The Salil Hotel Riverside – Bangkok

Conveniently located, overlooking the Chao Phraya River, the city centre Salil Hotel Riverside is a hub of energy and style. Throughout the hotel and grounds, lush courtyards and water features bring a sense of calm whilst each guest room and spacious suite boasts sophisticated interiors and hi-tech amenities. Dining here is an exquisite experience with a choice of superb restaurants and bars; from the unmissable Sushi Itto to the sumptuous Thai-themed Nava, guests are sure to find the perfect match for any taste or occasion. The spa and wellness centre offers a haven of tranquillity and with a choice of infinity pool and lap pools guests can soak and swim whilst taking in the stunning views across the city. This riverside resort is the perfect Bangkok bolthole. The Luxury Editor reviewed this property – read on to discover more.

This world-class hotel is hidden away in an inconspicuous location, along an industrial canal that appears to be a dead end, but be patient and tucked around the corner, there you’ll find it. Salili, standing in full sparkling glory – its facade a mixture of what looks like translucent and opaque diamonds, a gem hidden in the rough.

Marble tiles shine. A staircase swirls to the right. The ceilings are high, practically non-existent. Check-in couldn’t be easier, is conducted not at the reception desk but in a lounge on its left defined by wooden parquet flooring and comfortable, grey sofas. Guests are encouraged to imbibe the apple cocoa tea which is iced and amber in colour; it’s smoky, exotic and refreshing. A man in a tailored suit takes my passport, comes back moments later with a room key and escorts me outside, down a tunnel which reminds of a narrow players’ entrance to a stadium pitch. Whilst the Salil complex isn’t quite that big, its size belies its undoubted charm which is a mixture of intimate, seductive and other-worldly.

I’m staying in a Deluxe River View suite on the fifth floor. At 33 sqm it’s the perfect size for one or two travellers. The bed is large, covered in white linen and overlooks the Chao Phraya River. If the river’s water is a murky green, its view is stunning. The Chao Phraya is constantly busy and watching its traffic is a mesmeric and edifying pass time, especially from such a vantage point. Be hypnotised by everything from water taxis to tugboats, from dinner cruisers to massive cargo transporters which snake-like industrial alligators. Day or night, the river offers breathtaking panoramas.

The sunsets are reminiscent of purple or salmon brush strokes dripping down a canvas. On two nights, I witness thunderstorms full of lightning strikes and fluorescent forks. On a couple of mornings, I even watch small swarms of dragonflies zig and zag through the air. 

The room is a bright and breezy white, offset with a mixture of turquoise, darker blue and purple highlights which include the sofa, a beautifully distressed rug, lampshades and various cushions. The bedhead wall follows the same colour scheme and offers a playful, charming frieze full of mythical creatures which could be floating underwater or flying through the air. They could be butterflies or sea horses and the vegetation they float past could be coral reefs or flowers. It’s impossible to tell which and it doesn’t matter. It’s an innocent and pleasing sight to encounter on a daily basis.

Towelling folded in the shape of an elephant greets me every evening. Two sets of cosy button-up grey jumpers and black jogging trousers are provided for stay-in-the-room attire as well as dressing gowns and slippers.

There’s a microwave should you need it and a mini bar which offers a selection of snacks and soft and alcoholic drinks. Harnn provides refreshing Juniper Berry shampoo, conditioner and body wash for showering and there’s also a luxurious-sized, deep soak bath. 

The Nava restaurant is located below my room, on the ground floor. It’s a long, slim, space with four different compartments. Minimal in design, shiny grey floor tiles reflect a mixture of diagonal wooden slats and straight wooden lines. A couple of contemporary paintings by local artists, girls underwater, goldfish, tendrils of hair, give it colour. Torn flags or ripped rugs hang from the ceiling in the main room for additional texture and a DJ plays uplifting, happy house for extra spice. 

On an evening, Nava serves Thai food. We somewhat over-order. Everything comes at once. It’s a bit of a blur. It’s a feast but nothing goes to waste. As well as spicy prawn crackers and prawn appetiser sticks, we have a papaya salad with crispy soft shell crab, a rice noodle salad with prawns and mackerel, and special fried rice topped with more crab meat.

The Grilled river prawn with tamarind sauce is a favourite, is served in its shell, is almost as large as a lobster and with its chunky white meat doesn’t taste dissimilar. My other favourite is the Jasmine rice with curry powder, cashew nut, dried pork and raisins. Served in half a pineapple, a subtle sweetness is offset by a gentle curry tickling. It might sound like it shouldn’t work but it does, resoundingly so. My friend, who’s lived in Bangkok for over 20 years, says it’s the most imaginative Thai offering he’s ever had. 

