The 32-storey Millennium Hilton Bangkok opens on 1 February 2006, with an ambitious architectural plan that incorporates contemporary western design sensibilities with a touch of traditional Siam.
Spectacularly located on the banks of Chao Phraya River in the heart of Bangkok's original temple precinct, the hotel offers an unusual mix of vistas; up high there's a 360-degree panorama over the ever changing skyline and snaking klongs, while closer to the river, guest rooms and reception areas offer a box office view over a rag tag of barges and canal boats that ply the waterway.
The 543-room property boasts a 50-metre wide river frontage. Guests can access the hotel by road, Skytrain, or more culturally befitting for someone visiting the cradle of Bangkok's civilization, by riverboat.
The short ferry ride from Hilton's private reception at River City to the hotel's private pontoon offers a first impression of an Asian metropolis in transition; bustling traffic, modern transport and hulking high rises are punctuated by the spires of grand palaces and golden temples. By night, with the city's commercial activities at rest, a timeless romance descends for the duration of the crossing.
Inside, the hotel is at once cutting-edge and cozy. Chic interiors by BARstudio and lighting by the celebrated New York designer, Tony Chi creates a synergy with the river outside. The 12-storey honeycomb atrium lobby, fully encased in large panes of transparent glass, shimmers with light in a nod to the flotilla of river craft outside, while multiple layers of gleaming pools frame the lobby.
Guest rooms are fresh and contemporary, with accents from Thai culture surfacing in golden lacquer and wooden panels. All rooms have postcard perfect views over the river as well as an open plan bathroom, high-speed internet access and in room safes. Executive rooms & suites have a three zone concept - Work, Sleep, Relax - allowing guests to put back a little of what life takes out.
To one side of the lobby stands a two-storey spa built to resemble a contemporary Thai Sala. Centred round a huge, centuries old Banyan tree, The Spa, provides an urban retreat from the bustle outside. Each of the ten treatment rooms overlooks the venerated tree and therein captures the spiritual heart of the Thai people.
For higher cardio action, guests can opt for the health club with its cardio-vascular facilities, aerobics room, plunge pools and saunas, or the 20-metre infinity-edge pool that seemingly drips over the edge of the building into the Chao Phraya River.
The hotel will become the new hub of the Bangkok dining scene and guests will be spoilt for choice with seven distinct outlets. These include; Flow an all day culinary experience featuring live cooking stations. Yuan a contemporary Chinese restaurant; Prime a signature steakhouse; Three Sixty a sophisticated jazz lounge with 360 degree views; Zeta Bar the award-winning London bar concept that shifts from a bar to club late at night; The Beach a poolside outlet overlooking the River of Kings, and The Lantern, an alfresco tea room flanking the Chao Phraya River.
In addition to the leisure offerings, the Millennium Hilton Bangkok will have one of the city's most enviable meeting spaces. The entire 30th floor is dedicated to the trade-marked Hilton Meetings and will be home to ten meeting rooms, all offering views over the city and an abundance of natural light. Two ballrooms, the largest with the capacity for 900 delegates, will become vivid backdrops for events, product launches and functions. Dramatic giant tear drop lighting as well as walls coated in bright Thai silk will provide both a Thai sense of place and a sound barrier for more effective congresses.
When it happens in Bangkok, it will undoubtedly happen at the Millennium Hilton Bangkok.
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