My 'last' night at Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok. My face says it all about an evening with senior staff from Mandarin Oriental's Head Office in Hong Kong, having spent the previous evening with a senior member of staff from Jardine Matheson. Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok is one of the world's legendary great hotels. It has been open for more than 140 years & is known as the 'Grand Dame' of Bangkok. I get nervous before each stay at this iconic hotel that it will not be possible to match my last experience but my stays keep getting better, which is truly unbelievable.
This time 'new' GM Greg & legendary Guest Relations Director Mayuree waiting outside for me in the steamy Bangkok heat; I was given the Dame Barbara Cartland suite; lunch with GM Greg; the pool staff welcome me back as an old friend & even presently me with a teddy bear of their own; and a final evening drinking with senior staff from Mandarin Oriental's Head Office in Hong Kong, having spent the previous evening with a senior member of staff from Jardine Matheson, blew my stay out of the water.
This time 'new' GM Greg & legendary Guest Relations Director Mayuree waiting outside for me in the steamy Bangkok heat; I was given the Dame Barbara Cartland suite; lunch with GM Greg; the pool staff welcome me back as an old friend & even presently me with a teddy bear of their own; and a final evening drinking with senior staff from Mandarin Oriental's Head Office in Hong Kong, having spent the previous evening with a senior member of staff from Jardine Matheson, blew my stay out of the water.
| The Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok Welcome at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport My Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok Mercedes, with driver liveried in white & gold, was waiting for me at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport with cold towels. We were soon cruising to the hotel listening to classical music, as I used the in-car WiFi. 'New' GM Greg & Legendary Guest Relations Director Mayuree Waiting Outside in the Bangkok Heat 'New' GM Greg and fabulous Guest Relations Director Mayuree were waiting outside the hotel for me, despite the steamy Bangkok heat. I feel I have been through so much with Mayuree and I instantly knew Greg and I would be good friends. The Astounding Dame Barbara Cartland Suite Greg & Mayuree took me up to my suite personally and I was stunned by the main room of the Dame Barbara Cartland suite, with its scale & elegance. An 'Embarrassment' of Welcome Gifts There were so many welcome gifts, and they were so thoughtful, it was difficult to take it all in. A doorman inspired outfit had been left but it was the honey related business cards, made for my teddy bear Issy, that brought me near tears. There was even a crib full of more soft toys in the bedroom. An Exceptional Phad Thai Lunch by the Pool I then went down to the green & gold pool to swim, after my night flights. The pool staff welcomed me back to such intense, & genuine, warmth I felt emotional. After a swim I found my favourite dish from 2015 stay was no longer on the menu but the pool staff offered to get it made for the next day's lunch. Instead I had an exceptional Phad Thai that was a riot of delicious textures & flavours. Dame Barbara Cartland Back in the Dame Barbara Cartland suite I relaxed looking at the various related 'artifacts' and reminded myself about this prolific author. Step-grandmother of Princess Diana, over a billion books sold and a first husband from Shropshire. The more I learnt about her the greater my appreciation. The Bamboo Bar with Mayuree, & Remarkable Jazz Singer Cynthia In the hotel's Bamboo bar that night Mayuree had a Thai dance outfit for Issy and I got to meet remarkable jazz singer Cynthia again. I am proud to count that lady as a friend. Goodnight from Bangkok! I got back to the suite to find Issy tucked up in the crib in the suite with a blanket embroidered with his name. After a Legendary Good Night's Sleep I awoke, after a refreshing night's sleep, not to be underestimated when flying from London to the Far East, and had an Eggs Benedict breakfast on the balcony of my suite looking out over the Chao Phraya River. An Awesome Dim Sum Lunch in The China House with GM Greg After a leisurely first morning in the suite, I met GM Greg for a dim sum lunch in The China House. The food was exquisite but it was getting to know fascinating Greg better that made it an unforgettable experience. Back at That Special Pool Back at the pool there were more thoughtful gifts for Issy. The "To Make the sun BEARable" sunscreen tubes made my afternoon. During that afternoon staff brought a succession of 'luxury treat', you are never bored at that pool. I ended the afternoon feeding the birds that visit the pool before the pool staff presented me with a teddy bear from them. I was emotional again! Princess Eugenie's Wedding & The Bamboo Bar That evening I dressed my new teddy bear in the doorman inspired outfit and decided to call him Greg. I ate warm Scotch Eggs in 'honour' of Princess Eugenie's wedding the next day. These runny Scotch Eggs were some of the best I have eaten, made even better by the truffle fries. Not sure Princess Eugenie could have been happier that night! Good Night from Bangkok Again! That day I had asked for the Perrier water in my suite to be replaced. I still recall Perrier's benzene scandal from the 1990s and do not like its taste anyway. I found San Pellegrino in the suite and the crib had also been removed, as requested. The orchids and bed turndown messages at Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok are such an unbelievable way to end your special days there. A UK Royal Wedding & a Day Like No Other at Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok I started the Royal Wedding day with coddled eggs on the balcony of my suite. Then I tried to find the Royal Wedding on the BBC, but BBC World seemed to be deliberately ignoring it. Champagne by the Pool & My Steak Lunch from 2015 Recreated I spent an impossible perfect Royal Wedding day drink champagne by the pool and eating the steak lunch I adored in 2015, no longer on the menu but recreated for me. Back at the Dame Barbara Cartland Suite Back at my suite my new business cards with the photo of Four Seasons Founder & Chairman Mr Sharp and me were ready. The Bamboo Bar That night I met a senior member of Jardine Matheson staff and Cynthia sang an Etta James wedding song. The following night I met GM Greg, his stunning wife and senior member of Mandarin Oriental staff from their Head Office in Hong Kong. No stay in a hotel could have been better. 🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻(7 out of 5 ‘teddies’) - a 4 night stay that blew the 'teddy scoring system'. Wanted to give it more than '7 teddies' but that would be unfair to certain exceptional Four Seasons stays. Cannot thank GM Greg, Mayuree and the pool staff enough. My tip:- ignore the high rates at stay at this hotel, at least once! |  My Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok driver liveried in white & gold as we cruised to the hotel listening to classical music, as I used the in-car WiFi.  Legendary Guest Relations Director Mayuree and 'new' GM Greg. I feel I have been through so much with Mayuree and I instantly knew Greg and I would be good friends.  This view of the main room of the Dame Barbara Cartland suite gives some impression of its scale & elegance.  There were so many welcome gifts, and they were so thoughtful, it was difficult to take it all in.  A doorman inspired outfit had been left but it was the honey related business cards, made for my teddy bear Issy, that brought me near tears.  There was even a crib full of more soft toys in the bedroom.  My favourite dish from 2015 stay was no longer on the menu but the pool staff offered to get it made for the next day's lunch. Instead I had an exceptional Phad Thai that was a riot of delicious textures & flavours.  Back in the Dame Barbara Cartland suite I relaxed looking at the various related 'artifacts' and reminded myself about this prolific author. Step-grandmother of Princess Diana, over a billion books sold and a first husband from Shropshire.  Mayuree had a Thai dance outfit for Issy that evening.  In the Bamboo Bar that evening I got to meet remarkable jazz singer Cynthia again. I am proud to count that lady as a friend.  I got back to the suite to find Issy tucked up in the crib in the suite with a blanket embroidered with his name.  I awoke, after a refreshing night's sleep and had an Eggs Benedict breakfast on the balcony of my suite looking out over the Chao Phraya River.  After a leisurely first morning in the suite, I met GM Greg for a dim sum lunch in The China House. The food was exquisite but it was getting to know Greg better that made it an unforgettable experience.  Back the pool there were more thoughtful gifts for Issy. The "To Make the sun BEARable" sunscreen tubes made my afternoon.  During that afternoon staff brought a succession of 'luxury treat', you are never bored at that pool.  I ended the afternoon feeding the birds that visit the pool before the pool staff presented me with a teddy bear from them. I was emotional again!  That evening I dressed my new teddy bear in the doorman inspired outfit and decided to call him Greg.  ate warm Scotch Eggs in 'honour' of Princess Eugenie's wedding the next day. These runny Scotch Eggs were some of the best I have eaten, made even better by the truffle fries. Not sure Princess Eugenie could have been happier that night!  New exotic Thai fruit was left in my suite each evening.  That day I had asked for the Perrier water in my suite to be replaced. I still recall Perrier's benzene scandal from the 1990s and do not like its taste anyway. I found San Pellegrino in the suite and the crib had also been removed, as requested.  The orchids and bed turndown messages at Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok are such an unbelievable way to end your special days there.  I started the Royal Wedding day with coddled eggs on the balcony of my suite. Then I tried to find the Royal Wedding on the BBC, but BBC World seemed to be deliberately ignoring it.  I spent an impossible perfect Royal Wedding day drink champagne by the pool.  The steak lunch I adored in 2015, no longer on the menu, recreated for me.  Days do not get better than this.  Back at my suite my new business cards with the photo of Four Seasons Founder & Chairman Mr Sharp and me were ready.  Real gold in a cocktail on the night where I met a senior member of Jardine Matheson staff and Cynthia sang an Etta James wedding song.  Had to post another view of 'my' Dame Barbara Cartland suite again.  This photo is a 'tribute' to the butler service at Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok.  This photo of my the bathroom in my suite evidences the refurbishment at Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok.  Edouard de Nazelle from Veuve Clicquot just emailed me to say how much he loves this photo & so I had to repost it one more time. The smile on my face sums up my whole better than perfect stay. |
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