The ultra luxury hotel collectionHotels on the river
Life by the water.
Hotels on the banks of the Chao Phraya, the Seine and the Douro, where the river is the view, the road and the reason to stay.
How to choose
A river gives a hotel a front row seat on the life of a city. Boats pass all day, the light changes from hour to hour, and in the evening the far bank turns into a long line of lights. Every hotel in this collection sits right on a river bank, with rooms that look over the water.
Bangkok has the most, along the Chao Phraya. The riverside hotels there run their own boats, which are often the quickest way to the Grand Palace, Wat Pho and the old town, and the evening crossing to dinner is one of the city's pleasures. In Paris, a hotel on the Seine puts the Louvre, the Pont Neuf and the islands on foot. In Portugal, the Douro Valley offers a quieter version, with vineyards on the slopes above the water.
When choosing a river room, ask which floors and sides have the clearest views, and whether the room looks up or down the river. In Bangkok, rooms on the Thonburi bank look back at the city skyline, while hotels on the east bank face the temples and the slower western shore.
River hotels pair well with a coast. A few nights on the Chao Phraya before the Andaman Sea, or on the Douro after Lisbon, gives a trip two very different kinds of water.
Questions
Good to know.
Do all rooms face the river?
Not always. Each hotel offers river view rooms, but some also have garden or city views. Ask before you book.
How do I get around from a river hotel in Bangkok?
By hotel boat or public river boat, which link to the Skytrain at Saphan Taksin.
Which bank of the Chao Phraya is better?
The east bank is closer to the old town and Charoen Krung. The Thonburi bank has the classic views back across the city.
Is the Douro good outside harvest time?
Yes. Spring is green and quiet, and summer is warm and long.