Hotel

It’s increasingly rare for a brand-new hotel tower to open that’s comprised exclusively of hotel rooms and suites — in order to make the numbers add up, there’s often a residential component as well. Bangkok’s 137 Pillars Suites & Residences follows this formula, but it’s unusual in the sense that the residences, too, are available to paying guests. Think of them as the swankiest (and best-serviced) apartment-share you’ll ever have — finally a chance to see how the other half lives. (This listing is exclusive to the Residences — see this page for the Suites.)

To all the expected luxury-hotel comforts — which the Suites also have in spades — the Residences add full kitchens, washers and dryers, and private balconies, as well as access to a Residences-only pool deck on the building’s 27th floor. They come in Studio, One-Bedroom, and Two-Bedroom varieties, and all are serviced daily just like a hotel room. And for all guests there’s a spa on the 28th floor, as well as a couple of excellent restaurants, the stunningly decorated fine-dining Nimitr and the more casual and eclectic Bangkok Trading Post, and two picturesque bars: the dark and atmospheric Jack Bain’s Bar, and the open-air poolside Marble Bar.