During my two-part birthday trip to the Golden Triangle, I checked out four different hotels in Bangkok, given that it’s one of the world’s best value cities for luxury hotels, and the market keeps getting better (separately, I’m reviewing the Rosewood Bangkok, Four Seasons Bangkok, and Aman Bangkok).
In this installment, I’d like to review the 101-key Capella Bangkok, which opened back in 2020. I was very excited about this stay for a few reasons:
- I made my first stay at a Capella property earlier this year (at the Capella Taipei), and I now absolutely love this brand; I actually think Capella might be the brand that does city hotels best
- The World’s 50 Best Hotels list tends to get a lot of attention, and in 2024, the Capella Bangkok was ranked the number one hotel in the world, and in 2025, the hotel was ranked number three (in 2025, the Rosewood Hong Kong won first place)
- The Capella is located adjacent to the Four Seasons in the Chao Phraya Estate, and both hotels have the same owner; so I was curious how the two properties would compare
I must say, the Capella Bangkok is indeed a spectacular city hotel, and feels like such an oasis of calm. I love how all the rooms have balconies and face the river, I appreciate the friendly service and great facilities, and the food and beverage outlets are excellent as well.
Then there’s what I love about the Capella brand at large, like the “living room” concept, where parts of the hotel are exclusively for hotel guests, there’s an evening happy hour in the lounge, etc.
I also have to say upfront that I found it interesting to then check out the Four Seasons. It might seem strange to put a Capella and Four Seasons right next to one another in the same complex, but I’d argue that it really works. The Capella Bangkok feels a bit like a serene hideaway (almost like an Aman in a city), while the Four Seasons is such an impressive and lively urban resort, which is a destination in and of itself. So I quite like that balance.
Booking the Capella Bangkok
I paid cash for my one-night stay at the Capella Bangkok. The Capella is probably the second most expensive hotel in the city for entry level rooms, after the Aman. However, I wanted to check out this hotel for a night, and figured it was worth the money.
I booked an entry level room at a rate of around $900. I used an Amex $300 hotel credit, meaning I “only” paid $600 out of pocket. For booking through Amex FHR, I received complimentary breakfast, a room upgrade, a $100 property credit, and more.
The way to get the lowest per night rate here is to book a stay of three nights, as there’s typically a third night free offer. So that can lower your nightly rate by around one-third. Generally your best bet for booking Capella properties is to go through a Virtuoso travel advisor, as that doesn’t require a credit card, and offers extra perks.
If staying at a Capella property, also remember to take part in the Global Hotel Alliance (GHA) loyalty program. I’d argue that Capella is the world’s highest end hotel brand that participates in a rewards program.
Capella Bangkok location
The Capella Bangkok is located in the Chao Phraya Estate, a recently developed 14-acre complex right on the famous Chao Phraya River. The hotel is in a development that also contains the Four Seasons (which has both a hotel, and then a standalone residences building), so it’s quite the complex.
I’d say the Capella definitely has the most elegant exterior. I love the wood paneling — is it just me, or is the design kind of trippy, since it almost looks like each of those “squares” is just one floor (rather than each having three floors)?
One of the cool things about the Capella is that all rooms face the river. So above you see what the hotel looks like from the back (where you enter), while if you go out to the opposite (river) side of the hotel, you’ll see a lot more glass, typically floor-to-ceiling.
The Four Seasons and Capella are connected via a riverfront promenade, so it’s nice to have this kind of a shared space in what’s still ostensibly a city hotel.
On the topic of transportation, the Capella and Four Seasons share a boat service that goes to ICONSIAM and Sathborn Pier (for the BTS Skytrain connection). That runs every 30-60 minutes, and it’s a nice service to have. So yeah, it does take a bit of effort to get onto public transportation.
Otherwise, taxis and rideshares are cheap, and within 15-20 minutes you can be just about anywhere in the city. People have different takes as to where in Bangkok they like to stay. Personally, I’m a fan of being on the river, since it’s just so much prettier of a view, and you’re still close to so many attractions.
