The Siam

The Siam sits on three acres of riverside garden in Dusit, the old royal quarter, well north of the towers and traffic that most visitors associate with Bangkok. Krissada Sukosol Clapp, musician, actor and collector, opened it in 2012 with the designer Bill Bensley, and the building reads like a private house that has grown around a collection: some 25,000 antiques set against a black and white scheme with Art Deco accents.

There are 39 suites and villas. Suites in the main house look onto the courtyard garden or the river, while the ten pool villas are walled compounds, each with its own courtyard pool. Between meals there is the infinity pool at the river's edge, the Opium Spa and a Muay Thai ring where a coach takes you through the basics. Chon, the Thai restaurant, occupies century-old teak houses that once belonged to Connie Mangskau, an associate of the American silk merchant Jim Thompson, and the same houses are home to the cooking school.

The river is the way in and out. The hotel's own boat, with open air and air conditioned seating, shuttles guests to Sathorn Central Pier beside the Skytrain, and the Grand Palace, Chinatown and the Old Town all lie along the river between the two piers.