What It's Like To Stay At The Bangkok Hotel Rumoured To Be The Next 'White Lotus'- International Traveller

This year, the behemoth urban oasis on the banks of Bangkok’s emblematic Chao Praya River is the ultimate in contemporary luxury hospitality.

At 2023’s inaugural World’s 50 Best Hotels award ceremony, Four Seasons Bangkok at Chao Phraya River was named the third-best hotel in the world. Here, we make sense of the enviable reputation this property has been steadily building since it opened in early 2020.

The famously fresh-faced Passalacqua at Lake Como and the legendary Rosewood Hong Kong climbed higher on the World’s 50 Best Hotels ladder, but it’s clear that Bangkok has something special on its hands with this expansive iteration from the renowned luxury brand.

Given Four Seasons as a brand has become synonymous with modern luxury, thanks to its starring role across seasons one and two of HBO’s The White Lotus, the success of this Bangkok property feels like an important evolution for a name that has been around since 1960.

First impressions

Statement-making art pieces and lavish chandeliers. On paper, the lobby at Four Seasons Bangkok at Chao Phraya River sounds like any other ostentatious five-star hotel. But there’s something effectively simple about the way Jean-Michel Gathy-led architectural firm Denniston has designed the entrance, first dabbing the eye with tasteful water features and petal-like glass discs before opening up to a relaxed series of spaces, dotted with a varied art collection.

guests relaxing on sun loungers at the outdoor pool in Four Seasons Bangkok — Reflective pools look over the actual pools at Four Seasons Bangkok. (Image: Four Seasons)

Each of the larger art pieces has individual lighting to make sure everything is displayed optimally, playing around with scale across the collection with textured pieces that mimic various features of Bangkok’s topography and Thai culture. Beautiful white elephant motifs can be found throughout the property, while the indoor-outdoor courtyard of lush greenery and reflective pools looks over the actual pools and one very large spa bath that could easily fit at least 20 guests comfortably.

Visually, the most impressive feature to me is a tall lacquered art piece just before the entrance to the award-winning Cantonese restaurant Yu Ting Yuan, textured with what seems like an undulating golden ribbon falling in a sea of blackness. I’m told this was made to mimic daylight dancing off the Chao Phraya.

an aerial view of Four Seasons Bangkok — Four Seasons Bangkok sits on the bank of the Chao Phraya River. (Image: Four Seasons)

The room

Soft, tasteful design contrasted against impactful river views give the room a stunning first impression.

My deluxe river view room is generously sized at 50 square metres and, true to its name, offers an exciting perspective of the murky Chao Phraya River. The massive picture window pulls the on-water action in to help give guests a real sense of place. At night, many of the river’s long-tail boats are covered in lights, zipping past the window like shooting stars set in slow motion.

the Deluxe River View room at Four Seasons Bangkok — Settle into the deluxe river view room. (Image: Four Seasons)

Fine Thai silk, faux ostrich leather and luxurious marble are used to work up an elegant, understated escape. The room is much calmer in aesthetic than the hotel’s lavishly designed restaurants and bars. The bathroom is particularly noteworthy with its separate tub and rain shower, as well as the slick double vanity that’s big enough for couples to have their own space.

the bathroom with a separate tub and rain shower at the Deluxe River View, Four Seasons Bangkok — The room has a separate tub and rain shower. (Image: Chris Singh)

As for the bed, it was one of the most supremely comfortable I’ve slept on in years. The brand’s standards have never led me astray when it comes to sleeping well, so I’m not surprised when I immediately sink into those pillows as if I were falling back onto a cloud. A comprehensive pillow menu is available for guests who want more support.

I’m impressed by how seriously the hotel takes its mini bar. It really is your very own bar, with instructions on how to create some of BKK Social Club’s cocktails using the premium craft spirits on display. And even if you don’t want to try your hand at mixology, the bottled cocktails go down smoothly when you’re sipping them on the lily-white chaise, peering over the river.

the room at Four Seasons Bangkok — Bed down at Four Seasons Bangkok. (Image: Chris Singh)

Dining

“We also want to be part of the community," the PR manager says as he hands me a plate of exceptional smoked pancetta ravioli. The Italian-accented Riva Del Fiume Ristorante is one of several kitchens that make up the property’s definitive culinary offering. The other two major ones are Yu Ting Yuan, the aforementioned Cantonese diner that has already picked up a Michelin star, and Palmier by Guillaume Galliot, the resident French restaurant where oysters are flown in from Paris and the pan-fried sole grenobloise with capers and lemon reiterates one thing for me: this hotel understands food in a way most city hotels don’t.

