Anantara Bangkok, Thailand

Anantara Bangkok

After a 15-hour flight, there’s nothing I want to do more than shower and climb in to bed. Or, so I thought. We’d booked the Anantara in Bangkok as a little luxury to sleep off our jet lag before backpacking around Thailand. But once we got there, we wanted to do everything other than sleep!

The resort is huge, and open plan. That means, the minute you walk in, you are assailed with all the options that come with the place. You can smell the restaurants, glimpse the pool and hear the river that the hotel is situated alongside. As you set your bags down, bellboys come to whisk them away, and you’re brought a welcome drink which, in our case, was much needed after a long-haul flight and an hour of traffic in metropolitan Bangkok.

Anantara Bangkok

Set away from the main street, the Anantara feels like a little world apart- which was just what we needed to prepare us for our Thailand adventure. After such long travels, we needed to retreat a little bit to prepare for the sensory overload of Bangkok.

The staff- all of whom were so, so helpful- checked us in quickly, clearly seeing our travel worn faces, and we were escorted to our room. It was huge. It was, unlike sweltering, humid Bangkok, cool. It was crisp and clean with a bathroom to die for. And the view. Oh, the view.

Overlooking the huge pool, our room had a large balcony with a sliding door so we could appreciate the tropical trees without letting in the temperature or any critters. The room itself wasn’t too hard on the eyes, either.

Anantara Bangkok

The bathroom was through double sliding doors, also all in marble. A huge jet tub is separated from a waterfall shower by thin, opaque glass, designer amenities, toothbrushes, tweezers and anything else you could think of adorn the marble countertop. Above us? A huge mirror.

Anantara Hotel Bangkok

We obviously immediately stripped off for a dip in the pool and, although we had originally thought we were too tired, we stopped off at the riverside restaurant for a drink and appetizers. The river was a good way to visualize how big Bangkok is; lights go for miles in every direction. We noticed guests getting off a ferry that shuttled back and forth across the river as we ate.

The next day, wanting immediately to dive in to Bangkok, we took a walk through the area around the hotel. It really sunk in, how much of an oasis the resort was from the rest of Bangkok. Noisy, grimy and very crowded, we were happy to be well-rested and mentally prepared before leaving the resort. But it also got us hungry for our adventure.

We were sad to leave the Anantara Bangkok; it literally had everything we could have needed to stay there our whole trip to Thailand. But we were already looking forward to Chaing Mai, and after that, the islands.

I would highly, highly recommend the Anantara Bangkok to anyone who wants to recover from jetlag, prepare for a long haul flight, or who wants to explore Thailand in a more luxurious manner. You’ll be able to dip in and out of Bangkok to this little respite in the city as much or as little as you want, and you’ll be completely entertained and cared for, with the restaurants, pools and spa to take up your time.