Shanghai Mansion Bangkok

• Housed in an 1892 Yaowarat building
• Wat Mangkon MRT a short walk away
• Rooms from 27 m2 to 49 m2 and family suites
• Jazz terrace over Yaowarat Road
• Tuk tuk shuttle and a daily guided Chinatown walk

Essentials

Shanghai Mansion Bangkok is a boutique hotel on Yaowarat Road, in the middle of Chinatown. The hotel’s website puts MRT Wat Mangkon “a stone’s throw away”, a short walk, and describes river taxis, canals and the Skytrain as a few short blocks off.

Yaowarat is Bangkok’s gold and food street, so what you gain here is the street itself: markets, shophouses and night stalls at the door. What you give up is quiet, because the road is busy late into the evening.

Overview

The building dates to 1892, when it opened as a trading house. In 1908 it became Bangkok’s first Chinese opera house, and Burasari Group bought it in 2005 and turned it into a hotel styled on 1930s Shanghai. Inside, the hotel keeps that look with antiques, brocades, silks, dark furniture and polished concrete floors.

There are four room types. Mei Hua Superior rooms are 27 m2 with a double or twin bed. Ying Hua Deluxe rooms are 39 m2 with a king bed, and Mu Dan suites are 49 m2 with a king bed and space for one child. Family suites range from 48 m2 to 76 m2 and take two adults and two children. The hotel’s website states that all rooms are furnished without windows, so the room is a dark, cool cave for sleeping, not a place to watch the street. Anyone who needs daylight to feel rested should weigh that before booking.

For other design-led stays, boutique and design hotels in Bangkok puts this one next to Maison, Samala and Pullman G. The area itself is covered in Rattanakosin vs Chinatown.

Tip: Rooms have no windows, so plan your daylight outside: the hotel offers a complimentary guided Chinatown walk each morning at 9:00, a gentle way to learn the lanes before the heat builds.

Food and drink

Cotton Breakfast Restaurant

Breakfast is served in the old Cotton Club hall, a tall room with arched windows over Yaowarat Road. The hotel’s website lists a continental buffet plus a la carte choices, with Western and traditional Chinese dishes and French press coffee. It is the one place in the hotel where you get daylight and a view of the street.

Red Rose Restaurant

Red Rose serves ingredient-driven Chinese cooking, with Chinese whiskeys and plum wine on the drinks list. Live jazz plays here nightly, according to the hotel’s website, so expect music over dinner. A daily dim sum high tea is also offered in the afternoon.

Shanghai Terrace

An open-air jazz lounge on the terrace above Yaowarat Road, serving drinks, with live sets from Thursday to Sunday. Sit here if you want to watch the street from a height rather than from the pavement.

Amenities

Spa Burasari is on site, and the hotel’s website mentions a complimentary one-hour Thai massage offer. Each night of a stay comes with a complimentary experience, and the daily Chinatown walk is one of them. Wi-Fi is free, and the facilities page lists a tuk tuk shuttle.

The rest of the building is given over to a classic ballroom, meeting rooms and a Zen courtyard, so this is a base for Chinatown days more than a resort. Ask the hotel about a lift and about step-free access to the lobby before arrival, since the building is a restored historic structure.