Yu Ting Yuan at Four Seasons Bangkok — Yu Ting Yuan is Michelin-starred. (Image: Four Seasons)

A hotel’s dining scene is still one of its most important plays, and there’s a clear attempt to balance price and quality. Chef Andrea Accordi of Riva Del Fiume, for example, has worked with local farmers to teach them the Italian way of growing certain ingredients.

This is so the kitchen is playing with the right textures and tastes for these authentic dishes, limiting the amount of produce that needs to be imported and keeping things as fresh as possible. This also reduces cost, hence why the Four Seasons team deals with just as many locals and hotel guests.

the elegant dining of Riva Del Fiume, Four Seasons Bangkok — Pull up a chair at Riva Del Fiume. (Image: Four Seasons)

Having solid ties with local farms is just half of the play, and it’ll pay dividends as growing seasons become more potent. The other is cost. While I’d by no means call Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok at Chao Phraya River an affordable hotel, a night out on this expansive property is at least attainable.

It’s also mostly delicious. Palmier by Guillaume Galliot, the hotel’s casual French concept, is by and large more satisfying than the steam-obsessed Yu Ting Yuan and the otherwise vibrant Riva Del Fiume.

Palmier by Guillaume Galliot exterior at Four Seasons Bangkok — Head to Palmier by Guillaume Galliot for delicious French food. (Image: Four Seasons)

However, the most valuable player at this extravagant urban oasis is the resident cocktail bar. Not only has Yu Ting Yuan’s nod from the Michelin Guide done wonders for the property’s reputation, but the Argentian-flavoured BKK Social Club was rated the single best cocktail bar in all of Asia in 2023.

It’s not hard for me to taste why as soon as I sip on one of the team’s flawless Champagne cocktails and work my way through a serving of rich chicken satay. The fattiness of the chicken pairs well with the sweetness of a Bananazo, a cocktail built with bourbon, salted ripe banana, chocolate bitters and caviar. For something so premium, the drink is deceptively simple.

the bar at Four seasons Bangkok — Sip on flawless cocktails at BKK Social Club. (Image: Four Seasons)

The comprehensive buffet breakfast takes place riverside at the relaxed Riva Del Fiume. However, a better rise-and-shine option would be the oversized pastries of Cafe Madeleine, a gorgeous French patisserie selling high-end produce.

Underneath Riva Del Fiume, directly by the river, will be a Thai BBQ concept that wasn’t yet open on my visit in December 2023. Given the quality on offer, I would assume it’s all about refined street food classics to help anchor the hotel in the world’s most visited city.

A surprising local iteration of Tokyo’s famous Sushi Saito is also onsite, but I’m told that it’s independently operated so it isn’t considered part of the Four Seasons despite its physical presence just a stone’s throw from the hotel’s series of outdoor pools.

Overkill? The range is typical for a hotel of this calibre – Italian, French, Japanese, Cantonese, Thai – but, as with all the hotel’s touchpoints, the success of this Four Seasons isn’t about reinvention, it’s about refinement.

Riva Del Fiume at Four Seasons Bangkok — The success of this Four Seasons isn’t about reinvention, it’s about refinement. (Image: Four Seasons)

The facilities

Wellness is the future of the hotel industry and these higher-end properties are in a great position to offer more than just a state-of-the-art gym. Four Seasons Bangkok at Chao Phraya River takes it much further by having an entire wing dedicated to restoration and self-care.

a woman doing yoga at the pool, Four Seasons Bangkok — Power through the day with a morning yoga at the pool. (Image: Four Seasons)

Not only does this include said state-of-the-art gym, but also studios for aerial yoga and muay Thai, a lap pool looking over the inner courtyard, a nail salon and a barber. There’s also the requisite underground spa with several treatment rooms, a tiny hydrotherapy pool and a relaxation room.

The Spa's vitality pool at Four Seasons Bangkok — Soak in the spa’s vitality pool. (Image: Four Seasons)

Given so much attention has been given to wellness in the past few years, I feel like this Four Seasons is making a statement that luxury properties need to think holistically if they want to refine the inescapable travel trend. After all, wellness is made up of those aspects of a trip that genuinely feel like a holiday. As they say in the hotel industry, check-in to check-out. The Four Seasons team take that very seriously.

A surprising addition is the hotel’s art gallery with ambitions to showcase local artists in regularly rotating exhibitions. The space itself is more than an afterthought, wedged amongst the line-up of restaurants near the riverfront with a few distinct spaces including a section for video works. The hotel’s only ATM being shoved down here feels a bit jarring, but the machine is squashed towards a dimly lit corner where the gallery ends.

