The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Bangkok ––– A Luxurious Condominium in the Heart of Bangkok – Part I

The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Bangkok – The project we’re going to review today, is an ultimate luxurious project. The MahaNakhon Building, where the Ritz-Carlton Residence is located, will stand tall at the height of 314 meters which will make it the tallest skyscraper in Thailand. Designed by a world-renowned architect, the building will surely become the symbol of Bangkok and the ultimate landmark for the Sathorn-Narathiwas area. Furthermore, its interior is extravagantly designed with the expertise of David Collins Studio, leading architects and interior designers, as suitable for a project from the highly luxurious Marriot hotel group. The Ritz-Carlton Residences has a starting price of 32 million baht.

The developer for this project is PACE Development, a Bangkok-based developer, whose previous projects were The Ficus Lane and The Saladaeng Residences, making them well-experienced in developing luxury projects.

As this project is extremely exclusive, appointments have to be made in advance in order to visit the site. Think of Living therefore would like to give our appreciation to the project for allowing us to visit and collect information of the project for this review.

Fact @ 24 January 2013

• The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Bangkok (Click here for the second part of this review)
• PACE Development Corporation., Plc.
• ULTIMATE LUXURY CLASS
• High-rise, 1 building, 77 storeys, residential units of 194 units (located on 23rd – 73rd floor)
• Fixed parking space from minimum of 2 cars + Valet Parking
• Estimated total area of 9 Rai or 3.55 acres
• 2-5 Bedrooms / Penthouse Simplex / Duplex
• Available spaces 120 – 850 sq.m. (approx. 1290 – 9150 sq.ft.)
• Estimate starting price of 32 million baht.
• Estimate starting price per sq.m. of 220,000 Baht
• 99-year lease contract, renewing every 30 years.
• www.rcr-bangkok.com

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In-depth: Location

“MahaNakhon” is actually the full name of this mixed-use project. It consists of several components such as The Edition Hotel, The Ritz-Carlton Residences and MahaNakhon Retails and Terrace Bar. The condominium has 77 stories. It is located next to BTS Chong Nonsi station which is within the area that connects Narathiwas, Sathorn and Silom roads.

This is the view from the MahaNakhon building. It can be seen that this building being the tallest in Bangkok allows us to see beyond the tops of other surrounding buildings.

Let’s view it one side at a time.

The right side shows part of the Chao Phraya river. Lumpini park is on the left.

Looking into the city through Rama 4 road and Chulalongkorn University.

Full view of Chao Phraya river on the area of Bangrak and Charuen Krung.

The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Bangkok is located exactly next to BTS Chong Nonsi station.

The model of the project is shown on the footpath in front of Dean & DeLuca restaurant.

The BTS Chong Nonsi station has a connected path to BRT station, allowing access to both BTS and BRT.

The large connected path grants a lot more convenience as it helps you from walking up and down many stairways and also from crossing road. The path is quite clean and has security and low pollution.

The middle area of the path also has a nice architectural element created as the landmark of Sathorn road.  Many people come here to take photographs of this scenery. Looking down from the garden area of sales gallery of The Ritz-Carlton Residences this landmark is easily seen.

Aside from the main entry from Narathiswas road, MahaNakhon building also has a back entrance that can connect with Silom and Sathorn roads. The direction is as follows.

From the project, turn left to Silom road.

The second entrance is through Silom Soi 9.

Heading straight this way. This road can be a shortcut to reach Sathorn road before Narathiwas intersection.

And you will see the entry/exit of the project.

Almost reaching Sathorn, the road has a pleasant view covered with many trees.

This is Soi Sueksa Witthaya which is a shortcut to Soi Sathorn 10.

This entrance can be used for both entry and exit to the project.

You can make a turn back to Sathorn-Narathiwas intersection.

You can turn right at this intersection to Narathiwas road but this intersection is one of the most traffic congested intersections in Thailand.

In-depth: The Project

MahaNakhon building was designed by world renowned architectural team which makes it unique and prominent. The building has a distinctive three-dimensional ribbon of architectural “pixels” as seen in the background poster behind the model building in the picture.

The front of the project also has a small building which is called “CUBE,” a lifestyle mall and retail center; comprising of famous restaurants and stores such as Dean & DeLuca, L’Atelier by Joël Robuchon, Vogue Club by Conde Naste and others. This area is connected to BTS Chongnonsi and is available for public access.

Let’s zoom in to look more into the “Pixels.”

The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Bangkok has a residential area from 23rd to 73rd floor. The 1st – 22nd floor is reserved for the super luxury Edition Hotel from the Marriott group.

The connection between BTS Chongnonsi Station and the front CUBE Lifestyle and Retail Centre.

The main entrance of the Residences is separated from the Hotel and Retail Building.

Sathorn Soi 10 which connects with the back entry/exit.

Silom Soi 9 which we explained previously.

The 4 storeys on the top of the building will be a public facility, observation deck and bar

Another full view of the project.

This is the feature of the rooms called The Sky Box which is a pixel element extending from the building and allows 270-degree views.

