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Which to choose · Bangkok

The Mandarin Oriental or the Peninsula, Bangkok?

They face each other across the Chao Phraya. The Mandarin Oriental is on the city bank at Oriental Avenue, open as The Oriental since 1876, with its historic Authors' and Garden Wings and a River Wing redone in 2019; the Peninsula is a 1998 W-shaped tower on the Thonburi bank, where every room faces the river and the city beyond. The first is history and restaurants; the second is space, a long pool and the view.

Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok

Bang Rak, Bangkok

Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok

Opened 1876 · 271 rooms

The Peninsula Bangkok

Khlong San, Bangkok

The Peninsula Bangkok

Opened 1998 · 367 rooms

In short

Choose the Mandarin Oriental for 150 years on the river, eleven restaurants and bars, and three MICHELIN Keys; choose the Peninsula for a river view from every room, the 88-metre pool and a quieter bank. The two face each other, and both run boats across the Chao Phraya.

  • A first visit to Bangkok

    Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok

    Tea in the Authors' Lounge and the hotel's boats to ICONSIAM, with the Grand Palace, Wat Arun and Chinatown a short boat ride away.

  • A family

    The Peninsula Bangkok

    Every room faces the river, from 45 sq m, and the three-tier pool runs 88 metres along it.

  • Dinner as the reason

    Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok

    Anne-Sophie Pic at Le Normandie holds two MICHELIN stars, with The China House and Baan Phraya in the same hotel.

Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok

Choose Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok for

  • 150 years on the river: afternoon tea in the Authors' Lounge, and the Ambassador Suite still in the original 1876 building
  • Anne-Sophie Pic at Le Normandie, French with two MICHELIN stars, among eleven restaurants and bars, with jazz at The Bamboo Bar
  • Three MICHELIN Keys, the most the guide gives

The Peninsula Bangkok

Choose The Peninsula Bangkok for

  • Every room faces the river, from 45 sq m, and the Balcony rooms add an open balcony over the Chao Phraya
  • An 88-metre, three-tier pool with twelve Thai salas, and a spa in its own three-storey building by the water
  • Thiptara, home-style Thai under a banyan tree among teak houses from Chiang Mai

Side by side

Where
Bang Rak
Khlong San
Opened
1876
1998
Last renovated
2019
–
Rooms
271, 60 of them suites
367
Room sizes
35–63 sq m
45–47 sq m
Restaurants and bars
11
6
Pool
–
Yes
Hot spring
–
–
Awards
3 MICHELIN Keys, Forbes 5 stars
2 MICHELIN Keys, Forbes 5 stars
Design
DesignWilkes (Jeffrey Wilkes)
–
Airport
Suvarnabhumi International Airport is reached by expressway
Suvarnabhumi (BKK) is 39 km, about 45 minutes by car
Brand
Mandarin Oriental
The Peninsula
Booked through us
Mandarin Oriental Fan Club
The Peninsula PenClub

The rooms

Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok

Which to book. For the river, the State Rooms (61 sq m) face it directly from their balconies, where the larger Mandarin Rooms see it only in part; the Authors' Suites and the top-floor Oriental Suite have full river views, and the Ambassador Suite is in the original Oriental Hotel building.

The Peninsula Bangkok

Which to book. Every room faces the river, so the choice is height and outdoor space: the Grand Deluxe rooms sit on the upper floors (the Balcony versions on floors 23 to 35), and the Balcony versions of both Deluxe and Grand Deluxe add an open balcony over the Chao Phraya at the same size.

The first room

Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok

Chao Phraya Room

Chao Phraya Room

35 sq m · river or garden view · entrance area, bedroom and separate sitting area with sofa

The Peninsula Bangkok

Deluxe Room

Deluxe Room

45–47 sq m · river view · teak floors, seating area and a marble bathroom with double vanities

The room to ask for

Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok

State Room

State Room

61 sq m · full river view · directly river-facing balcony; Jim Thompson silks and teak panelling

The Peninsula Bangkok

–

The largest suite

Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok

Oriental Two-Bedroom Suite

Oriental Two-Bedroom Suite

376 sq m · full river view · top-floor penthouse; 57.6 sq m wraparound terrace, private dining room, entertainment room, kitchen

