Visitors to Thailand find luxury at 137 Pillars Suites & Residence

Korea and Thailand are working together to boost tourism through "Korea-Thailand Visit Year," in celebration of 65 years of diplomatic relations. Korean tourists are now seeking luxurious experiences in Thailand, shifting from budget travel.

Rooftop infinity pool on the 31st floor of the 137 Pillars Suites and Residences in Bangkok took the No. 6 spot in the Best Hotel Pools in Bangkok this year in the inaugural Travel and Leisure Luxury Awards Asia Pacific held in June. [137 PILLARS SUITES & RESIDENCES]

BANGKOK, Thailand — This year marks the 65th anniversary since Korea and Thailand established diplomatic relations on Oct. 1, 1958. The two countries that have since formed close ties through the soft power of their tourism and food industries are now gearing up once again to spur tourism in both countries.

Korea and Thailand designated year 2023-24 as “Korea-Thailand Visit Year” to increase the number of tourists between the two countries, and have organized different events and promotions in respective countries since early this year.

According to the Korea Tourism Organization, around 570,000 Thai tourists visited Korea each year before Covid-19, which is the highest number of travelers to Korea from a Southeast Asian country. The Tourism Authority of Thailand also reported that the number of Korean tourists visiting Thailand during the first seven months of this year was 982,329, the fourth-largest market after Malaysia, China and India.

While it’s evident that the majority of Thai travelers visit Korea to enjoy K-culture, hospitality providers and travel agents in Thailand say they have noticed, especially since the pandemic, a change in the trend of Korean travelers, who now opt for more extravagant experiences offered by luxury hotels and resorts.

For Koreans, Thailand was usually a travel destination for relatively cheap massages, street food and exotic nightlife at the Khao San Road in its capital city, Bangkok. But agents are saying that more Korean travelers now have a penchant for luxury travel, looking for places that offer curated tours, personalized meals from in-house chefs, private pools, high-end wellness programs and so on.

Two hotel resorts in Thailand — one in Bangkok and the other in Krabi — each owned and managed by two Thai women, say they’ve been seeing an increase in the number of Korean travelers to their properties. They think this is due to the luxury facilities and premium services they offer that are “authentic, exotic and Instagram-worthy at the same time.”

Lobby of 137 Pillars Suites and Residences greets its visitors with a large artwork titled, "Auspicious Path." [137 PILLARS SUITES & RESIDENCES]

Bangkok art tour Delete elephant rides and a visit to the floating market from your itinerary if you are planning a trip to Bangkok.

Many travelers will be surprised to find that at least two days can be spent enjoying the arts in Bangkok. 137 Pillars Suites & Residence, a five-star hotel in Bangkok, has a private art tour package program curated by one of Bangkok’s top art curators, Panu Boonpipattanapong. According to the hotel, the tour is the first of its kind in the city. It has been added to the list of programs available at the hotel upon its general manager Nida Wongphanlert’s request, as Wongphanlert herself has a “passion for the arts.” Wongphanlert is the daughter of the owner, who joined the hotel business as the general manager of the Bangkok branch during its planning stage. The hotel opened in April 2017.

Guests can sign up for 137 Pillars’ private art tour that stops at three to four galleries guided by Boonpipattanapoong or customize their own one-day tour around the Sukhumvit neighborhood using the hotel’s private transportation service, dubbed “137 Pillars Louie Tour.”

Louie is a London cab-style vehicle operated by the hotel for its private transportation service. [137 PILLARS SUITES & RESIDENCES]

Louie is the name of the London cab-style vehicle the hotel operates for its guests.

Louie is not just a random name that the hotel picked out to sound British: It’s the name of one of the very first owners of the historic 137 Pillars House in Chiang Mai. This luxury boutique hotel in northern Thailand has a century-old teak house at its center, built in the late 1800s by the British-owned Borneo Company. The Borneo Company controlled the region’s lumber concessions from the 1880s until the 1950s. Louis Leonowens, the son of Anna Leonowens, was an English tutor for King Chulalongkorn of Siam of Thailand. He worked for the Borneo Company Limited and then founded a Thai trading company under his name.

“Leonowens and William Bain, who had worked for Borneo Company, gave my father the vision to renovate and restore the century-old teak homestead,” Wongphanlert said. “My parents first purchased the property from the company to simply use it as a holiday house, but eventually running a hotel and resort became a family business.”

