Mandarin Oriental’s 150th anniversary in Bangkok is the perfect moment to spotlight a hotel group that has quietly set the gold standard for Asian hospitality – and an offer that Panache travellers can unlock in a uniquely privileged way.

But first, a history lesson

Mandarin Oriental’s story begins with two legendary addresses: The Mandarin in Hong Kong, which opened in 1963 as the island’s tallest building, and The Oriental in Bangkok, which first welcomed guests in 1876 as Siam’s first true luxury hotel.  These two flagships, already famed for their service and sense of place, were gradually brought under one umbrella and formally merged into Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group in 1985, creating the fan-logo brand we know and love today.

Over the decades, the group has grown into a carefully curated collection of around 30 hotels and residences across the world, known for marrying Asian graciousness with contemporary design and meticulous, almost old-world service. Instead of chasing ubiquity, Mandarin Oriental has focused on singular properties in cultural capitals and resort settings. The kind of addresses that become reference points in a city, from Hong Kong and Tokyo to London, Bodrum and Marrakech.

Who Mandarin Oriental is really for

Mandarin Oriental tends to attract travellers who value emotional comfort as much as aesthetics …people who want a hotel to feel like a finely tuned refuge in the middle of a busy city or a dramatic landscape. It suits families and couples who care about details: discreet but warm staff who remember how you like your tea, rooms that quietly layer local craft with modern comfort, and spas and restaurants that can stand alone in competitive culinary cities.

It is also a natural fit for culturally curious travellers who like to prioritize cultural immersion. Those who want to visit galleries, markets and neighbourhood walks around their stay, returning each evening to a hotel that still feels rooted in its destination. For our clients, Mandarin Oriental often becomes the “anchor” hotel in an itinerary – the one place where everyone in the family is happy to come back early, because the property itself is as compelling as the city outside.

The offer: Double room upgrade and complimentary extra bed

To mark 150 years of Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok, the hotel has introduced a special 150th Anniversary Family Privilege – a quietly generous way for families to experience this riverside grande dame.  The stay period runs until 31 October 2026, with bookings to be made by 31 May 2026, making it ideal for school holidays, festive breaks or a longer South East Asia circuit.

The offer includes:

• A double room upgrade on select categories, allowing families to enjoy more space and river views without paying suite rates.
• A complimentary extra bed and daily breakfast for one child under 12 years of age, making it easier for families to share one larger room or suite.
• Daily breakfast included, so your mornings begin with the hotel’s legendary riverside spread before stepping out into Bangkok.
• Eligible room categories (such as Deluxe Premier Room, Deluxe Balcony Room, State Room and Deluxe One-Bedroom Suite) receive a corresponding upgrade tier – for instance, from a Deluxe Premier Room to a Deluxe Balcony Room, or from a Deluxe One-Bedroom Suite to a Premier One-Bedroom Suite – subject to availability.  

As with all luxury hospitality offers, blackout dates apply on selected peak periods, and certain room types, like some balcony rooms, may not allow extra beds. Therefore, we recommend careful planning with your Panache travel designer.

For families who want their children’s first memory of Bangkok to be of boats gliding past the Chao Phraya at breakfast and storytime in a room layered with Thai silks and books, this offer is a rare way to access more generous space at this storied property.

Some of our favourite Mandarin Oriental stays

While this offer is exclusively for Mandarin Oriental Bangkok, we’d be amiss if we didn’t use this opportunity to spotlight some of our favourite Mandarin Oriental properties worldwide. These are properties we reach for repeatedly when designing journeys for Panache travellers, each with a distinct personality and set of advantages.

Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok

Set along the Chao Phraya River, this is the group’s original grande dame – a hotel that has hosted writers, royals and artists for nearly 150 years. The mood is classic yet refreshed: teak, silk and white-glove service, paired with a superb riverside pool, destination dining and the famed Authors’ Lounge, which feels like stepping into a living piece of literary history. For Panache travellers, our Fan Club status typically secures preferred accommodation in the renovated River Wing, priority spa appointments and those hard-to-get afternoon tea sittings, turning a city break into an old-world house party by the river.

Mandarin Oriental, Tokyo

High above Nihonbashi, Mandarin Oriental, Tokyo offers some of the most cinematic city views in Japan, with rooms that look out across the skyline towards Mount Fuji on clear days.  With direct metro access below the hotel, it functions as an exceptionally efficient base for exploring the city – you can step from quiet, cocooned interiors straight into Tokyo’s vast rail network. We like it for travellers who want design-forward, subtly Japanese interiors, serious dining (including acclaimed restaurants and bars), and a spa that feels like a retreat from the neon energy outside.

Mandarin Oriental, Bodrum

On Turkey’s Aegean coast, Mandarin Oriental, Bodrum spreads across a series of terraced gardens and coves above Paradise Bay, with a strong emphasis on privacy and sea views.  Villas and suites come with generous outdoor spaces, making this ideal for families and groups who want a Mediterranean-style summer with all the structure and polish of a top Asian luxury brand. Between secluded beaches, excellent Turkish hammam rituals and a strong water-sports offering, it works particularly well as a slow, multi-generational holiday where days naturally stretch from late breakfasts to golden-hour swims.

Mandarin Oriental Bosphorus, Istanbul

Here, the Bosphorus itself is the star: the hotel sits right on the water, with terraces and suites framing the strait where Europe meets Asia.  The design is contemporary yet layered with Ottoman textures, so you can spend mornings on private boat rides or in the old city, and evenings back on the terrace watching ferries cross under the bridges. We often recommend this property to travellers who want Istanbul to feel both glamorous and grounded – access to the city’s best restaurants and galleries, but the ability to retreat to a riverside sanctuary whenever the mood calls for it.

Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London

Bordering Hyde Park in Knightsbridge, this London address blends Edwardian grandeur with a refreshed, fashion-aware sensibility that works beautifully for shoppers and culture lovers alike.  With world-class dining, a celebrated spa and direct access to both greenery and the city’s most coveted boutiques, it’s an especially good fit for couples and families who like to alternate park walks, museums and retail therapy. Our relationship with the hotel often translates into park-view rooms, dining recommendations tailored to your tastes, and those subtle touches – from amenities for children to personalised notes – that make a city stay feel quietly special.

Why you should book this through Panache

Mandarin Oriental’s 150th anniversary is, on paper, a public celebration – but the way you experience it can be distinctly private and personalised when you come through Panache.  As members of the by-invitation-only Mandarin Oriental Fan Club, we are able to combine the 150th Anniversary Family Privilege with additional VIP courtesies at many properties: daily breakfast for two, priority room upgrades, hotel credits, early check-in and late check-out, and personalised welcome amenities, subject to each hotel’s conditions.

In practical terms, this means we can help you choose the right room category to maximise upgrades, navigate blackout dates, and design an itinerary around Bangkok – or any other Mandarin Oriental city – that makes full use of the hotel’s location, from private river cruises to restaurant reservations that are otherwise hard to secure.  For families, we can structure your days so that children are as engaged by the experience as adults, whether that means kid-friendly river excursions from Bangkok, museum mornings in Tokyo or boat days off Bodrum.

Most importantly, when you book with Panache, you are not just adding perks to a booking engine rate; you are tapping into a relationship-driven ecosystem where hotel teams know you are one of “our” travellers – and instinctively go the extra mile.  

If Mandarin Oriental is about unfolding legacies, think of us as your behind-the-scenes storytellers, making sure your chapter in that story is as generous and memorable as the hotels themselves.