Bangkok
Bangkok's Shangri-La Hotel, center, has staked out not only a place on the east bank of the Chao Phraya River but a position on the Thai city's list of five-star hotels. And the Shangri-La and its Bangkok peers provide their hospitality at gratifyingly modest rates. In the Shangri-La's case, that means doubles as low as $200.
(Susan Spano / Los Angeles Times)
(Susan Spano / Los Angeles Times)
A guest soaking at an Oriental Bangkok pool has taken a dip in history, so to speak. The Oriental was established in 1876 and, in ensuing years, earned a reputation as one of the world's best, favored by such writers as Joseph Conrad, Graham Greene and Noël Coward. (Try the Authors' Lounge for a splendid high tea.) Doubles as low as $269.
(The Peninsula Bangkok)
(The Peninsula Bangkok)
A long, beautiful riverside pool bordered by lounging cabanas is one of the delights at the Peninsula Bangkok, a Thai outpost of an elite Hong Kong-based chain. From the Peninsula's perch on the Chao Phraya's west side, guests who want to sightsee are carried to the busier east side by a fleet of elegant hotel barges. Doubles as low as $244.
