Two-Michelin-starred dining, a shuttle boat, and quite possibly the best mattress in Southeast Asia — Katie Monk spends two nights at Bangkok’s most intimate riverside address…
Located between the river and Bangkok’s oldest paved road, in one of the city’s oldest neighbourhoods – a former trading district dating to the early Rattanakosin era – Capella Bangkok feels more like a private residence than a big city hotel. Designed by Singapore-based architecture firm Hamiltons International with interiors by BAMO, the low-rise building is part of the prestigious Chao Phraya Estate. All 101 suites and villas face the Chao Phraya river. It ranked number one in the World’s 50 Best Hotels in 2024 and number three in 2025.
My room – 803, a Riverfront Premier Room – has the feel of a well-appointed city studio. Neutral decor, walk-in dressing area, a travertine marble bathroom with free-standing tub, and a private balcony with a daybed and ceiling fan whirring slowly overhead. Needless to say, I make the most of it at every available opportunity. Though the double bed proper deserves a special mention for being the most comfortable I slept in across the entirety of Southeast Asia – the sort that will ensure sleep whether you’re tired or not. For those who want to kick things up a notch, the seven riverside villas have dining and living rooms, private terraces, outdoor plunge pools and direct river frontage. There’s nothing like it in the whole of Bangkok.
The Living Room is Capella’s version of a club lounge, open exclusively to in-house guests from seven in the morning until 11 at night, with light refreshments, calm music, and personalised service. It’s where check-in happens, and where I can sit and get work done while enjoying Thai tea, coconut macaroons and, as the day winds down, “Cin Cin” Hour – Capella’s complimentary drinks and canapés served from 5pm. The cocktail list, curated by Stella bar, includes a mango sticky rice negroni that I defy anyone to pass up.
There’s also the house aperitivo ritual, inspired by the neighbourhood’s history as a trading hub for herbs and spices. Ya Dong is a traditional Thai herbal liquor, and Capella’s house-crafted version is made from a local recipe passed down through generations: Thai rice overproof spirit, goji berry, liquorice, Tao En Orn vine and Dong Qual ginseng.
It is, in the hotel’s own words, Thailand’s age-old aptitude for seamlessly blending wellness and conviviality – or sanuk. During Cin Cin Hour I fall into conversation with other guests as well as Nicky on the hotel team, who asks me about my day. The following morning, a small gift is left in my room: moringa face oil, a natural pillow mist and soap, plus a hand-written note.
Out at the pool – with private cabanas facing the water – staff bring sliced watermelon on ice and jugs of water unprompted, surely a mark of all the best tropical hotels. The Capella Culturist programme assigns each guest a dedicated personal assistant for the duration of the stay. There is sunrise yoga by the river each morning. A shuttle boat – shared with the Four Seasons – runs upriver to the ICONSIAM shopping mall and Sathorn Pier for the BTS connection. I take it one afternoon, less for the shopping than for the journey itself. Seeing Bangkok from the vantage point of the river gives you a completely new perspective of the place, and you notice things you never would from the road.
On my return, I book in a session at the Auriga Spa. Beyond the vitality pool and a steam room – not for the faint-hearted given that Bangkok is essentially a living steam room, though the in-built cooling shower helps – there are various treatments on offer. Toying between Chi Nei Tsang (abdominal massage) and Tok Sen (the one with the wooden hammer), I plump for a traditional Thai massage. My therapist, Jane, talks through exactly what she’s doing and why, identifying areas of tension and addressing them with methodical precision, and I emerge considerably more like a functioning human being than when I went in.
The food at Capella Bangkok has just been named Best Global Hotel for Food & Drink at Food & Wine’s 2026 Global Tastemakers Awards – and having eaten my way through several of the offerings over two nights, I can confidently say the accolade is well deserved. Dinner at Côte by Mauro Colagreco – the hotel’s two-Michelin-starred restaurant, led by Executive Chef Davide Garavaglia – combines the culinary traditions of the French and Italian Rivieras, and is a real highlight. Warm homemade bread arrives with olive oil, citrus and ginger. This is then followed by a seven-course tasting menu that is delicate and precise throughout. A scallop carpaccio with kiwi opens things with brightness and flavour. A main of langoustine with truffle pasta is earthy and warm.
I order a jasmine mocktail, conversation turns to wine, the waiter suggests I try something the sommelier has been excited about, and before long a glass of red from Bodegas Arautava’s Finca La Habanera in the Valle de la Orotava – Tenerife, 2021 – appears in front of me and is every bit as good as he says. We discuss volcanic soils and natural wines. The pacing is immaculate throughout. At one point it’s even double-checked with me to make sure dishes arrive at comfortable intervals. They do. At some point the waiter places a beautiful hardback book on my table – Mirazur: Under the Sign of the Moon by Colagreco – and I finish my meal browsing through the photographs. Hours pass happily by. It was that kind of evening.
Meanwhile, Phra Nakhon – the hotel’s Thai restaurant, which uses ingredients from the on-site greenhouse and vegetable garden for many of its dishes – provides an ample breakfast spread each morning, taken al fresco by the river, under an umbrella, with the boats plying the water in front. A pomelo salad wrapped in betel leaves and a Thai curry one evening are fresh and perfectly spiced.
I have a nightcap at Stella, the hotel’s signature cocktail bar. A spicy papaya margarita is in hand, the Chao Phraya river is doing its thing below, and Miriam Nini – the Italian bar manager who came here from Tayēr + Elementary in London – is working her way around the tables, talking to every guest in the room and making sure they’re enjoying their drinks. It feels like I’m at a private party, in the best possible way.
Capella Bangkok is a small hotel by Bangkok standards, but that smallness is its main draw. It’s quieter and more intimate than any of the destination hotels, and it’s that philosophy that extends into every detail, from the dining to the spa to the service. Two nights is not enough. The bed alone is reason enough.
Capella Bangkok, 300/2 Charoenkrung Road, Yannawa, Sathorn, Bangkok 10120, Thailand. For more information, please visit www.capellahotels.com.