MahaNakhon building is 314 meters in height, around 7 meters taller than The Bai-Yoke II, making it the tallest building in Bangkok.

This is the most distinctive part of the building design.

Top-Down View.

The lower floors which are area of the hotel edition.

Let’s now get into more focused details of the Ritz-Carlton Residences, Bangkok

According to this master plan, it can be seen that the entrances to residences and hotel are completely separated. Residential units are entered from the backside of the building with a separated lobby. The residential entry also has five elevators separated from those of the hotel which has the proportion of 1:39.

The 7th floor is fully built as a facility floor for residents with details in the picture above.

Swimming pool, gardens, tanning courtyard, yoga centre, fitness room, pilates room, movie screening room, and gaming room.

Note that Hotel guests have another facility floor on the 6th floor. The 7th floor is for residents only.

The 53th floor is a lounge and bar area exclusively for residents. Conference room and library are available here. They can be used for personal and formal meetings.

Residents of the Ritz-Carlton can also use other facilities from the Edition Hotel as they are both part of the Marriott group. Those who want to do grocery shopping or eat out at restaurants can also find these services at the MahaNakhon Retail.

The problem of parking spaces is not a concern as the project provides at least two fixed parking spaces for the residents. Large units are also granted with 1 float (valet parking).

Product Walkthrough (Part I – Two-Bedroom Residence)

We’ve now come to the highlight of this project which is the sample rooms of the Ritz-Carlton Residences. Due to the excessive detail of the sample rooms, we will divide our review of the project into two parts. For the first part, we will start with the 2-bedroom unit. This unit has the size of 140 sq.m. with contemporary classic interior design by David Collins Studio.

After entering the room, there is a small foyer with a cabinet placed on the left, and a storage for coats and shoes on the right.

One of the concepts of this project is that a guest bathroom has to be available separately in every unit. For example, a 2-bedroom unit will have 3 bathrooms of which two of them are placed within the two bedrooms while the third one is the guest bathroom or powder room. This powder room is the first room we’re going to look at.

Powder Room.

Inside is a toilet with its tank hidden in the wall and its flush buttons on the wall. The floor is made with real Italian marble.

The sink and faucet of this project, including those in the guest bathroom, are mostly from Lefroy Brooks brand. (Its logo is a lion with wings) The faucet provides a mix of cold and hot water. The sink is also made with real marble.

The decoration of lamps and mirrors in details.

On the other side of the foyer, there’s a built-in cabinet with space for outerwear, shoes, umbrella and other miscellaneous stuff (standard detail for all units).

Next is the second bedroom which is the smaller one. This is the view after entering the bedroom.

The floor uses solid oak. 12 pieces in a 3×3 square pattern. The bathroom floor on the right is marble.

The floor and sink of every bathroom are decorated with the same pattern of marble. This room has a black and white tone in which the black color comes from within the marble.

The faucet and sink of the bathroom ensuite of the second bedroom

The space around the toilet is quite large which allows comfortable seating and usage.

Next is the shower room. The mirror glass is of course a tempered glass. It also uses marble pattern connected with the floor to create a nicely decorative frame.  The shower floor is not mosaic but a consolidation of little pieces of genuine rock that were put together to make a fine pattern and non-slippery floor.

The hand shower set from Lefroy Brooks.

The 2nd bedroom is plainly decorated similar to the style of those in five-star hotels.

A built-in wardrobe.

The wardrobe has three doors.

This is a very cool piece of furniture designed by the David Collins Studio. It’s a multi-function bedside drawer with a classic look.

The top of the drawer is decorated with the same marble pattern as that of bathroom.

The drawer also has a piece of wood that can be extended to use for putting down stuff like phone and book if more space is needed.

A built-in wooden box with electrical sockets inside is also available.

Now we’re back to the foyer at the front. The doors of this cabinet are made of the color-dyed skin of a stingray.

Continue down inside and we will enter the living area, here decorated in New York Classic style. Every pieces of furniture were all designed by David Collins Studio for The Ritz-Carlton Residences. This room has a height from floor to ceiling of 3.1 meters which is 30-40 centimeters more than those of most high-end condominiums.

This is the dining area which connects together with working area, kitchen, living room into one open space.

The connected area of the dining area and kitchen with the door to master bedroom.

The living room is designed in light blue-colored style. The carpet pattern in the picture is custom made which cannot be found elsewhere.  The blinds and the painting on the left are also selected to match with the color. Windows are full height, running flush to the floor all the way to the ceiling in single, triple glazed panels.

This is a corner for working or studying. It is built-in with white oak with stainless trim.

This spin-able chair is made with real leather.

Built-in white oak with stainless steel trimming frame.

The lamp is installed as wall hung. It doesn’t irritate eyes with its brightness and can be used as decoration.

The electrical control is a home automation system by Clipsal. It used as a dimmer system so the brightness of the lights is freely adjustable.

The switch on the far left can be pulled out to be used as a remote. You can choose different kinds of scene which will change the lighting and electrical appliances in the room depending on the atmosphere you like such as daylight, nighttime, completely dark, party light, etc.

