Aman Nai Lert Bangkok.
You know things are getting serious when Aman comes to town.
Bangkok’s legend is long when it comes to hotels, right back to the 1920’s when Somerset Maugham holed up at the Oriental, whiling away balmy afternoons sipping on a gin pahit. Already shimmering with the saffron robes of Buddhist monks and gold-tipped royal palaces, a Bladerunner-worthy skylines and one of the most divine gastronomical scenes known to man, in recent years, a stack of hotel openings have taken the city to celestial levels of greatness. A worthy investment if ever there was one: against the fabled backdrop of its dazzling capital, nowhere does hospitality like Thailand.
With the arrival of Aman Nai Lert Bangkok, the city inches just that little bit closer to heaven. The marque—synonymous like no other with zen luxury and extraordinary attention to detail—has just opened the beautiful doors of its latest urban sanctuary, following in the footsteps of Aman Tokyo and New York. It’s a full-circle moment for Aman, founded in Thailand 37 years ago with their flagship property, Amanpuri, on Phuket.
Since then Aman has grown to encompass 35 properties across the globe, from Greece to Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Tokyo. While each is linked by common Aman threads—an eastern sensibility, superlative design, next-level service and facilities—they are singular in spirit, drawing deeply on the essence of place. The brutalist lines of Amangiri in Utah, for example, are in rugged harmony with their desert surrounds, while Amanjena, just outside of Marrakech, was modelled on the fabulous ruins of El-Badi Palace. Across the Mediterranean, Aman Venice occupies a voluptuous 16th-century palazzo that once belonged to relatives of Tiepolo.
There’s a similar magic to the latest instalment, which takes its name from Nai Lert, a visionary Thai entrepreneur who was instrumental in shaping modern Bangkok. Designed by long-time Aman collaborator Jean-Michel Gathy, the new-build hotel rises 36 storeys from the verdant canopy of Nai Lert Park, the business magnate’s sprawling teakwood bungalow perched next door.
Gathy took inspiration from the site—the staggered floor around the hotel’s reception is said to echo the teak floorboards of Nai Lert’s c.1915 bungalow—as did local artists who worked on various installations throughout the interior spaces. A 12-metre tree sculpture rises through the 9th-floor atrium, inspired by the ancient Chamchuri tree just outside.
Aman Nai Lert Bangkok features 52 suites, the smallest a whopping 94m2, alongside 34 branded residences. Spacious living areas, sumptuous bathrooms and dressing rooms worthy of a duchess come as standard. The Terrace Suite (114m2) has an open-air lounge, while the three-bedroom Aman Suite (713m2) spans the entire 18th floor, replete with its own spa and cinema.
There’s a 1,500m2 spa and wellness centre and swimming pool shaded by one of the tallest trees in all of Bangkok—cool respite in one of the world’s hottest cities. Multiple venues for drinking and dining include omakase bar Sesui and Hiori for teppanyaki—both part of the Aman Lounge on the 19th floor—as well as Aman’s signature Italian restaurant Arva. The bar, 1872, is named after Nai Lert’s birth year.
Favourite characters in the story include Thanpuying Lursakdi Sampatisiri, the daughter and only heir of Nai Lert, who became Thailand’s first female government minister; and her granddaughter, Naphaporn “Lek” Bodiratnangkura, the current custodian of the family empire. “Before my grandmother left this earth, she told me to keep the soul of Nai Lert Park alive,” Lek told the Financial Times. She turned her great-grandfather’s bungalow into a house museum, offering a rare and lovely glimpse into old Bangkok, and sealed the deal with Aman CEO Vladislav Doronin, her eye set firmly on the future.
A super-smart ex party girl with a degree in hotel management—coined by some as Thailand’s Paris Hilton—Lek modified the plans of the new build to avoid disturbing the branches of a hundred-year-old Sompong tree, which now come through the 9th-floor swimming pool. “I can’t move these trees,” she said. “My grandmother would wake up from her grave!” A serendipitous fit between a devoted granddaughter and the zen ethos of Aman.
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