All Aboard the InterContinental Khao Yai
In the jungled hills of Thailand’s oldest national park, hotel guru Bill Bensley takes upcycling to new heights, turning derelict train carriages into some of the country’s most unique hotel accommodations for the new InterContinental Khao Yai
Legendary hotel designer Bill Bensley is no stranger to upcycling. Throughout his decades- and globe-spanning career, he has turned vintage steamer trunks into minibars, repurposed old woodwork into headboards, and studded his rooms and restaurants with second-hand pieces picked up at antique fairs in all corners of the world. With his latest project in Thailand, however, he takes this eco-driven approach to new heights.
On the fringe of Khao Yai National Park, Thailand's oldest wildlife reserve three hours north of Bangkok, the InterContinental Khao Yai marks Bensley's most ambitious upcycling endeavour to date. More than a dozen derelict train carriages, salvaged from scrap yards around the country and, in some cases, half-consumed by the cobra-sized roots of Ficus trees, now house some of Thailand's most remarkable villa accommodations. Bensley and his team stripped out the carriages’ old interiors and refurbished them with marble-clad bathrooms, pleather-trimmed lounge nooks and bespoke upholstery and artworks — think Khmer textiles and ornate Sino-Portuguese window frames — that nod to the landscapes of Southeast Asia's great railway voyages. Most villas open to private plunge pools and all have Victorian-style bathtubs on their canvas-shaded patios.
Inspired by the Pak Chong railway station, a late 19th-century building in Khao Yai's largest settlement, Bensley extended the railway theme to the rest of the resort. A dandyish lounge and French fine-dining restaurant take over another set of upcycled train carriages, while the entrance and check-in area resemble a ticketing booth and station masters' office, both packed with railway memorabilia. Even the 45 regular rooms, spread over three lakefront buildings with ornate Rama V-era gable trims and sleek monochrome colour schemes, mimic the look of a train carriage. Each one has curved clerestory ceilings and wall-mounted luggage racks, and all are flanked by trompe l'oeil windows that frame hand-painted tropical landscapes. Like their bona fide railway cart counterparts, the floor plans were intentionally kept long and narrow. But, Bensley says, ‘There is always a light at the end of the tunnel. Be it in the form of a balcony or, in some cases, a sitting area or gorgeous headboard. There is never a narrow, dead-end space.’
Enveloping it all are sprawling gardens, spearheaded by the resort's horticulturalist owner Manit Udomkunnatum, who designed the landscape as an extension of the thick jungles that cloak the nearby national park. More than 50,000 trees, from towering palms to gnarled baobabs dripping with epiphytic ferns and tillandsia, cover the 100-acre plot, making it easy to spot local wildlife, such as oriental pied hornbills, on your way to breakfast.
Text / Chris Schalkx
Images / WBB & Co.
