Chic elegance with an Asian flavour

With its high ceiling and muted lighting, the capacious lobby of the Hotel Okura’s main building seemed like a huge, stylish cave…. In this place so full of legend and suggestion, Aomame was truly out of place,” writes Haruki Murakami in “1Q84”, as his protagonist prepares to murder the cult leader in the hotel.

Murakami’s novel was set in Tokyo not Bangkok so I have a vague feeling that I might be in a parallel universe as I walk into the lobby of the Hotel Okura at the corner of  Phloenchit and Wireless roads though I certainly have no plans to kill a guest.

The newly opened Okura Prestige Bangkok looks a little lonely amidst such hospitality champions as Plaza Athénée, Swissotel Nai Lert Park, InterContinental and Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok, which all located within a couple of kilometres.

So how does the Japanese chain of hotel plan to survive?

“The Japanese go to the Japanese,” notes general manager Samir Wildermann during the sneak preview a few days before The Okura Prestige Bangkok opened its doors in early May. 

Wildermann has a good point. 

More than 1.2 million Japanese tourists visit Thailand annually. Imagine that even five per cent of them check into the only Japanese hotel in Thailand. The number could keep everyone at The Okura Prestige Bangkok busy for the entire year. And we’re not even talking about the other 40,000 Japanese expatiates living in and around Bangkok.

The Okura is a successful brand back home in Japan. The hotel was established in Tokyo in 1962, almost two decades after World War II to cater to international guests and in its 50-history, the Okura has welcomed such VIPs as Presidents Ford, Carter, Nixon, Regan, Bush Sr, Clinton, and Obama. 

Part of Park Venture Ecoplex building, The Okura Prestige Bangkok stands right next to Phloenchit BTS station, making it ideal for guests to hop on Bangkok’s Skytrain and metro systems. 

The hotel houses 240 guestrooms and suites and all the bathrooms are fitted with cleansing-jet Japanese bidets. 

The interior is dominated, if not overshadowed, by the low-key tones ranging from light-brown to dark-chocolate colour. True Japanese elegance, I am told. The hallways are so muted that I half expect to see a ninja leaping off the wall.

The relaxing tones follows guest to their rooms – where marble and wood panels play major roles in decoration. Light and shadow are managed by pressing a touch-screen panel. Wired television sets offers access to NHK and world news – either via traditional or Internet forms. The Japanese and those who love uncluttered elegance should enjoy staying here. 

Hotel Okura gives more privacy and luxury in the Club Room, which has such special features as an over-sized bathtub.

Hotel Okura also provides 24-hour fitness centre with an infinity pool set against the backdrop of Bangkok’s striking skyline. There is no Japanese onsen or hot spring but the Okura elevates the senses with Japanese haute cuisine.

The arrival of Yamazato, an award-wining Japanese restaurant noted for authenticity, at hotel Okura is already causing a stir among the Japanese community in Bangkok.

“The Japanese embassy to Bangkok can’t wait for Yamazato. They were pressing for a booking a week before the opening of the hotel,” says Wildermann.

Yamazato follows the centuries-old tradition of kaiseki ryori – Japanese haute cuisine – serving a sequence of small, artistically-crafted dishes, sup to 60 of them. We sample two dishes – bean curd and slices of sashimi – and want to come back for the missing dishes. The restaurant also offers Japanese breakfast – a bowl of rice, small grilled fish, collection of pickles and miso soup. 

Okura Prestige Bangkok is a fine hotel in city’s prime location for either leisure or business trips. Expect to rub your shoulders with salary men in black jackets or Japanese women in, of course, black cardigans.

 

      At a glance

High Point: The finest Japanese treat in town. The BTS access is brilliant.

Low Point: I personally don’t like the muted tones, but other people might have different ideas.

Pay for It: A single night in Deluxe room, with breakfast, starts at Bt5,800. Visit the website for better deals.

Find It: Corner of Wireless and Phloenchit roads, Bangkok.

Browse It: www.OkuraBangkok.com