Farewell to the Dusit Thani

BANGKOK, 4 July 2017: Whatever the PR spin, there is a sense of sadness knowing the iconic Dusit Thani Bangkok, will be torn down to make way for a new flagship hotel for its owning company Dusit International.

Just over 48 years after it opened to the public in February 1970, the hotel will close 16 April 2018 to allow demolition teams to move in.

I remember the opening party that attracted Bangkok socialites, business leader and the media. I worked at the Bangkok Post at the time, just a block away from the brand new hotel on Rama IV road. At the opening party I was introduced to the general manager who represented the US chain Westin, the only foreign chain ever to manage the hotel. They didn’t stay long enough to make a real impression. Read more

Dusit Thani new lease, new life

BANGKOK, 2 March 2017: Dusit Thani PCL announced, Wednesday, an agreement with the Crown Property Bureau to continue leasing land occupied by its flagship Dusit Thani Hotel at the intersection of Silom Road and Rama IV Road.

A new lease agreement gives the group a 30-year lease on the prime land site downtown Bangkok with the right to extend for another 30 years.

The 517-room Dusit Thani Hotel opened in February 1970 on land leased from the Crown Property for an initial 30 years. At the time it was the tallest hotel in the Thai capital. Read more