If you think you have seen them all, read this one. Around 1960, it was sent to the proprietress of the Oriental Hotel in Bangkok, Germaine Krull, who remembers: ‘Our bill collectors had their problems. One debtor had left the French Embassy a...
A room at the Oriental in the 1920s, at the time of Somerset Maugham's arrival Fighting White Ants by Andreas Augustin At The Mandarin Oriental shop, and present in every room, the book about the Oriental's history is more than j...
Bangkok / Siam (today Thailand) "The hotel faced the river. My room was dark, one of a long line, with a verandah on each side of it, the breeze blew through, but it was stifling. The dining-room was large and dim, and for coolness" sake the windows...
By Andrew Williamson and Andreas Augustin Never ask a lady about her age! we have all learnt to accept. But if we stop calling hotels grand old ladies, we might very well aks. ‘How old is this establishment?’ is often one o...
Andrew Williamson | An American Essay As I stride across the carpeted lobby of Boston’s Lenox Hotel I am clamped firmly on the wrist. What can I have done? Has my past caught up with me? ‘Good afternoon, sir. Welcome to the Leno...
Andreas Augustin tackled the impossible — and produced a book about the long missing third hotel of the Sarkies brothers. This is a list of the neccessary 12 pillars of success. Once again, I am taking you on a journey into a historic ...
During the 1870s, a new 'movement' was to be observed in England. The English suddenly travelled in larger groups than any other nation. Only a few decades ago travelling was almost exclusively reserved for a small elite, the upper class. W...
Johannes Baur, born in Austria in 1795, was a visionary entrepreneur who profoundly shaped Zurich’s hospitality industry. In 1837, at the age...Read More
The historic building (top, slide to the right): The "new" Raffles main building in 1899. It opened on 18 November 1899, featuring the all new...Read More
Since decades “The Oriental”, as it is affectionately known by travellers from all over the globe, leads the lists of most...Read More
In 1952, a group of wealthy individuals including Donald Deskey, the fabled designer (among his works the Radio City Music Hall); Harvey Firestone,...Read More
You don your safari gear during the day, but you always dress for dinner. Because Mount Kenya Safari Club Nanyuki is an exclusive retreat. High on...Read More
