Originally Posted by
sonoftheheartland
Re Siam Paragon -- in the words of a close expat friend of mine in BKK, "another soon-to-be-bankrupt shopping center!"
Originally Posted by
seanthepilot
The Intercontinental Hotel, that used to occupy the area that is now Siam Paragon, was more to my liking.
Originally Posted by
aurigakb
The ground level ( food stalls/ restaurants/ supermarket) section of Siam Paragon is really worth a visit. I was most impressed. The rest of the complex is not that impressive, and certainly not that busy. The zen Central complex sounds good on paper, but it is strangely deserted. Simply do not know how they are going to survive. Quite nice and expensive food court on one of the upper levels.
Originally Posted by
l'etoile
Is this the one with reclining sofas, ushers that show you to your seat and tuck you in with silk blankets and bring you drinks? Amazing place ...
Originally Posted by
transpac
No, those would be the Nokia Ultra Screens (1, 2 & 3). The Pavalai theatre is probably what the OP referred to as the Opera House, a huge theatre.
Siam Paragon seems to be pretty busy to me... I think some of the upper floors seem deserted because they are so spacious. I would guess most of the stores are doing o.k.
The Intercontinental was a spacious hotel, on expansive grounds, far too valuable for that location. It would be as if someone wanted to build a low rise hotel with 500 rooms, 2 stories, in midtown Manhattan... just doesn't make sense. There is a website, i think something like
www.2bangkok.com which has lots of pictures of the old Intercontinental, including all of the tearing down pictures.
The Zen Central center seems quite deserted to me; they are located between two BTS skytrain stations, and foot traffic means a 10 minute walk, in the heat... the BTS stops right AT the Siam Paragon, so most people just go there. At the Emporium Center, the BTS also stops right there... and the Central Chit Lom store also has a BTS adjacent.
The movie theaters at Siam Paragon are probably the most deluxe anywhere in the world... private lounges, some seat ticket plans include champagne, hors d'ouvres, snacks, couches for two, electronic reclining seats, etc. And your neighbor might be at least 5 or 6 feet away from you in any direction. Tickets for that in Bangkok, cost LESS than a regular theater in L.A. or New York.
I thought the big theater on the very top, I think two levels ABOVE the theaters, is called "THE OPERA"... it is not near or connected to the movie theaters. There is also a convention center up there.