Tourism fears be damned. More luxury hotels are checking in to Bangkok
Now that the Siam Kempinski is officially in business, we look ahead to the next big brands coming to the city
By CNNGo staff 1 October, 2010 
Siam Kempinski sent out a strong message with its grand opening party this week: it's here to compete with the big boys.
Case in point: Bangkok's shiny new Siam Kempinski held a huge, over-the-top grand opening party to mark its arrival this week, a monstrous affair the city has never seen the likes of.
Ostentatious? Nah. Decadent? Definitely
The Siam Kempinski flew in Maasai Warriors from Tanzania, an all-girl swing band from Germany and Turkish belly dancers. Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn took a tour of the massive property and cut the opening ceremony ribbon.Chefs from global Kempinski hotels were flown to Bangkok to cook dishes from their countries of origin. In the outdoor swimming pools, there was a Thai floating market where ladies in national costume served Thai dishes directly from their boats. At the Sra Bua by Kiin Kiin restaurant, Michelin-starred chef Henrik Yde-Andersen served Thai canapés.
A Turkish Bazaar featured an Ottoman-style buffet, complete with fired up shisha pipes. There was an oyster and caviar bar, Canadian lobster and fois grois on sticks. German beer, champagne and African wines flowed, while the Brasserie Europe had two-meter high strawberry mountains, chocolate fountains and a huge dessert buffet.
The event brought in pretty much every member of Thai high society, and probably a few gate crashers as there was nobody asking for names at the door.
Nothing was too decadent, sending out a very loud and clear message: Siam Kempinski plans to compete head on with the likes of old Bangkok luxury leaders like the Mandarin Oriental, the Four Seasons and the Grand Hyatt Erawan to win the love of wealthy Thais and attract their lucrative wedding and events business.
A graphic rendering of what the St. Regis will look like when it opens next year.And the luxury brands keep coming
We went to the Thai Hotels Foundation to find out how many five-star rooms the city already has. Not including the 303-room Kempinski and a few other big names that haven't yet been rated by the Thailand Hotel Standard Foundation, they told us that on their list alone there are 22 five-star hotels with a whopping 10,279 rooms in total. And that doesn’t include any of the high end boutiques that have been going up everywhere.
So how many luxury hotel rooms does Bangkok really need? Apparently Starwood Properties thinks we could do with 630 more in the coming two years as the next two huge brand names now under development here are both theirs: the St. Regis Bangkok and the W Bangkok.
St. Regis is set to open in January of 2011, on prestigious Rajdamri Road. It will have 227 rooms, all serviced by the brand’s famed St. Regis butlers. If you find you like it so much you don’t want to leave, there are residences for sale too.
The W Bangkok will be opening in May of 2012, with 403 rooms, all equipped with the latest high tech goodies as well as their signature “Munchie Box” and Whatever/Whenever service. This hotel will be located on South Sathorn Road.
Scoff we might, but Starwood may actually be able to fill those rooms -- barring any future mass outbreaks of political unrest, of course.
Despite this year’s ongoing chaos that brought on travel advisories against Thailand from a number of countries -- Bangkok remains under a state of emergency -- the Ministry of Tourism and Sports says that in the first seven months this year, Thailand received 8,766,706 tourists, compared to 7,703,971 in 2009 for first seven months of the year, a surprising rise of 13.8 percent.
A graphic rendering of what the St. Regis will look like when it opens next year.
Read more: Tourism fears be damned. More luxury hotels are checking in to Bangkok | CNNGo.com http://www.cnngo.com/bangkok/visit/luxury-hotels-bangkok-151432#ixzz116JtYI9z
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