Every year, 600 industry experts – travel journos, hoteliers and seasoned luxury travellers – put their heads together to come up with a definitive ranking of the most outstanding places to stay on the planet. And last year, the World’s 50 Best Hotels – an offshoot of the much-respected World’s 50 Best Restaurants – awarded Capella Bangkok the coveted title of the best hotel in the world.
The 10-storey hotel doesn’t share much in common with previous winner Passalacqua, an opulent eighteenth-century Lake Como villa, which was relegated to second place in the latest ranking. It’s easy to see why a place like Passalacqua would be awarded the title – those views, that location. But Capella Bangkok is a city hotel, and by and large a more understated affair. It has 101 rooms and suites to Passalacqua’s 24, and it sits in the centre of one of the world’s busiest, loudest cities – which makes its feeling of solitude and serenity all the more impressive.
So, does Capella Bangkok deserve the title of the world’s best hotel? I checked in to find out.
First impressions
In late 2020, Capella Bangkok opened to join a string of luxury hotels on the banks of the Chao Phraya River, sharing a private driveway with the Four Seasons in the heart of the trendy Charoenkrung district. You’re welcomed by a small army of staff and swiftly seated for check-in with a welcome drink in the Living Room; all dark wood, warm lighting, jars of Thai snacks and huge, comfy sofas with views out over the river. It’s a lovely place to hang out, and it’s here that the team leads a host of local experiences, including flower garland weaving and traditional Thai dance sessions, and where your designated ‘Culturist’ will walk you through an itinerary tailor-made to your interests.
The rooms
One of Capella’s most impressive achievements is that it doesn’t feel like a multi-room city hotel, largely because it has a lot of surface area to play with. Its many spaces – the tea lounge and lobby, the villas and suites, the pool and restaurants – are each their own private territory, cleverly spread out over numerous levels. We stayed in one of the ‘premier’ suites, sharing a floor with a handful of others, but not once on that floor did I hear or even see another guest. The effect is pacifying: walking through the doors of Capella after being (happily) swallowed by the chaos of Bangkok is akin to the relief of arriving home.
Walking through the doors of Capella after being swallowed by Bangkok is akin to the relief of arriving home
Whether you stay in a suite or a riverfront villa (with its own private garden and plunge pool, no less), you’ll find the same soothing Japandi-style set-up: neutral and honey tones, with blond wood partitions and plenty of space and light. Every room is river-facing – no chance of drawing the short straw on views here – and has an outdoor space of some sort. Ours was a balcony with a cushioned divan; a proper cocoon of calm where you can watch the comings and goings of the Chao Phraya River, follow a sunrise yoga session from the lawn below, and enjoy the tropical Thai humidity.
Sometimes, luxury hotels are just a bit much. But there’s no bells and whistles here. There’s only the things you need, all finished to the highest standard possible, which creates the feeling of retreating to your own luxury city penthouse – helped, of course, by floor-to-ceiling windows, serving river and skyline from every angle (bathroom sinks included).
There’s stuff that’s a given, this being the world’s best hotel. Ridiculously plush, comfortable beds, thanks to pillowtop mattresses and Egyptian cotton sheets. A good coffee machine. A roomy bathroom with a rainfall shower and a free-standing tub. Then there are all the little, smile-inducing extras: matchboxes and vanity kits printed with vintage photographs of the river; a ‘bath tea’ made up of an ambrosial concoction of tea leaves and bath salts; a bedside touchscreen that allows you to open the blinds every morning without getting up.
The food
Capella Bangkok is, of course, a lot more than a place to stay. It’s got a spa, the soulful Auriga, conducting treatments using Thai ingredients, like Hom Mali rice and mung bean. It’s got a tea lounge, serving high tea and coconut matcha. Above all, it is one of the most desirable drinking and dining destinations in Bangkok, confirmation of which can be found in the sight of well-heeled locals populating its two on-site restaurants and swishing drinks in gilded ‘cocktail boudoir’ Stella.
Côte by Mauro Colagreco is a Mediterranean affair and the only two-Michelin-star restaurant in the entirety of Thailand. I didn’t get the chance to eat there, but I did get to try the phenomenal Phra Nakohn, the Thai restaurant with its own riverside garden. You’d be hard pushed to find a sweeter setting for dinner than beside the dancing nighttime river, accompanied by hot and sour soup, punchy little curries, wok-fried prawns and the like, served Thali-style.
This is the unmissable 11-course ‘Sam Rub’ tasting menu: little bowls of authentic Thai dishes, finished off with a crunchy, sweet deep-fried banana with coconut milk ice cream (they really know what they’re doing with coconuts here). Breakfasts are sun-dappled, hours-long feasts while the day warms up around you, a mixture of a la carte and buffet bits: we had mango sticky rice, eggs and salmon, coconut water slurped from the shell.
Somewhere on the upper floors (it’s easy to get a bit lost) is Stella, the art deco-styled cocktail bar. Its menu, with drinks themed around Bangkok’s neighbourhoods, landmarks and cultural icons, is printed on the plumes of a handheld fan handed to you in a little box. The ‘Silver Screen’ – a mezcal margarita-esque drink with a fragrant Thai twist – is served on a film reel-shaped placemat. Then you’ve got a sultry-voiced singer crooning away on one side of the room, a chandelier tree and a stuffed white peacock in the centre of it all. It’s decadent and it’s fun – all in all, the benchmark for a brilliant hotel bar.
The rest
World’s 50 Best describes the service at Capella Bangkok as ‘semi-psychic’. The Capella hotel group was founded by former Ritz Carlton top dog Horst Schulze, before being handed over to the Kwee family, a Singaporean family of luxury real estate magnates. As such, there’s no doubt a well-studied understanding of the guest experience on display, from perfectly-timed poolside deliveries of fruit juice and fresh watermelon to takeaway breakfast bundles waiting for us in the lobby when an early flight had us up at the crack of dawn.
All this is part and parcel of the experience Capella wants to offer its guests, but really, it was the individual interactions we had that left an impression. The receptionist sprinting to the kitchen to replace my guest’s bacon sandwich with a vegetarian option, for example. To me, it felt like the very best of Thai hospitality: unflinchingly loyal, gracious and warm.
The hotel offers a free scenic shuttle boat up the Chao Phraya river to mega-mall ICONSIAM, or to the Saphan Taksin BTS Skytrain station, for guests to explore wider Bangkok. You could also opt for a curated experience via in-house Capella ‘Culturists’, tailored around interests from street food to café culture. Or you could set out and explore the many pleasures of Charoen Krung Road yourself – a good walk north will take you past temples and art studios, cafés and restaurants, and eventually right into the heart of Chinatown.
So, does it live up to the hype?
There’s nothing over-the-top about Capella Bangkok, which is ultimately its greatest gift. The best hotels feel as warm and familiar as home, but extraordinary enough to feel miles away. This is what you get with Capella Bangkok: luxury, privacy and sanctuary, in one of the world’s most frenetic cities.
This year, the Capella hotel group was named the world’s best hotel brand in the Travel + Leisure awards for the third consecutive year. In 2026, it’s expanding to destinations including Kyoto, and will make its first foray into Europe the following year, opening moments from the Duomo in the heart of Florence.
The 2025 winners of the World’s 50 Best Hotels will be announced on October 30. In the meantime, check out the hotels that made the longlist.
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