Mandarin Oriental Bangkok

Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok is a riverside hotel on the Chao Phraya in the Thai capital, run by Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group. It first opened as The Oriental in 1876 and counts among the earliest hotels built in Thailand.

In the 2026 edition of La Liste, the French ranking that aggregates guidebooks, publications and guest reviews, it is one of ten hotels sharing first place with a score of 99.5 out of 100; Time Out, reporting the result, notes it has been receiving guests on the river since 1876. The World's 50 Best Hotels, published by William Reed, placed it No. 7 in 2025 and No. 10 in 2026.

Its history is long and eventful. The Danish businessman Hans Niels Andersen bought the premises in 1881 and, with partners, built a new luxury hotel designed by the Italian architects Cardu & Rossi; it opened in May 1887 with 40 rooms, a second floor, carpeted hallways and a bar for 50 guests. The entourage of the future Tsar Nicholas II of Russia stayed in 1891 as its first royal guests. During the Second World War the Japanese Army used it as an officers' club, and afterwards a six-person partnership that included the photographer Germaine Krull and the American Jim Thompson bought and restored it, with Krull taking over as manager in 1947.

Sources of this text: Wikipedia · La Liste (France) · William Reed (50 Best)