Now the audacious Bangkok-based hotel designer Bill Bensley has taken trains to nowhere to the next level with his design for the InterContinental Khao Yai National Park in Thailand.
About 200 kilometres north-east of Bangkok, World Heritage-listed Khao Yai National Park is Thailand’s oldest and a magnet for city folk seeking respite. They come for the greenery, waterfalls, hiking trails and birdwatching as well as galleries, wineries, golf and even a castle hotel (the Movenpick Resort Khao Yai), all with mountain views.
On the edge of that park the Intercontinental Khao Yai resort, which opened in August, sits on its own verdant 19 hectares with five lakes.
Among its 61 rooms are 16 suites repurposed from heritage train cars, with the theme running strongly through the 45 rooms in the main building and other structures around the property.
Guest check-in is in a cute space adorned with railway memorabilia and a ticket counter, where a stationmaster bell is rung in welcome.
It’s not just whimsy for its own sake, though. Bensley’s vintage aesthetic is inspired by the area’s history of rail transportation during the reign of King Rama V.
There are excursions into the surrounding nature and dining is connected locally as well, with restaurant Somying’s Kitchen using ingredients from the resort’s organic farm and those of the neighbours.
Poolside Terminus Bar serves all-day beverages and Tea Carriage, set in a heritage car, offers a formal afternoon tea. A French brasserie is due to open soon.
Guests can take stretching, hatha yoga and pilates group classes and there’s a fitness centre with lake views as well as signposted tracks. No looking out for trains required – they’re strictly for bicycles and feet.
By Julietta Jameson
Traveller, Dec 2022
smh.com.au