The Dusit Thani Bangkok, often referred to simply as the Dusit Thani Hotel, is a luxury hotel in the Thai capital's Bang Rak District. The original hotel building was the country's tallest building when it opened in 1970 as the first property ofDusit International. The building is being demolished for redevelopment beginning in 2019, and the hotel is scheduled to reopen in 2023.
History
The Dusit Thani hotel was founded by hotelier Thanphuying Chanut Piyaoui. It was her second hotel after the Princess Hotel on Charoen Krung Road, which opened in 1948 and expanded as Bangkok's hospitality industry grew during the Cold War period. Thanphuying Chanut conceived the Dusit Thani as an internationally recognised luxury hotel to compete with the Siam Inter-Continental Hotel, which had opened in 1966. On a visit to the Hotel Okura in Tokyo, she became impressed with the hotel's design, and enlisted Japanese architect Yozo Shibata, who had worked on the design team for the Okura, to design her new hotel. Construction was supervised by Tokyo-based C. Itoh, while Thai Obayashi served as the main contractor. The name Dusit Thani was borrowed from King Rama VI's miniature city project which experimented with democracy during the 1920s. The Dusit Thani stood on the former location of Ban Saladaeng, the former residence of the Chaophraya Yommarat, on the southeast corner of Sala Daeng Intersection, the beginning of Si Lom Road. Thanphuying Chanut secured a lease from the Crown Property Bureau, which owns the land. The hotel opened on 27 February 1970, becoming one of Bangkok's first five-star hotels. The building, 23 storeys high with a triangular cross-section, was topped with a distinctive golden spire; it was the tallest building in the city upon its completion, at . The building's design featured Modernist influences as well as traditional Thai motifs such as the prachamyam patterns decorating its facade. When it opened, the Dusit Thani introduced many novelties to Bangkok's social scene, including a discotheque, ballrooms, and a restaurant on the top floor. The hotel brands itself as emphasising Thainess, from its decor to the conduct of the staff. It is the oldest property of the Dusit Thani Company, whose business has since expanded internationally to include dozens of hotels. By the 2010s, the hotel featured 517 guest rooms, and its list of guests included Gwyneth Paltrow, Whitney Houston, Ronald Reagan and Tom Jones. In March 2017, the company, in partnership with real estate developerCentral Pattana, renewed its lease with the Crown Property Bureau for 30 years. It announced plans to redevelop the property as a mixed-use project, worth 36.7 billion baht, which would include residences, retail areas and office space, in addition to a new hotel. The hotel remained open until 5 January 2019, after which it closed for redevelopment. It is expected to reopen in 2023. Meanwhile, the company has partnered with Silpakorn University to document, archive, and preserve some of the original hotel's artistic and architectural elements.