A set of dining table with four chairs in a circle pattern.

The chair legs are uniquely designed, with an unusual shape and form

Continue to the kitchen, the island in the middle really stands out. It has a beautiful pattern of Arabescato marble. The island is used for the washing sink and pantry for food preparation, as well as a semi “show kitchen” space.

Stainless sink from the top model of Franke brand. The sink has wide and deep space.

Every detail in the kitchen is soft close. The work is exquisitely and neatly done by Poggen Pohl, a world-class kitchen brand from Germany.

Kitchen appliances are also from GAGGENAU, also another best brand from Germany.

Let’s now take a look at the western style kitchen. The electric stove has 4 cookers. The top and wall use the same marble pattern.

Hob and Hood from GAGGENAU.

A quick look at the great details of the lavishing wooden drawer from Poggen Pohl. The piece of stainless in the middle is used for filling foil with a saw for cutting.

A built-in refrigerator from SIEMENS which has 4 doors and a freezer below.

We now continue with the living room. The living room is very spacious and the couches are comfy.

For those who wonder why they can’t see where the air conditioner is, it is installed inside the ceiling where the air directly comes out. That black line on the ceiling nearby the blinds is the air conditioner. The compressor is located on a specific floor, allowing easy maintenance, thus does not occupy space within the unit.

This photo is taken to show the room lighting. You can see that the lighting reflected on the wall was carefully calculated and designed as it beautifully creates an image of lighting waves from intersecting light circles.

These two chairs really do match with the color of the carpet.

The table here is also uncommon. The top is made from glass with silver color inside and gold outside then a glass was carved into pieces to insert design and put on top later.

The legs of this daybed is made from real wooden material.

This cabinet is for placing a TV.

A three seated sofa with real leather and metal legs.

The table on the side of sofa is made from marble material with stainless base.

Let’s see where this door next to the kitchen lead us to.

It leads to another kitchen (Asian Kitchen) for heavy cooking occasion, and for a maid.

A sink from Teka. The top is made of rock material for more durability.

Teka stove with 4 cookers with hob and hood.

Now we’re going to have a look at the master bedroom. The room is designed to have a large space and uses a color theme mixture between light purple and light green.

A dressing table is placed in the middle of the room like western style.

The circle mirror on the dressing table can be flipped. This turns the area between the table and the wardrobe into a small dressing area with a full body mirror placing against the wall. The black hole on the ceiling is the air conditioner.

The lighting of the bedside lamps is very stylish.

You can exit through the corner to enjoy the view.

This sofa is for relaxed reading.

A table and a lamp.

Now back to the dressing table. It has luxury design, dividing the space of the bedroom from the wardrobe in a simple way

The drawers can be opened and have spaces inside to contain accessories.

Some parts of the air conditioner are hidden under the ceiling. The ceiling frame makes a 60 degree angle which allows the hidden lights to reflect the ceiling and create beautiful lighting as seen in the photo.

Dressing area.

A full body mirror placed on the floor.

Let’s now take a look at the handle of the wardrobe which is from Poliform brand.

It’s made with rubber material which prevents pain from accidentally hitting it. We really like it.

Finally, we’ve come to the room that put everyone in amazement, the magnificent master bathroom.

The floor and wall are also decorated with the same marble material and pattern.

A premium bathtub placing on the marble floor.

The marble patterned wall and a shelf for bathroom equipment.

A set of sink and lamp. The shower room is on the left.

Toilet is put in a separate room with a safety glass door similar to that of shower room.

The floor in the shower room is made from collated small rocks put together to create a look similar to mosaic tile.

A rain shower extending from the wall. The lights are hidden on the ceiling above.

The details of the lamp. Its shaft is in rectangle U-shape.

Behind the blinds are tall mirrors which allow scenery viewing. The full height glass enhances the size and space.

The rails of all the blinds are hidden above.

We forgot to mention about the entry door to the master bathroom. The mirror glass seen here is not a ground glass. It’s made from putting together two mirror glasses with a piece of fabric in between which create a pattern of cloth. It gives appearance similar to that of ground glass which allows only some part of light to pass through.

This is the look of the collated small rocks we described previously.

Price and Conditions @ 25/11/2012

• A 140 sq.m. unit with 2 bedrooms starts at approximately 32 million baht. (Most units have a different layout because the building was designed to have floors and units with different dimensions as with the Pixels concept.)
• Approximately 99-year lease contract, renewing every 30 years in 99 years. There are extra expenses when the contract expires.
• Fully Fitted.
• Wardrobe from Poliform. Order with custom made.
• Kitchen from Poggen Pohl with electrical appliances from GAGGENAU and SIEMENS.
• Residential facility fee of 120 baht per sq.m. per month.

SUMMARY

To summarize this briefly, the unit we’ve just reviewed is actually almost the smallest unit of this project. With starting price of 32 million baht (Estimated $1M USD), it is considered as a basic package compared to the other unit we are about to show you, the 430-sqm Sky Simplex Residence. Click here to continue to The Sky Simplex Unit.

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