Nava also doubles as a breakfast room every morning, though without the DJ. Breakfast is served from 7-11 am and if you can’t finish in time, staff helpfully offer a takeaway box. The choice is overwhelming and even starts outside the restaurant where a man in a moveable tuk tuk offers Yentafo noodles with fish balls and various toppings. Inside, it’s a paean to international cuisine.

Do you want an English fry-up? No problem. Continental/European? With cheese or salami? How about American? Pancakes with crispy bacon and maple syrup sound good? How about Chinese dumplings? Or sushi? Or green curry with Kimchi fried rice? Or just fruit? Or ice cream? It’s a veritable feast. And keep your eyes open for Chef X who rustles up a mean omelette from an array of ingredients. 

The Salil has a large selection of bars and restaurants including the Jumbo Lobster, the Brix Desert bar, the Brix minibar, the Tapside by the River, Mars the Wine Space and even the Pacific Cigar Divan.

Its standout, however, has to be Sushi Itto which only opened four months ago and is a flawless omakase experience master-minded by Michelin-starred Japanese chef Ronnie Kakizaki. The restaurant is actually a sushi bar for eight people only and once the word spreads around Bangkok, it’s easy to imagine this being booked up for months in advance. 

Chef Kakizaki has a wealth of experience behind him as evidenced by his full quiff of white hair, his wise, piercing eyes and the lurking of a few tattoos under his kitchen smock. He has three chefs who either help him or who he directs. He has another three waiting staff. He chooses the menu personally from Tokyo markets and flies the fish in on a daily basis.

We order Hitakami Junmai dry sake and for two hours Chef Kakizaki plies us with incredible sushi after incredible sushi. Almost all of it is served raw, although some of it is seared with a flame grill. Some come with the most dainty of toppings, others with nothing. Soy sauce is always present and encouraged if so desired. At some point, Chef Kazkikaki recommends we eat not with chopsticks but with our hands and at another point we’re a little apprehensive to learn we’ve been given a seal.

We discuss amongst ourselves and realise we’ve both misheard. Happily, the seal is actually eel. There’s Tiger prawn, there’s abalone, there’s scallop, there’s kinki, there’s sea urchin and, of course, there’s tuna.

The tuna is the best either of us has tasted. Ever. It’s sublime, it’s delicate, it’s subtle and it’s quite beautiful. It’s like waking from a world where what you thought you knew is nowhere near as good as what you now know. Sushi Itto has basically redefined my understanding of what sushi is. 

During the day, watch out for complimentary snacks such as the freshly cooked coconut milk pancakes or the Coca-Cola or lemonade ice lollies. They’re given away in the space between the pool and the gardens. The pool is long and thin and elegant and functions like the hotel’s heartbeat. The main complex surrounds it like a snug horseshoe and it’s the first thing you see when you exit the tunnel from reception.

It opens at 7 am, closes at 8 pm and is about 25 metres in length so works not only as a mess around space for kids and a cool off dipping opportunity for couples but also as an athletic workout arena for more serious swimmers. Sometimes a DJ also spins uplifting tunes.

If a workout is more your thing, there’s a gym above reception which has rowing machines, running machines, cycles and weights and if this sounds like too much effort, there’s also the Harnn Heritage Spa which aims to restore the natural balance of body and mind for a total wellbeing experience.

Beyond the pool, luscious gardens offer striped bean bags to flop on and plastic bunny rabbits glow in different colours. The IPA and beer serving Taproom is so hidden behind foliage that from many angles it’s practically invisible.  Beyond the gardens, there’s the charismatic Chao Phraya River again with its twists and turns and churns.

If you feel in the mood, the hotel water taxi embarks hourly and journeys upstream to the massive ICONSIAM shopping centre which serves pretty much every high-end designer from Céline to YSL, from McQueen to Christian Dior. Places on the taxi, both outwards and return, should be booked through reception and bumping up and down on the Chao Phraya is a fantastic experience. 

That said, in so doing, you break the cocoon that is the Salil Riverside experience, the cocoon that protects you, the cocoon that edifies you, the cocoon that nourishes you, the cocoon that rejuvenates you so I ask: do you really want to do that? 

I actually don’t think so. 

The Salil Hotel Riverside – Bangkok is included in our guide to the best luxury hotels in Bangkok and Thailand.