Le Meridien Bangkok lobby
Led by the innovative Eva Ziegler, Le Meridien has reinvented itself from the outside in. The brand now positions itself as a cultural hub with an emphasis on art, design, fashion, and cuisine; it has also shed 30+ properties that didn’t fit this new image. I recently had the extraordinary opportunity to visit the recently opened Le Meridien Bangkok last week. Be sure to scroll down and check out the first look photos below.
There is no better example of Le Meridien’s new branding efforts than its newly opened flagship property in Asia. Le Meridien Bangkok is stylish and sophisticated, with 282 guestrooms on 24 floors of brilliant artistic design. The hotel’s lobby, restaurants, and spa incorporate design elements so bold that even the most breathtaking of W Hotels will soon nod in approval.
Thanks to its vibrant location in Bangkok’s Silom district, the hotel carries a unique identity that it might otherwise lose among a crowd of business hotels in a central business district. This identity shines sharply as you walk through the lobby and witness the “Man with Poodle” by artist Ralph Gibson. This two-story work of glass art is vividly accentuated by daytime lighting and softly illuminated by the glowing neon of the nighttime streets. On the more subtle side, design elements reflecting traditional Thai architecture and culture are gracefully strewn throughout the remaining area of the hotel and guestrooms. With equal aesthetic and poetic beauty, a traditional Thai poem is artfully written on the wall above the bed that wishes the hotel’s guests, “May the wing of winds please her mind. May the light of love please her soul. May the sweetest scent of all kind. May her dream, fold on fold she finds.”
To further showcase Le Meridien’s focus on local art and culture, Le Meridien Bangkok has partnered up with the Thailand Creative & Design Center to offer guests complimentary access to its facility just a short tuk tuk ride away. The hotel’s map goes well beyond identifying the standard tourist traps by highlighting prominent cultural institutions such as museums, libraries, bookstores, and art galleries.
While the hotel’s mission and design bring Thai culture to the foreground, it is the hotel’s Thai staff that bring this nation’s fascinating culture to life. The staff takes great pride in sharing their cultural identity and national history, and the “Thai touch” at Le Meridien Bangkok rivals the service provided by any five-star hotel in the city. For a brand that wants to invite travelers with a heightened cultural awareness, what better place to launch a flagship property than in Bangkok . . . where the warmest smiles in the world invite you to learn one of the richest cultures in the world.