Woman in pool at Four Seasons Bangkok — Spend your day lazing by the pool if you wish. (Image: Four Seasons)

Getting there

Four Seasons Bangkok is spread along the banks of the Chao Phraya. Historically, this section of Bangkok has been largely ignored by modern hotels, with the central areas of Sukhumvit and trendy Thonglor preferred by locals.

Bangkok’s traffic may be famously frustrating, but getting around this chaotic city is very easy with the BTS stations. Four Seasons Bangkok is a 40-minute drive from Suvarnabhumi International Airport. Traffic is wildly unpredictable, so if time isn’t on your side, take a train to Saphan Taksin BTS and walk a few minutes to the property.

Note that Four Seasons Bangkok is right next to Capella Bangkok and shares the same entrance off Charoen Krung Road.

Woman and man in pool at Four Seasons Bangkok — Four Seasons Bangkok at Chao Phraya River was named the third-best hotel in the world in 2023. (Image: Four Seasons)

The verdict

Four Seasons is leading Bangkok’s luxury binge, acting as the authority on what a luxury hotel should be in the 2020s.

Doubling down on wellness options with an entire wing dedicated to the body, mind and spirit is a major part of the success, while the other is held up by a healthy spread of destination restaurants and bars. Tying that all together is a great sense of balance with design, dramatic while also working in a lot of calm. Art plays a big part, but so do the smaller details like luxury linens and high-end Byredo bathroom amenities.

Woman and man in lobby at Four Seasons Bangkok — Four Seasons is leading Bangkok’s luxury binge. (Image: Four Seasons)

This is a great example of a contemporary luxury hotel that’s firing on all cylinders, learning from those that have come before it and offering more while still coming across as uncomplicated and simple. Such design is an art in itself.

Location: 8/10

The banks of the Chao Phraya is set for some of Bangkok’s most exciting lifestyle developments, plus it’s easy to get around with both a pier and a BTS Skytrain station nearby.

Style/character: 9/10

Symbolic soft furnishings find creative ways to tell the story of Thai culture, mixed with impressive art pieces and slick interiors for both restaurants and rooms.

Service: 8.5/10

Can be a stickler for “rules" (I wasn’t allowed to eat my croissant from Cafe Madeleine at the lobby bar), but the staff are friendly, very efficient, and well-versed on all things Bangkok. Who needs a concierge?

Food and drink: 8/10

The collection of restaurants and bars gives some of the world’s most historic luxury hotels a swift lesson in modernity, although not everything is worth tasting.

Value for money: 8.5/10

Staying at Four Seasons Bangkok will set you back around $683 per night. The reasonable food prices and access to wellness options help justify the cost, alongside comfort and location.

Green courtyard at Four Seasons Bangkok — A stay here is well worth it. (Image: Four Seasons)

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After youth-led protests in 2025, this year Nepal elected a 35-year-old former rapper as Prime Minister. In a country where tourism is its biggest industry, what’s next for travellers?

In 1986, Nepal changed its clock. It had used India Standard Time since 1920 so, to differentiate, it wound its clock 15 minutes ahead of, not behind, its big-brother neighbour. Boss move. “Nepal is strongly opposed to the idea that our identity is connected to India,” says Community Homestay Network (CHN) guide Bikal Khanal.

Tharu dance is traditionally set to hand drums. (Credit: Kate Lewis)

Today, Nepal is the only independent country with a 45-minute deviation to universal time; an oddity that’s become a symbol of national pride. The quirk is nearly as endearing as Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan airport where carved varnished wood and shiny red bricks rule. One sign points to a ‘Travelator’ and another to a ‘Grievance Handling Desk’ while visas are noisily stamped at customs for US dollars, cash only. When am I?

Spot the endemic Nepal gray langur. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

The 15 or 45 minute anomaly sees me tap out completely on timezone calculations. Why bend my brain calculating if it’s quarter to or quarter past elsewhere when I’m in the honking here and now of Kathmandu where the air is high-altitude crisp, the prayer flags flutter and the street dogs howl?

How tourism is changing in Nepal

Bardiya National Park is rich with wildlife. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

India is not the only association many Nepalis would like to shake. With eight of the world’s 10 tallest mountains, including Mount Everest and Annapurna, Nepal has long attracted mountaineers and trekkers, and expedition numbers are continuing to rise.

Tourism is one of the country’s biggest sources of foreign currency, so this growth is not negative, per se. But according to Ang Tshering Lama, who co-founded Phaplu Mountain Bike Club, being reduced to a mere trekking destination is limiting.

