Hospitality Design - September 2012 - 96

perspectivesplacesbangkok
2
2. Designed to mimic a
bride’s veil, LIT’s façade
is marked by quirky
perforations.
3. Bright colors saturate
the w xyz bar of the
tech-savvy Aloft.
4. The suites in the
antiques-filled Siam are
amplified by a black and
white palette.
lighting design by Accent Studio together yields
a contemporary Thai hotel with humorous and
quirky details. The façade is a skin anchored
approximately six feet away from the building.
Its perforations are designed to mimic a bride’s
veil; by liſt ing the veil and venturing inside, a
guest can then experience LIT’s true beauty. On
a more practical note, the veil allows light into
each of the 79 guestrooms while providing an
abstracted view of the city’s skyline. (LIT gets its
name from the façade’s play on light.)
The hotel’s Kiriya Spa revolves around
4
treatments inspired by the movements of Thai
dance, and is appropriately dramatic with a
cavern-like reception area lined in mosaic tile.
Upstairs is a swimming pool adjacent to all-day
dining restaurant BCDE (Bistro of Creative
Drinking and Eating), but the two are teasingly
only visually connected. Similarly, a central
courtyard separates the outdoor bar, Fiesta
Steppe, and the pool.
3
4
his latest fi lmAntapal premiered when the hotel
opened in June—and pop musician in the band
Pru, knew that it was a big risk building a hotel
along the river in a residential part of the city.
“Luckily, the site has belonged to my family
for nearly sixty years,” says Clapp. “The land is in
the old town, further away from the movers and
shakers. I admit that twenty years ago I’m not
sure if a hotel would’ve worked here. But aſt er
the boutique movement and travelers longing for
new experiences, we realized that we had a gem
on our hands. Thirty-nine rooms on three acres
of land on Bangkok riverfront would not make
sense to most business people. We’re building a
family at the Siam, a home.”
Clapp began collecting antiques when he
was at college in Boston: “It was the fi rst time
I had my own place to decorate as I liked and I
would scour secondhand shops looking to add to
my collection. Even now, I think: do we go on a
family holiday or do I buy two chandeliers?”
096
September 2012 hospitalitydesign.com
Bensley created a neutral palet e of black and
white to form a backdrop for Clapp’s eclectic
treasures. Above the bar in the Art Deco-inspired
all-day dining restaurant is his collection of brass
musical instruments suspended to form a jazz
mobile. The double doors framing each suite and
pool villa are unique and salvaged from houses in
Myanmar, Cambodia, or further afi eld.
Along with quirky collectibles such as an
antique rocking goat and numerous facilities
including a spa, Muay Thai boxing ring, library,
screening room, and riverfront infi nity pool,
there are also four historic Ayut haya houses that
belonged to Jim Thompson’s friend and fellow
collector, Connie Mangskau. Three comprise a
riverfront restaurant while one was converted
into a villa.
LIT > LIT Bangkok, in contrast, is every bit
a city hotel and revels in it. Its architecture by
VaSLab, interior design by Suchanoot S., and
Aloft > Aloſt , W’s trendy younger sister that
is seeing its 70th property unveiled this year,
opened in December. Although fl aunting similar
street smarts to LIT, Aloſt is all saturated colors
and funky beanbag furnishings designed by the
Thai offi ce of Melbourne-based Hassell.
In keeping with Aloſt ’s reputation for
targeting tech-savvy guests, 49 of the 296
guestrooms in the property owned by novice
hotelier Parvinder Khanijan are what the
brand dubs “touch rooms.” Guests can use their
smart phones to control all aspects of the room’s
electrical gadgets, including air conditioning and
lighting. The fi rst Aloſt in Southeast Asia also
off ers a wine cellar with iPad-stored information
and 3,000 bot les available for purchase or to
accompany meals in adjacent all-day dining
restaurant, Crave. The highlight, though, is a
splash pool near the top of the building, which
lets guests lounge against the Bangkok skyline.
Okura Prestige > On Wireless Road,
Okura Prestige is the latest property to open in
the Park Ventures Ecoplex building, a mixed-use
facility with the Japanese hotel brand occupying
its top fl oors. Aſt er cautious expansion since fi rst
opening in Tokyo in 1962, Okura is stepping things
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