Make-your-own cocktail
Rosewood Bangkok, which took its first guests on March 31, 2019, has added yet another Top Property to the city’s already well-endowed luxury hotel scene. But no-one seems to be worried and apparently the owners, led by sisters Paetongtarn and Pintongtha Shinawatra, and Rosewood’s leaders as well as on-site management believe that differentiation will win – these two sisters so love the brand, by the way, that Pintongtha Shinawatra chose the as-yet unopened Rosewood Hong Kong for her star-filled wedding on March 22, 2019, to Pidok Sooksawas, a pilot The gal certainly felt different staying here, at Rosewood Bangkok.
A Rosewood burger
The wai-shape of the sculpture that is the 33-floor Rosewood building, by architects KPF, means that some rooms have slanting walls. I was in 1812, a Manor Suite, which was indeed loft-shaped – look out at the sunset, above. The space is designed for those with elegant tastes. The minibar is a tall lacquer-fronted cabinet A silver tray on a bureau next to it has bottles of make your own Martini, Negroni or Old Fashioned, all from the Everleigh Bottling Co in Fitzroy Vic Australia. There is also a bottle of Chalong Bay: The Spirit of Phuket, which I guess is rum but it does not say. There is a helpful book, Shake, Stir, Sip: More than 50 effortless cocktails made in equal parts, by Kara Newman, and I have a bottle of Yume Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2015, and lots of Legle stemmed glasses.
Lennon’s has 6,000+ vinyls
Food is, like the drinks, a feature of this 159-room hotel. I loved what I saw of the 19th floor Nan Bei Chinese restaurant, with lots private dining rooms and a terrace set with tables and chairs. All restaurants and bars are designed by AvroKO, while bedrooms and the rest of the hotel are by Taiwan designer Cecilia Chu, whose main portfolio appears to be Hyatts in several countries. Back to the edibles. I dined at the light-bright Lakorn, really a feminine boudoir leading off the seventh floor lobby. This is the place for gin & tonics, which warrant their own menu section, but I had a glass of Le Volte dell’lOrnellaia 2016, a blend of Sangiovese, Merlot and Cabernet, with a green salad followed by a magnificent gourmet burger (wagyu topped with foie gras and Comté), with truffle aioli, parmesan fries in a silver cup, and another silver dish holding charred Brussels sprouts with crispy pancetta.
Thomas Harlander at the tables
Breakfast in Lakorn was another splendid meal, though even more berries and other fruits were in G&O, the health-food dining place near the outdoor infinity pool and the (indoor) 24/7 Technogym on the hotel’s ninth floor. The big differentiator at this luxury hotel, however, is Lennon’s, a speakeasy with a difference. Take a paparazzi-free elevator directly up to the 33rd floor to emerge behind a wall of vinyls. Yes, the outer room here has over 6,000 records, plus hundreds of cassettes. Go on through to the main whisky bar, with comfy seating nooks. Let the Record Master turn the Legay tables with whatever you want, or bring your own. As record fanatic Thomas Harlander knows, everything is the best (the extensive equipment includes a McIntosh C47 Audio Preamplifier). Yes, this place is different. NOW SEE SUITE 1812