“Trekking is just one layer of our identity,” says Ang. “When it becomes the dominant narrative, it limits how we’re seen and how we see ourselves.” Nepal’s recent success, however, in diverting trekkers to less-trafficked areas such as Manaslu mofuntain, where visitor numbers rose by 117 per cent last year, offers hope that tourism can diversify even more radically.

Local men in Bhada village. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

The founder of CHN, Shiva Dhakal, wants that change. “The whole idea of the Community Homestay Network is to promote experiences outside of trekking,” he says. “Community tourism changes lives and helps kids stay home instead of coming to the city or migrating to the Middle East.”

Ang grew up seeing people leave, “not because they wanted to but because there weren’t enough opportunities to stay”, he states. Yet from remote villages to living traditions; food, art, music and emerging subcultures, “there’s so much that’s not being seen.”

CHN is opening some of those doors. It doesn’t own, or fund, any homes. Rather, it promotes homestays to travellers on a single, slick platform, while fostering entrepreneurship in places where women, marginalised castes, Indigenous people and the youth stand to benefit the most.

A new generation demanding more

Dalla Town Hall, where volunteers discuss anti-poaching tactics. (Credit: Bheem Thapa)

The future prospects of next-gen Nepalis can no longer be ignored. On a Kathmandu tour with 33-year-old guide Monica K.C, we pass buildings torched in the September 2025 ‘Gen Z protests’, including the Supreme Court and Parliament House. Seventy-two people died. “They were anti-corruption protests,” says Monica. “Politicians’ children are living a lavish life but the airports are crowded with youngsters leaving to find work.”

We stop in ‘little Tibet’ at the wondrous sixth-century Boudha Stupa. “The wheel of life is Buddhism in a nutshell,” says Monica. “Things such as hate, ignorance and anger keep you rotating around the wheel, so you must follow the principles of Buddhism to detach. If you can’t, there’s no nirvana for you.”

Boudha Stupa's prayer wheels — Boudha Stupa’s prayer wheels are used to recite Buddhist prayers. (Credit: Kate Lewis)

In a sun-drenched twist to the usual temple visit, we ascend the stupa’s sloping plinth and roam its whitewashed dome. Tendrils of diaphanous prayer flags stream from a steeple-like structure where the Buddha’s unblinking eyes stare out. No nirvana for you…

bouda stupa prayer flags — Tibetan-style prayer flags embellish the whitewashed dome of Bouda Stupa, a Buddhist temple. (Credit: Kate Hennessy)

The dome is delightfully free of guard rails or chiding from security. There is, however, a stern ‘No TikTok’ sign, perhaps in response to the youth’s newly flexed power. The booted-out Prime Minister, K.P. Sharma Oli, was replaced in a resounding election victory in March by 35-year-old Balendra Shah of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) – a former rapper and mayor of Kathmandu. The RSP’s manifesto indicates tourism is a priority, and that Nepal’s cultural identity in areas such as gastronomy will be strengthened.

Boudha Stupa vendors — Vibrant souvenir shops and cafes around Boudha Stupa. (Credit: Kate Hennessy)

A more confronting stop awaits at Pashupatinath Temple. Today is Bala Chaturdashi, a Hindu festival where thousands of devotees gather to honour their dead ancestors. Vendors hauling foam mattresses do a lucrative trade as people set up for a night of vigil. This includes burning the bodies of recently deceased relatives on bamboo pyres in the Bagmati River, which flows into the sacred Ganges.

A woman at annual Hindu festival Bala Chaturdashi, in Kathmandu. (Credit: Kate Hennessy)

Wrapped in a shroud, the bodies are positioned with their heads facing north to the Himalayas where Lord Shiva resides. They’re covered with flowers and straw and set alight by male family members.

Hours later, the ashes are swept into the river where devotees will take a holy dip the next day. As much as Monica assures us it’s not voyeuristic to watch, I struggle to do so. “Here you see the reality of life because everyone ends up there,” she says, gesturing to the river.

Life unfiltered in the Terai region

tharu woman — Tharu woman and master weaver Parbati Chaudhary in Bhada Village. (Credit: Bheem Thapa)

The reality of life needs processing time, which the western Terai region delivers in spades. The Terai is largely separated from India by the Karnali River and Bardiya National Park, where elephants, rhinos and the elusive Bengal tiger roam.

Once a nomadic tribe, the Indigenous Tharu people are now the largest ethnic group here. “They didn’t know their daily life was interesting for international travellers but they’re starting to understand now,” says CHN founder Shiva.