I also think the properties on the river so often have more of a resort vibe, while the ones not on the river often feel more like generic city business hotels.
Capella Bangkok lobby & check-in
I arrived at the Capella Bangkok shortly after noon, and was immediately greeted by a bellmen and escorted to check-in.
There are a few “signature” aspects to the Capella experience. One of those is that there are many parts of the hotel that are just for hotel guests. In the case of the Capella Bangkok, there’s a massive lobby space that’s open to the public (it’s bizarrely large, almost), with plenty of seating.
This entire space also has such a nice view, as it looks out over a decorative pond of sorts, with the pool and river in the distance.
As you enter that lobby space and turn right, you’ll then see two reception desks at the back left. This is where you enter the part of the hotel that is only for guests. In the below picture you’ll see the frosted door on the right, and that can only be accessed with a room key, and it’s where you’ll find the wing of the hotel with guest rooms and more.
Past that frosted door, you’ll find the elevators to the guest rooms on the right, and the living room on the left, which is where check-in formalities took place. I’ll talk more about the living room later, but it’s a lovely, leisurely experience, as you can sit down, are offered a drink and refreshing towel, etc. The general manager, Antonio, also came by to personally greet me (which he seemed to do with every guest checking in — impressive).
Capella Bangkok guest room
For booking through Amex FHR, I received a one category upgrade, from a riverfront king to a riverfront premier (essentially the same room room on a higher floor, and therefore with better views).
Those are actually the only categories of rooms, and then the rest of the accommodations are suites and villas. I have to point out, I think the Capella Bangkok villas have to be one of the coolest room concepts out there at a city hotel. They’re essentially “villas” right on the river, which I just find to be insanely cool.
Anyway, the Capella Bangkok has 10 floors, and I was assigned room 906, located on the ninth floor.
All rooms at the Capella Bangkok are marketed as being 61 square meters (657 square feet), so they’re very generously sized. However, I imagine that includes the outdoor space, as the interior didn’t feel quite that big.
The room was very comfortable and well laid out. It featured a plush king size bed with excellent pillows, a sitting area with a desk and loveseat, and a desk with a proper chair.
The TV was over on a wall at the side of the room, which seems like an awkward angle for watching from bed (I’m not someone who watches TV at hotels, but if I were…).
This is also where the minibar was located, which had a Nespresso coffee machine, a selection of tea, soft drinks, alcohol, and snacks. Note that while non-alcoholic drinks were complimentary, alcohol and snacks weren’t.
Behind the main part of the room was the closet space, which essentially spanned the entire length of the room. I appreciate the amount of closet space here, since it makes it much easier to keep the rest of the room tidy (when there’s not proper closet space in a room, I do an awful job at keeping rooms neat, since I often just start “digging” things out of my bag).
Next to that was the huge bathroom, which was separated from the rest of the room by sliding doors. The bathroom had double sinks, a soaking tub, a walk-in shower, and a toilet in a separate room.
Toiletries were in reusable containers from Bamford, which is brand standard for Capella.
Also, how cute are the hotel’s selection of bathroom amenities?
The room also had a beautiful outdoor space with a daybed. Despite Bangkok’s warm climates, hotels with balconies are surprisingly rare, so this is something that many guests will appreciate.
The views from here are absolutely lovely.
Shortly after arriving in the room, I was brought a welcome amenity, consisting of a dessert, fruit, and a bottle of champagne, which is quite a nice gift for a simple one-night stay.
All-in-all, I thought the room was great. I love how all rooms have a river view and outdoor space. I also felt that the quality of finishes was very good, which is a feeling I sometimes don’t get at luxury hotels in Bangkok. Like, all the furniture felt “sturdy,” drawers actually closed correctly, etc.
Here’s what I will say, though — in terms of my own preferences, I don’t actually love the room design at the Capella. I find the finishes to be a little too beige and muted for my preferences, with a little too much light wood being used. Even though the hotel is only around five years old, it already doesn’t feel cutting edge in terms of design, in my opinion.