The Peninsula Bangkok

The Peninsula Suite

The Peninsula Suite

364 sq m · river view · the largest suite: guest bedrooms, dining room for ten, private gym, butler's room and landscaped terrace

Dining

Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok

  • Anne-Sophie Pic at Le Normandie · French fine dining

  • The China House by Chef Fei · Chaoshan and Cantonese restaurant

  • Baan Phraya · Thai restaurant · historic riverside house

  • Sala Rim Naam · traditional Thai restaurant

  • Lord Jim's · international buffet restaurant

  • The Verandah · all-day restaurant · by the river

  • Riverside Terrace · open-air evening barbecue · by the river

  • Ciao Terrazza · Italian restaurant · alfresco over the river

  • Terrace Rim Naam · Thai restaurant

  • The Authors' Lounge · lounge · afternoon tea

  • The Bamboo Bar · jazz bar

The Peninsula Bangkok

  • Thiptara · Thai restaurant · by the river

  • River Café & Terrace · all-day restaurant · riverside · breakfast and dinner

  • The Lobby · all-day restaurant · lobby · afternoon tea

  • The Bar · cocktail bar · off the lobby

  • The River Bar · outdoor bar · waterfront

  • Pool Bar · pool bar · by the pool

The spa and the pool

Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok

The Oriental Spa has 18 treatment rooms; the hotel also has two outdoor pools, a fitness and wellness centre with a recovery studio (cold plunge, infrared sauna), a Muay Thai and boxing studio, a yoga house and tennis courts.

The Peninsula Bangkok

The Peninsula Spa takes a three-storey Thai colonial-style building by the river, with 14 treatment rooms including private suites with steam showers and river-facing whirlpools, a sauna and plunge pools; outside is an 88-metre (288-foot) three-tier pool with 12 Thai salas, plus a fitness centre and a tennis and pickleball court.

Where they are

The two stand 400 m apart, as the crow flies.

Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok

On the Chao Phraya river in Bang Rak

  • ICONSIAM

    5 min by boat, free hotel shuttle boat every 30 min

  • Suvarnabhumi Airport

    60 min by car, up to about an hour with traffic; hotel transfers

  • Don Mueang Airport

    60 min by car, up to about an hour with traffic; hotel transfers

The Peninsula Bangkok

On the Thonburi bank of the Chao Phraya

  • Suvarnabhumi Airport

    45 min by car

  • Don Mueang Airport

    30 min by car

The building

Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok

Opened as The Oriental Hotel in 1876; the Ambassador Suite sits in the original building. The Authors' and Garden Wings were restored in 2016, and in 2019 Jeffrey Wilkes of DesignWilkes redesigned the River Wing, cutting its rooms from 338 to 301 and raising suites from 30 to 46, all with river views.

The Peninsula Bangkok

A W-shaped tower opened in 1998, with about ten rooms per floor so every room looks at the river; rooms are panelled in teak and makha wood. The spa occupies a separate three-storey Thai colonial-style building in the riverside gardens.

Booked through us

Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok

Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok

Mandarin Oriental Fan Club

  • A room upgrade when available

  • Daily breakfast for two

  • A US$100 food, drink or spa credit each stay

  • A welcome amenity

In Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta the hotel gives another benefit in place of the credit.

The Peninsula Bangkok

The Peninsula Bangkok

The Peninsula PenClub

  • A room upgrade confirmed when you book, some suites excepted

  • Daily breakfast for two

  • A US$100 food, drink or spa credit each stay

  • Check-in from 6am and checkout as late as 10pm

  • An upgraded welcome amenity

The early and late hours have a few blackout dates.

Become a client

Still deciding? Tell us your dates and what matters most, and we will say which we would choose, and book it at the hotel’s own rate with the perks above.

Questions

The Mandarin Oriental is on the city bank, with a free shuttle boat to ICONSIAM and the Grand Palace, Wat Arun and Chinatown a short boat ride away. The Peninsula is on the Thonburi bank, and its restored rice barges cross to the Skytrain station on the far side.

No: the Chao Phraya Rooms face the river or the garden, and the Mandarin Rooms see it only in part. The State Rooms face it directly from their balconies, and the Authors' Suites have full river views.

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