*I have decided to do a dedication post to this hotel in Bangkok where my parents and I stayed last year. Due to the pandemic, they have had to cease operations starting from this month, until further notice. Times are hard. We have to constantly remind ourselves to be kind to one another, and to ourselves.
**Please excuse the quality of the photographs, as they were all taken using my mobile phone. My DSLR did not come along for this trip.
~❀~
Nanda Heritage Hotel is located along a busy road, just a stone's throw away from a flyover bridge. Right next door, there is a local restaurant that is very similar to our kopitiam. A few blocks down the road, there are government buildings, which gave me the impression that they are quite close to some sort of an administrative centre - I even saw the United Nations Economic and Social Commissions for Asia Pacific (UNESCAP) and Royal Thai Army Headquarters buildings in the GrabCar along the way.
We entered the building from the basement, as the security guard thoughtfully allowed the car to drop us off there, to get us off the main road. A short flight of stairs brought us to a simple but elegant space, which we deduced was their lobby. It had warm wood shades with low lighting, which I suppose made sense, as they had one side of the room that was in glass panel to allow for natural lighting.
We later found out that the wooden components of the building were salvaged from the original Nanda Mansion. Ah, so there really is a heritage element to the hotel, it was not just a name. Apparently, the property on which it sits have been in the Lekhyananda family for generations. Nanda Mansion was the family's generations-old European-style teak wood residence that was built in 1920 on Petchburi Road, not too far from the hotel. They carefully removed, cleaned and repurposed many of the original parts of the family home, such as the wood door frames, windows, floorboards, wall boards, carved teak wood banisters, louvered ventilation panels, and the custom-made teak furniture to help create an authentic heritage ambience for the hotel.
The hotel's hidden centre courtyard was inspired by the Parinayok shanty community in the rear, thinking of it as an extension of Parinayok’s maze-like streets without a romanticized "slum" style. They used objects that were readily available, like light steel frame, which they adapted, and re-combined.
Not only did the 100-year-old Parinayok community lend the hotel some design ideas, but it also offers the opportunity to see what genuine Bangkok daily life looks like. We had a walk through the alley next to the hotel, where we observed first-hand the unstaged, non-touristy side of Bangkok.
We were shown to our room, a Deluxe Double Room. A two-pax room, they allowed us to have an additional single bed, which they placed where originally there would be a sofa.
I particularly liked the bathroom. They turned a long, narrow strip into what felt like a spacious area. I thought the use of a sliding door instead of the conventional push-pull door helped in maximising the use of space.
Simple and elegant, their no frills style was very much to my liking. They also provided toiletries, a hairdryer and face towels in the bathroom.
Let's move out of the room. A flight of stairs at our doorstep led us directly to their outdoor swimming pool.
Flanked by frangipani trees and partly shaded by the shadows of the building itself and the foliage of trees, it makes for a welcome respite from the midday heat.
For someone like me who cannot swim (yes, I know, I still cannot 😅), just relaxing by the pool on a sundeck chair with a book and cocktail in hand would be more my thing.
Their in-house restaurant, Nanda Restaurant, was where we had our first meal in Bangkok. I ordered a pad thai (my usual every time I visit a Thai eatery). It was plated very prettily and tasted alright. Nothing spectacular but it was not bad. It did, however, satisfy my craving for authentic pad thai (this is when I miss the food scene in Sydney 😞).
We enjoyed our three-night stay here. The only complaint we have would be how almost all the GrabCar drivers took very long to get to us.
632 Wisut Kasat Road, Thailand 10200
T: +662 282 2900, E: info@nandaheritage.com
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