for the latest talent as he penned one of his "exotic" Asian-themed stories. The spa is another hedonist not-to-be-missed indulgence and guests get free access to the vintage-style dragon boats, which ferries to the other side of the river—a short trip, but a stylish one. Everyone should stay here at least once, just to say you did it. The Oriental is a classic, redolent of the Golden Age of gay travel.