Although the hotel itself is what you would typically expect from a luxury 5 star, the immediate surroundings, apart from the river view, are disappointing. The dirty streets adjacent to the hotel offer poor quality massage parlors, and not much in the way of shopping facilities apart from an overpriced department store called Robinsons. A fishy smell pervades the air and I think that this is due tto the riiver, which is evidently so polluted that no man should venture therein if he values his life!
I therefore took solace and great pleasure in retreating to the sanctum of the Shangri La. If you book a riverside room, however, be sure to ask to be located as far as possible from the heavily traffic laden bridge which spans the river next to the Krung Thep wing.