Dusit Thani Bangkok Reopens After a Five-Year Rebuild

Dusit Thani Bangkok reopened on 27 September 2024, on the corner of Silom and Rama IV roads facing Lumpini Park, where the original hotel had stood since 1970. The first Dusit Thani was for a time the tallest building in the city and one of its best-loved landmarks; it closed in 2019 and was demolished to make way for Dusit Central Park, a development of residences, offices, shops and a rooftop park of which the new hotel is the first part.

The new building has 257 rooms, half as many as the old hotel’s 517. Each measures at least 50 square metres and each faces the park, with a cantilevered window seat set into the facade. The interiors are by André Fu Studio, the Hong Kong designer of The Upper House, and the architecture is by Architects 49 with OMA Asia.

The question for the owners was how much of the old hotel could survive. Managing director Natapa Sriyuksiri described the main challenge as capturing the warmth and character of the original while giving it a fresh, modern look. The answer was to carry pieces of it across. The golden spire that crowned the 1970 building is preserved inside a new spire three times its size. The hand-painted murals and main pillars of the Benjarong Thai restaurant were removed before demolition and reinstalled, and a carved teak ceiling was taken down and reassembled.

The hotel reopened with ten restaurants and bars, a spa built around what it calls an urban wellness concept, and more than 5,000 square metres of event space, including a ballroom with an eight-metre ceiling and a view of the park.

Dusit Thani is a Thai-owned group, and the return of its flagship restored a local name to the top of a market crowded with international brands, from Mandarin Oriental on the river to Aman Nai Lert on the other side of the park. Our Bangkok guide has more on where to stay.