The hotel founding family's fingerprints are all over the Aman Nai Lert Bangkok. Quite literally. But it's done so in the most magnificent and tasteful way possible. Before arriving at their suites, guests must pass a double-floored atrium, fitted with a stillwater black pool and white boulder oasis that ticks all the boxes of a Zen rock and sand garden. Towering over this peaceful cocoon are discreet but impressive plaster panels textured with curving stripes. These are not sand dune lines, but Thanphuying Lursakdi Sampatisiri's enlarged fingerprints -- a tribute to the hotel founder's grandmother and forward-thinking matriarch that has shaped Bangkok's Nai Lert Park today.
Having opened earlier this month, Aman Nai Lert Bangkok sits in one of the city's few privately-owned green sanctuaries -- inside Nai Lert Park by the leafy Soi Somkid. So far, this is the first and only urban Aman hotel in the world to incorporate a personality/neighbourhood name -- Nai Lert -- rather than the city name like in Tokyo and New York. Lert Sreshthaputra, or Nai Lert, was a visionary entrepreneur born in 1872 (keep note of this number), whose countless ventures laid the foundation to modern Bangkok, from transportation to ice factories. Naphaporn "Lek" Bodiratnangkura, CEO of Nai Lert Group -- which owns Aman Nai Lert Bangkok -- is the great-granddaughter of Nai Lert and the current guardian of the 20-rai plot on which the hotel stands.
Across the hotel's 36 floors, there are only 52 suites and 34 branded residences. Utmost privacy and ample space, with suites here starting at 94m², are the hallmarks of staying at Aman. But at this location, how nature and family legacy is seamlessly incorporated into the interior design and hotel features packs a profound punch.
In the lobby, visitors will be greeted with a 12m-tall brass tree sculpture flitting with thousands of leaves that transition from gold to black. Inspired by a chamchuri tree over a hundred years old in Nai Lert Park, this bespoke art piece serenely floats above a dark, reflective pool. Another striking centrepiece is their sompong tree which the building was painstakingly built around. Peeking through an elliptical opening to the swimming pool on the 9th floor, loungers will be sunbathing next to the greenery of Bangkok's third tallest tree.
Although Aman hotels are usually in secluded natural settings, being in the dynamic heart of the city has not dampened its ability to create a sense of tranquil isolation for guests.
"Coming into the hotel, we want guests to feel a sense of calm, like being in a peaceful bubble in the middle of the city," muses the hotel's affable general manager Ted Tucker.
"It's about making our guests feel at home and forgetting their worries. We are looking to deliver that Aman spirit, which I feel is exceptional attention to detail. It's unobtrusive but attentive service, and being able to give you what you want before you even know you want it."
And worry here one does not, under a canopy of trees with skyscrapers in the distance no matter where one is looking out from the hotel. This makes simply lazing around in one's suite already a holiday -- even more so thanks to the complimentary mini-bar that gets replenished daily with Billecart-Salmon Champagne and the hotel's exclusive Sompong beer.
The welcome treat, local dark chocolate shaped like a humongous sompong leaf, brings a thoughtful touch of nature to your private quarters, enhancing the verdant views from the floor-to-ceiling windows. Alongside spacious daybeds and a round bathtub big enough for two, the suites are all fitted with cutting-edge doodads, such as a flat-screen TV hidden in a counter and an iPad that answers to all requests 24 hours a day at the sending of your text.
Despite being engulfed in grey and earth tones, the space does not feel flat. Created by one of Aman's three principal designers, Jean-Michel Gathy, the intricate details embody stories and Thai culture through the mere use of a textured carpet flaunting a basket weave. Triple-tiered ceiling mouldings disclose a deeper tale: they directly reference the triple-layered, green clay tiled roofs of the Nai Lert Park Heritage Home next door. The teakwood heritage home, formerly the home of Nai Lert and his heir Thanphuying Lursakdi, bears three layers of roofs, because two were added later following World War II bombings.