Let me of course emphasize that preferences like this are highly subjective, so others will (fairly) feel very differently. This also struck me as being particularly muted for the Capella brand specifically, given that some of its properties are way (way, way) out there in terms of design — just look at the Capella Hanoi, for example.
Capella Bangkok pool
The Capella Bangkok has a pool that’s open 24/7 (that’s rare to see!). The pool area is basically one huge rectangular infinity-edge pool, overlooking the river (there’s no hot tub here, though there is one in the spa).
It’s a very nice pool deck, and I appreciate the combination of traditional loungers, plus little cabanas, for those who prefer more shade.
For a relatively small city hotel, I’d say that’s a very nice pool setup!
Capella Bangkok gym
The Capella Bangkok gym is accessible by guests 24/7. It’s located down the staircase from the pool, along the path that leads to the promenade (in the below picture, those rooms on the right are the property’s very cool villas).
For a property of this size, I found the gym to be excellent, with a huge selection of Technogym equipment. During daytime hours, there are also trainers on staff.
Capella Bangkok Auriga Wellness spa
The Capella Bangkok has a full-service spa, branded as Auriga Wellness, and it’s open daily from 10AM until 10PM. You can find the full treatment menu here.
At 1,074 square meters (11,560 square feet), it’s quite a large spa, and it has seven treatment rooms, including two rooms for couples. There are of course changing facilities, a hydrotherapy area, a sauna and steam room, etc. Hotel guests can use the spa, even without an appointment.
The spa even has an outdoor spa garden.
Capella Bangkok living room (guest lounge)
All Capella properties have the “living room” concept. Think of it as being somewhere between a club lounge and a hotel lobby that’s exclusively for guests. In the case of the Capella Bangkok, the living room is open daily from 7AM until 11PM.
You can come to the living room if you want a coffee or soft drink any hour of the day, or if you need help from the concierge, etc. There’s also a nightly happy hour, plus some themed activities.
The Capella Bangkok living room is one large, rectangular room, with a variety of seating options, ranging from couches, to chairs accompanied by coffee tables, to an outdoor terrace.
Throughout the day, you can enjoy complimentary sparkling wine, soft drinks, juice, coffee, tea, etc., per the below menu.
For example, I very much enjoyed the iced lattes that were prepared here, and they were even happy to put them in to-go containers, which was a nice touch.
There’s also a small selection of sweet snacks throughout the day.
One of the key aspects of the Capella experience is that they’re supposed to blend some local culture into the experience, with unique activations at each property. For example, Capella’s front office staff are referred to as “culturalists,” with the intent being that they’re your ambassadors to the city.
So in the living room you’ll also find some daily rituals, including:
- From 3-4PM there’s a Thai tea trolley, with egg cake and tea
- From 5-6PM there’s a happy hour, with a selection of alcoholic drinks and canapés
While the Thai iced tea was (of course) on the sweet side, I still enjoyed it as an afternoon treat.
I also checked out the very nice happy hour reception, which included ya dong, plus a variety of other alcoholic drinks.
It really is so nice how Capella offers this as a brand standard. It’s a little detail that clearly shows the effort they’re putting into the guest experience.
Capella Bangkok restaurants & bars
Quality food & beverage outlets is a huge focus for Capella properties, and the Bangkok location is no exception. At the Capella Bangkok you’ll find the following outlets:
- Phra Nakhon is the hotel’s all-day dining restaurant, serving an international breakfast, and then Thai food for lunch and dinner
- Côte by Mauro Colagreco is the hotel’s two Michelin star restaurant, open for lunch and dinner, serving “Riviera-inspired” cuisine
- Stella is the hotel’s incredible themed bar, open in the evenings and late into the night
- Tea Lounge is essentially just the lobby lounge, where both guests and outsiders can have afternoon tea (I won’t be covering this further, since I think it’s pretty self-explanatory)
- Kin is the hotel’s coffee shop, serving barista drinks, snacks, etc.
Let’s start with Phra Nakhon, which serves breakfast daily from 6:30AM until 11AM, and then lunch and dinner from 11AM until 11PM. You can find all the menus here.
