Bangkok

Vibrant Bangkok is a vast urban sprawl and home to a vast 22 per cent of Thailand’s population.

The city is a feast for the senses with gleaming gold monasteries, the scent of incense, mouth-watering street food and the sounds of a bustling city.

When your private chartered flight lands at Bangkok Airport, it’s a 25 km drive into the busy city centre.

For a peaceful stay, the crown jewel of Bangkok hotels is the Mandarin Oriental, nestled on the banks of the Chai Phraya river.

The grand hotel lures celebrities and royalty with its Michelin star restaurants (including La Normandie by Alain Roux) and award-winning spa, with facilities spread over both sides of the river – connected by a wooden pontoon.

Privacy and serenity are the watchwords of the Siam Hotel, at the edge of the historic centre of Bangkok.

The hotel has a traditional Thai ambience with wooden Buddha statues from the 16th century scattered throughout the hotel and yoga or Muay Thai boxing lessons on offer.

The hotel can also organise a private dinner on a sunset cruise aboard a traditional rice barge or a sacred Thai tattoo.

For a more modern stay, Capella Bangkok is part of a high-end riverside development, decked out in marble and Thai latticework.

The hotel boasts a Mercedes to whisk you from your private jet charter straight to its riverside villas with private plunge pools.

Its restaurant, the Michelin-starred Cote, is overseen by the Argentinian chef Mauro Colagreco whose three Michelin star Mirazur in Nice is regularly voted one of the world’s best. Choose one of the tasting menus to tuck into the very finest seafood and seasonal ingredients.

For Thai cuisine outside the hotel walls, Nahm boasts treats such as pigeon larb salad and wok-fried fiddlehead ferns in a traditional setting. Or the Issaya Siamese Club restaurant, set in a 100-year-old Thai building, delivers a chilled out garden party atmosphere with delicacies such as Massaman curry lamb shank and jasmine flower flan.

For a drink afterwards, with stunning 360-degree views of the city, take the elevator at the Banyan Tree Bangkok hotel up to the Moon Bar on the 61st floor. Watch the sun set and the city light up below you, while nursing a Vertigo Sunset cocktail.

Bangkok offers visitors plenty to do, as well as see: a Thai cookery class will teach you how to make a handful of local dishes and enjoy tucking into them afterwards, or for a more relaxing way to spend the day book a traditional Thai massage or a river cruise.

The Grand Palace, one of the country’s most sacred sites, houses the gilded Wat Phra Kaew – also known as the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. The stunning palace was built in 1782 and was the official residence of the king until 1925.

The best time for your private jet charter to visit the city’s treasures is from November to February, as the weather is relatively cool and dry.

Whether you want to sightsee, party or just relax – there’s something in Thailand’s magical capital city for everyone.