The traditional Thai home, currently a private museum packed with crystalware and antiques, is open to hotel guests at no additional cost. The truly above and beyond perk however, is how Naphaporn has opened her family home to the world.
"Only visiting dignitaries, heads of states and special invitees could dine inside Nai Lert Park Heritage Home," explains Tucker. "However, our hotel guests have access to an exclusive experience to enjoy traditional Thai cuisine there -- as if they were dining with Nai Lert himself. In the past, the Japanese emperor has dined there. The beautiful teakwood dining area carries a lot of history."
Back at the hotel, meals just as memorable take place at Aman's signature restaurant Arva. Although the dishes sound simplistic, easy favourites like cacio and pepe thrill you with creamy, punchy flavours that come from using the finest ingredients, namely their homemade cavatelli pasta. Parmigiani makes one think of lasagna, but it's the most refined and delicious block of aubergine terrine, parmigiano and tomato possibly ever cooked.
Breakfast is also not to be skipped here. Served until 11am from an a la carte menu, don't miss their uncommon fusion delights such as silky hummus with soy-marinated eggs and signature mango sticky rice tea.
The hotel lounge, 1872, is named after Nai Lert's birth year and a great place to have the 1872 Martini. Poured from the tap of a square mini tea canister, it looks exactly like the life-sized ones at the Heritage Home, a throwback to when Nai Lert used to serve tea to hundreds of monks when making morning alms. Although there are only a handful of signature cocktails, the establishment makes up for it with a solid list of wines available by glass.
To go even higher for more wining and dining, the jazz club and a cigar bar at Aman Lounge on the 19th floor offer a sophisticated go-to filled with lots of natural light. On the same floor, Japanese omakase at Sesui and teppanyaki at Hiori offer a more polished and private way to enjoy sushi or flaming live cooking. This ultimate cloister, however, is reserved only for hotel guests and members of Aman Club.
If more me-time is your main focus, Aman Spa and Wellness Centre, which spans across 1,500m², is well equipped with an extensive list of treatments focusing on aesthetic, anti-ageing and hair transplant fixes at Medical Wellness by Hertitude Clinic. Yes, this means you will be able to get an IV drip with views of green bushes outside or even pop in for cryotherapy to shake off jetlag. There's a bevy of non-abrasive relaxation options too, like the Luminous Facial, which cools your face with a cocktail of vitamins.
"Guests don't need to pass through the lobby, so they can do their 'tweakments' and have their recovery time in their suite without needing to worry about being seen," says Tucker.
"We want to be the flagship for more scientific wellness, as well as having exceptional traditional treatments. Thailand is famous for that so we are embracing the past, but also looking to providing modern, clinical techniques as well."
On Aman Spa's side, local treatments go for the wow factor by way of novelties. The rice compress oil massage (not as widely seen as herbal compresses and possibly a hotel trademark in the making), features a compress ball packed with sticky rice from Nong Khai. After my body was kneaded with sweetly aromatic jasmine oil, the warm rice compress soothed my skin while also pushing in some moisturising vitamin B. It's apt that the spa spaces are all painted with fluffy clouds, as these 90 minutes were truly divine.
As any Aman junkie would know, it's a pinnacle of luxury hospitality when you are no longer a room number and can be greeted by name. This still remains, the way it has since the first Aman resort, Amanpuri, opened in Phuket 37 years ago. And along with roots, Aman Nai Lert Bangkok marks a quaint homecoming moment while also taking the hospitality brand to a new era.
"I feel it's come full circle in the sense that it's coming home, with our beginnings in Phuket and now coming back to Bangkok in an urban environment," Tucker concludes with a smile. "Renowned for our secluded destinations, we now bring the spirit of Aman to life through our urban sanctuary -- Aman Nai Lert Bangkok."
For more information, visit aman.com/hotels/aman-nai-lert-bangkok.
