The main restaurant of The Oriental Hotel

The Oriental Hotel Complex is a regal presence on the east bank of The River of Kings (Menam Chao Phya), which is a 160-mile waterway that cascades down from springs in the highlands of Southern China and Northwestern Laos to wind around Bangkok before spilling into The Gulf of Siam. Having first existed as a two-story wooden structure and finally as a modern a high-rise, this great hotel has seen Bangkok blossom from a backwater anchorage to a major maritime crossroads, becoming inextricably woven into its historical tapestry.

The initial merchants that docked at Bangkok’s crude harbor were British. Boisterous sailors and ravenous traders swarmed unprepared for the idiosyncratic waterfront; a world of bewildering eccentricity with architecture so singularly strange as to appear unreal. Steeples and ornate towers of temples and castles hovered over squalid unpainted wooden shacks, their long gilded Prachidees thrusting out of their tips like spears.

After investigating the neighborhood surrounding the wharf, the inquisitive newcomers discovered to their dismay, that there were no lodgings for them. Their plaints reached the king’s ears so he wearily assigned an old palace to accommodate them. This was believed to be the original Oriental. In the tradition of Siamese hospitality, the appointments were undeniably opulent. After all, they were meant for nobility.  Seafarers, deprived of comfort in cramped ocean vessels for extended periods, wallowed in luxury with sybaritic abandon, until an episode of carelessness torched the palace. In disgust, the king left later arrivals to fend for themselves, but by then, enterprising indigenous residents had converted their homes into guesthouses, and perhaps, a brothel or two.

However, not all visitors had concupiscence or money-grubbing as objectives. Colorful tales brought home by travelers lured families into Bangkok, intent on broadening their horizons. They would require more sedate quarters. Perceptive of this demand, Jarck and Salje, two Danish sea captains. obtained a license to erect an inn on its present site. Completed in 1876, it provided Europeans not only with respectable digs, but a meeting place as well. While service and facilities then did not approach levels set by continental Europe, they were adequate, and best of all, familiar. Jarck and Salje would retain proprietorship of the thriving establishment for 11 years before selling out their interests to H. V. Andersen, another Danish shipmaster. (He later found The East Asia Trading Company, active to this day.) Anticipating a need for expansion, he would commission Cordu and Rossi, an Italian architectural firm to design and construct a Mediterranean style building, currently preserved as The Authors Residence.

This tradition originated with the visit of a young Polish maritime officer, Teodor Josef Konrad Korzeniowski, who was awaiting his first Captain’s berth. He would become a famous novelist, Joseph Conrad, creator of such classics as Nostromo, Lord Jim, and Heart of Darkness.

Other accomplished writers would follow in his wake, among them, W. Somerset Maugham and Noel Coward. (Suites would be named after them.). More contemporary guests include spy novelist John Le Carre and journalist Paul Theroux. 
Andersen inaugurated the larger hotel with a champagne banquet for 120 guests in 1887.  From then on, The Oriental became the nucleus of Bangkok social life. King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) was the first royal visitor, legitimizing its posture as the national host in 1890. It was earning the distinction as the place to be in Bangkok.

Ownership of The Oriental would shift to Louis Thomas Leonowens, son of Anna of  Anna and The King of Siam.  He would cultivate his own refinements into the hotel.

    In 1910, French entrepreneur Marie Maire assumed control and would personally manage the hotel for 20 years. The Oriental would change hands several times without denigrating its reputation. Achievers continued to grace its halls such as Peter Carl Faberge and Russian ballet dancer Vaslav Nijinski, who stayed for several days to view performances of Siamese classical dances.

During World War II, the Japanese requisitioned The Oriental as a military garrison, and spitefully allowed it to fall apart from neglect. For a while, it appeared to confront oblivion.

A brief occupation by the liberating American Army would retard its deterioration, but its restoration would be left to Jim Thompson, later to be known as The Silk King because of his success marketing Thai silk internationally. A member of a prominent Delaware family, he was an architect by training, which influenced his systematic approach to problems. Learning about the plight of The Oriental Hotel, he would persuade a consortium of local businessmen to invest in refurbishing the hotel along its original concept. Within a short time, it would resume its forward momentum as tourists trickled into Bangkok. Jim Thompson would disappear on a hike at Cameron Highlands in Malaysia in 1967. But he lives on in The Jim Thompson Suite, one of the most elegant units of The Oriental.

The new owners felt secure enough to amplify the room capacity by the addition of The Tower Wing in 1958. Ten years later, Swiss hotelier, Kurt Wachtveitl took over as general manager, a position he still holds today.  The River Wing would be dedicated in 1976, with a Buddhist geomancy ritual to insure its continued prosperity. This high-rise appendage has a magnificent overview of The Chao Phya.

In 1979, Queen Sirikit would presided over The Sea Write Awards, which was held in the hotel.  The  event bestows recognition upon the region’s literary talent.  

Kurt Wachtveitl is still general manager. He is affectionately regarded by the hotel staff, and has become an institution.