The hotel itself is a typical 5-star hotel of the asian hemisphere. it is in no way comparable to the shangri la in hong kong. yet its set next to the breathtaking chapraya river, you can explore bangkok via streets or the river. very educated and old school hotel employees, s-class limo available, free internet. design and features are from another time ... who has slept before in the waldorf astoria in new york knows what i want to say. yet - the shangri la is a classic, costs less than half of the mandarin oriental and sits just 2 blocks away from it.
a bit frustrating is the neighborhood. you cannt just walk outside and dive into downtown. there is only a very small soi infront, that has only 1 thai local restaurant and some little shops. it needs a taxi ride of 20 minutes to reach places like emporium dept store or active downtown. therefore you are at the river - so if your intentiaon is rather to hop temple sights by boat ..this is the place you want to be.