Take a Jeep safari through Bardiya National Park. (Credit: Bheem Thapa)

We fly Buddha Air to Dhangadhi airport and drive five hours to stay in Tharu homes. The journey to Bhada village is a blur of roadside fruit stalls, traffic-stopping sacred cows and fields sown with wheat, rice, mustard, spinach, cauliflower and potatoes. Nepal’s agriculture feeds only Nepal.

Marigolds are an important part of Hindu rituals. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

“The only thing we export is young people,” says our guide Bikal. As the light dims and we plunge evermore rural, mysterious mounds of compacted hay – some house-sized – loom like the creatures from Where The Wild Things Are. Even our trusty driver gets flummoxed by a dirt road that abruptly ends and we find ourselves hurtling across a paddock.

On arrival, some are ferried to mud-walled cottages greened by gourd creepers, with thatched roofs and rustic-chic mosquito nets. Myself and two others are ushered to the home of corner store owner, mechanic and mushroom farmer Man Kumar Chilaruwa and his wife Rajkumari.

community homestay entrance — A warm welcome at a community homestay. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

They escort us to a bunker-esque back building with steel doors and a folding security gate, behind which is gleaming linoleum, dolphin-printed tiles and a shower cavity that must be gingerly stepped through to reach the toilet.

The ceiling lights emit a rainbow of colours (the bathroom light gets stuck in, frankly, a quite frightening red). We’re nevertheless touched that our hosts invested in all this bling when the average salary is around $275 a month.

In the coming days, we participate in Tharu traditions such as making moonshine, dancing, weaving straw handicrafts and gold-panning. We’re fed well with staples of rice, mustard greens, lentil pancakes, daal, curried chicken and tomato chutney served on antibacterial saal leaves.

food at community homestay — Dig in. (Credit: Kate Hennessy)

Sonara community homestay president Indradevi Tharu tells us river snails are often served, and the boiled and pickled flesh of rats hunted in the rice fields. “Perhaps next time?” we say and all have a laugh.

The power of community homestays

community homestay owners in Nepal — Barda community homestay owners Parbati Chaudhary and Ram Krishni Devi Chaudhary. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

Immersing Western visitors in foreign cultural practices is not new. But with the Tharu, I never get that uneasy sensation that I’m being performed for. Despite being the only tourists, there’s no ‘othering’; just warm, composed and ultra-dignified welcomes. Like we’ve always been here.

“I love to have travellers in my village so I can see the world,” says local woman Parbati Chaudhary. “Why would I travel the world when the world comes to me?”

The graceful acceptance the Tharu offer, as well as the slow pace, works miracles on my frazzled nervous system. One day I even take a nap on a vacant homestay bed.

Sonara community room — An authentic stay in the Sonara community. (Credit: Kate Hennessy)

Roosters strut and goats bray as we sit on the ground in al fresco kitchens, rolling rice flour into cylinders steamed to make dhikri (dumplings). When water is needed, we fetch it using a hand-operated pump as a family of ducks strolls by, side-eying us like curious neighbours.

Animal lovers will delight in Tharu villages. Kind and resourceful inventions are everywhere, such as snacking stations where two posts lean together, with leafy boughs dangling on rope for baby goats to forage from.

CHN’s CEO, Aayusha Prasain, nods knowingly when one in our group says she cried when she left her host, Shayam Chaudhary, in Bhada. Shayam’s 17-year-old son, Prashant, had translated, which deepened the connection.

“Community tourism turns travel into a relationship, not a transaction,” says Aayusha. “It places decision-making power in the hands of local communities, especially women and youth.” Since 2018, CHN has hosted more than 4000 travellers from 52 countries in 408 households, and estimates women’s participation has increased by 381 per cent.

In the Bardiya community, where vexing human-animal conflict has been a balancing act for decades due to elephants raiding crops, long-time homestay operator Salik Ram Chaudhary says young people keep the older ones on their toes.

“We can’t keep homestays stagnant,” he says. “We have to upgrade our service and redefine our product or young people won’t see it as an attractive business. If we can keep evolving with this travelling trend we’re confident the youths will stay and continue it.”

Back in Kathmandu, Monica explains that after the deaths of young protestors in September, a determination had spread to not let their sacrifice be in vain. “We want to keep holding the government accountable,” she says. “We don’t know what situation we’re facing, but we’re ready to face it.”

Interested in Nepal but prefer to experience it in total comfort? Read our guide to luxury travel in Nepal.

What it’s like to stay at the Bangkok hotel rumoured to be the next ‘White Lotus’