Fantasia
Dream, Vikram Chatwal style. You know what that means. OTT luxury. Bells and whistles. In short, a ‘hautel’. At least that’s how it seemed to me as I checked into Dream in Bangkok, Chatwal’s newest, hippest filly from the stable of Hampshire Hotel...
By Michael Correya, TNN |
Dream, Vikram Chatwal style. You know what that means. OTT luxury. Bells and whistles. In short, a ‘hautel’. At least that’s how it seemed to me as I checked into Dream in Bangkok, Chatwal’s newest, hippest filly from the stable of Hampshire Hotels and Resorts.
Picture this: 100 bootylicious rooms, a spa, gym and a bar. The lifts take guests straight to their rooms. Swipe the electronic card, punch in the floor number and voila, the room is at your service.
My suite is bathed in an ethereal blue light and the huge, soft double-bed that makes me just want to dive in for a quick kip down. But temptations beckon. A gargantuan Samsung plasma TV and DVD player; a mini-bar that’s maxed out on vodka, wine, pink champagne, juices, soda, aerated drinks (like pink guava juice) and more spirits outside.
And, of course, the bathroom which passed the loo-tmus test with flying (gleaming white!) colours amid piles of even whiter towels. And last but not least, a digital weighing machine with a mind of its own.
The hotel is situated in Sukhumvit, but I noted that this very respectable daytime area showed a rather more interesting side at night. So, if I felt like sampling life on the outside, there was always Robinson’s or a variety of other places to be checked out nearby.
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But, with the Flava bar and restaurant under David Hamilton, making things particularly bright and happening, it was difficult to leave the comfort of the hotel for the street. More so as the seductive whiff of the Perdomo cigar wafted by me. The cigar lady offered a variety of the finest, just right for all my dreams to go up in smoke. The opening night party was a humdinger — what else from Vikram? The theme was fantasy. What else. The setting, fantastic. Obviously. A deejay flown in from Miami. An expert bartender sent by 42 Below Vodka. And — how could I forget? — There was a plump guy in shorts clutching a torch (the Statue of Liberty kind) in one hand and a book, in the other.
Getting back to the party, it started from the lobby, continued into the restaurant and spilled over to the top floor where the model rooms were set up. Even an angel popped in, a bald one but with gauze wings and all. Or did he? Dunno really....I’d been having a blast till well into the wee hours, you see.... What else do you expect, when you’re Dreaming?
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