Anantara Riverside Bangkok Resort

Fantastic resort! This hotel has a feel of classic elegance without being stuffy or pretentious. Staff were friendly, welcoming, and helpful. The property is clean, quiet, and beautifully maintained, with lush greenery and tasteful decor everywhere you look. And every dining experience at the hotel was amazing! If we ever have the opportunity to return to Bangkok, there is no doubt we will choose to stay at the Anantara.

The hotel has a great scenic location with free transportation to a big public transportation hub and an overwhelming shopping mall. Both location are a great starting point to start your experience of Bangkok. The breakfast was absolutely amazing, giving you an awesome start into the day. Thank you for the room upgrade and the wonderful service making our stay unforgettable.

Fantastic place to stay in Bangkok great location lovely staff food excellent all in all a great place to stay

Brilliant relaxed atmosphere. Polite staff food is pricey but superb buts lots of other places to eat too

What we liked * The staff were consistently attentive, friendly and welcoming. * The main hotel and grounds were very well maintained. * Breakfast was good, with plenty of fresh and varied choices. * The gym was excellent: well equipped with modern Technogym equipment, including a good selection of free weights. What let it down * Damp rooms. Our first room had an overwhelming smell of damp, which we reported on the first morning. The initial response was to add a fan to circulate the air. We didn’t feel this was an adequate solution and were subsequently moved. The replacement room didn’t smell, but the bedding and our clothes still felt damp. * Tired rooms and poor showers. The rooms generally felt dated and in need of refurbishment. Across the three rooms we experienced, none of the showers maintained a consistent temperature. There was also no apparent bathroom extraction. Riverside rooms were particularly noisy, with river traffic, road noise and ageing air conditioning all contributing. * Wellness that felt more like marketing than an integrated experience. There is an extensive treatment menu and a dedicated centre, but the offering felt superficial on closer inspection. The IV treatments didn’t appeal, and the advertised hyperbaric treatment, using 21% oxygen at up to 1.5 ATA, was more limited than we had expected. * Expensive classes. Sessions such as Pilates cost THB 2,000 each, around £45, which felt excessive. * Little wellness focus beyond the centre. For a hotel promoting itself around wellness, we expected a broader range of healthy food and drinks throughout the property. Poolside, the emphasis seemed to be on expensive beer, cocktails and snacks. * Very expensive food and drink. Beers in the bar were around £12 each. At Trader Vic’s, a single-course meal with drinks for four cost approximately £160, despite a fairly basic menu. * A conference-heavy atmosphere. During our stay, the hotel was dominated by large groups of conference delegates. The small bar became crowded and loud, with chairs pulled into large circles. Staff repeatedly apologised, but the atmosphere was a long way from the relaxing wellness experience being promoted. * An unusable complimentary session. On our final day, we were offered a complimentary wellness session. However, when we visited the centre, we were told no staff were available to provide it that day. * Disappointing coffee. The on-site coffee shop served coffee that tasted like it came from a vending machine. We found much better coffee across at the Riverside mall. Overall, it’s a shame. The staff are lovely, and the hotel has the potential to deliver the experience it promotes. At present, however, the rooms, value for money and overall atmosphere fall well short of that promise.