On the chill backstreets of Bangkok's tony Phloen Chit area is the Kimpton Maa-Lai Bangkok, part of IHG Hotels & Resorts. And it's a welcome break to the slightly corporate uber-luxury character that defines most of the city's five-star hotels. This place is incredibly chill (but still insanely comfortable – the pool is sequestered off in a sloping concrete haven covered in greenery). There's a Dalston-coded coffee shop and bakery on the ground floor, fine dining at the hotel's Avant restaurant (headed up by Singaporean chef Haikal Johari) and Bar. Yard, a rooftop bar and grill with a genuinely astonishing view of the city and some inventive Tex-Mex fusion. It's all very impressive, and without feeling pretentious. But it's at night when the Kimpton Maa-Lai really gets pumping. The top floor turns into a club with the hotel regularly hosting local DJs that attracts a cooler, younger crowd to this part of the city. After that, slope back to your room; they're all big, light and comfortable with floor-to-ceiling windows that either look over the peaceful Dutch embassy gardens or Bangkok's Lumphini Park. It's a peaceful little oasis that's surprisingly quiet given how central it is.