The restaurant is located out on the riverfront promenade, with a good amount of indoor and outdoor seating.
I had breakfast at Phra Nakhon, and it consisted of a combination of a buffet and an a la carte selection, which you can order as much from as you’d like. The buffet wasn’t huge, but was very high quality, with a variety of fruit, yogurt, endless pastries, cold cuts, cheese, salad, veggies, dips, etc.
There’s also a large selection of barista coffee, and even fresh coconuts, so I couldn’t help but order one of those as well.
When it comes to a la carte options, those were presented to me on an iPad with an endless number of pages, so I had no “clean” way of photographing that. However, the selection was absolutely massive, with options that were Western, Thai, Chinese, Japanese, etc.
We’re talking everything from avocado toast, to quinoa salad, to homemade smoked salmon, to oatmeal, to granola, to bircher muesli, to french toast, to waffles, to buttermilk pancakes, to custom eggs. There were also lots of Thai specialties, which were my focus, naturally. I decided to order the pad kra pao moo sub (but with chicken instead of pork), and some mango sticky rice, naturally.
Côte by Mauro Colagreco is the hotel’s two Michelin star restaurant, and it serves lunch from 12PM until 2PM, and dinner from 6PM until 10PM. You can find all the menus here. The restaurant is a beautiful space, with a bar area, and then a bunch of tables along the windows, with great views of the river.
I decided to have a solo lunch here. The restaurant has a four-course lunch menu for 3,800THB (~$116), so that was nearly covered by the $100 property credit I had.
I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves. It was an exceptional meal from start to finish, and it never ceases to amaze me just how much effort goes into creating meals like this. It’s really a labor of love. Also, special shout out to Michael, the excellent server taking care of me, who was also a huge aviation geek.
I knew we’d hit it off when he asked how I flew to Bangkok, and when I explained it was through Doha, he said “Qsuites?” Hah.
The Capella Bangkok also has Stella, the signature bar, open nightly from 6PM until 12AM (with live performances on Thursdays through Saturdays). You can find all the menus here. How cool is this design?!
The drink list was also really inventive, and I appreciated all the Thai-themed options.
Lastly, while I didn’t get anything from there, Kin is open daily from 11AM until 8PM, and offers pastries, cakes, and more.
One other thing that has to be emphasized is that the Four Seasons Bangkok also has a very impressive lineup of restaurants and bars, so if you’re staying at Capella, you can walk to any of those restaurants in a minute. So the Chao Phraya Estate has a very impressive selection of dining options right at your fingertips.
Capella Bangkok service
Capella is a brand known for exceptional service, and the Bangkok property is no exception. Across the board, staff were phenomenal. Management was very hands on and constantly checked on guests, and it really felt like all staff were invested in making sure that guests had a great stay.
Now, I can’t say I had any true standout interactions, or anything, but service was polished and frictionless across the board.
Bottom line
Capella is a stellar hotel brand, and the Capella Bangkok didn’t disappoint. I love the Capella exclusive concepts, like a certain part of the hotel only being for guests, and a “living room” where you can stop in any time of the day, or enjoy a happy hour in the evening.
On top of that, the Capella Bangkok has generously sized accommodations, all of which face the river. So while pricing at the Capella is at the very top end of the market in Bangkok, you also have to compare all accommodations to “view” rooms at other hotels. The only thing I didn’t necessarily love was some of the interior finishes, as I found them to be a bit too muted and beige for my liking.
Now, do I think this is (or was) the world’s best hotel? Well, no. I’ve explained my thought on those rankings in the past, and ultimately I think it’s a list of great hotels, but I don’t read much into the relative order.
Lastly, let me just say that with the Capella and Four Seasons being part of the same complex, I think they did a good job with creating two distinct concepts that are complimentary, but with very different vibes. The way I’d describe it, the Capella Bangkok feels like a serene city oasis, while the Four Seasons Bangkok feels like a lively urban resort with endless things to do. Which is better depends on the vibe you’re going for.
What’s your take on the Capella Bangkok?