Bangkok is set to welcome the first of Accorhotels’ Orient Express hotels with the opening of the Orient Express Hotel in the King Power Mahanakhon skyscraper in the last quarter of 2019.
The luxury hotel brand existed until 2014, when Orient Express rebranded itself as Belmond. The reason was that it did not own the brand, and SNCF, which did, had indicated that it would want to use it in the future. Accorhotels then partnered with SNCF to create a new group of hotels.
The new Orient Express Hotels takes a number of its brand and service cues from the famed railway trains, notably the property’s design, which features an Art Deco styling developed by French interior designer Tristan Auer.
“Orient Express redefined rail travel in the 1900s, introducing the first sleeper cars linking West to East and delivering unprecedented levels of comfort and dining,” said Michael Issenberg, chairman and CEO of Accorhotels Asia-Pacific.
“We look forward to bringing this same luxury and refinement to the new incarnation of Orient Express hotels.”
The 78-storey King Power Mahanakhon building, also known as the “Pixel Tower”, is in Bangkok’s central business district. The tower is the tallest building in Bangkok and has Thailand’s highest observation deck, The Mahanakhon Skywalk, on its 74th, 75th and 76th floors.
Along with its 154 rooms and nine suites, the new hotel will also have a floor dedicated to wellness with an outdoor pool and Jacuzzi, as well as a signature Orient Express Spa by Guerlain. On the food and beverage front, the property will have two signature restaurants: Mott 32 on Level 2 and Mahanathi by David Thompson on Level 5. The tower also has a rooftop restaurant and bar on Level 76.
The new property appears to be taking the place of what was originally planned to be The Bangkok Edition hotel, which was scheduled to open in the Mahanakhon building in 2017 before plans were scrapped. As with the new Orient Express hotel, The Bangkok Edition would have offered 154 rooms.
