Nestled in the sleek steel-and-glass tower of your new Bangkok Plaza Athénée Hôtel, the Ruern Suite exudes old-fashioned Thai tradition at its most magnificent. Use the key card to open the door, then close all of them the whirl of contemporary Bangkok 27 stories below. Despite the in-room technological accoutrements requisite into a luxury business hotel, the Ruern Suite transports you back a hundred years inside a space worthy of the Thai ruling class.
Each of the four large rooms (an entire of 2,000 square feet) is paneled in teak, which provides an expensive backdrop for your suite's bunch of art and artifacts: gilded elephant sculptures and carved stone Buddhas painted with lotus flowers. Shimmering handwoven silks in shades of brown, gold, and crimson pay the pillows and adorn tables and beds, although a lounge, space, and kitchen encourage dreamers to remain a long time. The most effective place for play-acting days of old, however, is the bathrooms (that's two full and one half). Available as one, a pond-sized tub and an aquamarine mosaic invites someone to soak amid fragrant orchids (happily provided if you ask the floor butler to draw your bath). In the other, a teak-and-slate stall is outfitted by using a copper-lined ceramic urn and dipper, should the traditional Thai drench shower be a bit more fitting towards the fantasy than the alternative standard brass fixture.
Of course, for the tourist or business traveler, the Plaza Athénée offers more conventional junior suites and deluxe chambers too. It goes without mention a magnificent landscaped rooftop infinity pool lined with blue tiles, along with a full-service spa. But even within among the many "regular" rooms, a floor butler will fill your tub-and orchids will almost magically appear. Ruern Suite, $1,100; other rooms, $200-$1,800. Wireless Road, Bangkok 10330, Thailand; 662-650-8800; visit Bangkok Hotel for more information.