The 137 in the hotel's name also comes from the Chiang Mai property, as 137 pillars were used to build that historic homestead,” Wongphanlert said.

After purchasing the property and establishing it as a luxury resort, Wongphanlert’s father established 137 Pillars in Bangkok in February 2017. It consists of 179 residences, usually occupied by Japanese residents living in the neighborhood, and 34 hotel suites on the top six floors. It has two outdoor infinity pools — one on the 27th floor and the other on its rooftop 31st floor, which is exclusively for suite guests. The rooftop pool took the No. 6 spot in the Best Hotel Pools in Bangkok this year in the inaugural Travel and Leisure Luxury Awards Asia Pacific held in June, according to the hotel. The awards celebrate outstanding destinations, hotels and experiences in the hospitality industry across 16 countries in the Asia Pacific region.

The hotel's infinity pool on the 27th floor [137 PILLARS SUITES & RESIDENCES]

“I heard many Koreans used to dump their bags in their hotel rooms and run outside to sightsee and come back late at night. Such travelers did not need to stay at luxury hotels,” Wongphanlert said. “But the trend nowadays is definitely changing, and of course there are more second- or third-time visitors to the city, so they opt for a more luxurious property like ours to relax, enjoy the pools, the bars, restaurants and the programs we offer.”

Other art venues that guests can enjoy around the hotel include the Jim Thomson Art Center and the Jim Thompson House Museum, which hold famous silk products of Thailand. It’s one of the must-visit places in Bangkok.

The Queen Sirikit Silk Museum is housed inside the historic Ratsadakorn-bhibhathaha Building, erected in 1870. Visitors can learn about different textiles that existed in Thailand and look at the evening dresses for Her Majesty Queen Sirikit that were created using the textiles.

“Our goal is to become a community space where our guests experience Thai culture and art during their stay, going beyond merely staying for a few days and eating Thai food, while our vision as a luxury hotel and resort is to set a standard of a contemporary luxury hospitality in Thailand,” Wongphanlert said.

Under one roof Shim Jae-cheon, a Seoulite in his 30s who “loves traveling to Thailand” and has been there “more than a dozen times,” said he stayed at 137 Pillars’ residence early this year when he decided to stay in the city for a month.

“It was the best choice, as it’s situated in an area where you have all the upscale shopping centers, art and culture venues and great restaurants and bars, but the best part was that I could also have so much fun without leaving the hotel,” he said.

Jack Bain's Bar on the hotel's 28th floor [137 PILLARS SUITES & RESIDENCES]

At the hotel’s Jack Bain’s Bar on the 28th floor, guests can learn how to concoct their favorite cocktail from the hotel’s head bartender, Thavon Wongyai. After seeing an increase in Korean guests, Wongyai said he recently created a special cocktail using Korea’s popular distilled alcoholic beverage, soju.

“We often create special drinks for our special guests from different countries by mixing Thai spirits with spirits from the country the guests are from,” Wongyai said.

Nida Wongphanlert, general manager of the hotel, tries making a cocktail at the Jack Bain's Bar. [YIM SEUNG-HYE]

The hotel also has a fine dining restaurant, Nimitr, which means “special dream” in Thai, on the 27th floor. The hotel said the restaurant recently updated its menu, which includes representative dishes from different parts of Thailand.

Wongphanlert said there are quite a few differences between southern, central and northern style Thai foods, so she decided to introduce them to those visiting Nimitr.

The hotel's restaurant Nimitr [137 PILLARS SUITES & RESIDENCES]

“Some travelers may only be visiting Bangkok this time because of a time constraint, but they can still try dishes from other parts of Thailand here under one roof,” Wongphanlert said.

For those who want to unwind and relax, Wongphanlert says the hotel has a special turndown service that includes a 90-minute therapy session at its Nitra Serenity Center. The program is especially popular among those who have trouble sleeping.

“For Koreans, Bangkok is not a destination they visit only once in a lifetime, which means they want to experience something new and something exotic in their every visit,” Wongphanlert said. “This is why we want the hotel not to serve merely as an accommodation, but as a place where they can experience the culture of Bangkok. We are providing curated services to our guests so that they can create their own stories during their stay in Bangkok.”

BY YIM SEUNG-HYE [yim.seunghye@joongang.co.kr]