Concierge.com's insider take:

Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok, is one of the oldest deluxe hotels in Bangkok, serving the rich and famous (Princess Diana, Nicolas Cage, and Elizabeth Taylor have all rested their heads here) for more than 130 years. Yet it's completely up to date and right next to the Skytrain. Its 358 rooms and 35 suites feature such chichi luxuries as private butler service and Bose CD players, and all rooms have at least side river views. The furniture is swathed in Thai silks and backed by burnished teak—except in the Garden Wing rooms where the style is neo-colonial. For champagne wishes and literary dreams, there's the Somerset Maugham suite, with sultry four-poster beds, gold-legged stools, and fuchsia pillows. The hotel also houses some of Bangkok's finest restaurants, including Lord Jim's, where seafood is served riverside, and the more formal Le Normandie, where both the service and menu are high French. For diners having a Western jones, there's a wood-fired Italian pizza oven and an outdoor barbecue joint on a terrace by the river (closed from May to September for the rainy season). In November 2006, the Ayurvedic Penthouse spa debuted with classical treatments like Udwatanam, a rejuvenating dry herbal massage. There's also a terrific cooking school.